How are we doing in tribal libraries?. A case study of Oglala Lakota College Library using information visualization
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2016-0071 |
| Date | 09 January 2017 |
| Pages | 20-44 |
| Published date | 09 January 2017 |
| Author | Hsuanwei Michelle Chen,Tawa Ducheneaux |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
How are we doing in
tribal libraries?
A case study of Oglala Lakota College Library
using information visualization
Hsuanwei Michelle Chen
San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA, and
Tawa Ducheneaux
Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, South Dakota, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate the operation and management as well as the activities
of tribal libraries in general, providing insights and implications in five areas: general operations and
management, staffing and human resource management, financial operations, service and program
management, and technology-related activities, using Oglala Lakota College (OLC) Library as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper uses information visualization techniques to create visual
displays of report data collected from OLC Library. Visualizations were created using Tableau software to
provide a quantitative, analytical, and evidence-based view of how tribal libraries operate and are managed.
Findings –Tribal populations can be well served despite limited funding and staff resources, providing
academic and public library services on par with urban libraries.
Research limitations/implications –Drawing a story from the data proved to be difficult because a bias
had been created by the legal service area that most tables of the state data set used to compare reported data.
How tribal libraries translate value also posed another challenge. Because the research was conducted in a
single tribal library, further research in different, expanded settings and contexts is suggested.
Originality/value –This study is one of the first to investigate tribal library activities by exploring report
data and quantitatively using information visualization techniques.
Keywords Library management, Native Americans, Information visualization, American Indians,
Indigenous libraries, Tribal college libraries
Paper type Case study
Introduction
The study of tribal colleges and tribal college libraries has a relatively short history.
As Wayne J. Stein notes in Tradition and Culture in the Millennium: Tribal Colleges and
Universities (Warner and Gipp, 2009), the contemporary educational and governing systems
of American Indian people have not been considered (p. 17) in most educational settings.
Through the understanding of the forced assimilation and the breakdown of families during
the boarding school era in which children were often forcibly removed from homes, to the
American Indian Civil Rights Movement, a lesser known movement that began its roots
long before the termination era of the mid twentieth century. American Indian people were
advancing their rights to define how they wanted to be educated in their continually
contested land bases and reservation boundaries. Appeals to federal agencies directly
responsible for upholding treaty obligations began realization through the Indian Self
Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. While there are few titles focused on
tribal libraries, recent scholarship indicates that there are 237 tribal libraries in the USA
(Peterson, 2007). The first tribal college was founded in 1968, and within five years, the first
Library Management
Vol. 38 No. 1, 2017
pp. 20-44
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-09-2016-0071
Received 13 September 2016
Revised 16 November 2016
Accepted 21 November 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
The authors thank the colleagues from Woksape Tipi Library, South Dakota State Library, and Circle
of Learning at the San Jose State University for the insights and feedback that greatly enhanced the
research, although the interpretations and conclusions of this paper are strictly those of the authors.
20
LM
38,1
six tribal colleges formed the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. It provides
membership for the 37 tribal college libraries in the form of policy and program support.
Additionally, there is a consortium supporting tribal libraries including tribal college
libraries; the American Indian Library Association was formed in 1979.
Tribal college libraries are reflective of the many unique challenges that face the
communities they serve. Most tribal college libraries function as both academic and public.
With that obligation, the tribal college library serves more than the needs of the student,
but of the larger tribal community.
Tribal librarieshave a primary mission to serve theinformation, literacy, and preservation
needs of their respective native communities. According to the article “Guide to Building
Support for YourTribal Library,”published by American Library Association (ALA) in 2008,
tribal libraries serve a crucial role in revitalizing and preserving tribal culture, history, and
language, promoting literacy for the native community, bringing technology to the native
people, supporting the growth and development of the native children, empowering tribal
members, bringingreading material and news to tribalmembers, promoting intergenerational
activities, strengthening cultural identity, and serving as research centers for tribal and
non-tribal members. What’s more, theybelong to the people. Tribal librariesserve as “culture
keepers”fortribal-specific history, culture,consortiums, and relatedinformation. They are not
only expected to serve as centers of education and literacy, but also as archival hubsfor the
recording and preservation of tribal heritage.
While the importanceof tribal librarieshas long been recognized, triballibraries commonly
struggle with lack of resources –not only financial resources but technical and human
resources too. Many tribal libraries rely primarily on the Institute of Museum and Library
Services for funding (e.g. ATALM, 2013). While it may be assumedthat this was always the
case, it was not. Federal funds were not earmarked for tribal libraries until the advocacy of
AIHEC representatives at the 1991 oversight hearing before the Select Committee on Indian
Affairs in which impassioned tribal college librarians and archivists spoke to the budget
disparitiesof their libraries in comparison to national standards (Hamilton, 1991, p. 2). Budget
disparities werenot the only evidence provided. What the hearing was able to illuminate are
the challenges of the rural communities, of little to no infrastructure for technology. Tribal
libraries, including tribal college libraries, do not sit within city and county tax bases, nor do
they typically receive state funding (p. 3). A summary report published bythe Association of
Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM, 2013) shows that the majority of
continuing education activities conducted by tribal archive, library, and museum staff has
been supportedby IMLS grants. Few have been able to take advantageE-rate funds, which is
the name commonly used for the Universal Service Fund Schools and Libraries Program, or
material andmonetary donations, as discussedin Brown and Webster (2014).Recent research
(ATALM, 2012,2013) has shown that most tribal archives,libraries, and museums have faced
significant challenges and great needs for resources, including for management and
operations (e.g.master planning), staffing (e.g.funding for more staff), training (e.g.culturally
relevant and affordable training programs that are hands-on, targeted, and short-course),
finances (e.g. most tribal libraries look to IMLS support), technology (e.g. need for strategic
planning concerning technology use), digitization (e.g. funding, equipment, staff time, and
expertise needed for digitization efforts) and many more. So how have tribal libraries
managed to servetribal populations and provide academic and public library services on par
with urban libraries, despite limited funding and staff resources?
Although the challenges that face tribal libraries have been widely studied, few
researchers have explored how tribal libraries should operate strategically to support the
needs of their respective native communities under budget and resource constraints,
especially using quantitative evidence. This is largely because quantitative data have
rarely been collected from, consolidated, or even by shared tribal libraries. Furthermore,
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A case study of
OLC Library
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