Library wants improved relationship with community

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Staff from the Saskatoon Public Library grabbed some books and headed for the playground over the summer as part of the library's efforts to reach out to the Aboriginal community.

The library launched the Stories in the Park program in early July as the first component of its new Something for everyone Aboriginal Library Services Project, aimed at making the library a more welcoming place for Aboriginal patrons, and working to ensure the programs and services offered are meeting their specific needs.

Michelle Gowans, a children's librarian with the Saskatoon Public Library, is co-ordinator of the Aboriginal Library Services Project. She explained that the decision was made to focus this first year of the project on programming for children and families.

Stories in the Park ran during July and August, and was offered at four city parks in neighbourhoods with higher Aboriginal populations.

"Our storytellers through the Saskatoon Public Library were assigned to parks for a six-week period. And they went out once a week to do half an hour to an hour's worth of stories. So that was told stories, it would be books, maybe poems or interactive activities where they would just be making a connection with the kids. And then we were able to tell them a little bit about the library, and send home library card applications and bookmarks and things like that," Gowans said.

"We were able to share some stories with them, and do what would constitute sort of a typical program that we would do in the library, but with the difference that we were out there in the community, speaking to them. And that allowed us to make some connections, and to build some bridges over the weeks. And people really started to feel that towards the end, the kids were expecting them, and that there was definitely the beginnings of a relationship there, that we hope will then carry through into the branches where they may see the person again, or may see them at other programs."

The next two components of this year's project will be Family Day Parties, planned as part of Saskatchewan Library Week, Oct. 19 to 25. The first party will take place at the Carlyle King Branch on Oct. 21 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the second at the Mayfair Branch on Oct. 24 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and the third at the Frances Morrison Library on Oct. 25 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Family Day Parties will be informal open houses that will give library staff a chance to spend some time with people and let them know what the library has to offer.

"It's just a chance to maybe just challenge people to see what else we have. Because a lot of people, for example, don't know that we have a lot of powwow music. And I think that's something that a lot of people would find interesting, to know that we have a lot of that here. Just those kinds of things, as well as the computer resources we have, the programs that we offer. I mean we do so much more than books," Gowans said.

"By doing those parties, we really wanted to try and connect with the whole family. We're going to have some entertainment, some refreshments, and just a chance to show people around in a really informal manner."

The third component of this year's project will be a series of Family Story Hour programs, which will run from October through December.

"What we're doing is going out and presenting what would be a typical parent/child story time. We do some story times where it's just children, but we wanted to do a program that was very interactive with parent and child. Because that then allows us to talk about the benefits of reading together and sharing books, and action rhymes and things together. Because that really sets a good foundation for reading in the future," Gowans said.

The Family Story Hours will again take staff out into the community, with story hours planned for the White Buffalo Youth Lodge, the Saskatchewan Indian Metis Friendship Centre, and the new urban children's centre opening up in the cit. "There's going to be a read- along book bag program connected with that. So we'll go out and take bags of books out to these programs, and then everyone will get a chance to take a bag home and then use those books for the week, and then bring it back the following week and exchange it for another batch. So again, it gets the parent and child interacting over the books and sharing them together."

Anyone interested in taking part in Family Story Hour can call 975-7572 for more information or to pre-register for the program. You can also register in person at the children's department of the Frances Morrison Library. Registration begins Oct. 15.

In addition to her work coordinating these programs, Gowans has spent a lot of time making contacts within Aboriginal organizations, both to let them know what the library is doing, and to get feedback on programs. The library hopes to formalize that feedback process by forming an Aboriginal library advisory committee, comprised of First Nations and Metis representatives.

"There's a lot of excitement out there about how we can now look to partner together to develop programming that will be meaningful for both the library and different organizations. Because a lot of what we do is similar. We're trying to aim for the same thing. So I think the more that we can work together on things, certainly the better," Gowans said.

Zenon Zuzak is director of libraries with the Saskatoon Public Library. He said that while the library has tried a number of initiatives over the years to create closer ties with the Aboriginal community, one of the exciting things about this latest project is that the provincial government is providing funding specifically for the initiatives. Each of the province's 10 public library systems is being given an annual $25,000 grant, to be used to improve library services for Aboriginal people.

The funding comes in response to the Information is for Everyone report, prepared by the Minister's Advisory Comittee on Library Services for Aboriginal People, released in October 2001. The libraries must use the grant money to address one or more of the report's 46 recommendations.

Zuzak was a member of the advisory committee, and as such travelled across the province, visiting Aboriginal communities to talk to people about how library services could better meet their needs.

"It was quite an exciting experience for me to go firsthand and hear from Aboriginal leaders and community members throughout the province as to the role they could see a public library playing for them. And overall it was quite exciting. A number of messages came through. There was some mistrust, and certainly failures of the past were evident, were made clear to us. And so that was a much appreciated opportunity for communication with the First Nations and Aboriginal leaders."

Zenon Zuzak sees the Aboriginal Library Services Project as being more than just a few storytelling sessions and parties for families, but as a way to build a framework for building better relationships with Aboriginal people.

"It's not just the actual programs that are going to be set in affect this year. I think the biggest piece is the connections that will be made in the community," he said.

While the first step of the process is to let Aboriginal people know what the library has to offer them in terms of programs and services, the next step is to have Aboriginal people let the library know how they can best be served, Zuzak said, and get them involved in the programming.

"And actually I think, in the latter, there might be even more potential there. When you have the community directly involved in, let's say, our collection development, our programming. Having Elders run programs, that's what we need. We wish we were more successful even in hiring of employees of Aboriginal backgrounds. We think that would definitely help. We definitely have a few, but I don't think the number reflects the percentage where we shouldbe at," he said.