A Request to Vet System for Opening Potentially Culturally Sensitive Material

Use restrictions are often imposed by donors or copyright law. In our case, it’s a self-imposed starting point as we re-think our relationship with the many Native American communities whose material we hold.

Last year, the American Philosophical Society Library (APS), an independent research library in Philadelphia, adopted protocols that help standardize the use of material that Native American communities consider culturally sensitive. During the same year, a large collection was scanned and added to the APS digital library. Specific items within the collection are likely to be culturally sensitive. To ensure that we act in accordance with our protocols, we will restrict every item until it has been vetted by a staff member.

We have created a “request to vet” process by which members of the scholarly community can request that our staff review a particular item. If an item is cleared of sensitivity concerns, it is freely available through our digital library. If there are questions about its status, additional Native American partners are asked to review it.

This talk discusses the balance between openness and cultural sensitivity and presents our use case for walking the thin line between these two important principles.