University of Technology, Sydney
The library is to the left of the clock tower seen above.
I visited UTS on February 25th, and met with Gabrielle Gardiner. Gabrielle is one of the people who has worked hard on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols for Libraries, Archives and Information Services along with Prof Martin Nakata, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, Dr. Alex Byrne, University Librarian, and Ms Vicky Nakata, also at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning. It's important to know that these were published in 1995 in conjunction with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library and Information Resources Network (ATSILIRN).
The Protocols address issues and concerns related to Indigenous materials held in libraries, archives and other information services, as well as those related to the provision of services for Indigenous people. The Protocols serve as a guide to assist library and information service providers when handling Indigenous materials and interacting with Indigenous peoples.
I asked Gabrielle about the services they offer to their Indigenous students and they sounded familiar to what other universities are doing: course specific teaching; outreach to 'block' (distance) students; introductory sessions for their Indigenous student assessment program; reserving a block of computers for the 'block' students when they are on campus; providing a liaison librarian for students/staff/faculty. The library has posted their Reconciliation Statement on the wall of the library next to some Aboriginal artwork. It's a tokenistic effort but is recognised by library staff as something that needs to be enhanced.
The other part of our conversation was about how a library can be a welcoming space for Indigenous students. Some suggestions from Gabrielle include -- have a really open front area for your library -- having pass card gates and security near the front door is not exactly a welcoming entry way (which, by the way UTS has, perhaps because they are a downtown, urban campus); put up culturally relevant artwork on the walls; identify materials in the collection that are Indigenous -- the curriculum collection at UTS is particularly well-stickered; consider labelling material with a historical disclaimer -- e.g. "this material is being kept for historical purposes - it may be offensive"; respect materials that are sensitive (sacred ritual materials for example); consider access restrictions on any digitisation projects.
The library at UTS has a good working relationship with the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning and this relationship is something that is appearing as a common theme the more I speak with librarians in Australia and New Zealand. We can certainly present this information to our First Peoples House and work on developing a good, working relationship with them in order to ensure academic success for our Indigenous students.
I had to take the picture without any faces involved so I was a bit preoccupied - hence the blurry-ness of it all. Anyway, I loved UTS library's help desk sign. It says what it does (finding information, assignments, catalogues, databases, internet research) and that just makes good sense to me. The library also has student assistants who do roving help. We met one on our way into the library who was outside helping people.
