This presentation was provided by Merrilee Proffitt of OCLC, during the NISO workshop "Metadata for DEIA," which was held on October 4, 2021.

1. Diversity, Equity &
Inclusion in metadata
Some works in progress
Merrilee Proffitt (she / her)
Senior Manager OCLC Research
@MerrileeIam / proffitm@oclc.org

2. Occupy general strike 2011, photo by Rachel Librarian, Wikimedia Commons, cc-
by-sa
I live and work on the unceded
traditional land of the Chochenyo
Ohlone people, and am grateful to
the past and present leaders for
their stewardship of this land.

4. Like so many other organizations, OCLC is
reflecting on equity, diversity, and inclusion,
as well as taking action. Check out
an overview of that work, and
explore efforts being undertaken in OCLC’s
Membership and Research Division.

5. “How do we create the sorts
of spaces in our libraries
and in our institutions where
everyone not only is valued
and respected but where
they also feel valued and
respected?”
Trevor A. Dawes
University of Delaware

6. 2019 documentary
about Dartmouth
students and the
offensive language
they encountered in
library catalogs

7. 2017
“We Have Never
Been Neutral:
Search, Discovery,
and the Politics of
Access"

9. Stories of harm
[Canada, public library] “I think every [Canadian] librarian or library worker
could probably tell you a story of their discomfort, or the look of horror on
the face of a customer who's asking how to search for material about
indigenous peoples, and you have to tell them that it's under Indians of
North America. That was certainly the feeling when I was in library school
and I don't think that has changed if anything. I think that sense of the
inappropriateness and the wrongness of that is still with us and
unfortunately, despite the strides that we're trying to make there doesn't
seem to be movement at the institutional level to make those changes
happen in a widespread kind of systematic way...”

10. OCLC awarded
Mellon Foundation grant
“Reimagine Descriptive Workflows”
Convening in June 2021 – first step in a global conversation
Diverse group of experts, practitioners, and community members
Examine and learn from localized efforts
Gain insights into improving practices, tools, infrastructure and
workflows at scale and at a community level
Develop a community agenda, which identifies the issue
and maps a path
Visit
oc.lc/reimagine-
workflows
to learn more

11. (some) Learnings: center on humans
Communities as equal stakeholders. Capacity for trust and engagement.
Shift values. Cataloging culture needs to shift to the long view as does our
notion of description as static and complete.
Slow it down. To learn. To examine. To engage. To undo.
Play the long game. Organizational structures and cultures resist change.
Provide learning opportunities and grace. But also pressure to move
forward.
Create support. For those who have been in this work but also for those
who are new. Organizations and leaders are essential here.
Cultivate resilience. Care for one another while witnessing harms. We are
never done learning.

12. Gratitude
• Advisors: Stacy Allison-Cassin, Jennifer Baxmeyer, Dorothy Berry, Kimberley Bugg,
Camille Callison, Lillian Chavez, Trevor A. Dawes, Jarret Martin Drake, Bergis Jules,
Cellia Joe-Olsen, Katrina Tamaira, Damien Webb.
• Attendees: Audrey Altman, Jill Annitto, Heidy Berthoud, Kelly Bolding, Stephanie
Bredbenner, Itza Carbajal, May Chan, Alissa Cherry, Sarah Dupont, Maria Estorino,
Sharon Farnel, Lisa Gavell, Jasmine Jones, Michelle Light, Sharon Leon, Koa Luke,
Christina Manzella, Mark Matienzo, Rachel Merrick, Shaneé Yvette Murrain, Lea
Osborne, Ashwinee Pendharkar, Treshani Perera, Keila Zayas Ruiz, Holly Smith, Gina
Solares, Michael Stewart, Katrina Tamaira, Bri Watson, Beacher Wiggins, Pamela
Wright.
• Shift Collective: Gerry Himmelreich, Jennifer Himmelreich, Lynette Johnson, Tayo
Medupin, Asante Salaam, Jon Voss.
• OCLC: Rachel Frick, Marti Heyman, Jay Holloway, Bettina Huhn, Nancy Lensenmayer,
Mercy Procaccini, Merrilee Proffitt, Nathan Putnam, Diane Vizine-Goetz, Chela Scott
Weber.