Running notes

Owned by Annabel Pinkney (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Nov 03, 2022 by Gabriela Zoller
3 min read

Repdesc Meeting 11/3/2022

Present Staff: Gabriela Zoller, Annabel Pinkney, Jahna Auerbach, Sarah Newhouse, Rachel Lane, Kent Jaehnig, Molly Sampson, Erin Gavin, Shuko Tamao

Museum and Library sections of DC diversity audit are done; Annabel presented on the data so far. No great surprises in terms of patterns of representation. We are using the Notes field well to capture granular details about creator identities, or identities represented in the works themselves.

Group discussed how best to visualize data for our colleagues: bar charts, percentages. Discussed in what forum we want to share data with our colleagues (bar charts, percentages, etc.), and if we want to share data: what do we hope to achieve? Discussed whether it was it worth continuing this process, given time required, for Archives and OH collections. Annabel noted that the Notes fields have been particularly helpful in capturing nuance / detail. that we wouldn’t otherwise have about collection items. We agreed to use Notes field to indicate if an identity was represented in a perjorative/negative/problematic way.

Group agreed that the cost/benefit was in favor of continuing audit: data can inform collection acquisitions and digitization decisions, particularly by harmonizing priorities across museum, library, archives, and oral histories, so that we have a known and shared set of collecting priorities. Shuko noted that this work could be very useful to researchers, and we discussed ways to share the data without necessarily making it 100% public. We discussed the idea of sharing the spreadsheet among staff, though maintaining it as we add new collection items would be laborious. Discussed the idea of staff-only tags or collection groupings in the DC (and potentially other collection databases) that we would apply to new items when they are cataloged/described. This would allow staff to collate items for researchers.

Annabel and Jahna presented about the diversity audit at an October 2022 PACSCL seminar and received some feedback/suggestions, which Annabel shared:
* Drexel archivist wondered if we should break down “Christian” into sects/denominations. Repdesc group discussed and agreed that we would not, as we do not do the same for other religions.
* Someone suggested John Anderies at William Way Center as resource for nuances re. sexual orientation and gender identity, especially historically. Annabel will contact him to see if he has suggested resources.

Next steps:

Annabel will continue to process Museum and Library data

When a Library staff meeting is scheduled, we will ask to be put on the agenda to present about the audit so far, and will schedule a Repdesc meeting to prepare. If that doesn’t happen before the end of the year, the Repdesc group will next meet in January 2023.

Repdesc Meeting 7/25

Present Staff: Gabriela Zoller, Annabel Pinkney, Jahna Auerbach, Sarah Newhouse, Sarah Schneider, Rachel Lane, Kent Jaehnig, Molly Sampson, Erin Gavin

  • Discussed socioeconomic status column: should add a wealthy option; taking a lot of time to find out; often people experience more than one in a lifetime

  • Discussed a want for space to provide reasoning for classifications/citations

  • Want to test out Google Forms as a medium

  • Create guidelines outlining goals and set rules for classifying works.

  • Corporations vs. Human creators

Reparative Meeting 6/16

Present Staff: Gabriela Zoller, Annabel Pinkney, Jahna Auerbach, Sarah Newhouse, Sarah Schneider, Rachel Lane, Kent Jaehnig, Molly Sampson

  • Examine 10% of each collection area’s works in the digital collections

  • Each staff member would examine five works each (not necessarily from their collecting area), and at the next repdesc. meeting staff will compare their experiences and discuss updates needing to be made before continuing.

  • A slack discussion channel was created for questions.