With the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we are proud to announce Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers, a new regional initiative to create professional development opportunities for tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators and Library and Information Studies (LIS) graduate students.
This one-year project, funded by the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, addresses the complementary needs of LIS graduate students and tribal cultural workers: while LIS students often lack meaningful opportunities to learn about and engage with American Indian information topics, tribal “Culture Keepers” have few accessible opportunities for ongoing professional development and access to technical expertise.
Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers extends UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies’ educational initiatives to include tribal communities and LIS students from throughout Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
This summer, LIS graduate students will work alongside cultural workers in tribal institutions through a five-week Community Engagement course. Students will work with tribal cultural workers to learn about their professional development priorites by developing a needs assessment with UW-Madison SLIS faculty.
Then, in April 2014, the project will culminate in a four-day regional professional development institute at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. The institute will bring together attendees from tribal cultural institutions from throughout the Great Lakes. LIS students, primarily from UW-Madison SLIS, will also attend sessions and help with logistics.
Check back often for updates and posts as Omar and the students document the project.
If you’d like to learn more about the project, please contact Omar at (608) 890-3817.