Honoring UNDRIP and the TRC’s Calls to Action: Situating Langara Library 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, CFLA-TRC’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 post-secondary 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 CFLATRC 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). White – Analysis TRC Calls to Action (Relevant Areas Highlighted) 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: i. Providing sufficient funding to close identified educational achievement gaps within one generation. Library Activities 4. Ensure culturally, and age-appropriate collections are made available; 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. Most recently, the Collections Librarian has 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 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 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. 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 $1.8 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. TRC Call to Action 69. We call upon Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to: 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. 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. Library Activities 1. Support LAC in these initiatives; 2. Collections development; continue with programming, displays; links on library websites. 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: • • • 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 honors 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. 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 education furthering Reconciliation within the Library, 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. Two IWG members are currently enrolled in the College’s intensive Employee Intercultural Engagement Certificate program. 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 commenced an ongoing project to remove outdated and offensive terminology (for example, the subject heading “Indians of North America”) from the Library’s catalogue records. Most recently, the Library 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 selfidentifies as Indigenous. This will help members of the Langara community amplify Indigenous perspectives and expertise in course assignments, research projects, and curricula. 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. 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 the current public health emergency, Langara Library participated in the campus tour for IUP students and hopes to do so again in future. 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.