Project title

Classifying Otherwise: Metadata, Epistemology, and the Democratic Mandate of the Library

Project description

At a critical moment when knowledge institutions are moving toward AI-assisted systems, Awad’s project asks how libraries might reflect on the ways access to their collections is already mediated. How, in turn, might their collections be classified in other ways?

The project begins by examining the epistemological assumptions embedded in library classification and metadata practices, and then considers how such practices might be expanded to better preserve the intellectual, literary, and cultural dimensions of diverse objects.

Drawing on cases from the KB’s collections, the project focuses on premodern manuscripts, multilingual texts, and contemporary literary works produced across multiple cultural inheritances. Its aim is to develop an expanded framework for classification and metadata enrichment that remains interoperable and institutionally usable while strengthening the democratic mandate of the library.

Selected publications

  • Hussein, H., & Awad, A. (2024). Western science diplomacy must rethink its biases and treat all partners equally. Nature, 635(8037), 39. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03610-z
  • Rockowitz, S., Bayoumi, R., Parr, N., Awad, A., Altawil, M., & Elmusharaf, K. (2024). Fostering cultural resilience: Assessing the success of a locally engaged and adapted mental health intervention in Gaza. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1390211. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1390211
  • Dajani, R., Bayoumi, R., Flowe, H., Rockowitz, S., Stevens, L., & Awad, A. (2024). Neocolonialism and science diplomacy: Lessons learned from the field and the way forward. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1472421. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1472421