7 | Geoviz Resource Cent

Many maps in British collections are the product of colonial activity, or include other problematic elements, which we need to be aware of when communicating with users. These include, for example, racist depictions of people, place names in the language of colonial powers rather than local names, and depictions of war. The MCG has explored some of these issues and how best to address them when cataloguing, exhibiting or interpreting maps, through a series of ongoing discussions which are summarised here.

Always remember that we cannot be completely neutral, and whatever we do, someone else will probably judge us for it 50 years’ time.

Good quality metadata is crucial to inform users about the nature of the material being described. We should try to describe what is shown on the map in as neutral and factual a way as possible, to provide information without commenting on the content. Quoting directly from the text in the map is often useful. Full use of the notes fields is advised.
Examples of records from online catalogues:
Clark’s chart of the world Note: “Hand coloured to show degrees of civilization, ranging from 'Savage' to 'Enlightened.'”
Plan of the island of St Croix (also includes a content warning) Note: “Includes table of population divided on racial grounds with figures on map showing numbers of enslaved people.”
Territory of New Guinea administered by the Commonwealth under mandate from League of Nations and Papua ... Note: “Showing area in which 'native' population were counted or estimated & under government control.”

Content warnings or explanations are sometimes desirable and they perform two main functions: to alert people whose lived experience means that some items may cause them personal offence or upset, and more generally to explain to readers why we make those materials available, and to provide context.
Blanket content warnings are of limited use, and it’s better if they are applied individually to specific resources, but this is a lot more work. Very long content warnings can be annoying or tedious to read through – try to keep them concise.
Some organisations give the opportunity to users to turn content warnings on or off, according to preference. e.g. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford – before viewing the collections online., there is a notice giving the option to continue viewing with ‘Cultural advice warnings’, or without such warnings.
National Library of Australia – has warnings at collection level, e.g.:
“Some material in our collections contains terms that reflect author’s views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of the National Library of Australia. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context.”
“This item contains words and pictures, and descriptions that may be considered offensive or distressing.” - in bold, as a note within the catalogue record.
“Viewer discretion advised”.

Cataloging lab A place for catalogers and anyone who cares about library metadata to experiment with creating better controlled vocabularies.
Cultural Heritage Terminology Network (CHTNUK) The home for inclusive description resources.
DE-BIAS Detecting and cur(at)ing harmful language in cultural heritage collections.
Words matter Wereld Mseum, Amsterdam, on dialogue about word use in the museum world.
Talk on diversifying our collections given to the Map Curators' Group in November 2025 by Marenka Thompson-Odlum of the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford.

These pages were compiled by the Map Curators' Group of the British Cartographic Society.

To contribute any changes or updates to the directory, please email admin@cartography.org.uk