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1. Exhibition%20Language%20EDI%20Guidelines.pdf

   https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-05/Exhibition%20Language%20EDI%20Guidelines.pdf

   ................................... ................................ ...................... 35 Example Notes ................................ ................................ ......................... Read more

   ................................... ................................ ...................... 35 Example Notes ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 35 Example Credits ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 36 Land Acknowledgments ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 36 Resources and Examples ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 36 Introduction to This Guide The development of this guide is problematic for exactly the reason that this guide is needed — identity -based bias exists in writing and in language. Therefore, we hope to b e as transparent as possible about who and what this guide is for, how we developed it, and who we —as authors, editors, and reviewers —are. Who Is This Guide For? These writing guidelines are meant to be used by anyone working on library exhibits (or any exhibit really), including library staff, campus and community collaborators, and student members of exhibit teams. In all of these categories, location and cultural norms can affect language. These guidelines are intended for authors working in North Americ a and writing in American English. Writing is a fundamental aspect of exhibit work, so its consideration is particularly important. Our exhibits typically consist of media (photography, video/film, physical objects, etc.) and text that describes those medi a and frames them within cultural and historical contexts. We are often writing about historical periods, places, and cultures outside of our own personal experience and expertise, and media and materials with insensitive content or of problematic provenan ce. We welcome diversity in our exhibitions and encourage our curators to include a broad spectrum of ideas on any exhibit topic that might not necessarily be in their area of expertise. Curators should always consult subject experts where needed. We hope this guide lowers barriers for curators and helps them consider making exhibits more inclusive of objects, images, manuscripts, and ideas outside their known expertise. Ultimately, we hope writing inclusively also lowers barriers to exhibitions for visitor s from the marginalized groups represented. 4 For example , an exhibit on the history of a student organization at a university might include photographs and artifacts from people in every category listed in this manual. Some areas might be well -known to the curators, some may not. This guide is a reference source for how to consider the language used in describing these subjects. Diversity is complicated and not monolithic; we have shared resources used to write these guidelines, and we encourage further res earch by curators. We hope this guide is a thoughtful way to consider diversity issues with the understanding that there is almost never a “right answer,” just one that has been chosen after consideration and contextualization of the exhibit itself. What I s This Guide For? These aspects of exhibit work present many opportunities for insensitivities and mistakes in our writing and, indeed, they occur. These guidelines are meant to ● help clarify language standards for exhibit teams to write about topics concer ning gender, disability, social class and socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and religion and spirituality; ● offer background information with respect to these identity categories and their sensitivities, and writing and editing best practices that d raw upon that context; and ● point to the most definitive and relevant third -party references and resources to support equitable and inclusive writing. We are typically writing and editing collaboratively and often have faculty and student writers on our exh ibit teams. We are also using and quoting source texts. Our writing will be read as coming from our institution, not from an individual author, and we want to have an awareness about the kind of authority the work product of an institution carries. As a co mmunity of library exhibit professionals, we acknowledge that academia and academic libraries historically have not been diverse spaces and that librarianship —including the development of collections and the curation and preparation of exhibits —frequently has been done from a white, heteronormative perspective. In the context of wider cultural and academic efforts toward equity, diversity, and inclusion, we are examining every aspect of our work through an equity lens. Following the lead of archivists and c atalogers in academic libraries, this guide aims to align exhibition writing with the practice of conscious editing. Conscious editing is an ethos of care employed in the development, composition, and ongoing refinement of texts and nontextual presentation s of information. The aim is to create and continuously refine texts with language that is plain, direct, nuanced, honest, and humane; to frame and reframe narratives with a critical awareness of inherent bias; and to center and recenter discourse to be in clusive of those who have been marginalized, erased, or silenced in the historical records . 5 Basic Principles to Follow ● Language, and what is considered appropriate, is constantly evolving. As much as possible, use the terms that people use to self -identify . Keep in mind that identity groups are not homogenous. Consult recommended style guides for accepted language. ● Collaborate and consult with relevant community members when planning and curating exhibitions. Initiate these relationships as early as possibl e in your process in order to be respectful of your partners’ time and to allow for thoughtful feedback. ● Be careful not to stereotype. ● Explain the use of historical terms (placed in quotation marks or used when quoting a historical figure) and language cho ices through a “Note on Language.” ● Consider carefully when it is necessary to identify race, gender, disabilities, religion, socioeconomic status. Is identity an important part of the story? ● Usually, person -first language is best. ● Inform visitors about mat erial that could be considered offensive or harmful by including a content warning at the entrance to the exhibition and sometimes next to individual exhibits as well. How Did We Develop This Guide? This document is not as much our original writing as it i s a compilation and collation of content drawn from many sources (and cited/linked in the text). We have tried to take a survey of contemporary standards in each topical category and then distill that content into a relevant, usable guideline for library e xhibit writing. This remains, necessarily, an open, working document. Authors Margaret Brown (she/her) Head, Exhibition Services and E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation Exhibits Librarian, Duke University Libraries (straight/white/cisgender female) Linda Jacobson (she/her), Keeper, North Carolina Collection Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries (UNC -Chapel Hill Libraries) (straight/white/cisgender female) Rachel Reynolds (she/her), Special Collections Exhibitions Coordinator, UNC -Chapel Hill Libraries (straight/white/cisgender female) Charles Samuels (he/him), Director of Publications and Exhibits (Interim), North Carolina (NC) State University Libraries Christopher Tonelli (he/him), Director of External Relations , NC State University Libraries, (straight/white/cisgender male) Christopher Vitiello (he/him), Communications Strategist, NC State University Libraries 6 NOTE: While it was essential that our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color/lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr anssexual, queer, or gender nonconforming (BIPOC/LGBTQ+) colleagues review and contribute to this document, our intention was to avoid burdening them with the labor associated with educating exhibit producers on how to responsibly depict their marginalized communities. Reviewers ● NC State University Libraries Equity Diversity Inclusion Committee ● NC State University Libraries Advisory Group to DeEtta Jones and Associates ● UNC -Chapel Hill Libraries Conscious Editing Steering Committee ● UNC -Chapel Hill Libraries IDEA Council Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation The following definitions are drawn from the GLAAD Media Reference Guide : We use the acronym LGBT to describe the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The first three letters (LGB) refer to sexual orientation. The “T” refers to issues of gender identity. Sexual orientation describes an individual’s enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attraction to members of the same and /or opposite sex, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual orientations. Gender identity describes a person’s internal, deeply held sense of their gender.  Identities typically fall into binary (e.g., man, woman) nonbinary (e.g., genderqueer, genderfluid), or ungendered (e.g., agender, genderless) categ... Read less

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