Let’s take some time to understand the context with which the library is organized. Books are organized by subject, given a number, and put on the shelf. Most libraries use either the Dewey Decimal System, for public libraries, and Library of Congress Subject Heading Classification (LCSH), for academic libraries. Criticisms rightfully demonstrate that both systems were centered in white, Eurocentric identities. For instance, when you want to search for the history of Black women why is it necessary to include the term “Black” but it is not necessary to include the word “white” when you want to search for the history of white women?(1) This is because the library number system was created with the white person as the “normal” or the center.
Another example appears in the Dewey Decimal System catalog. Languages are cataloged in the 420-499. Western European languages (English, German, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin) are found in 420-489. While all “other languages” including languages of southeast Asia, African languages, South American native languages, and North American native language are all found in 490-499. There is only ONE number for African Languages: 496! A whole continent!(2)
What does this mean as a researcher? It’s important first to understand the systems that we are working in. There are consistent efforts to change cataloging practices in librarianship. Students from Dartmouth recently applied to have the phrase 'illegal aliens' removed and replaced with 'undocumented immigrants' however, the Library of Congress decided on the new terms 'noncitizens' or 'illegal immigration.' As you can see there is still work to do as the term illegal still portrays undocumented immigrants in a poor manner. If you find something offensive in the catalog, reach out to the librarian! There are various efforts we can undertake to make our catalog more inclusive.
1. Drabinski, Emily. "Teaching the Radical Catalog." In Radical Cataloging: Essays at the Front, edited by K R Roberto, 198-205. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2008.
2. Behre, Jane. "The Racist Problem with Library Subject Classifications." HLS How Would you Hack Library School, 2020.