Identity Information in Object-Level Descriptions: Towards Inclusive Cataloguing Contemporary Photography

<p>This research follows an epistemological questioning among archival practitioners who are challenging methods of historical recordkeeping. The National Gallery of Canada’s contemporary photography holdings serve as a case study to question what information is deemed necessary in records documentation and the ways that information reaches the archive. I propose including self-disclosed object-maker identity information in museum databases to better contextualize, and enable the interpretation of collection objects and allow more accurate representation of artists and makers. Self-disclosed identity information shifts knowledge production away from the institution to the object-maker, decentering information and power structures away from collecting institutions. This study presents the Inclusive Cataloguing Toolkit as a practical solution. Its creation and implementation is inspired by contemporary archival documentation practices such as participatory description, archival autonomy, and record co-creation that relocate information, knowledge, and power structures to bridge the needs of inclusive cataloguing and provide a framework for future change.</p>