2. Diversity

Activity:

-       Review an electronic resource for children or young adults or about delivering services to children or young adults.

I have reviewed an Indigenous electronic resource called Dust Echoes. Directed to young people in the community for the purpose of education and supporting the promotion of Australian Indigenous heritage. The website enables interaction and creativity to explore the original stories: watching an animation, quiz, study guide, making your own version to upload, wallpaper and introduction of new words. The review and web link would be attached to the libraries website, in the kid’s On-line Resources collection for exploration.

The use of technology enables Librarians to connect with their community, particularly with some cultures, which do not frequent libraries. Library services are to assist in education as well as archiving stories from community to share for future generations. One such example is an electronic resource called Dust Echoes. The resource is aimed at lower Primary to upper secondary ages and comprises of 12 Dreamtime stories that are animated, sharing what is important to the community of Indigenous Australians. Dr. Alex Byrne’s article, Indigenous Knowledge and Libraries: An afterward, explains that ‘knowledge is at the core of being for Indigenous peoples. It locates individuals precisely and inextricably in their communities and interrelates individuals and communities with their spiritual environments’ (2005. p.211). These foundational stories are essential for children and youth to retain, they are core to their education and cultural pride.

Partnerships with organisations continue to collate community stories especially in remote areas of Australia. The State Library of Victoria joined with Kid’s Own Publishing Project to produce books written and illustrated by Indigenous children and families. These were highlighted in Kid’s Own Publishing website for Indigenous Literacy Day 2013. The State Library of Queensland funds and supports 22 Indigenous Knowledge Centre’s that are managed by Aboriginal councils or the Torres Strait regional Council. Stories have been collected from the communities in the Northern territory by ABC Radio National, and bilingual baby board book on-line readings from the Northern Territory Library that are read by the community.

I have learned that stories are being collected and archived through different formats such as film, animation and radio. Stories are sung, told, danced and read. There is room for further initiatives, collaborations and partnerships to ensure that Indigenous stories are not forgotten. This also includes looking at how library services deliver programs for children and young adults based on on-line resources. Collecting stories and learning takes time, patience is required to establish relationships so that respect is earned to be able to receive the stories from the community. There are 12 protocols that are provided by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library, Information and Resource Network Inc, and supported by Australian Library and Information Association, to guide libraries and Indigenous Australians to work together.

Professionally, it is important to seek out these resources and to provide programming that is exciting to all within the community through dance, food festivals, craft, art, individual stories of elders to be handed down to new generations because it is our job to do so. Innovative and ease to use web layout would attract children an youth to explore these sights to learn about their heritage.

References

ABC Radio National.2011. Sharing our stories. Retrieved from                                                  http://www.abc.net.au/rn/legacy/features/sharingourstories/

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library, Information and Resource Network Inc.              2012. Protocols. Retrieved from http://aiatsis.gov.au/atsilirn/protocols.php

Australian Library and Information Association. 2014. Retrieved from                        

http://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/libraries-and-information-services-and-indigenous-peoples

Australian Public Libraries and Information Service. 2011. Public libraries serving

 multicultural communities across Australia: Best practice examples. In

 APLIS, 24(3) 116.

Byrne, A. 2005. Indigenous knowledge and libraries: An afterward. In Australian

 Academic & Research Libraries 36(2) 211-216

Dust Echoes. 2007. Ancient Stories, New Voices. Retrieved from                                                  http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/

Kid’s Own Publishing Project. 2013. Celebrating Indigenous Literature Day, 2013.

Retrieved from http://kidsownpublishing.com/celebrating-indigenous-literacy-day-2013/

Indigenous Literacy Foundation. 2013. Community Literacy projects. Retrieved              from http://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/community- identified-literacy-projects.html

Northern Territory Government, Department of Arts and Museums. 2013.

Bilingual baby board books. Retrieved from

http://artsandmuseums.nt.gov.au/northern-territory-library/programs-and-projects/knowledgecentres/bilingual_baby_board_books

State Library of Queensland. 2013. Indigenous Knowledge Centres. Retrieved              from

      http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/atsi/indigenous_knowledge_centres