Dear Susan and Leslie:
Of course we have to be aware of how faculty/students will ask for things. That's why I ended my posting to Leslie by saying: "At least you have noticed the problem and can begin to do some 'damage control' in terms of assisting your students and other catalog users in negotiating our Anglo American catalogs from a non-Western perspective." My response was primarily to Leslie's question about the logical basis for the L.C. classification system--or rather, her presumption that it was a logical system. I was merely pointing out some intrinsic flaws, principal among which is that it (as well as the DDC) originated in the 19th century and that even with the many revisions that have ensued, it still reflects a view of the world that is, not surprisingly, Anglo American. That art history (and anthropology) are still being taught from that perspective is also not surprising.
As librarians we are stuck with these systems. I pointed out that one way I was able to "live" with the flaws was to change my attitude about what the numbers actually meant and (not always, but sometimes) think of them more as addresses, rather than as "homes." But in order to to better serve all of our clientele, it behooves us to not only learn the prevailing systems--and the world views behind them--but also to understand that we will (now more frequently) encounter different world views and that part of our job will be to mediate those views in order to show the users of our catalogs and our collections the range of materials available to them. Inotherwords--even though we have to use a system, we don't have to defend it; we only have to explain it. Is this "political correctness"? I don't know. I've never really understood the term. I've noticed that it is often used by those who want to disparage attempts to use language based in reality rather than tradition. It is hardly ever used in a positive sense, so I admit to feeling a bit defensive when it is applied to something I've said. I hope that the above clarifies my first posting.
Joan
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