Native American Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Book cover of Code Talker by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila

By the Numbers: Indigenous History and Culture

By Megan Bennett | September 1, 2023

1979 Year that the American Indian Library Association (AILA) was founded. AILA, an affiliate of ALA, is a membership group that supports individuals and institutions working to improve library services to American Indians and Alaska Natives and disseminate information about Indian cultures, languages, and values. 300 Number of tribes represented in the National Indian Law … Continue reading By the Numbers: Indigenous History and Culture →

The Stories We Tell

By Raymond Garcia | March 28, 2023

Award-winning advocate, journalist, and Cherokee Nation citizen Rebecca Nagle opened the conference, shedding light on the lack of representation of Native Americans in media and how it affects public policy. “The stories we tell ourselves about who we are and where we come from inform our public policy,” Nagle said. Through her award-winning podcast This … Continue reading The Stories We Tell →

Madison (Wis.) Public Library's first Native Storyteller-in-Residence, A. J. “Andi” Cloud, leads a harvest walk in the city’s Edna Taylor Conservation Park last fall. Photo: Madison (Wis.) Public Library.

Storytellers-in-Residence

By Neeyati Shah and Tana Elias | March 1, 2022

At MPL, taking a conscious approach to diversifying our collection, staff, and services has been essential to our mission. In recent years, our programming efforts have followed a model that encourages staffers to connect with local communities and partners and amplify their voices through collaboration. Through conversations with our partners in the local Indigenous community, … Continue reading Storytellers-in-Residence →

‘We Are Not Relics of the Past’

By Terra Dankowski | January 22, 2022

Boulley, who is 56, first got the idea for her young adult novel Firekeeper’s Daughter (Henry Holt and Co., 2021), about an 18-year-old Ojibwe girl who helps an undercover FBI investigation, when she was a senior in high school. But she didn’t start writing her debut until she was 44—and the book wasn’t published until … Continue reading ‘We Are Not Relics of the Past’ →

Fighting Medical Racism

By Naomi Bishop | November 1, 2021

I am a health science librarian at University of Arizona’s Phoenix Biomedical Campus. I am also Akimel O’odham (Pima) from the Gila River Indian Community. From a Native perspective, the needs of the community are greater than the wishes of the individual. Mask mandates are in place on tribal lands, and colleges and universities occupy … Continue reading Fighting Medical Racism →

Call Number Podcast: Law Libraries

May 18, 2021

First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart speaks with Emily Florio, senior research services manager at international law firm Hogan Lovells and president of the American Association of Law Libraries, who provides a glimpse into the life and work of a law librarian. Next, Morehart talks with Anne Lucke, librarian at … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Law Libraries →

“Our Songs Came Through”

By Sallyann Price | January 24, 2021

“I think of those old traditions of poetry, like African and Indigenous traditions all over the world. The poets are the truthtellers,” Harjo said. “They tell the truth that has roots in the spiritual realms and has roots in the very earth itself, in the original teachings. I always like thinking of a poem like … Continue reading “Our Songs Came Through” →

A drawing of Iroquois games and dances by Jesse Cornplanter resides in Amherst (Mass.) College’s collection of Indigenous materials.

Responsive and Responsible

By Ulia Gosart | January 4, 2021

Various efforts—including Northern Arizona University’s 2007 “Protocols for Native American Archival Materials,” which was endorsed by the Society of American Archivists in 2018—have sought to remedy this. Still, appropriate handling of Indigenous collections remains sporadic. As a result, institutional claims of ownership and principles of access are sometimes jeopardized. In response, a burgeoning number of … Continue reading Responsive and Responsible →

Honoring and Respecting Relationship: Rethinking Library Praxis

Decolonizing Knowledge

By Terra Dankowski | June 25, 2020

Camille Callison, Indigenous strategies librarian at University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, commenced the American Indian Library Association President’s Program “Honoring and Respecting Relationship: Rethinking Library Praxis” June 25 at ALA Virtual by introducing herself as member of the Tahltan Nation and recapping some of the racist and problematic actions Canada has inflicted upon Indigenous people. … Continue reading Decolonizing Knowledge →

Granting Libraries’ Census Wishes

By Taylor Hartz | March 13, 2020

Libraries in five states explain how they plan to put their grants to work in the coming months during the census response period. Expanding accessibility Census tract 406 in downtown Dothan, Alabama, is one of the hardest-to-count areas in the country, with a response rate of about 66% in 2010. Nearly half of residents do … Continue reading Granting Libraries’ Census Wishes →

From left: Melanie Toledo (at podium), Carolyn Petersen, and Janessa Esquivel.

Supporting Tribal Libraries

By Terra Dankowski | February 28, 2020

At “Perspectives on Outreach to Tribal Libraries,” a February 28 program at the Public Library Association’s 2020 Conference in Nashville, librarians from tribal libraries and the state libraries that support them offered tips for successful collaboration. Have a purpose. Are you from a state or public library that wants to reach out and network with … Continue reading Supporting Tribal Libraries →

Better Literacy for the Blackfeet Nation

By Terra Dankowski | June 24, 2019

That’s the number at which literacy levels of all types significantly improve, said Anthony Chow, associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, at “Resources for Rural and Tribal Libraries,” a June 24 session at the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Of the Blackfeet Nation individuals he … Continue reading Better Literacy for the Blackfeet Nation →

Latest Library Links

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Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
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ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
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In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16
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Lori Birrell writes: “Staff want to feel valued, and they want their work to have an impact. A reorganization process can help leaders to surface such areas of impact and give staff a feeling of empowerment and value. Practitioners considering any sized reorganization are strongly encouraged to consider what models and resources will best support them as they plan and lead this work. Regardless of the model or resources, any reorganization process should be more than just moving boxes and reporting lines around on an organizational chart.”

Library Leadership and Management, Apr. 15
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Megan Bennett writes: “Two decades ago, while Daily Show Senior Correspondent Dulcé Sloan was doing summer shows at a community theater in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, the library was her main hangout spot. In the small town of 9,000 people, it was a place to gather with other young actors—and the only place with internet access. American Libraries spoke with Sloan before her closing session at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, about her new book, her journey in stand-up comedy, and her memories of libraries.”

American Libraries Trend, Apr. 17

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