Cataloging and Metadata Commons^™

Archives West At Twenty Years: Sustainability Through Community, Jodi Allison-Bunnell, Maija Anderson, Trevor J. Bond

Collaborative Librarianship

Archives West is a regional aggregation of descriptions of archival collections held by institutions in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West. While many similar regional aggregations have struggled to reach sustainability, Archives West is one of a few that is fully funded by its participants, and continues to grow in both scale and scope. We hypothesize that there are unique cultural qualities of the Archives West community that have supported its growth, including a philosophy of empowering participants, transparent budget processes, clear statement of value to resource providers, and maintaining expectations that all institutions will contribute through service and fees.

Volume 45, Number 4, December 2025 Olac Newsletter, Laura Kane Mcelfresh, Lora Ericson, Michael Herrick, Tanesa G. King, Amanda Mack, Jan Mayo, Lisa Romano, Janelle Zetty

OLAC Newsletters

December 2025 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

Accuracy Matters: Evaluating The Value Of Ai Tools For Summaries In Metadata, Emily Baldoni, Angela Yon

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence on library workflows has been a topic of immense interest—and sometimes anxiety—in the library profession. In the area of cataloging and metadata, one frequently cited potential use for AI (particularly Large Language Models (LLMs)) is constructing summaries and abstracts of information resources. However, very little systematic assessment has been done of the characteristics, quality, and utility of AI-generated abstracts for library materials, leaving information professionals with little evidence on which to make data-driven decisions as to how, if at all, to implement AI-assisted workflows for this aspect …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Tracking Removed And At-Risk Government Information, Molly Blake, Sanga Sung, Ben Amata, Jenny Mcburney

SJSU Open Access Conference

The current U.S. administration is intentionally undermining public access to information as well as scholarly research by removing documents, reports, datasets, images, and language from government websites. In doing so, this administration is withholding publicly-funded information that we have a right to access, including data from government-sponsored research, historical information about marginalized groups, and speech transcripts. In removing these materials, the government is also deliberately sabotaging research related to topics it does not like, such as LGBTQ health, COVID, and climate change.

It is difficult to grasp the scope of this problem: how do we know when something is gone, …

Access Denied: Defending Research In A Shrinking Scholarly Landscape, Emily Kingsland

SJSU Open Access Conference

In early 2025, the U.S. Department of Education announced a reduction in the indexing of key journals in the ERIC database. As government censorship increasingly threatens the accessibility of educational research, librarians are emerging as critical defenders of open access and research transparency. This presentation reports on the proactive efforts of a Canadian academic librarian who developed actionable workarounds to address the disappearance of articles from ERIC. These missing records pose a significant challenge to researchers conducting knowledge syntheses, who face a reporting and reproducibility crisis when search results fluctuate or shrink without explanation. The implications are profound: systematic reviews …

Navigating Nih’S Revised Public Access Policy: On-The-Ground Experiences From Librarians And Researchers, Anneliese Taylor, Katie Fortney, Tim Vollmer

SJSU Open Access Conference

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) rolled out its revised Public Access Policy on July 1, 2025, in accordance with the 2022 Office of Science and Technology Policy Nelson Memo. The Nelson Memo calls on all U.S. federal funders to implement a policy requiring immediate public access to published articles and supporting datasets resulting from federal grants. On the surface, NIH’s new policy is a public good, ensuring that federally funded research outputs will no longer be held back from public access for 12 months after publication. But the implementation mechanisms of this new policy for researchers and publishers …

Metadata Wrangling At Scale: One Librarian's Quest To Tame Our Electronic Theses Collection, Zeineb Yousif

Librarian Posters and Presentations

What does eight years, partnerships with your ILL and Cataloging departments, and several student workers get you? Amazing progress on your quest to digitize 140 years worth of theses and dissertations completed at your university! But also...real quality control struggles. This presentation will share lessons learned from a large scale retrospective digitization project including how to coordinate across departments and staffing changes, avoid duplicating effort, and use digital tools like Excel and OpenRefine to identify and correct metadata errors after the fact.

Taking Control Of Reproductive Health Information: Behind The Scenes With A Cataloging Librarian, Tanesa G. King

Library Scholarship

With the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the author saw a need for an assessment of her institutional library’s collection of resources about reproductive and sexual health, especially on topics related to abortion and birth control. The author worked as a cataloging librarian in Texas at the time and anticipated that patrons would turn to the library for information about reproductive matters and thought a project concerning the reproductive and sexual health collection was vital for her library. Ensuring that the library catalog provided adequate subject access to the reproductive health resources that library users need, as …

Fostering Belonging Through Library Descriptions, Nicole Lewis, Sharolyn Swenson, Katie Yeo, Karen Glenn

Faculty Publications

In late 2023, the BYU Library adopted its Inclusive Metadata Policy as part of its commitment to fostering a campus culture of belonging. This policy reflects the Statement on Belonging, which affirms that we “value and embrace the variety of individual characteristics, life experiences and circumstances, perspectives, talents, and gifts of each member of the community and the richness and strength they bring to our community.”[1] Catalogers and archival processors at the library are engaging in practices of cultural humility to ensure that the language and frameworks we use to describe people, communities, and histories are inclusive and respectful. …

Reconceptualizing Metadata Management As A Design Discipline, Rebecca B. French

Faculty Scholarship

Libraries are increasingly exploring design approaches, but their utility has been overlooked in the area of metadata management. This article argues that metadata management should be considered a design discipline. Key elements of design epistemology and their relevance to cataloging and metadata work are explored through a case study of developing a workflow to update OCLC numbers in a library catalog. Conceptualizing metadata management through the lens of design provides a new view of the field that expands possibilities for education, advocacy, research, and practice.

Volume 45, Number 3, September 2025 Olac Newsletter, Laura Kane Mcelfresh, Amanda Mack, Michael Herrick, Meghan Bergin, Diana Eynon, Tanesa G. King, Janelle Zetty, Lisa Romano, Jan Mayo, Yoko Kudo, Tammy Druash

OLAC Newsletters

Digitized September 2025 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

Mississippi Libraries Volume 87, Number 1 And 2

Mississippi Libraries

Complete issue of Vol. 87, Nos. 1 and 2 of Mississippi Libraries

Book Reviews, Melissa Brooks, Justin Easterday

Mississippi Libraries

Reviews of:

Watson, J. and J. Thomas, Jr., eds., Faulkner's Families. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2023. 247 pp. $30.00 (Paperback).

Lemco, A. (2023). Wading In: Desegregation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 206 pp. $22 (Paperback).

First Regional Library Celebrates 75 Years, David Brown

Mississippi Libraries

In 1947, the Citizen’s Library Movement of DeSoto County was formed to advocate for public libraries in the communities of Northwest Mississippi. These early visionaries saw the advantages of having a regional library system to share resources and materials. The Movement’s efforts led to the Supervisors of DeSoto, Lafayette, Panola, and Tate Counties to form First Regional Library in 1950, the first multi-county library system in Mississippi. In 1968, Tunica County joined the library system.

These communities have shown much growth in the past 75 years, and First Regional Library has grown with the communities it serves.. When First Regional …

Mla Annual Conference 2024 Recap, Janessa Ullendorf

Mississippi Libraries

Recap of the 2024 Mississippi Library Association Conference held in Natchez, Mississippi on October 9-11, 2024.

Bridging The Gap: Fostering Collaboration And Professional Development With University And School Librarian Partnerships, Melissa Dennis, Melody Dale

Mississippi Libraries

In 1999, the Mississippi State University Libraries established the MegaResource School Librarian Workshop, a technology-focused workshop that provided K-12 librarians an opportunity to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Over the past 25 years, the workshop has evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of school librarians, however, the popularity of the workshop and limited spacing meant there was often a waiting list, creating an opportunity for other institutions to help fill this need. In 2022, academic librarians and deans from Mississippi universities met to discuss ways that the University of Mississippi Libraries and others could create more outreach opportunities, specifically for …

Looking Ahead: Evolving Technology And Service In Mississippi Public Libraries, Gabriel Morley

Mississippi Libraries

Over the past two decades, Mississippi public libraries have experienced a significant shift in how patrons access technology and information. Once central to bridging the digital divide, public computers and in-person reference services are now in decline, reflecting broader trends in digital access and self-service information seeking. Between 2013 and 2023, computer use sessions in Mississippi libraries dropped by 75%, while reference transactions decreased by over 50% from 2003-2023. This article explores the evolution of library technology services in Mississippi public libraries and offers a forward-thinking vision for the future. It argues that adaptability, innovation, and strategic partnerships are key …

Slis Notes: The Ai Elephant In The Room, Stacy Creel, Andrew Sims

Mississippi Libraries

Notes and updates from the Director of the School of Library and Information Science at The University of Southern Mississippi. This column discusses the emergence of new AI tools and their potential effects on libraries.

President's Page, Matt Gully

Mississippi Libraries

Updates from the President of the Mississippi Library Association.