| Chris
Batt |
 |
Chris Batt OBE is currently a consultant,
has over 20 years experience in cultural heritage and learning policy
development, within local authorities, nationally at MLA and internationally
as an adviser to the European Commission.
Chris recently retired at the end of 2007 as the Chief Executive of The
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), United Kingdom. MLA is
the UK Government's development agency for the sector and is responsible
for leading strategic advice on the delivery of services to users, opening
up access to the collections held in museums, libraries and archives.
Previously Chris advised on the use of information and communication technologies
in museums, archives and libraries, and led the Government's People's Network
programme. His task was to connect all 4,300 public libraries to the Information
Superhighway by the end of 2002, giving universal public access to the rich information
and learning resources that are now being created in Cyberspace. It was a project
completed on time and in budget.
Until August 1999 Chris was Director of Leisure Services for the London Borough
of Croydon where he had worked for over 20 years. Closely involved in the development
of Croydon Clocktower, the award winning cultural centre, his responsibilities
as Director of Leisure Services included libraries, museums and heritage, the
arts, sport and recreation, parks and open spaces, and tourism.
Chris has a keen interest in the development of information technology for public
use having been involved with the development of computer systems to support
cultural heritage and learning since the mid-seventies. He continues to lecture
in many countries around the world and has written many books and papers. |
| Terehia Biddle |
 |
Terehia Biddle descends from Tuhoe the ancestor,
and is affilitated to the same tribal group. Raised by her parents in
the valley of Ruatoki, Terehia was immersed in the language and culture
of her people. Her mentors were her parents, elders, and extended family
members. In her formative years she attended a small country school,
with a predominantly Maori population and by the age of ten, was sent
seventeen kilometres away to attend a 'town' school. It was there, where
she learned about a culture different from her own.
Over the years and through personal experience, Terehia has come to understand
these differences and values, the knowledge she has gained from these
experiences. Terehia believes that the first steps to engaging in a meaningful
way with Maori is to first understand the importance Maori place on identity,
culture and language. Notwithstanding academic qualifications, she believes
Maori are more inclined to measure an institution's 'credibility' to
talk on and about Maori matters using these cultural indicators. Maori
'Credibility' assessment results based on these cultural indicators,
determines whether the next step to engage further with Maori will occur.
Terehia is the Kaihautu, Group Manager for Services to Maori and Communities
and has been with Archives New Zealand for three years. Prior to that
she has worked in the Tertiary and NGO sectors. |
| Donna
Briggs |
 |
Yaama,
my name is Donna Briggs. I am a Kamilaroi woman from Moree in Northern
NSW, and have been working for the Dhiiyaan Indigenous Unit and the
Northern Regional Library for the past five years promoting Indigenous
Services. I have implemented a number of culturally appropriate activities
and services to meet the needs of the Aboriginal community in which
we exist to serve and look forward to being involved in IT Development
over the next 12 months to improve access to information of Aboriginal
content. Currently studying in my 5th year part-time for a Bachelor
of Arts (Library and Information Science) through Charles Sturt University.
|
| Noeline
Briggs-Smith |
 |
Yaama,
my name is Noeline Briggs-Smith. I have been the Aboriginal Researcher
for the Dhiiyaan Indigenous Centre for over 13 years, helping hundreds
of people trace their family trees. I completed an Advanced Diploma
through the Faculty of the Arts at the University of New England
where I gained a high distinction in Aboriginal education. I am a
qualified historian, and have published 3 books for the Moree Mob
Series: Winanga-Li (vol I), Burrul Wallaay (vol 2) and GoYouRangs
(vol 3). I also tutor Aboriginal university students, conduct cultural
awareness training, and teach TAFE and dance. I have been invited
to speak at several conferences and won several community awards
including Moree’s 2004 Citizen of the Year. I am extremely passionate
about Aboriginal family history and believe that aboriginal history
enhances local history which benefits the history of our nation.
My dream is to see other libraries adopt the practices we have at
Dhiiyaan.
“Creating an Indigenous Archive
@ Your Local Library.” – A Service Beyond Books.
In this presentation, Noeline Briggs-Smith
and Donna Briggs would like to share Dhiiyaan’s story, of why and
how an Indigenous Archive Centre was successfully established within
the structure of the Northern Regional Library.
In 1995 Dhiiyaan Indigenous Centre
(formerly known as The Indigenous Unit) became established as the
first family history and photograph unit of its kind; which encouraged
Aboriginal participation within a library service. This was no
easy task for barriers had to broken because of the past colour
bar and the common perception by ATSI peoples that library management
of information and the provision of services have not been responsive
to their needs.
Dhiiyaan has affirmed a commitment
to Indigenous Library services by taking a leadership role in the
promotion of a library service for Indigenous people, and services
have moved beyond that of books.
Dhiiyaan has since emerged into a Keeping Place within a Regional Library structure
which aims to increase the understanding and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal
history, culture and knowledge among the wider community through a range of
public programs and activities including; cultural awareness, family history
sessions, Gamilaraay language programs, literacy programs, etc.
Today, Aboriginal people of Australia face one of the largest family history
jigsaw puzzles in locating deceased and living kin because of the subsequent
moves from one reserve to another, and the taking of the people from their
tribal areas. Dhiiyaan continues to document Kamilaroi history and family history
to assists those Aboriginal people complete the puzzle.
|
| Denise
Chapman |
 |
Denise began work at the State Library of South Australia
in 2003, in the role of Collection Specialist for Indigenous Collections.
Her work focuses on the management of collections with Indigenous content,
including photography, manuscripts, AV and artworks. The role includes
administering access, policy development, setting digitisation priorities,
research enquiries, and coordinating events and tours.
During 2007 she has been involved in processing a major archival collection
which has increased knowledge of its content and will assist with future
access. Denise is an active campaigner for the promotion of respectful handling
of Indigenous intellectual and cultural property in the general library
community. Her special interest area is Aboriginal Family History research
and in training other library staff to build skills in this important
area. Before joining the State Library of SA, Denise worked in the public
library environment for two years, and had worked in commerce prior
to studying Librarianship. She is a fanatical organic gardener, water conservation campaigner
and cricket tragic. |
| Lenore Dembski |
| |
Lenore Dembski is from Darwin and is Kungarakan
on her Mother’s side and Larrakia and Iwatja on her Father’s side. Lenore
has extensive experience in the public, private and community sectors.
From 1990 to 97 Lenore was the Director of the NT Aboriginal Development
Unit and led a team responsible for Aboriginal employment, education,
training and community development across all industries.
Some Aboriginal organizations where Lenore has been on the governing
board are: North Australian Legal Aid Service, Danilla Dilba Medical
Service and the Kungarakan Education and Culture Association. She has
also been on the board of the Northern Territory Employment and Training
Authority, the ATSI Arts Board of the Australia Council and a number
of Indigenous educational and training advisory committees. Lenore
was also the Chairperson of the Centre for Teaching and Learning in
Diverse Educational Contexts at the Northern Territory University.
Lenore is a qualified Adult Educator and has designed, developed and
conducted a number of training courses in areas such as computer awareness,
office technology, public speaking, strategic planning, financial management,
facilitation skills, policy development, understanding legislation
and developing training needs analysis. She has also designed and conducted
training in Indigenous small business development and photographic
and catwalk modelling and producing events such as fashion parades,
conferences and workshops.
Since January 2008, Lenore has been employed by the Department of
Employment, Education and Training as the Manager Records and Information
Management Unit. |
| Simon Flagg |
 |
Simon Flagg is a descendant of the Wemba Wemba
people from the Swan Hill region in Victoria. In February 2007 Simon
was seconded to Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) as the Acting Manager
of the Koorie Records Unit (KRU). In this role he manages the implementation
of the wilam naling report recommendations to enhance access to Aboriginal
records. Simon is also the newsletter editor for the Indigenous Issues
Special Interest group within the Australia Society of Archivists.
Simon commenced employment with the National Archives of Australia
(NAA) in 2002 as an indexer on the Bringing Them Home (BTH) Name Index
Project. In 2004 he took up the joint position of Koorie Reference
Officer for NAA and PROV. Through this position Simon has promoted
both NAA and PROV Aboriginal collections, with the main focus on the
former Aboriginal Protection and Welfare Board Victoria.
|
|
|
| |
Linda is a Senior Lecturer and researcher in the Faculty
of Law, Business and Arts and teachers in the School of Australian Indigenous
Knowledge Systems. Linda’s 22 years teaching experience includes early
childhood, primary, post-primary, VET and Higher Education: undergraduate
and postgraduate students.
Linda enjoys teaching and research in areas of pedagogy, Indigenous knowledges,
land management, Indigenous education and racism.
Lecturers, librarians & learners:
connections, relationships & knowledge- joining the dots.
In Semester 2, 2007 Linda Ford, CDU
Senior Lecturer in the School of Australian Indigenous Knowledge
Systems (SAIKS), planned an Indigenous
knowledge field trip to Lee Point Reserve for students studying
her “Indigenous Education” unit. The Indigenous Knowledge learning
experience
aimed to provide the students with culturally appropriate learning
experiences and to research their own materials and resources in
order to develop a unit of work.
Linda sought the support of CDU Liaison Librarians Kaye Henderson,
and Jessie Mahjouri, to provide a library session on ‘Information
Literacy’. The session provided a tour of the library collection
and a demonstration of where the students could obtain relevant information
to complete their assignment. The student feedback about this learning
experience was very good. Linda, Jessie and Kaye discussed the possibilities
to continue to work together to formalise the embedding of information
literacy skills into the unit for 2008, renamed as “Teaching indigenous
learners”.
The teaching and assessment of the 2008 unit includes a 2 hour lecture
and 2 tutorials designated to Jessie and Kaye. The assignment task
will evaluate how well students engage with the appropriate digital
resources subscribed to by CDU, and supplemented by local resources
such as the ‘My story’ database, Northern Territory Library website,
and the NT Archives. Student access to peer reviewed academic writings
and curriculum models will allow them to become aware of the community
knowledge networks and to draw on them as resources. This program
aims to enable students to select and assess the tools, the models
and the knowledge which will best engage Indigenous learners.
|
| Atarino Helieisar |
 |
Mr. Atarino Helieisar’s exposure to libraries started back
in 1999 when he was hired to work at the College of Micronesia-FSM Learning
Resources Center as a library assistant, working in particular with the
U.S. and U.N. documents Depositories. In the year 2000 and 2001, he received
the Student Choice Award voted by the students at the College of Micronesia-FSM
National Campus for two consecutive years. The awards were given to recognize
his full support, assistance, and encouragement to students during each
school year. In 2004, he was promoted to coordinate both Depositories
until January 2007. Within the 7 years of services with the College library,
Mr. Helieisar has been an active member of many committees at the college
such as the personnel committee and the student services committee and
library organizations including the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries
and Archives (PIALA) which he is currently the secretary. He also attended
many conferences and workshops such as Pacific Educational Conference
(PEC), Federal Depository Seminar in Washington D.C., Pacific Libraries
Training Institute (PLTI) in Hawaii and Pacific Islands Association of
Libraries and Archives (PIALA) within the Micronesian region where he
presented on various library topics and participated in discussions during
the conferences and then shared those topics learned among his colleagues.
In January 2007, Mr. Helieisar was hired at the Federated States of
Micronesia (FSM) Supreme Court Law Library to be the Chief Law Librarian
in charge of the four FSM Supreme Court Law Libraries within the four
FSM States (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae). As the current PIALA secretary,
and a PIALA Board Member representing the state of Pohnpei, he represented
PIALA in the 10th InterLending and Document Supply Conference (ILDS
2007), in October 2007 at the National Library in Singapore. During
the conference, Mr. Helieisar presented a short paper titled “Resource
Sharing Developments in Micronesia”.
In November 2007 PIALA Conference, Mr. Helieisar was selected by the
PIALA Board to replace Mrs. Arlene Cohen as the new PIALA representative
to IFLA.
|
| Kaye Henderson |
| |
Kaye has worked at CDU in a part-time capacity
for 7 years, since April 2006 Kaye has been part of the Liaison and Information
literacy team with responsibilities for the School of Trades, School
of Australian Indigenous Knowledge Systems (SAIKS), the Indigenous Academic
Support Unit and the Special Collection. Kaye also works in the casual
pool at the Northern Territory Library, in Parliament House. Prior to
moving to Darwin in February 1998 Kaye spent 14 years working in various
libraries in Canberra including : Australian Institute of Sport, University
of Canberra, National Capital Planning Authority, Australian War Memorial
and the Commonwealth Department of the Environment. Kaye has a keen interest
with linking library clients with information. |
| Shayla Kora |
 |
Born to parents who are both of Maori decent,
Shayla has tribal affiliations to Ngati Kahungunu, Te Arawa, Ngai Tahu
and Te Ati Haunui A Paparangi. Shayla was born in Auckland and raised
in Napier, where she experienced the benefits of both mainstream and
Maori-focused educational institutions. Her immersion in her Maoritanga
(essence of being Maori) whilst at St Joseph's Maori Girls' College,
and her appreciation for New Zealand as a multi-cultural society, drives
her passion for developing and advancing language, traditions and ideologies
that reflect the unique nature of Maoridom within the community.
Shayla not only incorporates her passion for Maoritanga through her work,
utilising her knowledge and respect for Maori culture and language wherever
possible, but it also extends to her personal life where she enjoys Kapa
Haka and Maori performing arts. She also enjoys time with whanau, sport
and travelling.
Shayla is the Community and National Register of Archives and Manuscripts
the Responsiveness Administrator at Archives New Zealand. Shayla has
extensive experience working with and for the community wherein she
feels intrinsically responsible for perpetuating Maori history, customs
and values - particularly through her work with diverse communities
and professional groups to increase their access to archives. |
| Jessie Mahjouri |
| |
Jessie worked as a Teacher Librarian for 25
years in Tasmania, including 5 years spent managing a Curriculum Services
Library, before coming to Darwin in 2005 and joining the Liaison Librarian
team at CDU Library. She loves working with the students and staff of
the School of Education, using her years of experience working in schools
and school libraries to inform her current role. |
| Allen Marett |
 |
Professor Allan Marett’s fields of research
are Australian Aboriginal music and Sino-Japanese music history. He is
the author of Song, Dreamings and Ghosts: the wangga of North Australia,
which won the 2006 Stanner Award. Professor Marett is closely involved
in the digital preservation of endangered music, working with local community
members to establish and maintain sound archives in two Aboriginal communities,
Belyuen and Wadeye. His current research is focused primarily on the
development of the National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance
in Australia, which aims to record, document and archive Aboriginal traditions
of song and dance, and to make them available in local community-based
digital archives and as part of the national heritage. He is currently
joint Vice-President of the International Council for Traditional Music
and is a past President of the Musicological Society of Australia.
The National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance In Australia:
using digital resources to support endangered traditions.
This paper outlines the history, present activities and future plans
of the National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia,
a project that aims to record, document and archive the major traditions
of Indigenous music and dance in Australia and to make them available
in local Indigenous communities in culturally appropriate ways. Particular
attention will be focused on a new proposal to train local Indigenous
people to record and document their own traditions and the development
of new digital infrastructure to support the preservation and ongoing
viability of these highly endangered traditions
|
| Judy
Martin |
 |
I was born in Peakhill, Central West New South Wales, Wiradjuri Country
where many of my family members still live. I grew up in Queanbeyan New
South Wales.
I have done a lot of health and community work for the Canberra region
including working with women and children experiencing crisis eg, homelessness,
domestic violence, children with high behavioural problems, mental
health issues, and assisting people with disabilities. I also have
research and administration experience whilst working with other government
departments and have a certificate 4 in Community advocacy. I’m honoured to work for the Family History Unit as I am very passionate
about contributing and being part of the healing process for Indigenous
Australians. For me, it is both rewarding and challenging in helping
people discover who they are and where they come from. My aim in life is to pass my knowledge and love of Aboriginal culture
to my children and younger generations. |
| Martin
Nakata |
 |
Professor
Martin Nakata is Director of Indigenous Academic Unit at Jumbunna
Indigenous House of Learning, and Chair of Australian Indigenous
Education at the University of Technology, Sydney. He is the first
Torres Strait Islander to graduate with PhD from an Australian University.
His previous work and academic interests in Indigenous education
issues and his research interest in Indigenous knowledge areas span
23 years. He has presented many plenary and keynote addresses at
national as well as international conference in 5 different countries.
His work is widely published in anthologies, academic journals, edited
books and national newspapers. His book Disciplining the Savages:
Savaging the Disciplines was published in 2007.
|
| Suzy
Russell |
 |
After trying a series of careers and courses
Suzy found her ‘true calling’ when she completed a Graduate Diploma in
Information Studies in 2000. Joining the State Library of South Australia
in 2003, as part of the Collection Specialist team she was given the
responsibility of working with the Library’s Indigenous collections as
well as the prestigious Bradman Collection.
During the past five years she has worked with Denise Chapman to achieve
a balance between increased access to the State Library’s Indigenous
collections and continued respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander protocols. Recently she has been given the opportunity to
work in the area of cataloguing, gaining an appreciation of the importance
of good bibliographic data which she hopes will further enhance access
to the State Library’s Indigenous holdings in years to come. Suzy feels very lucky to be able to practise her profession in this
important field. In her spare time she is involved in community radio, is a cricket
lover and hopes to one day graduate from her level 1 yoga class. |
| Rebecca
Stubbs |
 |
I am of Weilwan and Bidjara descent and my
people are from Warren in Central West NSW and also from Charleville,
QLD.
I joined AIATSIS in 2000 as a Library Assistant and have been in the
AIATSIS Family History Unit since July 2002. Working in the Family History Unit, I feel privileged to be able to
make a real, meaningful difference to my people. My own family has
been touched by the past removal policies and I am pleased to be able
to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to rediscover
who they are and where they are from. |
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