Registration for the “Sorting Libraries Out” symposium is open

Registration for "Sorting Libraries Out: Decolonizing Classification and Indigenizing Description" is now open. Please visit the conference website to register.

When is the symposium?
March 12 & 13, 2019, with optional cultural programming on March 11.

What is the cost?
The cost for the symposium is $50 (includes breakfasts and lunches). The cultural programming day is an additional $20 (includes lunch; space is limited).

Where is the event happening?
Sorting Libraries Out will be held on unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations at Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Hotel and air travel information is available on our website.

What is the symposium about?
This will be an opportunity for continued conversations for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people around Indigenous information practices and metadata for physical and digital collections.

How will we have this dialogue?
Through speaker presentations and focused time for group conversations, participants will engage with questions and generate ideas about changing current practices to more accurately represent Indigenous knowledge systems, worldviews and cultures.

On March 11, participants will have the opportunity to take part in a day of cultural programming at Musqueam and the University of British Columbia, as a grounding in this gathering’s location on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations.

The symposium itself will take place March 12 & 13 at Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver. We are pleased to announce that featured speakers include Deanna Reder, Treena Chambers, Camille Callison, Sandra Littletree and Gene Joseph. Indigenous scholars from a variety of fields will anchor our first panel discussion; other panels will focus on Collections & Community and Metadata Solutions. The program will include opportunities for personal connections, discussion and reflection. Building on past events, we hope to gain momentum toward solutions.

Who Should Attend?
Western Canadian Aboriginal cultural heritage workers, Aboriginal researchers, Indigenous information professionals, and Indigenous scholars will be particularly interested in this event, and should be encouraged to attend. Indigenous and non-Indigenous graduate students, academic/public/school librarians, museum curators, archivists, and records managers who work closely with Indigenous metadata and knowledge organization systems should also be encouraged to attend. The event will focus on Western Canadian contexts but delegates from other areas of Canada are welcome to attend.

Why should I attend?
Participants will leave with a broader perspective on respectfully working with Canadian Aboriginal Peoples towards a shared goal of indigenizing and decolonizing metadata.