Radical Cataloging

This collection of critical and scholarly essays addresses the state of cataloging in the world of librarianship. The contributors, including Sanford Berman, Thomas Mann, and numerous front-line library workers, address topics ranging from criticisms of the state of the profession and traditional Library of Congress cataloging to methods of making cataloging more inclusive and helpful to library users. Other essay topics include historical overviews of cataloging practices and the literature they generate, first-person discussions of library workers’ experiences with cataloging or metadata work, and the implications behind what materials get cataloged, who catalogs them, and how. Several essays provide a critical overview of innovative cataloging practices and the ways that such practices have been successfully integrated in many of the nation’s leading libraries. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

"Revolting librarians aren't defined by what they are, they are defined by what they do. In fact, it's not even what they do, but how they do it"--Katia Roberto and Jessamyn West, in the Preface. This compilation of witty, insightful, and readable writings on the various aspects of alternative librarianship edited by two outspoken library professionals is a sequel to Revolting Librarians, which was published in 1972. The contributors, including Alison Bechdel, Sanford Berman, and Utne Reader librarian Chris Dodge, cover topics that range from library education and librarianship as a profession to the more political and spiritual aspects of librarianship. The contributions include critiques of library and information science programs, firsthand accounts of work experiences, and original fiction, poetry and art. Ten of the original librarians who wrote essays for Revolting Librarians back in 1972 reflect upon what they wrote thirty years ago and the turns that their lives and careers have taken since.

The cataloging and classification field is changing rapidly. New concepts and models, such as linked data, identity management, the IFLA Library Reference Model, and the latest revision of Resource Description and Access (RDA), have the potential to change how libraries provide access to their collections. To prepare library and information science (LIS) students to be successful cataloging practitioners in this changing landscape, they need a solid understanding of fundamental cataloging concepts, standards, and practices: their history, where they stand currently, and possibilities for the future. The chapters in Cataloging and Classification: Back to Basics are meant to complement textbooks and lectures so students can go deeper into specific topics. New and well-seasoned library practitioners will also benefit from reading these chapters as a way to refresh or fill gaps in their knowledge of cataloging and classification. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Cataloging & Classification Quarterly.

Filling a gap in the existing library and information science literature, this book consolidates recent research and best practices to address the need for diversity and social justice in the training and education of LIS professionals. The development of cultural competency skills and social awareness benefits LIS students, their future employers, and the library profession at large—not to mention library customers and society as a whole. This textbook and comprehensive resource introduces students to the contexts and situations that promote the development of empathy and build cultural competence, examines the research in the areas of diversity and social justice in librarianship, explains how social responsibility is a foundational value of librarianship, and identifies potential employment and networking opportunities related to diversity and social justice in librarianship. A valuable book for students in graduate library and information science programs as well as LIS practitioners and researchers interested in knowing more about the topic of diversity in the profession, Information Services to Diverse Populations: Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals addresses the political, social, economic, and technological divides among library patrons, covers transformative library services, and discusses outreach and services to diverse populations as well as how to evaluate such services, among many other topics. Appendices containing suggestions for exercises and assignments as well as lists of related library organizations and readings in related literature provide readers with additional resources.

Although they may not have always been explicitly stated, library work has always had normative goals. Until recently, such goals have largely been abstract; they are things like knowledge creation, education, forwarding science, preserving history, supporting democracy, and safeguarding civilization. The modern spirit of social and cultural critique, however, has focused our attention on the concrete, material relationships that determine human potentiality and opportunity, and library workers are increasingly seeing the institution of the library, as well as library work, as embedded in a web of relations that extends beyond the library’s traditional sphere of influence. In light of this critical consciousness, more and more library and information science professionals are coming to see themselves as change agents and front-line advocates of social justice issues. This book will serve as a guide for those library workers and related information professionals that disregard traditional ideas of "library neutrality" and static, idealized conceptions of Western culture. The book will work as an entry point for those just forming a consciousness oriented towards social justice work and will be also be of value to more experienced "transformative library workers" as an up-to-date supplement to their praxis. Justifies the use of a variety of theoretical and practical resources for effecting positive change Explores the role of the librarian as change agents

Foreword by Mitch Freedman, a reprinted Counterpoise interview and 45 of Sanford Berman's U*L columns dealing with book-burning, genocide, government secrecy and repression, cataloging, indexing, classism, self-censorship and free speech for library staff (et cetera!). Index by Chris Dodge.

This volume offers up-to-date insights into the state of library and information science (LIS) in the Middle East and North Africa. Covered topics include information literacy, intellectual property, LIS education and research, publishing and more. This timely contribution thus presents vital areas of research on a region that receives relatively little coverage and is currently experiencing rapid and significant changes.

With the legalization of same-sex marriage and the explosion of LGBTQ news coverage in recent years, gender studies is a subject of intense interest in popular media and a part of the curriculum at many colleges. Libraries realize the importance of supporting the field yet many have difficulty finding resources and programming ideas. This book provides case studies and a range of innovative solutions for better meeting patron needs. Twenty-seven chapters are arranged into sections covering Research and Library Instruction, History and Herstory, Programming, Collections and Beyond, and Resources.