THE KOORI LIBRARY PATHWAYS PROJECT
	A partnership between the Koori Resource & Information Centre (KRIC) and the Goulburn Valley Regional Library Corporation (GVRLC) Photo of Paul Briggs and Moroka Boon reading together at the library. Photo courtesy of the Shepparton News

INTRODUCTION

On the 20 November 2006 the KRIC and GVRLC  launched the Koori Library Pathways Project as a community initiative for providing accessible and responsive library services to the local Indigenous community. The project also aims to connect the community to local Aboriginal materials and information available within the library. The Project has been funded by the State Library Board of Victoria , through the Libraries Building Communities Demonstration Project.

PROJECT PARTNERS

Koori Resource & Information Centre The Koori Resource & Information Centre’s (www.kric.org.au) involvement in the Koori Library Pathways Project began with an identified need within the Aboriginal community to explore ways in which its historical knowledge and information could be shared with the wider community. More specifically, to share this information in a way that respects the sensitivities around local Aboriginal history and protects the use of personal stories and knowledge of local Aboriginal people. One of the strengths of the partnership will be KRIC’s well established networking role in the Indigenous community which will facilitate links and support from other local Indigenous organisations. Goulburn Valley Regional Library Corporation The Goulburn Valley Regional Library Corporation identified a need to explore with the local Aboriginal community a means and way of developing a model that best met the library service needs of local Indigenous people. The project can be seen as a response to the City of Greater Shepparton’s (www.shepparton.vic.gov.au), Community Building Initiative, which includes the Greater Shepparton Community Action Plan, the Best Start Children’s services access program, the Walking School Bus and Greater Shepparton Public Health Plan. The GVRLC, in partnership with KRIC aim to establish a sense of belonging and connectedness for Indigenous people so that they feel included and welcomed in libraries and become pro-actively linked to its community networks and services.

KRIC & GVRLC Memorandum of Understanding

The KRIC & GVRLC MOU is a commitment to establishing the means and ways of developing a sustainable partnership between the GVRLC and KRIC for meeting the ongoing information needs of the Indigenous communities in the Goulburn Valley region. The MOU publicly acknowledges this partnership and outlines how the KRIC and GVRLC will strengthen the capacity of both organisations to develop, deliver and manage the information and knowledge entrusted by the local Aboriginal community to either organisation.   Photo of John Murray, Sharon Atkinson-Firebrace, John Cain and Peter Darbyshire signing the MOU. Photo courtsey of the Shepparton News

KEY PROJECT THEMES

1. To develop protocols for housing and using local Aboriginal knowledge and resources;  2. Review and expand on the Indigenous collection within the GVRLC;  3. Create a pathway that leads to the increased use and confidence in the library and its services;  4. Link the local Aboriginal community to resources that assist with researching family history and establishing collections of oral and family stories;  5. Provide gateways and links to documents and information in other collections;  6. Support the community building role of public libraries and increase a sense of connectedness between our communities.