Lyrasis Outreach Representative and recent Johns Hopkins University Museum Studies and Digital Curation graduate Laura Sinhur interned with Lyrasis Consulting during the summer of 2023, with Program Leader Katy Klettlinger as her practicum advisor. Laura focused her research on cultural sensitivity statements and the impact such statements could have on our communities and our understanding of history.
The Society of American Archivists (SAA) has published the short paper, “Cultural sensitivity statements: including communities in their own history,” in the November/December 2024 edition of their journal, Archival Outlook.
In the short paper, Sinhur looks at the use of cultural sensitivity statements for online collections, where a sense of time and place may be lost in the ever-expanding digital world.
Archivists, digital curators and librarians can use cultural sensitivity statements to provide perspective for whom the collection is for, or affects in real life, taking the impersonality out of online content.
Where possible, directly inviting members of the included communities to collaborate on metadata and description can provide missing context for any user of the collection. Reinforcing community ties allows us to continue refining cultural statements as language evolves over time and passes on historical understanding, while building relationships between our archives and communities.
Caretakers of cultural heritage must be willing to address digital literacy and historical, real-world context to fully give access to our digital collections. A thoughtful, well-written cultural sensitivity statement keeps the targeted audience at the forefront of its writing, works to actively correct outdated descriptions and keep historical context present. Crafting a cultural sensitivity statement is an opportunity to lean into our social discourse and create a better understanding of the collections we care for.
Sinhur reflects on her experience in the internship program: “I joined the program to complete a grad school requirement and to help me grow in my understanding of the work we do here at Lyrasis. Working alongside the knowledge experts on staff, I saw that we are on the frontline with our members, supporting their work, and using their direct needs to inform Lyrasis services and membership privileges. The program has led me to further adjunct consulting opportunities, a greater appreciation of how we impact members, and being welcomed as a subject matter expert within my community. It's a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in sharing their unique skills!”
Sinhur intends to further deepen and expand the cultural sensitivity statement research in a longer-form piece.