Honouring UNDRIP and the TRC’s Calls to Action:
Situating Langara Library (2021-2022)
Introduction
In 2016, the Canadian Federation of Library Associations - Fédération Canadienne des Associations
de Bibliothèques’s (CFLA-FCAB) established a Truth and Reconciliation Committee (CFLA-TRC) to
promote initiatives in all types of libraries to advance reconciliation by supporting the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. Organized around the medicine wheel model, CFLATRC’s 2017 Report outlines ten overarching recommendations in four categories:

In the absence of direct TRC Calls to Action for academic libraries, the CFLA-TRC report and
recommendations serves as the guiding document for our profession. The summary that follows
primarily focuses on the White/Mental quadrant, which “review[s the] [TRC] Calls to Action and
identif[ies] those actions which libraries are or should respond to” (p. 18). We extend some of the
TRC’s offerings for K-12 education and the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to postsecondary education where fitting.
In November 2019, the provincial government passed legislation to implement the UN Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which the TRC confirms as the framework for
reconciliation. Langara Library is committed to upholding the principles outlined by the TRC and
UNDRIP. As the CFLA-TRC report states:
Our libraries, archives, and institutions of memory must more fully become cultural centres,
representing the Indigenous communities and populations we serve. We must take our
direction from the communities and groups we serve in collection development, service
delivery, and space design and be culturally aware of the people we serve, and their cultural
traditions and languages” (p. 39).

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White – Analysis
TRC Calls to Action (Relevant Areas
Highlighted)

Library Activities

10. We call on the federal government to draft
new Aboriginal education legislation with the
full participation and informed consent of
Aboriginal peoples. The new legislation would
include a commitment to sufficient funding and
would incorporate the following principles:

4. Ensure culturally, and age-appropriate
collections are made available;

i. Providing sufficient funding to close
identified educational achievement gaps within
one generation.

8. Use the principles and approaches of
community-led librarianship to ensure that
community needs are identified, prioritised
and met;
9. Provide culturally appropriate/relevant
information literacy workshops.

ii. Improving education attainment levels and
success rates.
iii. Developing culturally appropriate curricula.
62. We call upon the federal, provincial, and
territorial governments, in consultation and
collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal
peoples, and educators, to:

2. Provide resources which teachers and
student teachers can incorporate into
Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods.

i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on
residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal
peoples’ historical and contemporary
contributions to Canada a mandatory
education requirement for Kindergarten to
Grade Twelve students.
Note. Adapted from “Truth & Reconciliation Report and Recommendations,” by the Canadian Federation of Library
Associations, 2017 (http://cfla-fcab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Truth-and-Reconciliation-Committee-Report-andRecommendations-ISBN1.pdf). Copyright 2017 by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations.

Langara Library has a robust Indigenous topics collection. The Collections and Media Librarians
regularly review the catalogues and websites of academic publishers, university presses, and
educational media distributors to identify and procure titles focused on issues specific to the
Indigenous peoples of the Lower Mainland, British Columbia, and Canada. Purchase suggestions
from faculty and staff also play an important role in selection. The Collections Librarians have
focused on building the Library’s collection of plays by Indigenous artists for the Studio 58 theatre
program and titles focused on decolonizing curriculum.
In 2019, the Library established a satellite Course Reserves collection in the Gathering Space. Upon
request, the Library purchases copies of required course textbooks for use in the Gathering Space.
These books can also be used for home study with permission from IES staff. The Gathering Space
textbook collection emerged in response to feedback from an Indigenous student that they feel
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surveilled in the Library. Although this comment saddened library staff who want all members of
the Langara community to feel welcome and supported, it is valuable and valid feedback. Langara
Library does not have self check-out machines, which means Langara researchers must interact
with library staff (who request photo ID or a student number to confirm their identity). The library
has security gates to prevent theft and campus security guards conduct regular rounds in the
Library’s space. This ‘policing’ adds another layer to Indigenous communities’ already complicated
relationship with Eurocentric educational institutions, of which libraries are an offshoot.
Langara Library is also home to Open Langara, the College’s open education committee and
community of practice. Open Education encompasses resources, tools, and practices that are free of
legal, financial, and technical barriers and can be fully used, shared and adapted in the digital
environment (SPARC). These values align with Langara’s mission to provide accessible, affordable,
high-quality education. Langara is currently one of the heaviest adopters of open textbooks among
all B.C. post-secondary institutions. According to statistics collected in partnership with BCcampus,
open textbooks have saved Langara students over $2.5 million dollars since 2013. Open Langara
will continue to advocate for affordable learning materials on behalf of Langara students.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Library offered a ‘pop up’ event in the Gathering Space once
each semester. Timed around term paper season, the Library provided a casual catered lunch and a
librarian was available to assist students with research and referencing in a relaxed environment.
We look forward to offering this event again when public health recommendations allow.
Langara Library will continue to explore ways to ensure that Indigenous students feel at ease in the
library; however, we realize that systemic change is slow. The Library will continue to provide
access to course textbooks in the Gathering Space whenever possible to ensure that students do not
experience undue financial stress related to their course materials and are able to study where they
feel most comfortable.
2021-2022 Updates
In 2021-22, the Collections Librarians focused on acquiring more titles by Indigenous
LGBTQQIA2S+ authors and increasing the number of Indigenous children's books in our
collection. As well, the Library continued to add titles on reconciliation, MMIWG, Indigenous art
and artists, traditional ways of knowing, memoirs, and graphic novels. The Indigenous Studies
Portal and the Bibliography of Indigenous North Americans are two notable resources the Library
added to its collection this past year.
The Library continues to build its media collection with titles relating to Indigenous issues by
seeking input from faculty, subject librarians, and proactively considering Indigenous
representation (in terms of both content and the creators) when making selections. One recent
example is the acquisition of three REDx Talks series, which feature Indigenous elders, activists,
artists, and speakers talking on a wide variety of topics.
The Library promotes Indigenous collections to its community in various ways. The Library
highlighted resources relating to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with a window
display in the Library entrance and online in the Library’s Featured Titles guide for September
2022. Other relevant Featured Titles guides included categories for National Indigenous History
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Month (June 2021), Aboriginal Law and Rights (November 2021), and Collective Restoration
(April 2022).

TRC Call to Action

Library Activities

69. We call upon Library and Archives Canada
(LAC) to:

1. Support LAC in these initiatives;

i. Fully adopt and implement the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations
Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to
Aboriginal peoples’ inalienable right to know
the truth about what happened and why, with
regard to human rights violations committed
against them in the residential schools.

2. Collections development; continue with
programming, displays; links on library
websites.

ii. Ensure that its record holdings related to
residential schools are accessible to the public.
iii. Commit more resources to its public
education materials and programming on
residential schools.
Note. Adapted from “Truth & Reconciliation Report and Recommendations,” by the Canadian Federation of Library
Associations, 2017 (http://cfla-fcab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Truth-and-Reconciliation-Committee-Report-andRecommendations-ISBN1.pdf). Copyright 2017 by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations.

The Library has developed a suite of online guides to help Langara researchers and instructors
identify salient resources on Indigenous topics, including the egregious legacy of Canada’s
residential school system. Other guides include:
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Self-Study for Reconciliation (developed in collaboration with Langara’s Indigenous
Curriculum Consultant)
Honouring Canada's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
National Aboriginal Veterans Day Reading List

Prior to the pandemic, library staff organized prominent displays in the L Building foyer to
commemorate occasions such as Orange Shirt Day, which honours the victims and survivors of
Canada’s residential schools and promotes commitment to the ongoing process of reconciliation.
The Library shifted to digital displays with the transition to online learning in March 2020.
In June 2020, the Library’s social media team organized a Facebook campaign highlighting
Indigenous authors for National Aboriginal History Month. The team plans to make this popular
campaign an annual event.

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2021-2022 Updates
The Library continues to mark important dates such as National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation, National Day of Awareness for MMIWG, and Indigenous History Month on social
media, as well as in library displays. We continue to update and promote the aforementioned
reading guides.

TRC Call to Action

Library Activities

57. We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, 3. Form staff working group to focus on
and municipal governments to provide
furthering Reconciliation within the Library
education to public servants on the history of
Aboriginal peoples, including the history and
legacy of residential schools, the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal
rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal– Crown
relations. This will require skills-based training
in intercultural competency, conflict resolution,
human rights, and anti-racism.
Note. Adapted from “Truth & Reconciliation Report and Recommendations,” by the Canadian Federation of Library
Associations, 2017 (http://cfla-fcab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Truth-and-Reconciliation-Committee-Report-andRecommendations-ISBN1.pdf). Copyright 2017 by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations.

In late 2018, the Library formed an Intercultural Working Group (IWG) open to all library staff who
are interested in building intercultural competency and furthering their antiracism education,
particularly through a decolonial lens. The group dedicated its first four sessions to working
through Pulling Together: A Guide for Front-Line Staff, Student Services, and Advisors, a
collaboration between BCcampus and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training with
support from a steering committee of Indigenous education leaders, the First Nations Education
Steering Committee, the Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association, and Métis Nation BC.
IWG members regularly attend professional development sessions that center Indigenization,
decolonization, and anti-oppression and report back on take-aways via a Microsoft Teams channel.
2021-2022 Updates
The Library’s Intercultural Working Group (IWG) continues to meet on a regular basis.
Throughout the year, staff members also attended numerous professional development sessions
on reconciliation, Indigenization, and intercultural competency. In particular, several library staff
members completed the San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program and the College’s
Employee Intercultural Engagement Certificate Program.

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In February 2022, the Library hosted Natalie Knight, Langara’s Indigenous Strategy Consultant,
for an all-staff session on the College’s Indigenization Strategy. The session consisted of a review
of the strategy and discussions on how the Library can work to Indigenize its spaces, services,
and practices. The Library has begun developing a new strategic plan and the College’s
Indigenization Strategy is a key guiding document for the Library during this process.

Red - Decolonize
Access and Classification
Like most academic libraries in North America, Langara Library uses the Library of Congress
Classification system to catalogue and classify items in its collection. Our Technical Services
Coordinator has initiated an ongoing project to remove outdated and offensive terminology (for
example, the subject heading “Indians of North America”) from the Library’s catalogue records.
The Library has initiated a project to help Langara researchers identify works by Indigenous
authors within the Library’s collection. Following the model pioneered by UBC’s Xwi7xwa Library,
Technical Services staff add the subject heading “Indigenous Author” to books in which the author
self-identifies as Indigenous. This will help members of the Langara community amplify Indigenous
perspectives and expertise in course assignments, research projects, and curricula.
2021-2022 Updates
Additional work is being planned to create an automated system to update subject headings as
they come into the system. Due to the scope of this project and the sensitivity of the material, the
Library expects this project to be complete in 2024.
Library staff and faculty have begun assessing and correcting item classification wherein works
by and about Indigenous peoples have often been located with materials in history and
ethnographic studies. With the guidance of our Fine Arts / Art History liaison librarian, many
titles by and about Indigenous artists have been more properly located with other art books. This
ongoing work involves assessing, re-cataloguing, and reprocessing individual titles.

Outreach and Service
In the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters, Langara Library partnered with IES to offer student
book clubs. Langara’s Elder in Residence, Nk'xetko, facilitated talking circles for the graphic novels
Sugar Falls and Will I See? to commemorate Orange Shirt Day and the 14th annual MMIWG (Missing
and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) Memorial Walk respectively. Both of these texts are
freely available in the Langara Library collection as e-books to ensure that cost and access do not
present barriers to participation.

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The Library offers a complimentary Community Borrower library card to all students enrolled in
the Indigenous Upgrading Program (IUP). These cards allow IUP students to borrow items from
Langara Library’s print collection. Prior to COVID-19, Langara Library participated in the campus
tour for IUP students and hopes to do so again in future.

2021-22 Updates
The Library continued to collaborate with IES for a summer student book club, during which the
group read Pemmican Wars, the first volume in the A Girl Called Echo series.

Looking Forward
The CFLA-TRC encourages libraries to implement a yearly status report to monitor implementation
of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action (see Recommendation
3). To date, Langara Library’s efforts to Indigenize and decolonize its practices have been largely ad
hoc. Moving forward, we would like to be more strategic with these initiatives, identifying priorities
in collaboration with our colleagues in IES and sharing our progress with the wider Langara
community. Simon Fraser University Library’s Decolonizing the Library Task Group has developed
an Action Plan and publishes regular updates on a public-facing website. Langara Library sees value
in this model, as it creates accountability and helps ensure meaningful momentum.
2021-22 Updates
The Library’s new Strategic Plan (2022-2025), still currently in draft form, will have a clear focus
on Indigenization of library spaces, services, and practices. A key pillar of the strategic plan is
“Championing Indigenization, Diversity, and Inclusion.” Aspects of this pillar include:
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seeking funding for an Indigenous Engagement role within the Library
decolonizing library metadata to continuously improve cultural sensitivity
facilitating Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) and Indigenization professional
development for all Library employees
partnering with JEDI initiatives across campus
publishing annual reports on the Library’s Indigenization initiatives and efforts to
address the TRC calls to action

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