We are quickly approaching the final days of Summer and although the season doesn’t officially end until September 22, our fall term begins in a matter of days. It’s time for a recap of what our team has been up to all these months!
We participated in professional activities to stay current with our colleagues, contributed to scholarly conversations, and maybe even have a bit of fun. Taya Jardine (Indigenous Metadata Librarian) and Kayla Lar-Son (Acting Head) attended the NIKLA Respectful Terminology Platform Project Foundational Gathering this April at the University of the Fraser Valley and also visited Harrison Hot Springs. To learn more about NIKLA and this exciting project check out their website.
Karleen Delaurier-Lyle (Information Services Librarian) attended the 2024 Workshop for Instruction in Library Use (WILU) at KPU. The theme for the year was Embracing Change, to see the full schedule and learn more see here.
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The librarians attended the grand opening of the Chung & Lind Gallery this May! This collection’s new space is on the second floor of IKB and contains various archival documents, paintings, posters, and more that pertain to the immigration of Chinese settlers and the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Lind collection pertains to the Klondike Gold Rush. Want to check out the collection for yourself? Learn more here.
Lemonade & Seeds on the roof! This summer was a scorcher so we took our seeds and refreshments to the roof for some community engagement. We gave away books, kept everyone hydrated, and promoted UBC Library’s seed lending libraries. We even planted some plant friends at the Longhouse and Library!
With the recent creation of our seed lending library we decided to plant a few friends for ourselves. We partnered with the Longhouse for a Plant-a-Friend activity where we began growing some lettuce named Charlett; we even tried our hand at corn and fava beans.
Just look at how healthy they are! While Charlett didn’t last our vacation closures, our corns (Kernel, Colonel, and Kernal) and our favas (Faja and Hannibal) are doing great. Just look at them now!
We participated in the 2024 Summer Indigenous Graduation ceremony at the Longhouse and some of us even helped weave grad caps! Big thanks to the Longhouse for organizing all of these workshops. Congratulations to our student Gretchen McNaughton and librarian Taya Jardine on their graduations!
Librarians checked up on the honey bees (the Burnabees) at the UBC Farm through our connection with the Indigenous Research Cluster. Thanks so much to our friend Joaquin Munoz (Curriculum & Pedagogy) for teaching us how to check on our tiny relatives.
Our team closed the branch for National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st to help out in Musqueam! We helped serve food, make cotton candy, and get folks signed up for the Indigenous Borrower Card. Did you know you can now get a borrower card by visiting our branch? Learn more here!
On June 25th we attended Verna Kirkness’s retirement event with our colleagues at the Longhouse. We heard from her old colleagues and friends and sent her into retirement with kind messages and a full belly.
This June we attended the canoe races in Musqueam!
And in July our team gave it a try with our colleagues from FNHL! Takaya Tours taught us how to pull together and we spent a beautiful day out on the water building our collective capacity to work together.
In July we were back at the farm to help pick berries!
This August our branch joined our colleagues across UBC Library for the student-led Queering Kinship event. We gathered resources that celebrate pride in our 2SLGBTQQIA+ community and had them ready for loan.
The Association of Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (ATALM) has awarded the branch the Guardians of Culture and Lifeways International Award for Institutional Excellence for our innovation, partnerships, and services to community that can be replicated by other institutions. This fall Taya Jardine will travel to Palm Springs to accept the award!
This summer and fall we are sad to say goodbye to our students: Gretchen McNaughton, Sterling McGregor, riley navarra, and Mira Harvey. We have enjoyed working with and learning from each one of you and hope to see you all again soon!