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Library Of California |
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Why a Census of Tribal Libraries? |
Tribal Library
Census & Needs Assessment |
In the late 1990s, after fifteen years of planning, the state of California passed the Library of California Act to establish a statewide multi-type library resource sharing network. To quote directly from the law:
The Legislature therefore finds and declares the following:
It is in the interest of the people of the state to ensure that all Californians have free and convenient access to all library resources and services that could provide essential information and enrich their lives.
To respond fully and successfully to these information needs and to the diversity of California's population, libraries of all types and in all parts of the state must be enabled to interact, cooperate, and share resources.
In a letter to members of California's library community, Dr. Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California, said: (excerpted)
"…The Library of California concept takes each library in the state, large or small, public or private, and makes it an Everywhere in terms of information services. Doing this, it equalizes all Californians in terms of their access to library and information services. Doing this, the Library of California allows each Californian to make his or her decision as to where to live without fear of falling victim to a second-class citizenship in terms of library and information resources. In a society which is rapidly dividing itself into sectors of affluence and need, such equalization is dramatically necessary if the ideal of equal citizenship is to be sustained. A state consisting of information haves and information have-nots, in other words, cannot in the long run remain socially and politically stable, much less competitive."
In order for the Library of California to accomplish the intent of the law and honor the spirit of Dr. Starr's vision, tribal libraries must be included in the network. In order to do so, this project attempted to locate and assess the status of tribal libraries in the Tierra Del Sol region of the Library of California which encompasses San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial and Inyo counties . This Census and Needs Assessment serves as the first step to identify for inclusion, the libraries of California's indigenous people.
Brief History of Tribal Library Development
For untold centuries, American Indians have passed their unique legacy to successive generations through an ancient but fragile chain of oral tradition. The challenges of economic development, tribal capacity building, protection of land and resource rights, and numerous other issues of tribal sovereignty burgeoned in the wake of the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act of 1975, bringing home the fact that tribes needed libraries to provide them access to current, and often complex information in order to maintain sovereignty and preserve fading cultural traditions. Subsequent federal legislation (LSCA Title IV), (Title II-B of Higher Education Act) and hearings at White House Conferences on Indian Library and Information Services on or Near Reservations, supported American Indian tribes' initiatives to transition from a predominantly oral tradition into a print, and later, digital environment. The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Report on Improving Library and Information Services for Native American Peoples lists ten findings for meeting the many challenges identified at the hearings in 1992. Among them, three that positioned the Library of California/Tierra Del Sol region to undertake this Tribal Library Census and Needs Assessment:
- Improve Access & Strengthen Cooperative Activities (4)
- Develop State and Local Partnerships (5)
- Identify Model Programs for Native American Libraries & Information Services (7)
At the forefront of this federal lobbying and legislation in support of tribal library development is Dr. Lotsee Patterson, who, in the 1970s developed a series of federally-funded programs in the Pueblos of New Mexico to train Indian people in basic library skills and later, set up tribal library demonstration projects on ten different Pueblos. This model has been used in more than a dozen states over a thirty year period, including San Diego County's Indian Library Services Project (ILSP) in the mid 1980's. Dr. Patterson (Comanche), at the University of Oklahoma, is this country's premiere scholar on tribal library development. Her recent Directory of Tribal Libraries in the United States listed two tribal libraries in the state of California. Dr. Patterson is the first to admit that surveying Indian tribes is not an effective way to gather information.
Tierra Del Sol
There are thirty-seven American Indian reservations in the Tierra Del Sol region of the
Library of California service area. The data gathered for this project are the result of
personal visits and interviews with all library or reservation staff in the region
surveyed.
A few tribal libraries were fully staffed, with well-developed collections, fully
networked computer labs and thriving programs for children and adults. Many tribal
libraries were opened in the mid to late 1980s but are no longer staffed and so provide
access in a passive, serendipitous manner. Several tribes wanted a library and were
seeking funding to establish one. Besides the need for regular funding, training in basic
library skills was a need that was expressed repeatedly. Many tribal library staff
expressed concern over the loss of language and the role that their library might play in
the preservation and revival of the reservation's indigenous language. An effort is
underway to organize tribal library staff in the region in order to develop a mechanism
for sharing common issues and to lobby as a unified voice.
To find out more about tribal libraries in the Tierra Del Sol region, visit the reservation sites on the homepage map.
Tribal Library Census & Needs Assessment 2001/2002 Final Report
The Final Report on this project can be
found
here. During the summer of 2002,
repeat visits were made to the Tierra Del Sol Region
libraries. Some staffing turnover took place and is reflected in the
website updates of (8/02). Several more tribes applied for the IMLS Basic
Grant and Professional Assistance Grant as a result of the Census visits and
perhaps more significantly, the tribal librarians
are beginning to organize in a more formal manner.
Follow this link
for information on the group.
