The harmful content statement (HCS) has garnered interest over the past several years as a type of documentation that addresses harmful and/or problematic content within an institution’s collections and metadata. These statements can aid in implementing diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) related goals and a framework of cultural humility. This paper reviews current literature on the topic, proposes a definition and four core components for an HCS and argues how a statement can aid in an institution’s cultural humility work.
By examining harmful content statements from institutions across the US as well as existing literature, the authors assess current literature and discussion of HCSs and derive four suggested components of a statement that can be integrated into the existing theory of cultural humility.
This paper identifies common components that are often addressed when examining HCSs. After a theory of cultural humility is applied to these components, it is found that an HCS can aid an institution in integrating cultural humility into collection and metadata management workflows.
This paper examines the literature and discussion around HCSs and provides a concrete definition of what a statement is. The authors connect two bodies of literature – harmful content statements and cultural humility – and illustrate how these topics influence each other in a way that progresses both theory and practical applications for collection and metadata management.
