Partners and Neighbors: Reparative and Inclusive Description Projects and Partnerships at the University of Arkansas

Abstract

Across the border from Oklahoma, Arkansas shares many stories, histories, and issues with our neighbors, including archival collections related to indigenous peoples, race riots, and other topics that have been represented in legacy archival description in ways that no longer meet the needs of our users or of the documented communities. In 2020, along with many other institutions, the University of Arkansas Special Collections began reparative description efforts to improve legacy finding aids, starting with professional development and education, moving onto a pilot project, and eventually establishing a commitment to ongoing work in this area. These efforts have also yielded dividends in inter-institutional collaborations, such as digital humanities projects where collections that have undergone reparative description are integrated with similar selections from other regional libraries, archives, and museums, including those that may not have had the resources to engage in reparative description work yet. Presenters will discuss the practical aspects of the work done so far, including the implementation of specific projects related to Japanese American incarceration during WWII, to enslaved persons, and to indigenous persons and nations; the development of policy frameworks; and assessment mechanisms used. We will also address adapting to the challenges of engaging in this essential work while situated in institutions or regions facing challenges to metadata justice efforts.