An Astronaut, a Nurse, and a Prostitute walk into a Library ...: How to effectively explain our value to non-catalogers

Abstract

Sometimes it is hard for catalogers to explain what we do and why it is important to the public at large. This is because the words (jargon) we use often sounds like a foreign language to others. This presentation will show how to better explain our relevance by talking about the unintentional--and sometimes intentional--bias of library catalogs due to classification numbers and subject terms. Outdated terms, lack of knowledge, and implicit bias can lead to incorrect analysis which can then lead to items not reaching those who need them.