Introduction
Welcome
Welcome to the Chew Glossary, an Inclusive Terminology Glossary for archivists and cultural heritage professionals. 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.