Fw: [OCUL-CFMETADATA] Call for interest: Repatriating Canadian cataloging records + building inclusive vocabulary infrastructure
Jessica van Keulen
Sent: Monday, October 6, 2025 11:30:37 a.m.
To: OCUL-CF...@LISTSERV.UOGUELPH.CA <OCUL-CF...@LISTSERV.UOGUELPH.CA>
Subject: [OCUL-CFMETADATA] Call for interest: Repatriating Canadian cataloging records + building inclusive vocabulary infrastructure
Greetings OCUL colleagues -
This message is going out to several groups and to key stakeholders to ensure wide, inclusive, distribution. Apologies in advance for any duplication.
For those who haven't met me yet, I'm Laura Smart, a metadata librarian at Western University. I'm reaching out to see if there are any folks here interested in joining an effort aimed at exploring the repatriation of Canadian cataloguing records and descriptive metadata, rebuilding a Canadian catalogue, and exploring the building of infrastructure (like vocabulary/name authority files) for marginalized communities as part of that effort.
This follows a couple of conversations initiated with other folks from Canadian libraries/archives/institutions/etc at the last meeting of the Canadian Association for Information Science- Association Canadienne des Sciences de Information. We are investigating ways to ensure Canadian cataloguing data remains independent due to the effects of the increasingly unpredictable behaviour from the U.S. government impacting the Library of Congress and other U.S. organizations upon whom we rely for key infrastructure in metadata work.
We've only had a couple of initial conversations/emails, so the current thinking is that we'll aim to have some informal meetings over Zoom over the next couple of months to talk concerns and possibly plan out an application for a grant to support exploring this further, such as the SSHRC-CRSH Connection Grant or similar funding from other agencies.
Thus far we have people from the group sending the call to CAIS-ACSI, LAC contacts, CCC contacts, homoIT, Association of Canadian Archivists, CFLA, CANRUG, OCUL metadata groups, and contacts from the GLAMS research community.
We encourage participation from all interested parties including those who are traditionally underrepresented. Please forward this message to any individual or group who may contribute to further diversification of this effort.
Please feel free to reach out to me, lsm...@uwo.ca, to indicate your interest in participating in the Zoom meetings or with any questions.
With the kind thanks of the ad-hoc discussion participants,
~Laura Smart
On behalf of
Bri Watson
Sharon Farnel
Stacy Allison-Cassin
Juila Bullard
Melissa Adler
Hillary Anderson
John Kausch
Laura J. Smart
University of Western Ontario
I acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum.
With this, I respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. I acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) endure in Canada and accept responsibility to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through my professional practice, research, and community service.
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