I think in cases like this it would be interesting to learn at what point the item was acquired, why the org was purchasing things of this nature - basically delve deeper into what drove the proliferation of such materials. I think this type of context (whether in a blog post or exhibit) can help frame the past and help understand the scope of the collection more. Its my opinion that libraries and museums should be transparent and proactive in teaching that many library and collections - related choices in the past were guilty of contributing to or at least perpetuating overall power inequalities. I think that doing so is the only way to try to disrupt that from continuing to happen in the future. I definitely wouldn’t deaccession. I’m also wondering if a 100% neutrality position means that a patron might not be able to make a clear link in any given research situation to important context clues about institutional history if those context clues may be institutionally guarded, embarrassing, or just plain inaccessible. On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 1:33 PM John A Olson <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I’ll reference Mark Monmonier’s book here since he wrote about this exact > thing in 2006. > > > > From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow : how maps name, claim, and inflame / > Mark Monmonier. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2006. > > > > > > *John A. Olson* > > Librarian for Government and Geo-Information > > 358 E.S. Bird Library > > *t* 315.443.4818 > > [log in to unmask] > > > > *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> *On Behalf > Of *Ratliff, Louise > > > *Sent:* Monday, April 1, 2019 12:15 PM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Re: Outdated/Culturally Insensitive Maps and Atlases > > > > There are so many politically-incorrect place names on our maps of > California, I can’t count them! I certainly want these important cultural > artifacts to remain in our collection; they reflect the history of our > state and are valuable for that reason alone. > > > > Best, > > Louise > > > > Louise Ratliff > > Map Cataloger > > UCLA > > Sent from Louise's iPad > > > On Apr 1, 2019, at 3:34 AM, Brad Elbein <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > I'm just a map-loving hanger on to this list serve, not one of you Map > Librarians. But I'm horrified by this idea: de-accessioning the > embarassing documents " so the casual user does not stumble across it?" > Don't we as an Enlightenment-evolved culture *want* "casual users" to > stumble across things that will make them uncomfortable and make them ask > questions? It seems to me that such an accident serves two purposes: (1) > It makes the stumblers uncomfortably aware that there were other people and > ideas here before them and (2) it makes them aware that they are very > likely every bit as benighted as the past generations, but just don't know > it yet ... and might want to be humble about knowing "the truth." > > > > I've been thinking lately that the biggest problem with the > electronic-ization of knowledge is that there are always governments that > will want to control knowledge, and the electronic storage of knowledge > makes it so much easier to do away with what's inconvenient for that > government. Librarians and libraries in the liberal democracies are the > bulwarks against that. And here we're going to self-sensor out of fear > that someone might "casually stumble" across some map and ... and what? > Have a heart attack and die? Burn the library down? Go to the Board of > Regents? I mean, please. Why would you do the devils work for him? > > > > Brad > > > > *Caveat Lector: I dictate a lot of my e-mails and can't always go back > and edit, so sometimes they come out as gibberish. Autocomplete also > sometimes thinks that I'm speaking Spanish and inserts inapposite words. > Rest assured it's the software, not creeping dementia.* > > > > > > On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 8:38 PM Julie Sweetkind-Singer < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Kathy, > > > > I think this is absolutely the role of our university libraries to present > all points of view. That's what's needed to conduct serious research. I > treat them as I would any other item and keep them on the shelves with > everything else. I remove things I think will be vandalized or stolen, but > all else stays. The most flagrant vandalism we've had are on two large > globes at the main library where the students are fighting as to the naming > of the Sea of Japan by scratching out what's on the globe and writing in > their preferred names. Interesting to watch, but I wish they wouldn't > deface the globes. (These are about 6 feet tall and so hard to store > anywhere other than where they are now.) > > > > Best, > > > > <https://maps.google.com/?q=397+Panama+Mall,+2nd+floor+%0D%0A+Stanford&entry=gmail&source=g> > > Julie > > > > **** > > Julie Sweetkind-Singer > > Assistant Director of Geospatial and Cartographic Services > > Head, Branner Earth Sciences Map Library & Map Collections > > 397 Panama Mall, 2nd floor > <https://maps.google.com/?q=397+Panama+Mall,+2nd+floor+%0D%0A+Stanford&entry=gmail&source=g> > > Stanford > <https://maps.google.com/?q=397+Panama+Mall,+2nd+floor+%0D%0A+Stanford&entry=gmail&source=g> > University > > Stanford, CA 94305 > > 650-725-1102 > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> on behalf > of Kathy Stroud <[log in to unmask]> > *Sent:* Friday, March 29, 2019 10:44 AM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Outdated/Culturally Insensitive Maps and Atlases > > > > All, > > > > Not sure if we’ve had a discussion about this before. However, it’s coming > up in my mind as I’m contemplating weeding our atlas collection. (At this > point I’m mostly looking at duplicates, since all the old reference atlases > from branch libraries seem to have been transferred to the main library.) > > > > Perhaps you could share any institutional guidance you have or merely your > collective wisdom from over the years. > > > > We have a significant collection of 19th and 20th century atlases. Since > we have a strong cartography component in our Geography department, I think > it is important to keep these. On a personal level, I also think it’s > important as a cultural record of how our society previously viewed the > world. However, some of the portrayals of the culture of non-Euro-American > areas of the world are offensive to people. (I’m currently looking at a > 1944 “Atlas of Global Geography.” I had not realized that in 1944 > bushman/hottentot was one of the races of mankind.) > > > > How do you treat older cartographic (and geography) materials that contain > outdated, offensive viewpoints? > > > > 1) Transfer to a mediated access area (such as special collections) > so the casual user does not stumble across it? > > 2) Keep in general, circulating shelves along with modern materials > to hint that they should be taken in historical context? > > 3) Deaccession? > > 4) Ignore issue and hope no one else raises it? > > > > Working in an academic setting, I am for keeping at least a sampling of > “objectionable” materials and against censoring what we consider > embarrassing aspects of our history. How we talk about race has evolved > significantly even in my lifetime, but if we don’t understand our past, how > can we understand where we are now and where we want to go? > > > > This issue with older atlases and other cartographic materials reminds me > a lot of how geographers do and don’t deal with “environmental > determinism.” In graduate school, there always seems to be an awkward > discussion about environmental determinism when studying the history of > geography. It’s along the lines of … er, we don’t really believe this > theory anymore, it was popular among geographers over 100 years ago, you > should know about it so you understand how it influences modern geography, > but we don’t really talk about it because it’s embarrassing. > > > > Any thoughts for a Friday? > > > > > > Kathy Stroud > > *David and Nancy Petrone* Map/GIS Librarian Knight Library > > 1299 University of Oregon > > Eugene, OR 97403-1299 > > 541-346-3051 > > > > “A map is not just a picture—it’s also the data behind the map, the > methodology used to collect and parse that data, the people doing that > work, the choices made in terms of visualization and the software used to > make them.” > > > >