Sanford Berman
Encyclopedia
Sanford Berman is a radical librarian
(cataloguer) known for promoting alternative viewpoints in librarianship and acting as a pro-active information conduit to other librarians around the world, mostly via public speaking, voluminous correspondence, and unsolicited "care packages" delivered via the U.S. Postal Service. Will Manley, columnist for the ALA publication, American Libraries referred to Berman as a 'bibliographic warrior.'
, Illinois
. He attended University of California at Los Angeles
, where he earned a B.A.
in Political Science
with minor
s in Sociology
, Anthropology
and English
, and received the Phi Beta Kappa from the national scholastic honour society. After acquiring an M.S.
in Library Science from The Catholic University of America
in Washington, D.C.
, Berman began work as a librarian. He worked for the U.S. Army Special Services Libraries, West Germany
(1962–1966) where he helped edit an underground press
G.I. magazine titled 'Yin/Yang'; Schiller College, Kleiningerheim, West Germany (1966–1967) ; University of California at Los Angeles Research Library (1967–1968), where he rescued back runs of I. F. Stone's Weekly from the garbage ; University of Zambia
Library, Lusaka
, Zambia
(1968–1970) ; Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University
Library, Kampala
, Uganda
(1971–1972) ; and Hennepin County Library
, Minnesota
(1973–1999).
Berman also openly criticized centrally performed cataloging and standard cataloging tools that supported bias in subject headings. He stated, “[O]ur national cataloging products and services can’t be completely trusted and should not be accepted automatically nor uncritically by anyone who genuinely believes that cataloging should make material more rather than less accessible and retrievable.” Cataloging that was outright erroneous or inadequate rendered material inaccessible even though it was in the collection. Berman thought poor cataloging was a serious form of censorship. Libraries were supposed to oppose censorship and provide the widest possible spectrum of cultural, social, economic, political, religious, and sexual information. With this is mind, Berman indicated local libraries should make a conscious effort to describe accurately all materials in the catalog for a patron. A considerable amount of conscious effort meant including “public notes” to clarify unfamiliar concepts for patrons. The public notes would let a patron know whether or not an item would suit his or her information needs. Furthermore, Berman opposed the practice of not cataloging all important aspects of works. Patrons cannot access materials when they have not been fully catalogued.
The spark of Berman's cataloging revolution was the inclusion in Library of Congress Subject Headings
(LCSH) of the term kaffir
, which he came across while working in Zambia: "Berman was told by offended black
fellow-workers that calling someone a kafir was similar to being called a nigger in America
" (Pendergrast).
This motivated him to systematically address subject heading bias in his work at Hennepin County Library and in writing "Prejudices and Antipathies: a Tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People". The work, published in two editions, examines racism
, sexism
, Christocentrism, and other biases inherent in the LCSH. Berman is also known for his role in encouraging the Library of Congress to drop such archaic headings as WATER CLOSET in favor of common terminology. (When Berman learned, in a public venue, that WATER CLOSET would be changed to TOILET, he responded, "I'm absolutely 'flushed' with pride.")
With other Minnesota librarians, as well as nationally and internationally, Berman is known for promoting activist librarianship in which personal ideals entailing social justice are part and parcel of professional work. Thanks to this advocacy the American Library Association
's official policy recognizes librarians' key role in addressing social ills.
With librarian James P. Danky, Berman has been the editor of Alternative Library Literature, (1982–2001) a biennial compilation of alternative essays on librarianship from a wide variety of other sources. Berman's other titles include The Joy of Cataloging and Worth Noting. He is the original radical librarian; his followers refer to themselves as 'sandynistas' or guerrilla cataloguers. He was a founding member of a group known as the "Revolting Librarians" who published a manifesto about library-related issues.
He is the founder of the American Library Association's Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force, a division of The Social Responsibilities Round Table which he also co-founded. During recent years he has written and lectured on the failure of ALA and American libraries to help the poor and homeless. In June 2005 he gave the Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture at the annual ALA conference, dedicated to the founder of OLOS.
During the last six months of 2005, working with the assistance of Steve Fesenmaier, Berman convinced the Library of Congress to create many new subject headings including:- "American Dream," "Plutocracy," "West Virginia Mine Wars, 1897-1921" "The Battle of Blair Mountain, 1921," and several others.
He continues to mail more than 100 pieces each week, continuing to educate and entertain his friends and colleagues worldwide.
Sandy Berman was also very vocal in his support of the Anti-Apartheid movement
s during the period preceding its abolition in South Africa. His voice against the conservative library organizations and support for LIWO (Library and Information Workers' Organisation) was heard on many platforms and forums.
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
(cataloguer) known for promoting alternative viewpoints in librarianship and acting as a pro-active information conduit to other librarians around the world, mostly via public speaking, voluminous correspondence, and unsolicited "care packages" delivered via the U.S. Postal Service. Will Manley, columnist for the ALA publication, American Libraries referred to Berman as a 'bibliographic warrior.'
Biography
Berman was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He attended University of California at Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, where he earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
with minor
Academic minor
An academic minor is a college or university student's declared secondary field of study or specialization during his or her undergraduate studies. As with an academic major, the college or university in question lays out a framework of required classes or class types a student must complete to...
s in Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, and received the Phi Beta Kappa from the national scholastic honour society. After acquiring an M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Library Science from The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Berman began work as a librarian. He worked for the U.S. Army Special Services Libraries, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(1962–1966) where he helped edit an underground press
Underground press
The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
G.I. magazine titled 'Yin/Yang'; Schiller College, Kleiningerheim, West Germany (1966–1967) ; University of California at Los Angeles Research Library (1967–1968), where he rescued back runs of I. F. Stone's Weekly from the garbage ; University of Zambia
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia is Zambia's largest university, founded in 1966. It has a student population of about 10,000.-Academics:The University of Zambia is divided into the following faculties:*School of Agricultural Sciences *School of Engineering...
Library, Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
(1968–1970) ; Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
Library, Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
(1971–1972) ; and Hennepin County Library
Hennepin County Library
Hennepin County Library is a library system serving the entire population of Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA. The Minneapolis Public Library, a separate system for Minneapolis, existed from its founding by T. B. Walker in 1885 until January 2008...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
(1973–1999).
Alternative Subject Headings
Berman’s understanding of language fueled his desire to create the best cataloging record possible. He knew that one word might be perfectly acceptable to one individual but highly offensive to another. Berman stated, “The fact that a number of meanings may be assigned to a given word explains why messages are subject to misinterpretation and why our communication is open to misunderstandings.” Messages and therefore subject headings must convey an idea in a fashion free from prejudice. Berman realized the continued use of biased subject headings would significantly limit the ability of a patron to access materials in the collection. Berman also thought the use of language in headings should be clear, concise, and reflect the current usage of every day people rather than only scientific or technical terms. Overall, the use of common language in subject headings would facilitate prompt retrieval of materials by the end user.Berman also openly criticized centrally performed cataloging and standard cataloging tools that supported bias in subject headings. He stated, “[O]ur national cataloging products and services can’t be completely trusted and should not be accepted automatically nor uncritically by anyone who genuinely believes that cataloging should make material more rather than less accessible and retrievable.” Cataloging that was outright erroneous or inadequate rendered material inaccessible even though it was in the collection. Berman thought poor cataloging was a serious form of censorship. Libraries were supposed to oppose censorship and provide the widest possible spectrum of cultural, social, economic, political, religious, and sexual information. With this is mind, Berman indicated local libraries should make a conscious effort to describe accurately all materials in the catalog for a patron. A considerable amount of conscious effort meant including “public notes” to clarify unfamiliar concepts for patrons. The public notes would let a patron know whether or not an item would suit his or her information needs. Furthermore, Berman opposed the practice of not cataloging all important aspects of works. Patrons cannot access materials when they have not been fully catalogued.
The spark of Berman's cataloging revolution was the inclusion in Library of Congress Subject Headings
Library of Congress Subject Headings
The Library of Congress Subject Headings comprise a thesaurus of subject headings, maintained by the United States Library of Congress, for use in bibliographic records...
(LCSH) of the term kaffir
Kaffir (racial term)
The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries...
, which he came across while working in Zambia: "Berman was told by offended black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
fellow-workers that calling someone a kafir was similar to being called a nigger in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
" (Pendergrast).
This motivated him to systematically address subject heading bias in his work at Hennepin County Library and in writing "Prejudices and Antipathies: a Tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People". The work, published in two editions, examines racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, Christocentrism, and other biases inherent in the LCSH. Berman is also known for his role in encouraging the Library of Congress to drop such archaic headings as WATER CLOSET in favor of common terminology. (When Berman learned, in a public venue, that WATER CLOSET would be changed to TOILET, he responded, "I'm absolutely 'flushed' with pride.")
With other Minnesota librarians, as well as nationally and internationally, Berman is known for promoting activist librarianship in which personal ideals entailing social justice are part and parcel of professional work. Thanks to this advocacy the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
's official policy recognizes librarians' key role in addressing social ills.
With librarian James P. Danky, Berman has been the editor of Alternative Library Literature, (1982–2001) a biennial compilation of alternative essays on librarianship from a wide variety of other sources. Berman's other titles include The Joy of Cataloging and Worth Noting. He is the original radical librarian; his followers refer to themselves as 'sandynistas' or guerrilla cataloguers. He was a founding member of a group known as the "Revolting Librarians" who published a manifesto about library-related issues.
He is the founder of the American Library Association's Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force, a division of The Social Responsibilities Round Table which he also co-founded. During recent years he has written and lectured on the failure of ALA and American libraries to help the poor and homeless. In June 2005 he gave the Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture at the annual ALA conference, dedicated to the founder of OLOS.
During the last six months of 2005, working with the assistance of Steve Fesenmaier, Berman convinced the Library of Congress to create many new subject headings including:- "American Dream," "Plutocracy," "West Virginia Mine Wars, 1897-1921" "The Battle of Blair Mountain, 1921," and several others.
He continues to mail more than 100 pieces each week, continuing to educate and entertain his friends and colleagues worldwide.
Sandy Berman was also very vocal in his support of the Anti-Apartheid movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement , originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africa's system of apartheid and supporting South Africa's Blacks....
s during the period preceding its abolition in South Africa. His voice against the conservative library organizations and support for LIWO (Library and Information Workers' Organisation) was heard on many platforms and forums.