A Community of Belonging through Inclusive Metadata

Abstract

The BYU Library has long held a strong desire to foster a thriving environment of belonging. This desire to cultivate and embody the principles of belonging has impacted all areas of the library, inspired increased advocacy for the value of cultural humility, and served as the driving force behind the creation of the Inclusive Metadata Policy, a policy to help ensure that descriptions of library materials are inclusive and respectful of all peoples and cultures. Major gospel-centric principles used to guide the development of this policy were structured around the six guiding principles of belonging developed by BYU's Office of Belonging. Throughout this paper, we examine these principles and consider the positive changes that have already resulted from our desire for belonging in the library and future description improvements due to the Inclusive Metadata Policy.