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Alaska State Libraries, Archives & Museums Alaska State Library

CE NEWS

Alaska State Library Continuing Education Newsletter: A monthly publication highlighting continuing education opportunities for public librarians in Alaska.

July 3rd, 2019

by Public Library Coordinator on 2019-07-03T09:51:00-08:00 | 0 Comments

Table of Contents

Children marching in 4th of July Parade

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Webinars You Don’t Want to Miss

Dr Sandy Littletree presenting during the Tribal Libraries Convening

Photograph taken by Julie M. Niederhauser

Tribal Libraries Convening

On June 20th the Institute of Museum and Library Services invited tribal librarians, state library and federal agency staff to attend a Tribal Libraries Convening in Washington D.C. at the National Museum of the American Indian. The invitation to the Tribal Libraries Convening state the event was held  "to celebrate and reflect back on multiple milestones in funding to tribal libraries, as well as explore new needs moving forward. The event marks twenty years of IMLS funding, 35 years since Title IV of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) of 1984 and the Library Services for Indian Tribes and Hawaiian Native Program were authorized.  It also marks 40 years since the 1979 White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services (WHCLIS) occurred and American Indians requested support from Congress and the President of the United States for tribal libraries." 

One of the featured presenters during the Tribal Libraries Convening was Dr. Sandy Littletree, of the University of Washington. Her presentation The Evolution of Libraries Services for Native People: A Timeline was based on research she conducted for her dissertation, “Let Me Tell You About Indian Libraries”: Self-Determination, Leadership, and Vision-The Basis of Tribal Library Development in the United States which was recently highlighted in American Libraries.  Other presenters at the Tribal Libraries Convening included Dr. Sandra Toro, Senior Program Officer with the IMLS,  Dr. Loriene Roy, University of Texas, Austin and Dennis Nangle, Senior Program Officer with the IMLS.

 

Road sign with the word "Funding" printed on it.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Grant Opportunities for Tribal Libraries

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency that supports tribes and tribal libraries through a variety of grants. Below are some upcoming grant opportunities for Tribes and Tribal Libraries.

Supports individual faculty or staff members pursuing humanities research. Eligible projects include pursuing research in primary and secondary materials; producing articles, books, digital materials, or other scholarly resources; and conducting research to revise an undergraduate course. Application due April 8, 2020

Seeks to advance understanding and knowledge of endangered human languages. Awards support recording, documenting, and archiving these languages, including the creation of things like text samples and databases. Application due: September 16, 2019

The mission of this matching grant program is to strengthen the institutional base of humanities by enabling infrastructure development and capacity building. Awards aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials. Application due May 15, 2020

Supports small and mid-sized institutions-including museums, libraries and archives-to improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. These collections might include things like archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, or decorative and fine art objects. The program encourages applications from institutions that have never received an NEH grant, as well as from Native American, Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian organizations. Application due January 15, 2020

Supports projects that create ways for the general public to engage with the humanities. This can take place in the format of an exhibition, a community discussion, or a historic place. Application due August 14, 2019

The National Park Service mission is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.  The State, Tribal, Local, Plans & Grants Division administers two important grant programs directed to tribes through the Tribal Historic Preservation Fund.  Annual formula grants, which are apportioned to eligible Tribal Historic Preservation Offices under the Tribal Preservation Program, and the competitive Tribal Heritage Grants, which are open to all federally recognized tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian organizations. For more information contact the Alaska Region Office's Alaska Native Affairs Liaison, Adrienne Fleek (Tlingit) (907) 644-3511

 

Alaska State Library's History with Tribal Libraries

State Library staff invited to the Tribal Libraries Convening were asked to provide a one-page handout describing how their State Library's history in working with tribal libraries.  Copies of handouts were included in the meeting packet each participant of the Tribal Libraries Convening received.  The information below was provided by Sue Sherif, Tyson Rinio and Patience Frederiksen.

Under the Alaska statutory definition of a public library, there are 93 public libraries ranging in size from the Anchorage Public Library that serves an urban area of almost 300,000 to the Lake Minchumina Community Library that serves a year-round population of 19. There is no Alaska definition of tribal libraries, but based on records of the Alaska State Library and awards of funds by IMLS in recent years there are approximately 50 tribal libraries varying in size from the Sealaska Heritage Foundation in Juneau and the Tuzzy Consortium Library in Utquiagvik (a community library and tribal college library) to the Innoko River Tribal Library in Shageluk, which is a combined public/school library. There is some overlap in these types of libraries because some public libraries (22%) have been designated as tribal libraries by their local tribal entity. Remote and rural communities may have 55-98% Alaska Native residents. So, many smaller public libraries (36%) and all tribal libraries serve predominantly Alaska Native communities.  

Alaska's recognition and support for tribal libraries has been evolving through the efforts of individual public library directors, Alaska State Library staff and various library associations.   

2001    Culturally Responsive Guidelines adopted by the Alaska State Board of Education

2003    Alaska Native Issues Roundtable formed by the Alaska Library Association

2011    Alaska Native Libraries, Archives, and Museum Summit

2012    Museum Boot Camp

2012    Sponsored scholarships to Indigenous Knowledge: IFLA Presidential Program Meeting, Vancouver, BC

2013    Culturally Responsive Libraries Workshop

2013    Library of Congress Digital Preservation Train the Trainer Workshop

2013    Sponsored scholarships to International Indigenous Librarians Forum, Bellingham WA

2014    Indigenous Libraries, Archives & Museums (iLAMs) listserv formed

2016    Alaska Library Association Preconference sponsored by the Alaska Native Issues Roundtable & the Alaska Native Archive (UAF) on Alaska Native language materials

2018     Honoring Alaska Native Cultural Heritage through Tribal and Community Libraries Project

2019     Alaska Digital Stewardship Intensive online training

2019     Honoring Alaska Native Cultural Heritage through Tribal and Communities Libraries YR 2 GrantsDrawing of various abled people

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar Series

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, in collaboration with the Medical Library Association, and the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries is offering a free nine-part webinar series on diversity, equity and inclusion. While the webinar series was created specifically for health librarians, the topic may be of interest to public and academic librarians.  Each webinar session is 60 minutes long and will begin at 8:00 am Alaska Time.  All of the webinars will be recorded and posted to the NNLM YouTube channel.

Some of the topics covered in the webinar series  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Nine Conversations that Matter to Health Sciences Librarians with Jessica Pettitt include:

A complete listing of the scheduled webinars in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion series is available online.

Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth

The Project READY curriculum is a series of free, online professional development modules for any librarians or library staff interested in improving their knowledge about race and racism, racial equity, and culturally sustaining pedagogy.  The focus of the Project READY curriculum is on improving relationships with, services to, and resources for youth of color and Native youth.

The curriculum is organized into three sequential sections. "The first section (Foundations) focuses on basic concepts and issues that are fundamental to understanding race and racism and their impact on library services. The second section (Transforming Practice) explores how these foundational concepts relate to and can be applied in library environments. The third section (Continuing the Journey) explores how you can substance racial equity work and grow personally and professionally in this area after completing the curriculum."

Below is a sample of some of the modules in the Project READY curriculum

Photograph of calendar with a pencil circling a date

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Upcoming Library Association Conferences

Just a reminder that the next Alaska Library Association Annual Conference will be a joint PNLA/AkLA Conference in Juneau on August 5-7, 2020.  

Below are some upcoming library association conferences that may help meet your continuing education needs in the interim. 

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