Photo Credit: Courtesy of PGPL

By Sam Bennison

Prince George Public Library

Public Library updates their systems replacing outdated terminology

Oct 11, 2023 | 2:20 PM

PRINCE GEORGE—October is Library Month and the Prince George Public Library has announced the completion of their project to update the terminology used in its catalogue describing books written on topics related to Indigenous peoples.

Subject Headings are the official terms that searchers use to find books and other resources on specific topics on the shelves on the library. In their efforts to reflect Indigenous perspectives, the library has replaced culturally inappropriate and outdated subject headings with terms that are more accurate and culturally appropriate. For example, instead of “Indians of North America” it has been changed to “Indigenous Peoples — North America,” and the term “Off-Reservation Boarding Schools” being updated to “Residential Schools.”

“We are very proud to announce the completion of this project, a step forward in updating our cataloguing practices to ensure the language used is more respectful and inclusive,” stated Library Director Paul Burry. “The work performed by the members of our Collections & Technology Team allows us to better represent the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous peoples, while supporting our mission to make the library as welcoming as possible to everyone in our community.”

The project to update the subject headings reflects the Library’s dedication to its statement on Anti-Racism and reconciliation goals. By adopting culturally appropriate subject headings, the library enforces its commitment to reconciliation and the important role of language in seeking to create an inclusive and welcoming library experience.

Chris Field joined the Library earlier this year as Manager of Collections and Technology. He led the project thanks to his background in library systems administration and technical services. Field explains, “libraries use subject headings to describe the topic of a book, but the standardized vocabulary we derive those terms from contains language that is antiquated and culturally insensitive. By adopting a new indigenous-specific vocabulary developed by our colleagues at Greater Victoria Public Library, PGPL staff were able to identify and replace thousands of outdated headings in our library catalogue.”

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This initiative places the Prince George Public Library in alignment with other Canadians libraries working to update their internal process.