Policies and guidelines
Position statement: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander library collections and services – NSLA (2021)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections commitments – State Library of Queensland (2019)
Engaging with Traditional Owners – AIATSIS (2021)
Indigenous Spaces in Library Places: strategy and toolkit – State Library of New South Wales (2017)
Articles and presentations
Toward Inclusive Reading Rooms: Recommendations for Decolonizing Practices and Welcoming Indigenous Researchers – American Society of Archivists (2021)
The museum will not be decolonised - Sumaya Kassim (Media Diversified, 2017)
The challenges of trying to bring context to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
See also: The museum will not be decolonised – video, written and narrated by Sumaya Kassim and produced by Arwa Aburawa.
Deciphering Arrernte archives: The intermingling of textual and living knowledge - Jason Gibson, Shaun Angeles, Joel Liddle (Univerity of Hawai'i Press, 2019)
Interviews explore some of the issues Arrernte peoples confront as they work through archives, including the limitations of conventional cataloguing requirements and the importance of reading archival texts in a way that sees them emplaced and tested against the knowledge of Elders, and the role of digital technologies in the future dissemination of cultural materials.
Diversity, inclusion & respect: Embedding Indigenous priorities in public library services – Kirsten Thorpe and Monica Galassi (Public Library Quarterly, 2018)
"Drawing on a case study from the State Library of New South Wales in Australia, the article outlines the focused action of developing an Indigenous Services Business Plan. The Plan promotes inclusion and diversity across the organization to progress Indigenous priorities as core business of the Library."
Library Services to Indigenous Populations: Case Studies – Loriene Roy (Anishinabe) and Antonia Frydman (IFLA, 2017)
"This online book was developed with the following goals: To provide librarians around the world with a reference guide that they can use to guide their services for and with indigenous peoples. To establish strong networks of indigenous librarians so that international efforts are inclusive and reflective of good policy." Case studies from Australian libraries are included at pp77-93.
Self-determination and archival autonomy: advocating activism – E. Daniels, J. Evans, G. McCarthy, S. McKemmish (Archival Science, 2015)
"This paper explores the role of archival activism in supporting social movements linked to human rights and social justice agendas. Taking a records continuum perspective, it presents an Australian case study relating to the Stolen Generations, Former Child Migrants, Forgotten Australians and Forced Adoption communities to illustrate imperatives for advocacy and activism in support of the 'archival autonomy' of communities."
Audio and video
Embedding Indigenous voices at the State Library of New South Wales: Transforming practice through community engagement – Monica Galassi and Kirsten Thorpe (audio, AIATSIS, 2017)
"The State Library of New South Wales holds vast collections of material relating to the experiences of Indigenous people in Australia. In 2014, the library made a renewed focussed effort to review and increase the library services dedicated to the Indigenous population through the creation of the Indigenous Services Branch."
Fred Leftwich: Researching Family History – AIATSIS (video, 2016)
“When you discover your history, it gives you your identity back.”
Gaining access: warming the ground – Indigenous Leadership, Charles Darwin University (video, 2016)
Valda Shannon talks about what people need to do to prepare for researching in Aboriginal communities in Australia.
Cultural protocols when researching with Australian Aboriginal communities – Indigenous Leadership, Charles Darwin University (video, 2016)
Engaging community language researchers with Indigenous languages collections – Desmond Crump (audio, AIATSIS, 2017)
Presentation by Desmond Crump about how the State Library of Queensland has opened up their collections for community access as well as building capacity in communities to not only research these materials but also create new knowledge to enhance community language revival.
Case studies
Case studies: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander library services and collections – NSLA (2015)
Improving library services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – ALIA (2019)
"This document has examples of initiatives that are already underway, while highlighting opportunities for further improvement... The report provides ideas for libraries that may not be so far advanced in their approach, and it prompts discussion about ways in which Australian libraries can work together to make further progress."