I publish under the name Brian M. Watson. I’m an archivist, a historian, and a doctoral candidate at UBC’s iSchool focusing on names and naming, the histories of information, and equitable cataloging in cultural heritage institutions.
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How To Cite Me Queer Metadata Collective HistSex Project Trans Metadata Collective Report
I am a disabled, white, queer & nonbinary settler hailing from N’dakina in Aln8ba8dwaw8gan (colonially: New Hampshire). I now live in in Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ. I am a PhD. student at University of British Columbia’s iSchool, the Archivist-Historian for the Haslam Collection on Polyamory part of the Consensual Nonmonogamy Committee of theAmerican Psychological Association.
I run the history of sexuality project HistSex.org and serve on the editorial board of the Homosaurus, an international linked data vocabulary for queer terminology. Additionally, I am one of the founding members of the Name Change Policy Working Group. The NCPWG encourages publishers to introduce or update policies to make authorial name changes fast, private, easy, and ongoing. So far, publishers of more than 15 thousand journals have introduced policies in coordination or alignment with the NCPWG.
I also convene and coordinate the Queer Metadata Collective, which follows the precedent set by the Trans Metadata Collective. Previously, I served as the coordinator for the TMDC and its five working groups and developed its final report: Metadata Best Practices for Trans and Gender Diverse Resources.
I am currently interested in in the histories of information and the practice of equitable cataloging in GLAMS (Galleries, Archives, Libraries, Museums, and Special Collections). I also research and publish in the fields of linked data, knowledge organization, archival studies, and the history of sexuality (buy my book!).
Download Resume (pdf)PhD. in Library, Archival and Information Studies
The University of British Columbia
MLIS, Archives & Digital Humanities, 2020
Indiana University Bloomington
MA, History and Culture, 2013
Drew University
BA, English & History, 2011
Keene State College
Current
Taught American History, Essay Writing, and Democracy to freshman, sophomores, and juniors.
Used class and internet participation, outside engagement in teaching 20-30 pupils.
Instructed on a variety of topics, including creative poetry, freshman composition, and literature classes.
CritCat is short for “critical cataloging,” a movement of cultural heritage workers who work to bring social justice, radical empathy, and outreach work into their everyday practice. This site aims to serve as a resource for catalogers and the cataloging-curious.
TMDC is a group of dozens of information professionals with a concerted interest in improving the description and classification of trans and gender diverse people. The Collective’s primary goal was the development of a set of best practices, released June 2022.
A freely-available, peer-reviewed, and open-source resource by sex educators, historians, and librarians active in sexuality fields.
The Marriage Equality Collection, held at the Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collection, includes audio and video files, photographs, historical documents and ephemera representing experiences of same-sex couples.
2011-20
Current and Past