Start Date
12-8-2021 12:00 PM
End Date
12-8-2021 12:35 PM
Description
Abstract
Asexuality is often a forgotten orientation, even within LGBTQ communities. In this lightning talk, we will discuss how this lack of visibility, shortage of relevant materials, and outright misunderstandings about asexuality can make finding resources difficult. Though the root of the problem lies in underpublishing of materials about asexuality, libraries compound the problem through inadequate collecting of asexual materials, both monographs and journal articles. Without specific intent to acquire and maintain asexuality resources, it is easy to miss these resources entirely. The presentation will consider the various campus stakeholders who benefit from increased visibility of asexuality resources. Visibility within library collections is a significant issue with regard to asexuality materials. Journal search engines and overall library catalogues alike face challenges of vocabulary and granularity in making resources about human asexuality easily discoverable for researchers. The presentation will includea brief summary of the challenges of creating appropriate classification provisions for the concept of asexuality. The process of adding a new Library of Congress Subject Heading for Asexuality revealed misunderstandings about the orientation from the Library of Congress policy office. The history of provisions for Asexuality in the Dewey Decimal Classification will also be discussed, demonstrating assumptions made by the Dewey editors throughout the decades, as well as problematic placements of works by catalogers within the DDC conflating “eunuchs” with asexuality.
Speaker bios
Haviva Avirom (she/her) is a recent library school graduate with a specialization in cataloguing, where her interests are in subject access for fiction and increased subject access for information objects across the board. Her previous degrees and work are in theatre history and dramaturgy. Her research interests include information behavior of people who work in theatre and early modern printing. She is a proud out asexual.
Violet Fox (she/her) is a cataloging and metadata expert. She currently works for the Accessible Book Consortium, an organization dedicated to improving access to books for people with print disabilities, and was until recently one of the two editors of the Dewey Decimal Classification. Her research interests include the ethical implications of classification and the intricacies of zine cataloging. She is bisexual and queer as in dismantle the kyriarchy. Find her tweets about libraries and roadside attractions at @violetbfox.
Lightning Talk (5 min): Not Really Acing It: Accessing Asexuality in Academic Libraries
Abstract
Asexuality is often a forgotten orientation, even within LGBTQ communities. In this lightning talk, we will discuss how this lack of visibility, shortage of relevant materials, and outright misunderstandings about asexuality can make finding resources difficult. Though the root of the problem lies in underpublishing of materials about asexuality, libraries compound the problem through inadequate collecting of asexual materials, both monographs and journal articles. Without specific intent to acquire and maintain asexuality resources, it is easy to miss these resources entirely. The presentation will consider the various campus stakeholders who benefit from increased visibility of asexuality resources. Visibility within library collections is a significant issue with regard to asexuality materials. Journal search engines and overall library catalogues alike face challenges of vocabulary and granularity in making resources about human asexuality easily discoverable for researchers. The presentation will includea brief summary of the challenges of creating appropriate classification provisions for the concept of asexuality. The process of adding a new Library of Congress Subject Heading for Asexuality revealed misunderstandings about the orientation from the Library of Congress policy office. The history of provisions for Asexuality in the Dewey Decimal Classification will also be discussed, demonstrating assumptions made by the Dewey editors throughout the decades, as well as problematic placements of works by catalogers within the DDC conflating “eunuchs” with asexuality.
Speaker bios
Haviva Avirom (she/her) is a recent library school graduate with a specialization in cataloguing, where her interests are in subject access for fiction and increased subject access for information objects across the board. Her previous degrees and work are in theatre history and dramaturgy. Her research interests include information behavior of people who work in theatre and early modern printing. She is a proud out asexual.
Violet Fox (she/her) is a cataloging and metadata expert. She currently works for the Accessible Book Consortium, an organization dedicated to improving access to books for people with print disabilities, and was until recently one of the two editors of the Dewey Decimal Classification. Her research interests include the ethical implications of classification and the intricacies of zine cataloging. She is bisexual and queer as in dismantle the kyriarchy. Find her tweets about libraries and roadside attractions at @violetbfox.
