Fox, Violet B.Gross, Tina2024-10-012024-10-012024Violet B. Fox and Tina Gross, "This Is the Work: A Short History of the Long Tradition of Inclusive Cataloging--Critiques and Action," In Inclusive Cataloging: Histories, Context, and Reparative Approaches, edited by Billey Albina, Rebecca Uhl, and Elizabeth Nelson, (Chicago: American Library Association, 2024), 15-27.https://hdl.handle.net/11299/265752Reparative cataloging, radical cataloging, critical cataloging, inclusive description, mutual metadata, ethical metadata, conscious editing, metadata justice: these are just some of the terms that have been used in libraries and archives to address prejudice and marginalization in description and classification. The recent proliferation of names for this work reflects a wide range of methods and goals in doing this work, but can obscure the long tradition of critiquing bias within our cataloging and classification structures. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the history and development of efforts to make cataloging more just, ethical, accurate, and useful. We also discuss why it’s so important for library workers to understand the history of efforts to improve the structures we work within and why they should embrace the iterative, enduring nature of this work.en-UScatalogingcritical catalogingmetadata qualitySubject headingsThis Is the Work: A Short History of the Long Tradition of Inclusive Cataloging—Critiques and ActionBook Chapter