The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History (the Museum) is committed to making services inclusive, accessible, and equitable for all users. The Museum’s collection consists of a diverse array of objects, textiles, furniture, manuscripts, books, photographs, maps, and other historic items from different communities and time periods across Connecticut and New England. Some materials in the collection may contain terminology or reflect views which may be considered racist, sexist, ableist, or in other ways diminish or demean the humanity of the people represented; this can make some of the collection difficult to interact with or view.  

In addition to harmful content in the collection, the Museum acknowledges that the existing language used in descriptions may also be outdated, offensive, and harmful. Museum cataloging staff typically do not reflect every community being described. Historically many communities have been marginalized and underrepresented in the archives. The Museum recognizes the responsibility to describe collections, their creators, and the communities represented in them respectfully, accurately, and with care.  The Museum is committed to using inclusive, anti-racist, non-derogatory language when creating catalog records and finding aids for collections. While updates are being made to collection descriptions, the original contents of the materials are not being changed, altered, or redacted. The Museum is dedicated to presenting a more accurate history by correcting these errors and is committed to a process of constant reflection and improvement. The Museum encourages users to contact staff if harmful or offensive language is discovered in catalogs, finding aids, or digital collections. Staff will suggest and/or make revisions or additions upon review as appropriate; this is an ongoing and thoughtful process. 

This statement was developed by the Connecticut Museum staff and is based on similar statements and efforts by other institutions committed to reparative work from The Cataloging Lab’s List of Statements on Bias in Library and Archives Description. Created 2024.  

What do we mean by “harmful language” and why is this important?  

Staff at the Connecticut Museum recognize that:   

• Language of the past can often be discriminatory or culturally insensitive.  
  
• Collections may contain racist, sexist, ableist, xenophobic, antisemitic, and homophobic (and other discriminatory) views that may be harmful and difficult to view.    
• Even though standardized descriptive terms can enhance access to materials, some are outdated and harmful to the people being described.    
• Many archival finding aids and catalog records (some which were created years ago) can include harmful language. This can be a result of reusing language provided by creators of the material or by the bias of the person describing the material.   
• Words matter; those chosen to provide access to information and collections can have very impactful effects on the viewers who use them.  

Feedback on Revising Language Requested

We want to hear from you!

Describing collections is an ever-changing and collaborative process; if you have concerns regarding the language used in the descriptions of our collections, please submit your feedback through the form below.

DISCLAIMER: This form is to report concerns regarding harmful content relating to Connecticut Museum collections.   Completing this form does not guarantee revision changes; submitted forms and related content will be evaluated by staff and colleagues. Due to the review process, changes if deemed appropriate will not be made immediately.   

Please read the full statement listed above before completing the form. (Check the box to confirm this in order to access the form.)