Controlled Vocabulary as Communication: The Process of Negotiating Meaning in an Indigenous Knowledge Organization System

This article outlines the early process and reflects on the experiences of the authors as members of a team creating a Hawaiian knowledge organization system. The authors put forward shared understanding as a process, not a goal, and a way to reimagine and elucidate the process of knowledge organization work. As the project has progressed, team members have embraced their work as not solely knowledge creation and organization, but also communication. The group has identified a metaphorical frame, community agreements, knowledge graphs, and authority record templates as communication tools that are critical to creating a shared space to discuss meaning.