Sanford Berman

Sanford Berman’s Prejudices and Antipathies is one man’s crusade against chauvinism, discrimination, bigotry, and ignorance in the seventh edition of the Library of Congress subject headings. In his book, originally published in 1971, Berman extracts from LCSH (and, to a lesser extent, the ninth edition of the Sears List of subject headings) specific subject headings and uses them as examples of conceptual ignorance and discrimination against people.
Berman uncovers several instances of show more injustice that are difficult to argue against changing in LCSH. In fact, the bulk of Berman’s work is difficult to discredit. Berman identifies several common injustices that have been applied to nearly all categories of people in LCSH. Berman also identifies common groups that are often misrepresented by LC headings, such as Jews (and all other non-Christians), African Americans, and women. But there are limitations to human ability, in the abilities of LC catalogers to know, or even be aware of, all aspects of humanity and potential discriminations. Berman acknowledges this when he states that “no one can fair-mindedly expect that LC compilers would be blessed with the gift of prophecy to a greater degree than anyone else.” But one should expect the maintainers of LC to be vigilant to relevant changes, especially when the existing headings do not show proper respect to the people they are meant to represent. In his introduction Berman does admit that the LCSH “germinated” in a culture of limited sensitivity to certain terms and issues, but he argues that the roots of LCSH should not prevent it from adapting to the inevitable changes in relationships and the language that describes humanity, nor can the inaccuracies be perpetuated simply because it has always been so .
Berman has an understanding of human relationships and its history that is, perhaps, more sophisticated than can be expected from most people. This understanding makes Berman a great resource for parsing LCSH and other established authorities and practices for injustice. This work is invaluable for anyone studying LCSH to gain perspective on just what an impact the voice of the Library of Congress can have on the meaning of its subjects. show less

This work is a short collection of miscellaneous papers, letters and reviews that the author has gathered to “document the unreliability of standard ‘authorities’ and centrally generated cataloging products.” Berman uses the whole work to demonstrate that current cataloging practices can be improved and to challenge other libraries to question established practices. According to Berman, “The catalog should be [an] effective, modern, easy-to-use tool, not a thing of dread, show more confusion, embarrassment, or horror.” Berman compliments his criticisms with proposed alternatives to the problematic practices, which gives credibility to the ideas and changes presented in the book. In fact, the suggestions presented by the author are the strongest aspects of the work. The author uses his personal experience as a professional librarian at the Hennepin County Library (HCL) in Minnesota as an example of how to prepare for AACR2, as well as an example how to catalog periodicals using the HCL Rules. These real-world examples of alternatives to the current (in 1981) standards are very helpful for anyone researching the practical application of theoretical changes to current standards.
Unfortunately there is some repetition to the proposed ideas and changes (the suggestion not to repeat the author in the title statement if the author is the main entry is cited twice – once on page 3 and again on page 14.) Also, many arguments (as admitted by the author) are merely extended versions of the arguments from his earlier work, Prejudices and Antipathies, with additional support from letters and cited precedents. He also extends his criticism to the treatment of juvenile works (also an extension of Prejudices and Antipathies) and to the misconceptions and misjudgments of the Dewey Decimal System. He ends the work with several useful book reviews and a mock catalog use-study (of which, the “Methodology” and “Findings” sections may be the most entertaining take on library research ever published).
Although many response letters from LC are published in this book, the bulk of the work is only one man’s opinion. It is an approachable read, but not at all an introduction to the world of cataloging. In fact, only those with at least a mild understanding of cataloging would benefit from the ideas presented in the work. show less

PDFBE1 | Highlight Abstract | In this interview, Sanford (“Sandy”) Berman discusses his career and his efforts to promote responsive, user-friendly cataloging practices over uncritical deference to prevailing standards. Topics covered include his work at Hennepin County Library, his thoughts on the campaign to change the subject heading “Illegal aliens,” his ongoing practice of proposing new Library of Congress Subject Headings, and his relationship with the Library of Congress | show more

Contents
1. Introduction pg. 2
2. Questions pg. 3
-- When and how did you decide to become a librarian?
-- How was your experience at library school?
-- Something many people probably don’t know is that while at your first
position after library school, working as a librarian for the Army Special Services
in Germany in the 1960s, you were involved in the publication of an underground
GI magazine. Could you talk about that?
-- When you wrote Prejudices and Antipathies, how did you decide what to
include? Were there issues you had to omit because of space considerations?
-- Your work at the Hennepin County Library is legendary. How did that
come about?
-- “What did Sandy think of the
efforts to get the Library of Congress to change the subject heading Illegal aliens?”
You’ve commented in your column in the UNABASHEDTM
Librarian newsletter and elsewhere, but what would you want to say about it to
readers of Cataloging & Classification Quarterly?
-- I must confess that we haven’t done this yet at my library, and the main
reason is that we share an authority file with 80 other libraries—we’d need to get
the consortium to agree to it first. That’s a possibility, but I haven’t advocated for
it yet because I think everyone will want to wait for LC to announce what they’ve
decided. Do you have any thoughts or advice for catalogers in situations like this?
(Am I being strategic, or just too timid?)
-- How has your relationship with the Library of Congress changed over
the years?
-- Do you have hopes that LC will be more willing to communicate with
you under the leadership of Carla Hayden?
-- If someone in SACO agreed to take your subject heading proposals and
submit them through the official channels (instead of sending them in the mail),
would you be interested?
-- Forking: It sounded like what you did at Hennepin County Library, except as a cooperative
community effort. Leaving aside the huge question of feasibility, does this seem
like a promising approach to you, or are local practices by individual libraries
preferable?
-- Is there a message you’d like to close with? Just this: Catalogers, arise! Cast off your bondage and passivity! Say no to
creativity-stifling conformity! Demand a role in decision-making! Prioritize professional
integrity and unleashed imagination! And never forget who you work
for library users and colleagues. Not bosses and bureaucrats!

NOTES pg. 15

SA - https://www.librarything.com/work/32464110/book/266630824 | https://www.librarything.com/work/57089/book/266588450 | https://www.librarything.com/work/57089/book/266565825 | https://www.librarything.com/work/32447649/book/266462824 | https://www.librarything.com/work/32438359/book/266316600 | https://www.librarything.com/work/32435866/book/266275718 | https://www.librarything.com/work/14280985/book/264700854 |
RT - Professional
BT - Cataloging
NT - Experiences
UF - These authors present an interview with Sanford Berman, a librarian known for promoting user-friendly cataloging practices and challenging biases in library subject headings.
SN - This PDF was downloaded from the internet server/database where the journal is stored. (This entry does not reference a hierarchical list) show less