PRAIRIE LIBRARIAN

A substantial amount of new content has been added to the First Peoples’ Libraries Wiki under the “Collections” area. This includes:

• Bibliographies and Lists of First Peoples’ Materials
• First Peoples Authors and Illustrators
• First Peoples’ News Resources
• Materials Selection Policy and Selection Support Resources
• Publishers and Distributors of First Peoples’ Materials (Books, Graphic Novels, Films, Music)

The majority of the links listed within each section are based in Canada. If you know of US-based publishers and distributors, news resources, etc., consider signing up to the wiki and contributing!

I’ve been a wee bit remiss lately in reviewing my Bloglines RSS feeds, but FINALLY got down to it (a little) during the few spare moments that I have with our 5-month old son! Anyhow, Wawatay News wrote a great article about Chad Solomon in January 2008. It is good to read for those of you interested in finding out more about “the man behind the graphic novel”.

This is not the first time (or likely the last) that I’ve written about Rabbit and Bear Paws. Earlier in the year I wrote that Volume 2: The Voyageurs was to be released soon. Well, it is now available! Consider purchasing it (and their other resources) for your library! I’m looking forward to seeing it in my mailbox soon!

I’ll be presenting “Creating Living Library Collections for Aboriginal Peoples” via a webinar hosted by The Partnership - Education Institute on June 2, 2008 at 3pm EST. To register, please visit The Education Institute site. 

I hope to “see” you there!!

Sandy Littletree delivered a presentation on advocacy for tribal libraries at the recent gathering of Arizona Tribal Libraries. A big thank you goes to Kelly Webster for sharing this information.

Mark your calendars for TechSoup’s free day-long online event Wed. May 14th: Online Activism: Social Media Tools for Social Change in the TechSoup online forums.

“Dive into the conversation with hosts Heather Mansfield, owner of DIOSA Communications and Online Community Manager for Change.org and Carie Lewis, Internet Marketing Manager for the Humane Society of the United States, as they explore the ins and outs of using social networking sites and strategies for determining how, why, and when to use different applications to broadcast your message. In discussing the dos and don’ts of effectively fundraising and promoting your cause, we’ll also look at lessons learned from successful (and not so successful) online campaigns.

This event is asynchronous (not live). No registration is required, just show up and post! If you have any questions about the event, please email: community@techsoup.org.”

Issues to be discussed include:

• How do social networking sites fit in with other outreach efforts?
• Are the benefits worth the time needed to keep up a social networking presence?
• How can you translate online activism into on-the-ground action towards change?
• Is it ever a good idea for organizations to start their own social networking sites?

Thanks to Sheri Mishibinijima from Wikwemikong Public Library for sharing the link to this new resource.

FOUR DIRECTIONS TEACHINGS

As stated on the website:

“Four Directions Teachings celebrates Indigenous oral traditions by honoring the process of listening with intent as each elder or traditional teacher shares a teaching from their perspective on the richness and value of cultural traditions from their nation. In honor of the timelessness of Indigenous oral traditions, audio narration is provided throughout the site, complimented by beautifully animated visuals. In addition, the site provides free curriculum packages for grades 1 to 12 to further explore the vast richness of knowledge and cultural philosophy that is introduced within each teaching. The curriculum is provided in downloadable PDF and can also be read online through the Teacher’s Resources link. The elders and traditional teachers who have shared a teaching on this site were approached through a National Advisory Committee of Indigenous people concerned with the protection and promotion of Indigenous knowledge. This committee was formed directly for the purposes of this website to ensure a community based approach that was respectful and accountable.”

Visit the news release for more information. The collection can be accessed here.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has a site called “Aboriginal Perspectives“. The site is geared to secondary school students and teachers and features NFB documentaries by and about Aboriginal peoples in Canada. However, I think that it is excellent for everyone!

Through the site you can view a range of Aboriginal-focused NFB documentaries spanning 1940-2004 (34 documentaries in total).  Themes include:

• The Arts
• Cinema and Representation
• Colonialism and Racism
• History and Origins
• Indigenous Knowledge
• Sovereignty and Resistance
• Youth

Each film is accompanied by a lesson plan, but if you’re a teacher wanting to explore a specific theme, a unit guide exists.

Some amazing films exist on this site - Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance, Uranium, and The Return of the G’psgolox Pole are but a few. Have some time? Get your popcorn and pop and sit down for a night of great film and learning!

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth recently released (February of this year) a new bibliography entitled “Louis Riel and the Métis People“. If you’re looking to establish a new collection focused on the Métis or build on your existing one, this is a good place to start.

The Working Together Project focuses on examining and developing tools to support public libraries in more effectively meeting the needs of the underserved and socially excluded. On the project website, it states that:

Libraries remain primarily successful in serving the middle-class while the disadvantaged, the non-literate and those from marginal social circumstances do not necessarily feel welcome and do not feel that the services provided are for them. A substantial body of literature going back to the Royal Commission on Poverty and further demonstrates that government offices, schools and hospitals/doctor’s offices are frightening and alien to many who are disadvantaged in society. Libraries are perhaps less intimidating but still not comfortable places for many socially excluded people.

The Project has recently released a very impressive resource, The Community-Led Libraries Toolkit. It provides a lot of sound advice and examples from community development librarians throughout the country and could be of benefit to many libraries.

Those of us who work for the members of our communities who are traditionally underserved by and underrepresented in libraries know that community involvement is essential to librarianship.  In order for us to better serve the traditionally underserved, we need to engage, engage, engage. I think that oftentimes we forget that our community members are the experts! We librarians and library workers are the facilitators.