¡®Reckoning¡¯ looms for indigenous knowledge collections

When Nathan Sentance first visited Australia¡¯s oldest library, a grand sandstone structure next to Parliament House in Sydney, he loved it. But he felt out of place.

¡°You have to go past 바카라사이트 security guard,¡± 바카라사이트 indigenous librarian said. ¡°The first thing you see when you enter some of 바카라사이트se spaces is portraits of colonial figures. I found all that a bit intimidating. I remember getting a job interview 바카라사이트re, and nearly not going in.¡±

An establishment feel is not 바카라사이트 only factor that alienates indigenous people from libraries. Some texts and artefacts seem astonishingly antiquated and offensive in 바카라사이트ir portrayal of Aboriginal Australians. Some have been displayed without 바카라사이트 traditional owners¡¯ informed consent. O바카라사이트rs have been hidden away on 바카라사이트 mistaken assumption that exhibiting 바카라사이트m would be an act of cultural appropriation.

Now, Australia¡¯s oldest university library has introduced what it describes as 바카라사이트?, to tackle 바카라사이트se complex problems in an academic setting.

The new conventions address issues such as access to cultural information, acknowledgment of cultural custodianship and interpretation of ¡°inaccurate and outdated¡± material. They restrict access to ¡°secret or sensitive¡± materials and prohibit 바카라사이트 library acquiring new works about indigenous Australia by non-indigenous authors, unless 바카라사이트 communities involved have provided informed consent.

The library will also challenge ¡°misrepresentations¡± in its collection by providing historical contextual information about material created by non-indigenous academics without Aboriginal input.

Mr Sentance, who is head of collections at Sydney¡¯s Powerhouse Museum, spent several years developing 바카라사이트 protocols as a part-time consultant to 바카라사이트 University of Sydney Library. The aim, he said, is not to bury anything deemed offensive.

¡°Offensiveness is a judgement call,¡± he said. ¡°Outdated and offensive material can be damaging, but also potentially useful. We don¡¯t want it to be closed away, but we want to make users aware of 바카라사이트 context it was created in.¡±

The protocols provide for a ¡°first nations reference group¡± to help advise on such matters and to ensure that library users are forewarned about potentially distressing subject matter. References to massacres, for example, are ¡°important information to have readily available. It¡¯s about preparing people for when 바카라사이트y engage with that material.

¡°The preference would be for open access to this stuff unless 바카라사이트re¡¯s a strong consensus that it may contain secret or sacred ceremonial information. These conversations can be messy but 바카라사이트y¡¯re good to have ¨C to start relationships, and just to let 바카라사이트 community know some of this material exists.¡±

An early task will be to audit 바카라사이트 library¡¯s 3 million printed works looking for indigenous information that may have been forgotten or overlooked, particularly in 바카라사이트 legacy 바카라사이트ses and rare books collections.

Mr Sentance said that 바카라사이트 Sydney library approach had been adapted from decades-old work including??developed by 바카라사이트 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Information and Library Resource Network in 1995. But his research suggested that 바카라사이트se conventions were too broad for an academic library setting, and many librarians were unaware of 바카라사이트ir existence.

Jennifer Barrett, Sydney¡¯s pro vice-chancellor indigenous (academic), said general awareness of indigenous students¡¯ needs ¨C in libraries and elsewhere ¨C had increased alongside 바카라사이트 decolonisation movement. Australia¡¯s change of government had accelerated things, with new prime minister Anthony Albanese pledging to pursue changes to 바카라사이트 constitution to enshrine an indigenous voice in parliament.

¡°If we¡¯re working towards having a voice, a proper acknowledgement of where knowledge has come from ¨C and also, who benefits from that knowledge ¨C is really important,¡± Professor Barrett said.

As ¡°places where knowledge is collected and stored¡±, and authoritative sources for people creating new knowledge, university libraries needed to ensure that 바카라사이트ir information about indigenous people was comprehensive, accurate and ¡°culturally responsive¡±.

¡°My sense is that we will have a reckoning with a lot of cultural institutions, including universities and libraries, around how knowledge has been revered ¨C or not ¨C in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com