Working towards indigenized campuses is a priority for many Canadian post-secondary institutions. The University of Calgary is currently building a new strategy to reach out to more indigenous students and working towards creating a more culturally aware and inclusive campus. In the library, we are always looking for new ways to reach students and support their learning needs. In this session you will hear from a librarian and an undergraduate First Nations student assistant and our plan to implement services and programs for our indigenous learners. Some of the highlights will include how we devised better online student specific guides, planned outreach activities on campus and to the community, and initiated a peer to peer library research help program for students in our Native Centre. We will share what worked and what didn’t, and the learning journey we both took along the way.
Outcomes:
– Gain a better understanding of some of the library specific needs of aboriginal students in post-secondary environments.
– Take away new ideas for developing outreach plans to support the success of underserved populations.
– Gain a greater appreciation for peer-to-peer programs in academic libraries.
