COPPUL Welcomes Deborah Lee as the Indigenous Knowledge Coordinator

April 15, 2020

COPPUL is pleased to announce the appointment of Deborah Lee to the position of Indigenous Knowledge Coordinator. Deborah will be joining COPPUL on a secondment from the University of Saskatchewan, 2 days per week for a 3-year term, effective June 01, 2020.

As the Indigenous Studies and Community Initiatives librarian at the University of Saskatchewan, Deborah brings with her an impressive depth and breadth of experience and knowledge in both the technical and public aspects of academic libraries.

Amongst her many accomplishments, Deborah served as team lead for the Indigenous Studies Portal (iPortal) project at the University of Saskatchewan where, among other responsibilities, she led the development of the iPortal and collaborated on the development of metadata standards and decolonizing metadata. She has extensive experience collaborating with Indigenous communities to advance Indigenous engagement across the USask campus and across global jurisdictions, including through ARL and CRKN.  She led the University of Saskatchewan team on an Ithaka S+R qualitative research project that looked at how academic libraries can improve research supports for Indigenous faculty. She has collaborated with countless organizations and individuals: 

  • to further the understanding of Indigenous students’ experiences and to improve their research skills; 
  • to bring an understanding of Indigenous worldviews and cultures to the academic library community; and
  • to promote a better understanding of Indigenous librarianship and the importance of providing culturally relevant and responsive library services.

Deborah is a skilled relationship builder with a deep understanding of Indigenous knowledges and cultures and Indigenous people’s academic library needs. She looks forward to engaging with COPPUL members to explore how Indigenous knowledge initiatives can best manifest at their institutions and supporting them to make their spaces more welcoming for Indigenous academic library users across Western Canada.

COPPUL thanks the University of Saskatchewan for making this secondment possible.

Please join us in welcoming Deborah to COPPUL.