The Community-Centred Controlled Vocabularies (3CV) SSHRC project successfully hosted its second open workshop on March 18, 2025, at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC. This event brought together partners and guests from libraries, museums, and archives across the region to explore and engage with software tools designed for controlled vocabulary work.
The morning session featured insightful presentations from experts in the field, highlighting best practices, challenges, and innovations in software for controlled vocabulary work. Attendees gained valuable knowledge on the tools and methodologies currently being used in the field.
The event started off with an introduction by the head of the 3CV project, Dr. Julia Bullard, who gave a wonderful overview of the current projects and introduced the speakers.
The first presentation was by Allison Hill, who is working with the AIDE Canada Library and explained the development of their in-house vocabulary as well as how it integrates with their Koha catalogue.
Next, we had a presentation by Taya Jardine and Carolyn Pires of Xwi7xwa Library, who showcased their processes and the software they are using to assess and explore the use of FNHL (First Nations House of Learning Thesaurus) terms throughout the branch’s catalogue. They even demonstrated how they utilize different tools to map the data!
The afternoon featured hands-on sessions on OpenRefine and VocBench, providing participants with the opportunity to directly engage with open-source software for exploring, editing, and managing vocabulary records. Dr. Julia Bullard guided attendees through exercises and demonstrations, allowing them to experiment with software designed for creating, maintaining, and implementing structured metadata. The interactive format encouraged collaboration and knowledge sharing among professionals and students. This collaboration was especially helpful in the form of troubleshooting assistance from 3CV students, who helped to make the software accessible for all attendees.
We extend our gratitude to all attendees and presenters who contributed to making this workshop a success.