This special issue of the Art Libraries Journal brings together and highlights the ARLIS UK & Ireland Cataloguing and Classification Committee's Ethics series that was held in 2022. The series of online talks was well received at the time and continues to be used, since the recordings are available onlineFootnote 1. All the talks are listed in the following Viewpoint article, however not all speakers were able to contribute to this issue. Those who are included in this issue have developed their talks into the articles presented here: Jane Daniels and Diane Pennington address how the Cataloguing Code of Ethics is applicable to art libraries; Alan Danskin discusses how the British Library will begin to implement their Race Equality Action Plan; Rebecca Slatcher writes a riveting history on the collecting and cataloguing of Native American language materials; and Deborah Lee reflects on the teaching of cataloguing ethics.
As someone who went to library school at a time when we were taught that the cataloguer was neutral, being involved in this series has been educational for me, and I hope for others too. It gives us a better understanding of the significance of the catalogue, the power it can hold and changes which can be made. Learning about how others have approached this work and the considerations taken help us to take the theory and move towards practical implementation within our own libraries.
I would like to express my thanks to all the speakers who took part in the series and to my fellow committee members who helped to organise and make it a success.
Finally, I encourage any readers interested in delivering a talk on their cataloguing projects in the future, or in sharing their work in this area with other practitioners, to contact the ARLIS UK & Ireland Cataloguing and Classification CommitteeFootnote 2.
