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Library of California
Tierra Del Sol Region
Tribal Library Census and Needs Assessment Project
Final Report
Submitted by Bonnie Biggs
Project Director
25 June 2001
Oral Tradition vs. Print/Digital Libraries?
For untold centuries, American Indians have passed their unique legacy to successive generations through an ancient but fragile chain of oral tradition. The challenges of economic development, tribal capacity building, protection of land and resource rights, and numerous other issues of tribal sovereignty burgeoned in the wake of the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act of 1975, bringing home the fact that tribes needed libraries to provide them access to current, and often complex information in order to maintain sovereignty and preserve fading cultural traditions. Subsequent federal legislation (LSCA Title IV), (Title II-B of Higher Education Act) and hearings at White House Conferences on Indian Library and Information Services on or Near Reservations, supported American Indian tribes’ initiatives to transition from a predominantly oral tradition into a print, and later, digital environment. The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Report on Improving Library and Information Services for Native American Peoples lists ten findings for meeting the many challenges identified at the hearings in 1992. Among them, three that position the Library of California to undertake a statewide census and needs assessment of tribal libraries:
- - Improve Access & Strengthen Cooperative Activities (4)
- - Develop State and Local Partnerships (5)
- - Identify Model Programs for Native American Libraries & Information
- Services (7)
According to newly released census 2000 data, California now has more American Indians than any other state. The American Indian population has risen to 333,000, up from 242,000 in 1990. Oklahoma now takes second place in terms of Native population dominance. California has over 150 federally recognized tribes, more than any other state in the country. The Library of California’s Tierra Del Sol region is home to thirty-seven American Indian reservations within its five county service area (Imperial, Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego). San Diego County, with its eighteen reservations, has more reservations than any county in the United States. California’s extraordinary concentration of America’s first people is significant from a socio-political as well as from a library services perspective. How many of these tribes have libraries? What are their information needs? What unique collections and information about their history and culture do the libraries hold?
Why a census of Tribal Libraries?
The Library of California’s promise of inclusion inspired the idea for this census.
To quote directly from the law:
The Legislature therefore finds and declares the following:
- It is in the interest of the people of the state to ensure that
all Californians have free and convenient access to all library
resources and services that could provide essential information and
enrich their lives.
- To respond fully and successfully to these information needs and to the diversity of California's population, libraries of all types and in all parts of the state must be enabled to interact, cooperate, and share resources.
In a letter to members of California's library community, Dr. Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California, said: (excerpted)
"…The Library of California concept takes each library in the state, large or small, public or private, and makes it an Everywhere in terms of information services. Doing this, it equalizes all Californians in terms of their access to library and information services. Doing this, the Library of California allows each Californian to make his or her decision as to where to live without fear of falling victim to a second-class citizenship in terms of library and information resources. In a society which is rapidly dividing itself into sectors of affluence and need, such equalization is dramatically necessary if the ideal of equal citizenship is to be sustained. A state consisting of information haves and information have-nots, in other words, cannot in the long run remain socially and politically stable, much less competitive."
In order for the Library of California to accomplish the intent of the law and honor the spirit of Dr. Starr's vision, tribal libraries must be included in the network. In order to do so, this project attempted to locate and assess the status of tribal libraries in the Tierra Del Sol region of the Library of California. This Census and Needs Assessment serves as the first step to identify for inclusion, the libraries of California's indigenous people.
Project Director
In 1998, the Project Director served as the President of the American Indian Library Association. During her tenure as AILA President, she met with Gates Library Initiative executive staff to provide advice on how Gates could include tribal libraries in their program that provided computers, connectivity and training for America’s rural and underserved libraries. Gates had plans in place to take its program to New Mexico first because the New Mexico State Library has a well-established Tribal Libraries Program. When the Project Director returned to California, she inquired about our State Library’s readiness to direct Gates to some of our tribal libraries, and discovered that the California State Library did not have a listing of or any formal interaction with tribal libraries in the state. The Project Director had been working with tribal libraries in San Diego County for ten years, so knew that they existed but also knew that mailing a survey to tribes was not an effective way to count and assess tribal libraries and their services. Personal visits and trust building were the only way to discover the needed information on California’s tribal libraries. At the 1999 CLA conference in Palm Springs, the Project Director presented in a panel discussion on tribal libraries and mentioned this unfortunate disconnect but suggested that the newly emerging statewide networking initiative, the Library of California, held the promise of recognizing and including California’s tribal libraries. The Executive Director of the Tierra Del Sol region was in the audience and came up after the program to discuss ways in which our region could address the issue. The Project Director was encouraged to write a grant to conduct a census and needs assessment for the Tierra Del Sol region and to develop a model for conducting similar projects throughout the state. The process involved in conducting the census and needs assessment is detailed below, for the purpose of providing a framework for others in California to complete the picture of libraries in our state’s indigenous communities.
Conducting the census and needs assessment
The first step in conducting the census was to meet with Diana Paque from the State Library and Kathy Aaron, Executive Director of the Tierra Del Sol network. Paque suggested that a model be developed for conducting a census statewide and to make recommendations on how to include tribal libraries in the Library of California. Both offered their ideas for the project and answered concerns that the Project Director had about the definition of a public library according to California State Law.
The Project Director hired the services of a support staff person for ten hours a week to help with the preparation of materials to distribute to the tribes, correspondence, budget, general paperwork and records handling. A web designer was also hired, based on his record as a web master at the university and his cultural sensitivity.
The Project Director made appointments with two key people in the region before embarking on her travels to the reservation. She met with Dr. Cliff Trafzer, Professor and renowned scholar of American Indian History at the University of California, Riverside and a colleague/friend who is well-connected in the Indian community in Southern California. She sought Cliff’s advice on who to approach at certain reservations where a library did not seem to exist and got contact names and numbers for several reservations in Riverside and San Bernardino. It is important to note here that simply calling a name on a list of reservations is not an efficient way to contact people. Next, she visited Mr. Virgil Townsend, the Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Southern Agency. It was important to let Mr. Townsend know about the project, it’s intent and potential benefit to tribal libraries and to ask for his input. Mr. Townsend provided the Director with a current listing of tribal chairpersons, reservation addresses and contact numbers. These lists and others gathered prior to the reservation visits, provided the backbone information for the project. His advice was to send a letter of introduction to all tribes. One of the key pieces of advice from Mr. Townsend was that the Director not introduce herself as someone doing work for the State of California, given the recent and past bad history between the State and Native Americans. Rather, he suggested that the Director represent herself as someone from Cal State San Marcos, gathering information to help the State Library learn more about tribal libraries.
The Project Director then flew to New Mexico to attend a meeting of a steering group that is planning a national conference for tribal librarians – but, also to gather advice from the State Librarian of New Mexico, Ben Wakashige, who has been working in the area of tribal library development since the mid-1970s. New Mexico State Library has a Tribal Libraries Program that is staffed with a full time Coordinator whose job it is to liaison with all tribes within the state. The Project Director learned many things, among them the fact that New Mexico’s state law allows for a category of “developing library” so that libraries working toward meeting the more stringent criteria for “public library” status, are recognized and eligible for small State Library grants which encourages them to further develop their libraries.
The Project Director then developed a packet of information to take to the reservations which included IMLS grant information, relevant bibliographies, a guide to setting up a tribal library, application for membership in the American Indian Library Association and other materials of particular interest to tribal library managers. It was important not to show up empty-handed, especially as a stranger to many of these people, so packets were enclosed inside nice “tribal libraries” canvas book bags. In the event the Director was unable to meet face-to-face with the appropriate representative, the bookbag full of handouts, booklets and information served as a substantial physical “calling card.” Additionally, the Project Director took a dozen Danishes from the Carlsbad Danish Bakery to all reservations she visited during the morning hours. This served as a nice ice- breaker and several comments came later about how much tribal staff enjoyed the pastries.
Once the packets were complete, the Project Director developed a survey that would assist her in logging the visits and any information she was able to gather. The survey was not designed to be carried into a visit and filled out during the meeting with library staff. One of the quickest ways to turn off tribal staff is to walk in with a clipboard and begin asking quantitative questions. Reservation residents have had too many experiences with academics or white do-gooders who come, survey and publish results, never providing significant help to the tribe. The Director filled out the survey upon returning to the car, after the informal visit. The idea was to capture as much information as possible but primarily to get a sense of the status of the library, rather than an exact collection or circulation count. The objective was to gather qualitative, rather than quantitative information.
The Project Director began making phone calls to reservations in early October. Her background in working with tribes prepared her for the fact that it is not uncommon to make three or four phone calls before one is actually successful in contacting the correct person in a reservation’s personnel structure. In many cases, a tribe may not have a library and yet there usually exists a plan for a library, a documented dream for one or, often, a collection of gift books targeted at becoming a library. Finding the tribal staff person under whose purview a “potential” library might fall is a challenge. Persistence and diplomacy eventually connected the Director to the correct person.
As the Director met with tribal library managers, tribal education directors and other relevant representatives, she kept track of the gathered information on the survey sheets but also began creating a Tribal Library Contact List to serve as a guide throughout the project. Monthly reports were sent to the Executive Director of the Tierra Del Sol region that includes the budget tracking form for the project.
Findings
The results of this census are staggering and yet, for those who have worked in the field of tribal library development, not surprising. Data was tabulated using the Eligibility Standards for Libraries in the Library of California Act (Education Code, Title 1, Division 1, Part 11, Chapter 4.5, Articles 1-8, Sections 18800-18870).
- Of the thirty-four reservations that were visited, eighteen, or
53% have a library facility.
- Fourteen, or 77% of these library facilities have established
open hours.
- Seventeen, or 94% of the libraries have an organized and
accessible collection.
- Only seven, or 38% of the libraries have onsite, paid
staff for library services.
- None, or 0% of the paid library staff have a master’s
degree in library or information science – or a California library
media teacher credential.
- Of the seven paid library staff, one person has an RN, one a BA in
Computer Science, one is a New York State credentialed reading
teacher, and one has six years of continuing experience in the same
library while also pursuing a library technology certificate.
- Only five, or 15% of the reservations has an established
funding base for library services. Of the libraries, only three,
or 8% receive the majority of their funding from the tribe. Others
are, like most tribal libraries, grant-dependent.
The following two pages provide the reservation-by-reservation status of library services in Tierra Del Sol
Library Facilities
For detailed information on a given reservation’s library, please refer to the web pages.
There is less than a handful of fully operating library facilities in the Tierra Del Sol Region. The term library facility is loosely defined here. It is not uncommon to find that tribal libraries are often located in a room within an education center, within the tribal hall or recreation/community hall. Most reservation children are bussed to school, precluding them from using their school library after school. The tribal library is often the only place to go for homework assistance. Some tribes have education centers that house small libraries developed to serve on-reservation schools. More often than not, education staff will serve intermittently as “library staff” for the kids using library materials. There are only two stand-alone library buildings that are not school libraries in the TDS region. The Pala and Morongo tribal libraries, while serving as the educational hub for the reservation, are fully operating community libraries. As the statistics show, there are eighteen library facilities but only seven paid library staff. This means that while a number of tribes have a library, there is no one specifically designated to assist patrons in the use of the collection.
Typically, the idea of building a tribal library becomes the focus of a given tribal council, in a given year, and a plan to seek external funding is developed. Funding may or may not be awarded during the tenure of the same council members who envisioned the library. A number of libraries in the TDS region were built in the mid to late 1980s with either IMLS or HUD block grants, back when LSCA funding allowed for “construction”. Seven libraries in San Diego County were established under the ILSP (Indian Library Services Project), administered by the San Diego County Library Outreach Division. Over a period of years, many of the tribes applied for and received IMLS Basic Grant funds (usually between $3,500 - $4,500, available annually). The Basic Grant has typically been used to develop or enhance collections, purchase equipment, furniture and shelving, and, in some cases, provide minimal staff coverage for the library (5-10 hours a week).
A number of libraries, not listed as having facilities, consider their collection of books to be their library. One-bookcase libraries are somewhat typical with the smaller tribes. Jamul, for instance, has a single bookcase with a collection of books and videos that are relatively current and relevant to tribal governance or used for self-education/entertainment purposes.
Established open hours
Only fourteen of the eighteen library facilities have established open hours. The seven libraries that have paid library staff have established open hours. The other seven library facilities have established open hours that correlate to the school or education center hours.
Organized and accessible collections
Nearly all of the library facilities have an organized collection. Typically, cataloging has been done using appropriate, broad Dewey subject area classification. Most tribal libraries receive more than their share of gift books, the majority of which are outdated and not relevant to the information needs of the community. Most tribal libraries have shelves of books that are un-cataloged and yet are still utilized by the patrons. Only one library has a card catalog (Morongo) and two have an electronic catalog (Pala and Soboba). Virtually every tribal library visited has a collection of materials on American Indians, and some house primary source materials on tribal history. Appropriate materials on California’s Native culture and history are limited. The packets taken to the tribes included a number of bibliographies and webographies on Native materials as well as lists of holdings at nearby institutions with significant collections on Native culture. Children’s books and current reference materials were the second area of collection development concentration. Library staff noted the increasing demand for self-help, self-education, health, law and auto repair books. Only one library (Pala) had conducted a formal survey to assess patron information needs.
Onsite, paid staff for library services
The lack of paid, trained library staff is the most formidable challenge facing the TDS region’s tribal libraries. Tribal library staff who are paid are managing their libraries based on gut instinct and good luck. The paid library staff in the TDS region are an innately talented group of individuals. Each one has found a way to informally assess community information needs, advocate for funding (through the tribe or external sources), arrange and classify materials and develop programs targeted at the information and education needs of their constituents. They are a remarkable group of people who clearly know what they do not know and who want to become better library para-professionals. Library staff enthusiastically embraced the TRAILS (Training & Assistance for Indian Library Services) manual in their packets. The need for basic library skills training in these remote, underserved populations is critical. See the recommendations section at the end of this report for more on training needs.
As mentioned above, many of the libraries are located within schools or education centers, and yet they still serve the broader population. Education directors and/or their staff often serve as the library staff when available. This serendipitous service model is a passive one at best and one that diminishes patron expectation to the point of not seeking use of one’s community library. Still, reservation education staff are certainly better than no staff at all. Many reservation libraries remain unstaffed. Access to materials becomes a crap-shoot. The nearest public library is usually too far away for easy access. Information needs are shelved. Reservation residents are marginalized once again.
Staff credentials
Not one person working in a tribal library in the TDS region has a Master’s degree in library or information science, nor does anyone hold a California library media teacher credential. Morongo’s library manager is a New York State credentialed reading teacher (but is leaving the end of June) and Viejas’ library manager has an R.N. degree. At Soboba, DQ University’s ‘electronic library’ is overseen by a staff person who holds a BA in Computer Science. The closest anyone comes to meeting LOC’s substitute criteria for “demonstrated professional experience” is the library manager at Pala, who has six years of continuing experience managing the library. She will soon complete her coursework in Palomar College’s Library Technology Certificate Program. In many cases, tribal library staff are tribally enrolled members who are given the job of overseeing the library, with no experience in libraries whatsoever. Training is a critical need.
Established funding base
Ongoing funding for tribal libraries is a national problem that impacts TDS tribal libraries equally. Most tribes did not begin establishing their libraries until the mid 1970s, and in California, many did not start developing libraries until the 1980s. The transition from an oral to print repository of knowledge came late for indigenous people. The 1984 amendment to the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to include Title IV: Library Services for Indian Tribes and Hawaiian Natives Program, opened the door for tribes to build, furnish, staff and equip libraries.
The Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act of 1975 precipitated the need for tribes to establish an information backbone for self-governance but also forced the need for developing sovereign social service agencies. Once established, library advocates on reservations found themselves having to struggle for resources to keep libraries open and staffed. Suddenly, they were competing with survival services such as fire and police protection. Still today, tribal library advocates face an ongoing challenge in convincing tribal members about the importance of a community library. After all, libraries have not been a part of reservation life for much longer than thirty years. Staggering rates of illiteracy compound the problem – increasing the need for libraries in communities just developing a value system that champions libraries in the face of great fiscal odds.
Many of the tribes in the TDS region are grant-dependent. Some have small agricultural concerns that yield modest income for basic tribal operations. Although several of the reservations have casinos, only a handful of them are established and successful. The assumption cannot be made that a successful gaming tribe provides unlimited support for the reservation library. Some gaming tribes don’t have libraries but have a museum. Others don’t financially support their libraries because of access disputes between tribal council and education directors. Given these competing demands on tribal funds and philosophical differences, it is not surprising that only 15% of the reservations have an established funding base for a library.
Conclusions
This project was designed and funded to:
- find tribal libraries in the Tierra del Sol region of the Library of California
- determine their status
- assess their needs
- recommend a plan for their participation in the Library of California
The thirty-four reservations in Tierra Del Sol either have a library, are planning to build one or hope to have one. A value system is emerging that says libraries are fundamentally important to the success and well-being of the tribe.
Every tribal library visited:
- is open to and actively serves the general public, which is
typical nation-wide. The on-reservation population in the TDS
region is over 41,000 residents.
- serves as the educational hub for their “nation”, another
national trend. Tribal libraries typically provide everything from
Head Start story hours, after school tutoring programs, GED
preparation classes, adult literacy tutoring, computer training
for seniors and community college courses.
- serves as a central social gathering place for children and
adults living on the reservation.
- has or is trying to acquire collections of materials
that are specifically relevant to their tribes’ history, culture
or sovereign governance.
- has or plans to develop audio and video recorded oral
histories.
- had staff or users who expressed a deep concern for the loss
of language within their own tribe, often less than a dozen fluent
speakers are still alive.
- had staff or users who recognized that their library
could/should play a key role in the preservation, revival and
teaching of the indigenous language.
- needed more and newer materials.
- had computers in various stages of currency and usability.
- had staff who expressed a desire to acquire training in basic
library skills.
- had staff who expressed the need for a consistent, established funding base so that services and collections could continue.
Recommended plan for inclusion in the Library of California
Change the law
The eligibility standards outlined in the Library of California Act set the bar out of reach for almost all of the region’s tribal libraries. The criterion that precludes participation more than any other is the one that defines the staff credentials requirement. The Project Director has visited over fifty tribal libraries and has only met one tribal librarian (in Miami, Oklahoma) who had the MLS. If the Library of California means to become the inclusive network as defined so eloquently by the State Librarian, this standard will need to loosen a bit. The Act states “the eligibility determination will be made by the regional library network.” A statewide amendment would give the networks more flexibility.
The Project Director suggests that perhaps the Act could be amended to create a category, similar to that of the New Mexico State Library, that recognizes “developing public libraries” in the state. A “developing public library”, in New Mexico’s State Library Law, “differs from a local public library in that it has fewer open hours, may or may not have the required Basic Reference List, may or may not have staff trained in the core competencies.” Tribal libraries in New Mexico are eligible for small development grants that encourage further development of their small libraries. Two of the Pueblo libraries (Zuni and Laguna), set up in the mid-1970s by Dr. Lotsee Patterson, have achieved public library status. It is important to note that the library managers at Zuni and Laguna were trained in an on-site training program that Patterson developed during the establishment of tribal libraries in New Mexico.
Few tribes have an established funding base for library services. Title IV LSTA grants targeted at tribal libraries are either very small (Basic Grant=$4,500) (Professional Assistance Grants=$2,000) or highly competitive (Enhancement Grant=$50-$150K). Each year approximately fifty U.S. tribes apply for the Enhancement Grant and only around twelve are awarded. Many times this means that a library established and staffed under an enhancement grant, closes in a subsequent year due to lack of funding. Tribal libraries continue to feel and operate as though they are orphaned children. They get minimal nourishment from federal funds but do not find parents at the federal level. Federal officials think they should be the “property or problem” of the states and yet, only a few state libraries enjoy functional relationships with the libraries of their indigenous neighbors.
Training
Training is the key piece in supporting the continuation of library services on California’s American Indian reservations. A trained, committed library staff will advocate for funding by the tribe, apply for funding from external agencies, develop collections and services and build a community of library users who will share in advocacy within tribal governance and beyond. The State Library of California is currently working on plans to take basic library skills training to California’s small, rural libraries. Recognizing the fact that these geographically remote, often one-person libraries are unable to travel to or afford to pay for critically needed basic library skills training, the Rural Initiative and its proposed Library Practitioner Certification program will help “to ensure no second class library service in California.” Tribal libraries fit the profile of California’s isolated rural libraries. In a letter to the Project Director, dated 5 May 2001, Dr. Kevin Starr stated that her LSTA grant proposal to establish an on-reservation training program in TDS was “being considered as part of an expanded statewide Rural Initiative program, supported by LSTA.” This promise of inclusion in a statewide initiative provides the greatest hope for California’s tribal libraries to grow and succeed in serving the unique information needs of their isolated and often marginalized populations.
Conduct census and needs assessment for all of California
Although this Census and Needs Assessment of the Tierra Del Sol region paints a picture that reflects the nation’s tribal library landscape, the remaining regional library networks in the Library of California should be encouraged to conduct similar projects to find and assess their tribal libraries. The process used in this project (see page 3 of this report) should provide a general template for conducting business in an appropriate manner in Indian Country. The greatest risk is in burning bridges before they are built. It is too easy to alienate and offend this historically oppressed in misrepresented group of people. The Project Director would be happy to serve as a consultant to any subsequent projects.
Points of light
California’s Native people suffered some of the worst documented annihilation in U. S. history and yet they persevere with grace and dignity. The libraries that do exist on their sovereign lands reflect an astonishing will to survive and rise above the past and its inequities. Several “points of light”, offered below, provide some hope.
A Gathering of Voices
The final official “act” of this grant project was to host a meeting of the tribal librarians in the TDS region. On 1 June, 2001, thirteen reservation representatives came to "A Gathering Of Voices". at California State University, San Marcos -- for the purpose of talking about issues common to tribal libraries and to begin to develop a unified voice. This historic event marked the first gathering of tribal library staff in the Tierra Del Sol region of the Library of California. Participants were enthusiastic about meeting one another and shared information about the current state of their library, or plans for developing a library. Discussion centered around how the group members can empower and assist one another through information sharing. The group expressed a desperate need for training in basic library skills for tribal library staff. The group came to consensus that affiliating with the California Library Association was one way to get together, to seek professional development opportunities and to find a voice at the state level. Cal State San Marcos faculty participated in a technology showcase that provided examples of how technology can be used to preserve and teach language and cultural traditions as well as store important images of material culture.
This powerful group of people has organized as a formal group, calling themselves the Tierra Del Sol Tribal Libraries Group (TDSTL). Cal State San Marcos agreed to set up and maintain a TDSTL listserv and the Pala Tribal Library has agreed to host the second meeting of TDSTL in Fall of 2001. Stay tuned.
Tribal Library Intern Project
Since 1995, the Project Director has coordinated an intern program that places library school graduate students (CSU Fullerton/SJSU) in a tribal library to fulfill their practicum requirement. The tribal library benefits from the emerging expertise of library grad students and the student receives a cultural immersion experience they would not receive in a macro-culture library. This successful project is being expanded to include an additional tribal library this summer – and serves as one example of how an institution of higher learning can partner with tribal libraries in its service area.
Tribal Digital Village
The University of California at San Diego has received a $5 million grant to create a distributed tribal digital community that mirrors and amplifies the community and kinship networks that have historically sustained tribal communities in the San Diego region. The project will build a high-speed, broadband connection between each of the reservations in San Diego County, and to the internet. The grant provides for connectivity, hardware, software and training. The Project Director will serve on the steering committee of this three-year project and has already suggested that this technology infrastructure will provide the needed connectivity for one of the Rural Initiatives approaches to training via web-based or video-conferencing formats. The technology infrastructure also gives the tribes the ability to develop multi-media products and projects that can serve to preserve, revive and teach language to reservation children, who are already savvy in computer usage.
Emerging casinos
At a time when many of California’s tribes are just beginning to develop casinos, the realization of significant profit will not happen for five or more years as they pay back investors and build basic tribal infrastructure. Gaming tribes are under mandate to begin sharing their profits with their non-gaming neighbors. The time is ripe for California’s fledgling tribal libraries to receive a fiscal shot in the arm and for the State Library of California to establish a good working relationship with California’s first people.
“Let us now put our heads together and see what kind of life we can make for our children.” Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull)
