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Sanford Berman (born October 6, 1933) is a
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
(specifically, a
cataloger In library and information science, cataloging ( US) or cataloguing ( UK) is the process of creating metadata representing information resources, such as books, sound recordings, moving images, etc. Cataloging provides information such as au ...
). He is known for radicalism, promoting alternative viewpoints in librarianship, and acting as a proactive information conduit to other librarians around the world. His vehicles of influence include public speaking, voluminous correspondence, and unsolicited "care packages" delivered via the U.S. Postal Service. Will Manley, columnist for the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit 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 49,727 members ...
(ALA) publication, ''American Libraries,'' has praised Berman: "He makes you proud to be a librarian."


Biography

Berman was born in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. He attended
University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, where he earned a BA in
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
with minors in
Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
,
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
, and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, and where he was elected a member of
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
. After acquiring an MS in Library Science from
The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Berman began work as a librarian. He worked for the U.S. Army Special Services Libraries,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
(1962–1966), where he helped edit an
underground press The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...
GI magazine titled, ''Yin/Yang''; Schiller College, Kleiningersheim, 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 trash bin;
University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...
Library, Lusaka,
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
(1968–1970); Makerere Institute of Social Research,
Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...
Library,
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
,
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
(1971–1972); and
Hennepin County Library Hennepin County Library is a public library system serving Hennepin County, Minnesota, US. The current iteration of Hennepin County Library was formed by the merger of urban Minneapolis Public Library and suburban Hennepin County Library on Ja ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
(1973–1999).


Alternative subject headings

Berman has been a leading critic of biased headings in the Library of Congress Subject Headings. His 1971 publication, ''Prejudices and Antipathies: A Tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People'', sparked a movement to correct biased subject headings. Berman listed 225 headings with proposed alterations, additions, or deletions and cross-references to "more accurately reflect the language used in addressing these topics, to rectify errors of bias, and to better guide librarians and readers to material of interest." 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." He asserted that 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 and concise, and should reflect the current use of everyday people rather than only scientific or technical terms. Overall, the use of common language in subject headings would enable 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, " r 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 outrightly 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 in 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 an item would suit the 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 The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) comprise a thesaurus (in the information science sense, a controlled vocabulary) of subject headings, maintained by the United States Library of Congress, for use in bibliographic records. LC Subject ...
(LCSH) of the term '' kaffir'', which he came across while working in Zambia, where the term is considered a racial slur. This motivated him to systematically address subject heading bias in his work at
Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...
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 is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
,
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...
, Christocentrism, and other biases inherent in the LCSH. Berman also is known for his role in encouraging the Library of Congress to drop such archaic headings as "Water Closet" in favor of contemporary terminology. With other Minnesota
librarians A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
, as well as those 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 The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit 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 49,727 members ...
's official policy recognizes key role of librarians in addressing social ills. With librarian James P. Danky, Berman was 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," which published a manifesto about library-related issues. He is the founder of the American Library Association's Hunger, Homelessness, and 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 The Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture presented at the annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) is tribute to the work of Jean E. Coleman to ensure that all citizens, particularly Native Americans and adult learners, hav ...
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 A plutocracy () or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631. Unlike most political systems, plutocracy is not rooted in any establishe ...
," " West Virginia Mine Wars, 1897-1921," "The
Battle of Blair Mountain The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early- ...
, 1921," and several others. The Sanford Berman papers are part of the American Library Association (ALA) Archives held by the University of Illinois Library. The data files of the Hennepin County Library catalog are included in this collection.


Later work

Having retired in 1999, Berman continues to solicit the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
for additions and modifications to the LCSH system. Since 2005, he has led an effort to honor American
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
leaders Mary Harris "Mother" Jones and
Eugene Debs Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
with commemorative postage stamps. In 2013, McFarland & Company published a collection of his "Unabashed Librarian" columns as a book called ''Not in My Library''. In December 2019, the Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission recognized Berman's commitment to social justice with the Tom Oye Award.


References


Further reading

* * * Pashak, Barrett. "Women do it to Dewey." ''Alberta Report'' 20 Sep 1999: 34. Academic OneFile. 13 Oct 2014.


External links


Berman website on the Wayback machineThe Sanford Berman website 2/8/2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Sanford 1933 births American activists American librarians Living people People from Chicago People from Hennepin County, Minnesota Catholic University of America alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni American librarianship and human rights