Introduction: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:26, 23 November 2023

Welcome

The Inclusive Terminology Glossary is a collaborative, live project that anybody can contribute to. The aim of the project is to collate accurate information about the historic and contemporary usage of words related to race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and disability, which will inform decision-making around language use in the heritage sector.

Background

This Inclusive Terminology Glossary was originally created by Carissa Chew during her Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Intern at the National Library of Scotland from September 2020 to June 2021. The glossary was originally centred on facilitating ongoing decolonisation of archival descriptive practices, but this quickly expanded to include many other intersecting marginalised identities and communities. Until 2023, Chew maintained a live, open-access version of the glossary online, and continues to work as an inclusive terminology consultant for cultural heritage institutions.

In Autumn 2023, the NLS facilitated the creation of a mediawiki to house the glossary in a more permanent, sustainable, and accessible form. Charley Matthews contributed to developing this mediawiki, as well as producing substantial content development for the LGBTQIA+ sections, during an AHRC-funded internship from September to December 2023.

Given that this project seeks to address some of the silences and violences of former archival practices, it is especially important that the labour that went into the creation, initial maintenance, and dissemination of this glossary is preserved. Reflecting on how easily the labour of marginalised peoples has been and continues to be erased, the library team decided that this labour should be recorded in a form that would be difficult to obscure, even unintentionally. The decision was therefore taken to rename the glossary after its creator, Carissa Chew, with her consent.

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 == Welcome ==
-Some introductory information about the Inclusive Terminology Glossary. At the moment the text below has just been pulled from the intro on [https://culturalheritageterminology.co.uk/glossary/ Cultural Heritage Terminology]. Here we can see that a registered user can edit.
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 The '''Inclusive Terminology Glossary''' is a collaborative, live project that anybody can contribute to. The aim of the project is to collate accurate information about the historic and contemporary usage of words related to race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and disability, which will inform decision-making around language use in the heritage sector.
-=== Background ===
-The Inclusive Terminology Glossary was created by [https://carissachew.com/ Carissa Chew] during her Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Intern at the [https://www.nls.uk/ National Library of Scotland] from September 2020 to June 2021. After completing this project, Carissa decided to re-publish the glossary via Google Drive to improve accessibility, keep the project “live” and up to date, and to enable wider contributions.
-=== Future Development ===
-Carissa is currently working with the National Library of Scotland and other partners to develop the Inclusive Terminology Glossary into a funded, open-access database. These conversations are still in their early stages, however, and enquiries about becoming involved in this larger project are welcomed.
-=== Searching the Glossary ===
+=== Background ===
-The Glossary is sub-divided into different sections to reflect different areas of historical interest. When appropriate, terms are cross-listed across multiple sections. Within each section, terms are listed alphabetically A-Z, although synonymous terms are sometimes listed together for ease.
+This Inclusive Terminology Glossary was originally created by [https://carissachew.com/ Carissa Chew] during her Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Intern at the National Library of Scotland from September 2020 to June 2021. The glossary was originally centred on facilitating ongoing decolonisation of archival descriptive practices, but this quickly expanded to include many other intersecting marginalised identities and communities. Until 2023, Chew maintained a live, open-access version of the glossary online, and continues to work as an inclusive terminology consultant for cultural heritage institutions.
-The Inclusive Terminology Glossary is designed to be searchable using <code>Ctrl+f</code> /<code>⌘+f</code>. Search using singular, not plural forms of terms. Although the Glossary does include common variations and misspellings of terms, these may sometimes be missing. Some entries also contain notes on the time period and region in which a term was used to help users locate relevant terms, but this column is not complete for all entries.
-=== Contributing to the Glossary ===
-The Inclusive Terminology Glossary relies on collaboration and crowdsourcing. Created as a series of Google Documents, anybody can help improve the quality of information that the Glossary contains. Language debates are complex and contested, and it is crucial that the document reflects multiple perspectives and becomes truly “inclusive” in its nature.
-The Glossary inevitably contains some factual errors and major omissions. Moreover, as language evolves in the future, some of the information may become outdated. Every section of the glossary therefore needs to be subjected to rigorous review. To make a suggestion, <s>simply open the Glossary and start editing (you will automatically be in “Suggesting Mode”)</s>. For quality control, all edits will be reviewed.
+In Autumn 2023, the NLS facilitated the creation of a mediawiki to house the glossary in a more permanent, sustainable, and accessible form. Charley Matthews contributed to developing this mediawiki, as well as producing substantial content development for the LGBTQIA+ sections, during an AHRC-funded internship from September to December 2023.
-All contributions are greatly appreciated!
+Given that this project seeks to address some of the silences and violences of former archival practices, it is especially important that the labour that went into the creation, initial maintenance, and dissemination of this glossary is preserved. Reflecting on how easily the labour of marginalised peoples has been and continues to be erased, the library team decided that this labour should be recorded in a form that would be difficult to obscure, even unintentionally. The decision was therefore taken to rename the glossary after its creator, [https://carissachew.com/ Carissa Chew], with her consent.
 == Getting started ==