FOUR Days until January 21, 2020 - Census 2020 Enumeration of Remote Alaska begins in Toksook Bay
71 Days until April 1, 2020 – 2020 Census Day
Resources:
With this issue we kick off an occasional series on staff members of the Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums. We begin with photo maven Sandy Johnston of the Alaska State Library Historical Collections. Here’s Sandy in her own words:
I’m the main contact for photo orders for the Division. Any photo orders that come in should be directed to me (Sandra.johnston@alaska.gov). Steve Henrikson and I work together on Museum orders, and Chris Hieb and I do any requests for Archives Photos. Historical Collections has over 1,000 Photo and Manuscript Collections, and Damon Stuebner and I collaborate on those frequently.
I am also the person responsible for the physical processing of materials into the Library, Historical Collections, and the Museum’s collection in the Research Room, all of which have different standards to meet. I do have many tricks up my sleeve learned over the 28+ years with the library, so if you’re stuck on how to house/repair something (Not your kitchen sink!), chat with me, and we’ll see what we can do.
If you do have a problem with your kitchen sink, we highly recommend the Home Improvement Reference Center available through SLED.
The Alaska State Museum is recruiting graduate student interns to work at three small Alaska museums during the summer of 2020. These paid internships will focus on collections management activities. Interns should be enrolled in museum studies programs or affiliated graduate degree programs.
Interns will begin in late May or early June, 2020. They will receive a $4500 stipend, free housing, and reimbursement for the cost of air fare to the host communities. For more information, please visit https://lam.alaska.gov/museum-resources/internships.
Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information for two professional references to anjuli.grantham@alaska.gov by January 17, 2020.
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums a grant to train cultural organizations across Alaska in emergency preparedness and response. The “Preparing Alaska’s Cultural Organizations for Emergencies” project will help cultural organizations develop emergency plans and provide hands-on training in conducting risk assessments, evacuating collections, and salvaging artifacts and archival materials following a disaster.
“Many museums, libraries, and archival institutions were affected by the November 30, 2018 earthquake near Anchorage. This summer we watched as wildfires threatened communities across the state. It’s clear that Alaska’s collecting institutions need training to assess what risks they face and how to take care of Alaska’s priceless heritage materials when disasters strike,” said project director, Anjuli Grantham.
The training program will use a regional cohort model to build regional relationships among emergency managers, first responders, and staff and volunteers at cultural organizations. The program will begin in March, with the first training occurring in Juneau in the fall. Subsequent workshops will take place in Anchorage and Fairbanks.
For media coverage of our new grant, watch “New plans to protect Alaska’s History” posted by Anchorage station KTUU on 1/14/2020.
The Alaska Digital Newspaper Project (ADNP) continues to make strides in making historic newspapers to Alaskans and users around the world. Titles expected to be available on Chronicling America in the coming months include the Kodiak Mirror (1940-1963). For more about the addition of the Kodiak Mirror, hop on over to the ADNP blog and read 23 years of Kodiak news history going digital this year, posted on January 6, 2020.
Anjuli Grantham shared this news with the Museum list back at the end of November, but we think it’s still worth sharing with libraries and archives:
For many years the Alaska State Museum maintained a lending library available for museum professionals across Alaska. Today I am happy to announce that the lending library is integrated into the Alaska Library Catalog, making it easier to browse and check out books.
Currently there are 61 museum titles cataloged under the subject heading “LAM professional development collection.” Use that search term in the Alaska Library Catalog to browse the full collection. You can place holds on museum books from the Alaska State Library and have the books delivered to your local library for check out. To get a taste, here’s a short sample of titles in the collection:
- Randi Korn, Intentional Practice for Museums: A Guide for Maximizing Impact
- John Jacobsen, The Museum Manager’s Compendium: 101 Essential Tools and Resources
- Angela Kipp, Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections: A Practical Guide for Museums
- D.R. Harvey, Preserving Digital Materials
- Sharon Vatsky, Museum Gallery Activities: A Handbook
Also, you [Ed’s note: Museums] can help grow this collection by letting me know what books you want added. We want this collection to be relevant and put to use, which means adding titles to fit your needs.
Sincerely,
Anjuli
Does your library have a unique collection tagged in the Alaska Library Catalog? Let us know and send us the link or tag!
Next week the 2020 Census of the United States kicks off in the traditional Yup’ik village of Toksook Bay. The Census was a prompt for a recent Alaskan Native Language workshop held at the Anchorage Museum. Representatives for Yugtun (the language spoken in Toksook Bay), Inupiat, Gwich’in and Koyukon Athabascan language groups met separately ”to develop glossaries for census terms. They also collaborated on public service announcements for the radio, which they hope will raise awareness about the benefits of census participation for local government”, according to KTVA television.
For more about the workshop and the importance of the 2020 Census, read Alaska Native language workshop aims to boost 2020 census participation (1/5/2020) by Rhonda McBride.
Last month Alaska Public Media reported on how staff recommendations led to bilingual Lingit/English signs at the Juneau Public Libraries and the Juneau Douglas Museum.
For the story and pictures of the signs, read Why some Alaskans (like), (love) and (fist bump) over new Juneau bathroom signs by Jeremy Hsieh (12/24/2019).
If you’re looking to be published and maybe get a modest cash prize for your efforts, consider entering the 37th Annual Statewide Creative Writing Contest, jointly sponsored by the University of Alaska and the Anchorage Daily News. Anyone of any age is invited to submit writing in any of the categories below before 2/12/2020:
For rules and the contest entry form visit the contest home page.
The 1/12/2019 online issue of the Arctic Sounder features an interview with author Beverly Patkotak Grinage about her new book Starvation to Salvation: Paul Patkotak, Apostle of the North. After putting her own family’s records in order, the author described her initial institutional research this way:
I went to the National Archives in Seattle. I worked with an archivist out of (the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archives) at the Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. (From the) North Slope Borough Inupiat History, Language, Culture, I requested some of their traditional land use inventories. With Seattle Pacific University, I worked with their archivist there. Then, I interviewed family members and put my questions together.
For the full interview, read Book sheds light on North Slope history through family stories by Shady Grove Oliver (1/12/2020).
Libraries and archives are important reservoirs of material that can be used in creating/documenting family and community history. Tell your friends!
Sometimes libraries, archives and museums act as publishers. The Anchorage Museum recently released a book on food culture and connections written by Julia O’Malley called The Whale and the Cupcake: Stories of subsistence, longing and community in Alaska. As described on the Anchorage Museum’s web site:
This collection features interviews, photographs, and recipes by James Beard Award–winning journalist and third-generation Alaskan Julia O'Malley. Touching on issues of subsistence, climate change, cultural mixing and remixing, innovation, interdependence, and community, The Whale and the Cupcake reveals how Alaskans connect with the land and each other through food.
For more about the book, you may wish to listen to a seven minute interview done with Ms. O’Malley by Alaska Public Media on 12/10/2019.
Has your library, archives or museum published an Alaskana book? We want to hear from you!
From our friends at the Library of Congress:
Start off 2020 by exploring some of the new online collections from the Library of Congress. Here is a sampling of what’s new online.
Delve into the papers of Lincoln’s secretary and biographer John G. Nicolay. Included in this collection are documents related to his work as Lincoln’s private secretary during the Civil War and his work on Lincoln’s biography. The collection also includes correspondence between Nicolay and Robert Todd Lincoln and other military and governmental leaders from Lincoln’s administration.
For a contrast to the papers of Nicolay, examine the papers of Jubal Anderson Early. Early was a Confederate army officer who also served in the Virginia State Legislature. Early’s papers include materials from his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as diaries and other correspondence from throughout his life. The collection documents his military activities including his participation in the battles of Bull Run (1st battle), Williamsburg, Gettysburg, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864.
The latest addition to presidential papers collections available online from the Library are the papers of James Garfield. This collection includes Garfield’s diaries and correspondence; his college notebooks; information on his military service and his governmental career; materials documenting his condition after he was shot; and tributes given after his death.
As the United States celebrates the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the Library has released the records of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). This collection documents the history of NAWSA as well as the work of other organizations involved in both the abolition and women’s rights movements.
As a complement to the NAWSA records, Library has also digitized the papers of Carrie Chapman Catt. Catt was president of NAWSA and also founded the International Women’s Suffrage Association. Her papers document her strategy to insure the passage of the 19th amendment and her work with other organizations toward this effort.
Both newcomers and longtime fans of the National Jukebox will be excited to visit the updated collection. Browse by genres, by artists, or by previous playlists. There is an updated version of Victrola Book of the Opera as well as essays on acoustical recording, phonograph advertising, and the uniquely designed Stroh violin.
We hope you will explore these new collections and let us know how you use them with your students.
If you use these or other LC collections with your patrons or students, we’d like to hear from you. And if your Alaskan institution has a digital collection you’d like to promote, by all means TELL US and send us the URL!
OCLC’s WebJunction will hold a free webinar on 11 February 2020, entitled Civil Legal Justice: The Crucial Role of Libraries, where participants will learn about the status of civil legal justice in our system, the vital role public libraries can play in reducing the justice gap, and about the live, multi-week course to be offered in April, which takes a deeper look at supporting people to navigate the complexities of the legal system. Register here for the free webinar.
This webinar is part of Improving Access to Civil Legal Justice through Public Libraries, a national training initiative for public library staff offered by OCLC’s WebJunction and the nonprofit organization Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to help strengthen access to civil legal justice.
Barriers to civil legal justice disproportionately affect low-income people in the U.S., creating the justice gap—the divide between the civil legal needs of low-income people and the resources to meet those needs. Though legal issues can be intimidating for library staff, public libraries are well positioned to help reduce this justice gap by providing more access points to legal information and services.
Learn more at oc.lc/legal-justice
Registration for the April 2020 live course Creating Pathways to Civil Legal Justice will also open at the time of the February webinar. The course will include training topics on conducting the legal reference interview, most commonly addressed civil legal topics, and forming successful partnerships to improve access to civil legal justice for your patrons, among others.
Here are two stories of how libraries are already meeting some important legal needs without veering off into unlicensed practice of law:
Cyber Legal Clinics Create Access to Employment at Wicomico Public Libraries
Free legal representation can be hard to access in rural communities and filing legal documents without representation can be costly and confusing. To improve access to civil legal justice for low-income community members, Wicomico Public Libraries partnered with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service to create the cyber legal clinic, “Legal Clinic @ YOUR Library.” Participants attend clinics in person at Wicomico Public Libraries (WPL) Downtown Branch and connect with Baltimore lawyers remotely using Google Hangouts to receive full civil legal representation free of charge.
Civil Legal Aid Program at the Cleveland public Library Meets Local Needs
The Cleveland Public Library and The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland had been working in partnership for years, offering several legal aid workshops on general topics that were open to public. But Aaron Mason, the library’s Assistant Director, Outreach and Programming Services, saw an opportunity and a need to develop a more in-depth program.
The library expanded the partnership with Cleveland Legal Aid, and together they developed a budget, plan, and agreement to increase the library’s offering of free legal advice to patrons in-need.
Today, there are 12-13 clinics per year offered in branches throughout the city, allowing the program to reach people from diverse racial and financial backgrounds, and it serves as one of the library’s top-performing services.
You’re reminding people to respond to the 2020 Census when it becomes available, right? At least we hope you are. As you continue to spread the word, you might want to focus your efforts to reflect the phases of the Census Bureau’s paid media campaign as provided by our friends in the Census Bureau:
- Awareness/Education Phase (Jan. 14 – March 12): Builds immediate awareness and provides educational information about the 2020 Census.
- Motivation/Participation Phase (March 13 – May 20): Inspires and motivates the public to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire online, by phone, or by mail.
- Reminder/Nonresponse Follow Up (May 13 – June 28): Continues to remind people to respond to the 2020 Census and to support census takers as they go door-to-door to count households that have not yet responded.
The 2020 Census will officially begin January 21, in Toksook Bay, Alaska, a remote fishing village located on the Bering Sea. Director Dillingham will be on hand to count the first person. Also known as the “first enumeration,” local census takers get a head start in rural Alaska when the ground is frozen, allowing for easier access to remote villages. Advertising in remote Alaska began in mid-December to provide awareness that census takers will soon visit villages to count the people who live there. Beginning in mid-March, households can respond to the census online, by phone, or by mail.
Also, we want to remind you that Alaska-specific material to promote the 2020 Census can be found on Alaska Counts.
Since it’s January and since we hope that at least some of you have resolved to read more this year, we wanted to highlight the Master List of 2020 Reading Challenges from GirlXOXO, a site run by two enthusiastic readers/mothers. Looking the master list, we think there might be something for YOU. A few of the challenges listed here are:
Are you working on a 2020 Reading Challenge? Please share it with us!
This month PC Magazine shared the news that people appear to be leaving Facebook, or at least using it less frequently. At the same time, the short video sharing service Tiktok is expanding its user base. From the PC Magazine article:
Edison Research asked Facebook users why they used the platform less frequently, and the respondents painted a fairly clear picture. The most common reasons were a disdain for Facebook rants, too much politics, and an overwhelming sense of negativity. These responses allow us to assume that users are simply exhausted by the online environment Facebook has created.
That overwhelming sense of exhaustion has ultimately led to longtime users being unhappy with the service, while younger people are either leaving Facebook or not signing up to join like they were a decade ago. In 2017, 67 percent of the US population over the age of 12 had a Facebook account. However, by 2018, which number had dropped by 5 percent, and in 2019, only 61 percent of the population was on Facebook.
If this dip is, in fact, caused by a lack of younger users, it's coming at the exact wrong time, because Facebook is seeing tough competition from Tiktok right now. In 2019, a survey from Morning Consult shows that the video-sharing app was used by the same percentage of US users (42 percent) in the 13-to-16-year-old bracket as Instagram (41 percent) and Twitter (40 percent).
The article also pointed out that Facebook still has over 170 million users in the US and isn’t likely to go away soon. But this leveling off in usage might be a good time for you to survey your users and make sure your mix of social media (if any) is still meeting your community’s needs. Consider making shifts if it doesn’t.
But should you get into TikTok to get your message out to a younger audience? The jury seems to be out on that -- both in terms of whether libraries and educators can make productive use of TikTok and whether TikTok represents a privacy and national security risk above and beyond other social media apps.
We encourage you to read and decide for yourself. We’ve chosen a few TikTok related articles to share below. If you know of articles about TikTok aimed at libraries, teachers, archives or museums, we’d love for you to share them with us so we can share them with others.
Also, if you feel like your library, archives or museum has been particularly successful with social media OR if your institution has dropped out of social media, we want to know and share your story.
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