Submitted by Treshani Perera, Head of Fine Arts Technical Services, University of Kentucky Libraries
In January 2022, the ARLIS/NA Cataloging Advisory Committee (CAC) launched a form for art library workers to propose changes to problematic art Library of Congress Subject Headings. The committee received 12 submissions. A project team, led by CAC member Treshani Perera, was formed in May 2022 to begin working on possible revisions to submissions. This post outlines the project team’s work from June through December 2022. Special thanks to team members Calli Neumann (CAC member), Alex Provo (CAC member), Melissa Raymond, Christina Manzella, and advisors William Blueher (CAC chair), Andrea Puccio (CAC member), and Sherman Clarke (CAC member) for their contributions.
One of the suggestions the project team reviewed was to change LCSH Prostitution in art and Prostitutes in art to Sex work in art and Sex workers in art, respectively. In our research, we recognized that these topics aren’t the same for a one-to-one replacement, and that prostitution is a type of sex work. After careful research, we decided to establish a new LCSH Sex work as well as revise existing LCSH Prostitution and establish its hierarchy as a narrower term of the new heading LCSH Sex work. As a result of this direction, our project was expanded to include several new LCSH: Sex work in art, Sex workers in art, Sex workers as artists.
The project team met monthly between June and October 2022, and worked asynchronously (via email) while proposals were awaiting approval from the Library of Congress. Our project was completed in December 2022. The following headings are now available for art library workers to use:
Revised heading: LCSH Prostitution.
New headings: LCSH Sex work (see scope note for when to use this heading), Sex work in art, Sex workers in art, Sex workers as artists.
*While the following headings were not part of our project, they may be of interest to art library workers creating subject access to resources about prostitution and sex work: Prostitutes, Sex workers (Broader Term of Prostitutes), Prostitutes in art
We are currently exploring partnerships with other groups and institutions to revise topics that have wider coverage and are not limited to art related topics. The project team will continue to focus on problematic art, architecture, and design headings in 2023.
We encourage you to consult our previous Catablog post for more information on getting involved with the project team’s work.