Shortcomings of Bibliographic Description in Service of Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Abstract

The marginalization of Indigenous Peoples in library catalogues and cataloguing standards is well documented. This article looks beyond Library of Congress Classification to analyze how the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples manifests in Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC) and online public access catalogs (OPACs) to the detriment of Indigenous users. The rules that govern bibliographic description either obscure the presence of materials in a collection that represent Indigenous worldviews, or do not have the capacity to accurately record demographic terms related to Indigenous Peoples. This leads to inaccurate access points and culturally inappropriate metadata. Examples of projects and institutions innovating in this domain are examined. The harms cataloguers enact through adherence to bibliographic standards deserve critical and ethical analysis. These analyses and innovative projects are first steps towards better serving Indigenous users and reconciliation in libraries in Canada.