Author archives

Mike Olson, Assistant Professor, Murphy Library., Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. I've dedicated over 20 years to academic libraries, specializing as a cataloger with a focus on critical cataloging practices. My advocacy work focuses on dismantling harmful subject headings. My passion extends beyond cataloging to making knowledge accessible through creative means. As an avid zine maker, I transform my scholarly research into zines, trading at festivals to build the Zine Reading Room—a space that amplifies diverse voices and challenges information privilege. My research also explores critical visual literacies in activism, examining how visual elements in protest materials and grassroots publications empower communities and challenge dominant narratives. At UW-La Crosse, I find purpose at the intersection of scholarship, creativity, and critical information literacy.

Classification as Colonization: The Hidden Politics of Library Catalogs

Assistant Professor and Cataloging & Discovery Librarian at Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Mike Olson’s research focuses on the intersection of information systems and social critique. In this timely and insightful article Olson discusses why and how library catalogs have always been battlegrounds where content is not merely described but debated. President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order 14172 directing the renaming of longstanding geographical designations “Mount Denali” and “Gulf of Mexico” to the politically loaded “Mount McKinley” and “Gulf of America” reveal the naked truth of what cataloging has always been: a battlefield where meaning is contested and conquered.

Subjects: Cataloging, KM, Libraries & Librarians