At the Intersection: LRM, Queer Theory, and Marxism in Conceptualising Gender Variance in the Bibliographic Universe
Critical Approaches to Libraries Conference #CALC2023
Agenda
Authority, control, and authority control
To whom should we be granting the authority of negotiating gender and identity within the bibliographic universe? Is it possible to redistribute this power amongst those affected on the basis of consent and self-identification?
“Queer Theory” refers to the critical theory in which the legitimacy of cisheteronormative hegemonies are challenged and dismantled, and is concerned with the way in which queerness “[remains] socially and culturally unintelligible; underneath the threshold of representability […]” (Penney, 2013, p.54) within the power structures that sustain Western society.
(Penney, J. (2013). After Queer Theory: The limits of sexual politics. London: Pluto Press.)
A brief introduction to Queer Theory and terminology
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Library Reference Model (IFLA LRM)
What are Res and Nomen?
Res is any entity in the universe of discourse. It is the top entity in the model, and includes both material or physical things and concepts. Res is a superclass of all the other entities that are explicitly defined, as well of any other entities not specifically labeled.
Nomen is an association between an entity and a designation that refers to it.
(Riva, P., Le Boeuf, P. and Žumer, M. (2017a). IFLA Library Reference Model. pp.20-31.)
IFLA LRM: Nomen and Res (cont.)
Two instances of the nomen entity can have perfectly identical values for their nomen string attribute and yet remain distinct, as long as they either refer to distinct instances of the res entity, or have distinct values for one or more of their other attributes (while referring to the same instance of the res entity).
(Riva, P., Le Boeuf, P. and Žumer, M. (2017a). IFLA Library Reference Model. p.32.)
IFLA LRM: Nomen and Res (cont.)
Res has appellation Nomen … Nomen is appellation of Res
RDA rule 9.7 on recording gender (2011)
Gender is the gender with which a person identifies. Take information on gender from any source. Record the gender of the person using an appropriate term from the list below.
If none of the terms listed are appropriate or sufficiently specific, record an appropriate term or phrase.
RDA rule 9.7 on recording gender (2017)
Gender is the gender with which a person identifies. Take information on gender from any source. Record the gender of the person using an appropriate term in a language preferred by the agency creating the data. Select a term from a standard list, if available.
Record gender as a separate element. Gender is not recorded as part of an access point.
(Cataloging, Gender, and RDA Instruction 9.7, 2017)
https://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/031517
Addendum (2022)
In April 2022, the a new PCC Ad Hoc Task Group on Recording Gender in Personal Name Authority Records was successful in amending the recommendation for personal name authorities. The new guidance states that gender should not be recorded in the 375 field, and that existing 375 fields should be deleted “when editing a record for any other reason” (Revised Report on Recording Gender in Personal Name Authority Records, 2022). https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/documents/gender-in-NARs-revised-report.pdf
MARC 375 field overview
Subfield Codes
$a - Gender (R)
$s - Start period (NR)
$t - End period (NR)
$u - Uniform Resource Identifier (R)
$v - Source of information (R)
$0 - Authority record control number or standard number (R)
$1 - Real World Object URI (R)
$2 - Source of term (NR)
$6 - Linkage (NR)
$7 - Data provenance (R)
$8 - Field link and sequence number (R)
Name Authority Records (NARs) and issues of privacy
375 ## $a female $s 1972? $2 [code for RDA list]
[b. James Humphry Morris, Oct. 2, 1926; had sex change operation, took new name "Jan Morris"]
(Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office, 2020)
Queerness and linguistic complications: Should we…
How is one to determine which terminology will be appropriate to describe gender and sexuality ten years from now when the queer lexicon is, at present, ensnared in a tempermental, poststructuralist irreverence?
Queer Theory, Marxian praxis, and critical intervention in cataloguing
Final thoughts
Thank you for listening.
Sources
Adler, M. (2017). Cruising the Library. New York: Fordham University Press.
Adolpho, K. (2019). ‘Who asked you? Consent, self-determination, and the report of the PCC Ad Hoc Task Group on gender in name authority records,’ Ethical Questions in Name Authority Control, pp.111-131.
Bair, Sheila B.A. (2005). ‘Toward a code of ethics for cataloging,’ Technical
Services Quarterly, 23(1), pp.13-26. doi: 10.1300/J124v23n01_02.
Billey, A., Drabinski, E. and Roberto, K.R. (2014). ‘What's gender got to do with it? A critique of RDA 9.7,’ Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 52(4), pp.412-421. doi: 10.1080/01639374.2014.882465.
Billey, A. (2019). ‘Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should:
An argument for simplicity and data privacy with name authority work in the linked data
environment,’ Journal of Library Metadata, 19(1-2) pp.1-17. doi: 10.1080/19386389.2019.1589684.
Billey, A. and Drabinski, E. (2019). ‘Questioning authority: changing library cataloging standards to be more inclusive to a gender identity spectrum,’ Transgender Studies Quarterly, 6(1), pp.117–123. doi: 10.1215/23289252-7253538.
Sources (cont.)
Cifor, M. and Rawson, K.J. (2022). Mediating queer and trans pasts: The Homosaurus as queer information activism. Information, Communication & Society, pp.1-18. doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2022.2072753
Corner, L. (2019). ‘Reclaiming the word ‘queer’: what does it mean in 2019?’ Gay Times. Available at: https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/life/reclaiming-the-word-queer-what-does-it-mean-in-2019/ [Accessed 2 January 2022]
Doherty, J.J. (2008). Towards self-reflection in librarianship: What is praxis. Questioning library neutrality: Essays from progressive librarian, pp.109-118.
Drabinski, E. (2008). ‘Teaching the radical catalog,’ Radical cataloging: Essays at the front, pp.198-205. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Drabinski, E. (2013). Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 83(2), pp.94-111. doi: 10.1086/669547.
Sources (cont.)
Greenblatt, E. ed. (2014). Serving LGBTIQ library and archives users: essays on outreach, service, collections and access. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Hennessy, R. (1994). ‘Queer Theory, left politics,’ Rethinking Marxism, 7(3), pp.85-111. doi: 10.1080/08935699408658114.
Library of Congress (2020). MARC 21 format for authority data: 375: Gender (Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress). [Online.] Available at: https://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad375.html [Accessed December 2 2021].
Martin, J.M. (2021). ‘Records, responsibility, and power: An overview of cataloging ethics,’ Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 59(2-3), pp.281-304. doi: 10.1080/01639374.2020.1871458.
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (2021). The struggle of trans and gender-diverse persons. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SexualOrientationGender/Pages/struggle-trans-gender-diverse.aspx [Accessed 10 December 2021].
Sources (cont.)
Penney, J. (2013). After Queer Theory: The limits of sexual politics. London: Pluto Press.
Popowich, S. (2019). Confronting the democratic discourse of librarianship: A Marxist approach. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press.
Riva, P., Le Boeuf, P. and Žumer, M. (2017a). IFLA Library Reference Model. Available at: https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/cataloguing/frbr-lrm/ifla_lrm_2017-03.pdf [Accessed 10 December 2021].
Riva, P., Le Boeuf, P. and Žumer, M. (2017b). Transition mappings: User tasks, entities, attributes, and Relationships in FRBR, FRAD, FRSAD mapped to their equivalents in the IFLA Library Reference Model. Available at: https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/cataloguing/frbr-lrm/transitionmappings201708.pdf [Accessed 10 December 2021].
Sandberg, J. (2019). Ethical Questions in Name Authority Control. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press.
Seikel, M. and Steele, T. (2020). ‘Comparison of key entities within bibliographic conceptual models and implementations: Definitions, evolution, and relationships,’ Library Resources & Technical Services, 64(2), pp.62-71.
Sources (cont.)
Snow, K., and Shoemaker, B. (2020). ‘Defining cataloging ethics: practitioner perspectives,’ Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 58(6), pp.533-546. doi: 10.1080/01639374.2020.1795767.
Steele, T.D and Foot, J.B. (2011). ‘Reclassification in academic research libraries: is it still relevant in an e-book world?’ Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 49(1) pp.14-32. doi: 10.1080/01639374.2011.532406.
Thompson, K.J. (2016). ‘More than a name: A content analysis of name authority records for authors who self-identify as trans,’ Library Resources & Technical Services, 60(3), pp.140-155. doi: 10.5860/lrts.60n3.140.