The invisible, often solitary labor of cataloging is essential for libraries to function. While library scholars have long explored the challenges and power inherent in the act of description, there is little mention

of catalogers themselves. Each metadata worker, while aiming to provide an unbiased and clear representation, ultimately cannot remove themselves, institutional priorities or the constraints of standardization and time from their work. Even more than cataloging, catalogers matter. The labor of cataloging cannot be seen in the record. Using sound and critical analysis, we seek to restore the human element of what we often encounter as machine.

Catalogers at Work is a research collaboration between myself and research partner, Emily Drabinski.