The Cataloguing Code of Ethics - past, present and future

Presentation delivered by Jane Daniels at the LAI Cataloguing & Metadata Group AGM - Wed 26 February 2025

1. The Cataloguing Code of Ethics – past, present and future Jane Daniels LAICMG AGM Dublin, 26 th February 2025 Sculpture by Marko Mäetamm, at Aston University in Birmingham, UK .

2. Agenda A brief history of the Cataloguing Code of Ethics 2021 Community use The future of the Code Your thoughts and questions

3. ‘No one can whistle a symphony: it takes an orchestra to play it’ ‘A professional code of ethics for cataloging fulfills several important roles. A code that is accepted by a profession points to consensus … about what constitutes ethical behavior, and … places everyone at the same starting point. A specific code, … accepted by a professional organization serves to clarify the role of that profession, and lend it credence in the willingness of its members to act according to a standard. Lastly it is a tool that can be used to guide and justify decisions and set policy within cataloging and metadata departments that may have broad implications for the entire library.’ Beth Shoemaker. (2015) No one can whistle a symphony: seeking a catalogers' code of ethics

4. The Code 2017-2025 International inclusive and open community initiative commencing 2019 Inspired by Critical Cataloguing movement, DEI and Decolonisation discourses Recognises special responsibilities of cataloguers and metadata managers Complements professional codes of ethics First published in January 2021 Endorsed by ALA in Oct 2021, CILIP March 2022, Canada Oct 2024 The first, but not the last, version of the Code Continuing advocacy by CESC and the international community of practice Cataloging Ethics Steering Committee website https://sites.google.com/view/cataloging-ethics/home?pli=1

5. The Code - intended audience ‘This ethics document provides a framework for approaching cataloguing work that will be a useful tool for practitioners, employers, standards’ developers, vendors, students, and educators when ethical situations arise.’ ‘We accept that every workplace is different, and responses to ethical situations are necessarily framed by those local contexts.’

6. The Codes’ purpose An ethical lens for our work A practical tool for advocacy Ten high level statements but n ot a checklist Not another ‘thing’ to accommodate. You are already applying the Principles Standards and sector neutral Provides agency & empowerment for the workforce and by extension our user communities Intended for ALL stakeholders in the cataloguing ecosystem

7. The Metadata Ecosystem- A Universe of Opportunity

8. What the cataloguing community wanted the Code to address Access to resources and metadata Acknowledging bias Advocacy Collaboration Critically applying standards Diversity, equity, and inclusion Education and training Respect for agent privacy and preferences Responsibility and transparency Understanding and meeting user needs

9. Ethical statements - Audiences, tasks, opportunities 1. We catalogue resources in our collections with the end-user in mind to facilitate access and promote discovery. 3. We acknowledge that we bring our biases to the workplace ; therefore, we strive to overcome personal, institutional, and societal prejudices in our work. 2. We commit to describing resources without discrimination whilst respecting the privacy and preferences of their associated agents.

10. Ethical statements - Collaborations 7. We collaborate widely to support the creation, distribution, maintenance, and enrichment of metadata in various environments and jurisdictions. 4. We recognise that interoperability and consistent application of standards help our users find and access materials. However, all standards are biased ; we will approach them critically and advocate to make cataloguing more inclusive. 5. We support efforts to make standards and tools financially, intellectually, and technologically accessible to all cataloguers, and developed with evidence-based research and stakeholder input.

11. Ethical statements - Education, jobs, advocacy 8. We insist on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace . We promote education, training, equitable pay, and a fair work environment for everyone who catalogues so that they can continue to support search and discovery. 6. We take responsibility for our cataloguing decisions and advocate for transparency in our institutional practices and policies.  9. We advocate for the value of cataloguing work within our organisations and with external partners.

12. International Community Use of the Code

13. Code Translations Full translations offered by our international community of practice ΚΩΔΙΚΑΣ ΗΘΙΚΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΓΡΑΦΗΣΗΣ قواعد أخالقيات العمل يف الفهرسة Cod Moeseg Catalogio Code de d’éthique du catalogage Etički kodeks katalogizator/ica  

14. Community use - England Endorsed by CILIP UK, and presented at annual conference 2022 CESC presentations to SIGs: LGBTQ+ June 2021 RBSCG 2022 ILG 2022 MDG Conferences 2022, 2023 Collections Trust 2022 ARLIS 2023 CALC 2023 London School of Economics – Library Collections Policy (last updated 2023)

15. Wales Scotland Translated by National Library of Wales & cited in the Collection Description Policy , 2023 Online workshop for WHELF Consortium, 2023 Workshop in person for National Museum of Wales staff, 2023 Presentation to SCURL EDI Network, 2023 Use by Strathclyde Univ. for Equality Impact Assessment, 2024 Possible translation of the Code into Gaelic 2025?

16. South Africa Greece Presentation to South African LIASA IGBIS online, 2023 National consultation during 2023. Awaiting publication of the report. Translation of Statements of Ethical principles into 8 of the official languages Presentation to University of Macedonia Library, 2023.  Greek translation of the Code, 2023

17. Canada USA OLITA Ontario Library Assoc., 2020 Regional consultation 2023- Endorsed by CFLA Oct 2024 CESC presentation to Univ Toronto Libraries, 2024 Presentation to ALA Core Metadata & Collections special interest group August 2021 ALA Endorsement Oct 2021 CESC Co-Chairs cataloguing ethics survey Feb 2024 (follow up to 2019 survey) Yon, Angela. Willey, Eric (2022) Using the Cataloguing Code of Ethics principles for a retrospective project analysis.

18. New Zealand Australia Presentation to LIANZA CAT SIG, 2022 Code listed on ALIA ACORD Resources web page, 2022. Provisional acceptance of core principles but require next version of Code to address the concerns of First Nation communities, 2024.

19. Bosnia Herzegovina Code translated into Bosnian, 2024 Presentation to the Department of Information Sciences at the Univ. Sarajevo/ Uni. Sarajevo Library, 2024 Mirović, Dalila (2024) Bringing Order to Chaos Ethically: “Cataloging Code of Ethics” and Critical Cataloging.

20. Brazil Cataloguing ethics literature review and comparison with IFLA Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP, Revised 2017) ‘The comparative analysis of the literature on ethical values with the ICPs demonstrates some relationships … However, it was also possible to perceive that some values … were not addressed … such as ethical responsibility, ethical sustainability, data protection and user privacy, ethical training, and intellectual property. This result encourages the need for future research to evaluate the possibility of updating the ICP in order to include ethical values absent in the current guidelines.’ The ethical dimension of Cataloging by Zaira Zafalon and Cleide Oliveira da Silva at University of San Carlos, Brazil IFLA Metadata Newsletter Vol. 10, No. 2, December 2024 p 6.

21. IFLA - The Natural Home of the Code? CESC approach to IFLA Cataloging Section 2025 Secure: International ownership Regular review Evolution

22. The Future of the Code – What needs to change? Address the Anglophone, Western (particularly Eurocentric) global North bias and language e.g. change ref to ‘white supremacists’ to ‘racial supremacists’ Ensuring participation of First Nation and Indigenous communities- CARE principles Environmental costs of metadata creation, dissemination, enrichment and preservation – inefficiency of data silos. AI and the cataloguer – productivity gains v ethical practice

23. Meanwhile … We encourage cataloguing communities, at national and local levels, to use and adapt the Code factoring in the needs of their unique, particular and varied communities and cultures. LIS Education Dr Deborah Lee (2023) Teaching cataloguing ethics: an exploration of an ethics-infused knowledge organization curriculum Athena Salaba. Cataloging and classification 5 th Edition 2023 David McMenemy. REVEAL Project (2023) Video 6 Ethics of Information Organisation Amber Billey. Inclusive cataloging. Facet Publications , 2024.

24. That’s the CESC Ethics journey so far … thanks for your attention. Any questions, feedback [email protected]