Meet KPU: Cleire Lauron

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Cleire Lauron is a Kwantlen Polytechnic University alumna and staff member. She worked as an auxiliary library assistant while pursuing her undergraduate degree and later secured the position of metadata and discovery librarian. 

With almost a decade of post-secondary education, she has received a diploma in library and information technology from Langara College, a bachelor of arts in psychology from KPU, and a master of library and information studies from the University of Alberta.

With all of this under her belt, she now helps to host classes, tours, and events in the library space, as well as give international presentations on her professional specialties. 

This year, Lauron gave a presentation in San Diego about “Indigenizing metadata through classification: Brian Deer Classification Implementation at Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library,” and similarly in 2022 about “Classification collaboration: Three libraries and the Brian Deer Classification system” in Vancouver.

Last year, she presented in Honolulu about “Breathing new life into information organization: Brian Deer Classification in two academic libraries,” about “Persistence and resistance: Reframing our work through a lens of abundance,” in Vancouver and Toronto, as well as “Indigenous library practices: Shattering mirrors and expanding landscapes” in Richmond. 

Lauron has won the North American Serials Interests Group (NASIG) “Equity & Inclusion Award,” which was presented at the 2023 NASIG conference in Pittsburgh.

This year, she received the “KPU Distinguished Team Service Award” alongside the library’s technical services team members ​​Leona Wei Li, Brigette Liang, Judy Taylor, Nicole Von Kledtke, and Jen Adams. The team also received the 2024 B.C. Cataloguing & Technical Services Interest Group “J. McRee Elrod Leadership Award” from the British Columbia Library Association, which recognizes those who demonstrate excellence in the area of technical services. 

The following responses were sent in an email statement to The Runner and have been edited for length and clarity. 

When did you join the KPU community and why? 

I first joined KPU in 2012 as an auxiliary library assistant. I was then a new grad of the library and information technology diploma from Langara College. In 2013, I started my undergraduate degree at KPU — a bachelor of arts with a major in psychology — and graduated in 2017. In that same year, I got accepted to the master of library and information studies (MLIS) program at the University of Alberta and graduated in 2019. 

As an employee, I chose to join the KPU community since the values of the organization/university aligned with my own personal values. For example, equity, inclusion, and belonging — where each individual’s contributions are respected — are some of the values that are very important to me. 

As a metadata and discovery librarian, I provide leadership for metadata creation for the library’s physical and digital collections. That simply means that I, and my technical services team, ensure that library resources are findable, discoverable, and accessible by KPU faculty, students, and researchers. 

The library’s technical services department is responsible for acquisitions, cataloguing, ensuring access to digital materials, collection management, and processing of library materials. We serve KPU’s five campuses and process about $1.1 million worth of resources for students and faculty annually. 

My role specifically is to provide coordination of cataloguing and metadata processes, and ensure discoverability and access to the library’s physical and digital resources. Some of my responsibilities include advising library technicians on metadata and cataloguing standards and coordinating the development and implementation of metadata/cataloguing projects, technologies, procedures, training, and workflows.

What is your favourite story of your time at KPU?

Late-night studying and doing group projects at the library study room. I was already working at the KPU library before I started my undergraduate degree. What drew me to pursue a career at KPU is that when I started working as a library assistant, I felt supported in my career aspirations by my supervisor and department. I also had a close-knit team that’s very supportive of each other. These are the things that I was looking for in a work environment. So, when I finished my MLIS degree, I tried my best to get a permanent position at KPU, and I got it two years ago. 

What is something you’d like to say to people new to KPU?

KPU is a great community. As a student, I chose to pursue my undergraduate studies at KPU for a variety of reasons. One, the university’s course delivery modes gave me the flexibility to work and study at the same time. Two, with its small class sizes, KPU offers a student-centred learning environment, which is what I was looking for in a university. 

What are you working on or doing right now?

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in metadata is an area of librarianship that I’m passionate about. When I started working in technical services as a cataloguer, I realized that traditional library classification systems are not neutral, and present inaccurate and biased representation to certain cultures/groups such as the Indigenous Peoples. As a result, library users may have difficulty finding and discovering Indigenous-related materials. 

The Brian Deer Classification System (BDCS) centres on Indigenous ways of knowing and relationality, making Indigenous-specific materials more accessible to library users. Presenting about BDCS is important to educate and bring awareness to our community about KPU library’s initiatives in making Indigenous collections more accessible. Most importantly, this also shows our commitment to reconciliation through reparative and inclusive metadata. 

The Brian Deer Classification (the BDC) system was developed by Brian Deer, a Kahnawake (Mohawk) librarian, in the 1970s. Deer developed this classification system as a response to the limitations and biases of traditional classification systems towards Indigenous Peoples, as well as to respectfully organize Indigenous knowledge. At KPU library, we are using a modified version of Brian Deer classification. KPU library’s version is adapted from Simon Fraser University library’s Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre classification by Métis librarian Ashley Edwards. 

All the material in the χʷəχʷéy̓əm Indigenous collection have been organized with our localized version of Edward’s Brian Deer, the χʷəχʷéy̓əm Indigenous Collection Classification Scheme. This allows our Indigenous users to see themselves reflected in our collection and also our non-Indigenous users to navigate our collection through the Indigenous worldview. 

What is something you’d like people to know about you?

My technical services team won two awards this year, and I am very proud to be part of such an incredible team. Since my team works on the backend side of the library, our efforts may go unnoticed until something goes wrong on our catalogue or an ebook link doesn’t work, for example. Being recognized for our work is important since it shows that our work and contributions are being valued and supported by KPU. 

In terms of projects, my goal is to continue and expand our work/projects on Indigenizing metadata as well as embark on other projects relating to EDI in cataloguing and metadata. In terms of career goals, I’m interested in potentially pursuing a PhD either in library, archival, and information studies, or educational leadership.