ALCTS e-forum

Upcoming ACLTS E-forum: Power that is Moral: Cataloging and Ethics

Jul 26, 2017

ALA ALCTS will host a free e-Forum on Tuesday, 9/5/2017 and Wednesday, 9/6/2017 discussing the ethics of cataloging. This is part of an ongoing series of e-Forums, which offer opportunity for anyone to contribute ideas or stories. One of the moderators is Minnesota's own Violet Fox. Catalogers know that the decisions they make in their work can enhance or obscure access to resources. Instructions when applying subject headings are framed in the arguably unattainable prescription to strive for neutrality. Neither the ALA Code of Ethics or the 1994 Guidelines for ALCTS Members to Supplement the American Library Association Code of Ethics speak specifically to the day-to-day challenges faced by catalogers—how would a code written with cataloging practice in mind be useful?