Challenges and strategies of museum-based critical cataloguers

Purpose Literature on critical cataloguing in museums is sparse and focuses on descriptions of projects, leaving absent insights about the human aspect of this work. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the experiences of museum-based critical cataloguers, identifying the types of challenges they face in their work and strategies they use to advance critical cataloguing efforts. Design/methodology/approach The author interviewed 24 individuals who work in or with museums on critical cataloguing initiatives. They analysed these interviews using a priori and in vivo coding methods with attention to the interpersonal relationships and affective experiences described by interview participants in order to formulate an understanding of critical cataloguer experiences, challenges and strategies. Findings Critical cataloguers in museums face seven types of challenges and employ six types of strategies. As critical interventions into museum practice, these challenges and strategies are ultimately about the context in which museum documentation practice sits: the challenges that critical cataloguers face relate to struggles for institutional change, and the strategies they use focus on making such change possible. Originality/value This paper details the first study on the experiences of museum-based critical cataloguers. It positions this work as part of wider efforts to change the ways in which museums show up in their relationships with staff, visitors and publics and connects museum-based critical cataloguing to broader dialogues on ethics of care in documentation practices.