University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Centering Indigenous Perspectives in Library Collections:A Lesson in Cultural Humility

Anderson, Kimberly; Boss, Emily E.; Bucy, Rosalind

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124995

Description

Title
Centering Indigenous Perspectives in Library Collections:A Lesson in Cultural Humility
Author(s)
  • Anderson, Kimberly
  • Boss, Emily E.
  • Bucy, Rosalind
Issue Date
2023-08
Keyword(s)
  • academic libraries
  • collections
  • collection assessment
  • interviews
  • Indigenous students
  • Native Americans
  • user experience
Date of Ingest
2024-10-31T15:12:13-05:00
Abstract
After Indigenous students at the University of Nevada, Reno brought concerns about the monograph collections to the attention of library staff, the authors set out to determine how they might center Indigenous perspectives in the collections. They conducted a mixed-methods study through a collections analysis and a focus group with Indigenous students and alumni. The authors modified the study design, originally conceived as a participatory action research project, as they became more aware of their own positionality and the extent to which deeply embedded colonialism and whiteness impacted a participatory project. Results indicate that the Indigenous collections are old, with a significant amount of racist or problematic content, and that the library and library collections were largely inaccessible to the participants due to a lack of awareness about library discovery, a lack of relevant materials, or deeply embedded colonial structures. Additionally, this study highlights the role of cultural humility in research.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
Series/Report Name or Number
Volume 72, Issue 1, August 2023
Type of Resource
text
Genre of Resource
article
Language
eng
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 University of Illinois Board of Trustees

Owning Collections

Library Trends 72 (1) August 2023: Indigenous Librarianship [Restricted Access] PRIMARY
This special issue of Library Trends presents a glimpse into the current state of Indigenous librarianship. In the composition of this issue the editors followed an unconventional approach of soliciting articles. Instead of issuing a traditional call for papers, they reached out to individuals and institutions that were already stewarding Indigenous collections in a culturally respectful manner. This method of sourcing allowed the editors to provide the readers with insights into the current state of the field and to invite emerging scholars to share their perspectives. At the same time, it limited the range of experiences that the editors were able to explore. Additionally, availability for authoring was limited in part because publishing is not often incentivized for librarians. Thus, the issue serves as a collection of field reports featuring certain major trends occurring in Indigenous librarianship in North America.