| Recommendations – Indigenous SIFT 2019 Report |
Status |
| A permanent display or highlighted section for Indigenous resources, including wayfinders for accessing additional material. (The Prosper fonds were suggested.) |
The Ko'jua Okuom now houses the majority of our Indigenous resources (concentration on Mi'kmaqi resources. Will explore wayfinding options for special collections. |
| An Indigenous Archivist could be an asset in an ongoing process to select and respectfully curate Indigenous content. |
The Indigenous Services Librarian is working with archivists on Indigenous vocabulary and collections. |
| With community consultation, digitize Indigenous collections held in the Archives and feature these prominently on the Libraries’ website. |
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| Add Indigenous cultural and language resources to the Libraries’ homepage with easy, drop-down menu findability rather than in a LibGuide. |
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| Promote Indigenous holdings to the public via a partnership with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. Within Dal, an invitational approach to highlighting Indigenous resources and spaces could be adopted, welcoming all students to use these spaces and access these resources. |
Our Indigenous Services Librarian has close ties with the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre and we will build on that connection to highlight our resources and spaces. The Ko'jua Okuom room on the first floor in the Killam Library highlights Indigenous resources and welcomes all students. |
| The Libraries could host or provide space for Indigenous related programming and events. Indigenous language classes could be piloted at the MacRae Library in Truro, given its proximity to four Indigenous communities, and led by these communities. (See Truth & Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 14.iv and 16.) |
The Ko'jua Okuom in the Killam Library now serves as both a gathering space for Indigenous students, staff and faculty, but also as a space highlighting Indigenous culture. The space can be booked for anyone. Language classes will be provided by Dal. The Libraries and an Elder are exploring the possibility of holding language classes in the Ko'jua Okuom. We will continue to work with the Manager, Indigenous Students in Truro, as well as the Indigenous Student Collective to offer programming in the Indigenous Community Room at the MacRae Library. |
| Improve clarity and ease of locating and contacting the Indigenous Services Librarian. The addition of a student position for Indigenous Services could also aid in expanding outreach. |
Ease of contacting ISL has been improved. We have additional plans to have rack cards available in the Student Services Centre promoting services. |
| Library instruction sessions specifically designed for Indigenous Students should be offered as events held either in library spaces or in the Indigenous Student Centre on the Halifax campus. |
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| “How to Find a Book” drop-in or scheduled hands-on instruction sessions should be on offer in the Killam Library and promoted particularly among all first-year students. |
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| A review of Information Literacy instruction across the disciplines should be carried out to ensure adequate and consistent levels of instruction outreach. IL programs within certain disciplines, such as Kinesiology, could be used as a benchmark that IL programs in other disciplines could emulate. |
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| Consider library collection displays or promotional displays in other high trafficked areas of campus such as the Student Union Building (SUB). |
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| Following the initiation of some of the recommendations of this report, more formal assessment of Indigenous student perspectives on the Libraries and how best to serve their needs and work behaviours should be carried out. |
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| The Libraries’ Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee should arrange events and educational opportunities and post links to free MOOCs such as “Indigenous Canada” by the University of Alberta and “Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education” by the University of British Columbia. Supervisors and Associate Deans should provide accommodations so staff an librarians can participate in these programs. |
