Delephene Fraser is a Ngunnawal woman, the traditional owners of ACT and surrounding NSW area. She has led the Indigenous project in Scholarly Information Services ANU (Library and Archives) and is a lecturer at the University of Canberra. She has a Masters in Public Policy and a passion for taking people forward in their journey to understand indigenous knowledge.

Roxanne Missingham, University Librarian, Australian National University. Responsible for libraries, archives, publishing, and many scholarly communication matters, Roxanne has a long career in libraries. She was awarded an Order of Australia for her work in libraries.

Tom Foley, Associate Director, Libraries, Australian National University. Tom has been a library leader at the National Library of Australia and Australian National University. He has a passion for improving the user experience in libraries and has led the development of the Indigenous Hub delivering a wide set of resources to better inform and engage with the academics and student community at the university to implement the university’s graduate attribute of indigenous knowledge. Tom has inspired his colleagues on the journey to increasing confidence and community engagement in this area.

Naomi Mullumby, Sarah Charing & Michelle Rusiniak ““ University of Melbourne

Reflections on Indigenous Knowledges projects at the University of Melbourne

Naomi Mullumby is a Faculty and School librarian with over 15 years’ experience in Higher Education. Naomi specialises in building unique collection projects aligning them to teaching, research, exhibitions and other engagement opportunities.

Sarah Charing is the Senior Librarian, Reference Management Services in the Architecture, Building and Planning Library, with over 20 years’ experience as a Liaison Librarian. She has built excellent working relationships with the faculty, allowing her to pursue projects to support research and teaching and learning.

Michelle Rusiniak is the Manager of Metadata & Resource Sharing at the University of Melbourne. With over 20 years of experience in the metadata space, she is committed to continuous improvement and thrives on tackling challenges and exploring innovative solutions.

Tui Raven (panel convener) with panellists: Alissa McCulloch, Gemma Steele, Lorraine Heller-Nicholas and Nina Whittaker 

Collaborative Strategies for Reparative Descriptions in Australian Libraries and Archives

This panel will explore the dynamic efforts of a nationwide community of practice dedicated to transforming library and archive description practices. Comprising of 100 members who convene monthly, this community is at the forefront of addressing the need for reparative approaches to metadata. The panel discussion will highlight the collective experiences and insights gained from these regular meetings. The audience will gain an understanding of how this Australian-wide network contributes to the advancement of reparative practices by sharing resources, challenges and solutions.

Panel Convenor ““ Tui Raven, Senior Manager Indigenous Programs Deakin University

Alissa McCulloch is the Metadata Strategy and Standards Coordinator at Deakin University and a fierce advocate for reparative description and culturally safe metadata. She is the co-founder and co-convenor of the national Reparative Description Community of Practice (RDCoP) and the Information Officer for the ALIA Community on Resource Description (ACORD).

Gemma Steele (she/her) is a Metadata Coordinator at Monash University Library where she supports the discoverability of a diverse range of collections. Gemma is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Information and Communications Studies at Charles Sturt University and an experienced librarian with a demonstrated history of working in the special library sector with rare books and special collections, and with a particular focus on metadata and description.

Lorraine Heller-Nicholas is a Senior Metadata Officer at the University of Melbourne, with over two decades of experience in library services. Her career in libraries began in 1998, and she transitioned into cataloguing roles in 2006. Since 2021, Lorraine has played a pivotal role in the Culturally Aware Metadata Project at the University of Melbourne, contributing to initiatives that emphasise reparative description and the creation of more inclusive metadata practices.

Nina Whittaker (they/them) is Rare Books Cataloguer at State Library Victoria in Naarm/ Melbourne. Having previously worked in museum libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand, they have a strong interest in Ngā Upoko Tukutuku / Māori Subject Headings and Pacific metadata. Their ancestors are from southern Japan, and Western Europe via Taranaki, Aotearoa. Trained in archives and records management, their academic research explored how ‘dissenting’ archives validate their data when government institutions fail. They continue to develop and share practical steps in anti-racist cataloguing practice, with a particular emphasis on capturing histories that conventional cataloguing rules would otherwise omit.

Tim Ormsby, Amy Kosandiak & Kayla Murray, Flinders University

Searching for voices and perspectives: The challenges in delivering library support for embedding Indigenous knowledges

Dr Summer May Finlay, University of Wollongong

Indigenous perspectives matter: the development of a curated Indigenous resource database 

Dr Summer May Finlay (CSCA, TAE, BSocSC, GCHEd, MPHA, and PhD) is a Yorta Yorta woman who grew up on Awabakal country (West Lake Macquarie) and is a passionate advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Her passion is what has driven her to work in a number of public health fields including social marketing, communications research, evaluation and policy. She has worked for a range of organisations in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health, not-for-profit, university and for-profit sectors. She is currently employed at the University of Wollongong as a Senior Lecturer. 

In addition to working as an academic, she also works as a freelancer for organisations such as Croakey Health Media and the Commonwealth Department of Health. She is Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW Ethics Committee, and Deputy Chair of Thirrili, Australia’s only Indigenous suicide postvention organisation.

Yasmine Hall, Mikaela Hill,Charles Sturt University

A cultural safety project at Charles Sturt University Library 

Yasmine Hall

For the last 14 years I have worked in the Charles Sturt University Library (CSU) enhancing client services and fostering inclusive environments. As a Client Services Librarian, I honed my skills in supporting diverse user needs, but my recent role as a Project Officer has allowed me to focus on a cause close to my heart: cultural safety for First Nations peoples. At CSU I am working on initiatives to create a more culturally safe and welcoming space for First Nations communities and students. Working with First Nations students and staff at CSU drives my work, aiming to ensure that library services, library spaces (both online land physical), library collections and resource description are inclusive and culturally safe. Through these efforts I try to make a meaningful impact on both the academic environment and the broader community.

Mikaela Hill

I began working with the Client Services team at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Library in 2019, and later transitioned to the Metadata & Repository team within the Collection Services department. In this role, I focus on enhancing the quality of metadata in the Library’s online catalogue and on addressing cultural sensitivities within the collection. My main contribution to the First Nations Knowledges Collection initiative involves ensuring that all bibliographic records of First Nations-content items ““ both new and existing ““ include the appropriate subject headings, language codes and cultural warning statements, as well as configuring the display parameters for these fields. Additionally, I have played a role in relocating physical items, particularly Dreaming titles, to more appropriate areas of the collection. At CSU, we are dedicated to creating safe spaces for everyone, both online and on-site, and I am proud to be involved in this significant initiative.

Sae-Ra Germaine, CAVAL & Laki Sideris, Informit

Informit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Metadata Review Project 

Sae Ra Germaine is the Deputy CEO for CAVAL and has over 15 years working with high profile systems companies from a diverse range of fields including IBM and Federation University. Sae Ra is an all things open, tech evangelist with a focus on leveraging user experiences and open standards as a driver for innovation and change. She is an active advocate of free and open source initiatives and is currently the President of VALA, Vice-President of the Linux Australia board and founder of the Everything Open Conference. Sae Ra is also on the General Advisory Standing committees for auDA (.au Domain Administration).

Laki Sideris is the Head of Product at Informit, a business of RMIT University which is centred around providing library access to the vast richness of Australia’s publishing and research outputs. With a particular interest in amplifying Indigenous led-research, Laki has initiated projects such as the Indigenous Scholars You Should Know video series and is currently focusing on integrating Informit into Australian and NZ secondary schools.

Brooke Wandin, Professor Kathleen Butler, Dr. John Doolah

Indigenous Scholars You Should Know Panel

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led scholarly projects are having beneficial impacts within communities as well as changing the national story in meaningful and positive ways. At Informit, we believe that the proliferation of Indigenous-led research in recent years is among the most exciting developments in Australian research right now, and we are keen to amplify these contributions. TheIndigenous Scholars You Should Know interview series is one initiative towards this aim. 

The video interviews cast a spotlight on current Australian First Nations scholarship: highlighting emerging methodologies, reflecting upon experiences within academia, and unpacking some of the ideas informing these important projects. The diverse fields and varied career stages of the interviewees echo the breadth of outputs being produced by First Nations academics. We are also starting to undertake occasional interviews with Knowledge Holders You Should Know where we meet Elders and Knowledge Holders who are respected by their communities as keepers of cultural knowledge.  We hear about the powerful ways their knowledge is being revitalised, shared and applied in contemporary contexts and communities. 

We will view a highlights reel of recent Scholars’ and Knowledge Holders’ interviews, then have a panel discussion with three of the interviewees about their work.

Brooke Wandin is a Wurundjeri woman, educator, language worker and artist. Since 2018, language work has been a focus. Studying and teaching Woiwurrung simultaneously allows her new skills to be instantly trialled and shared with family and in the classroom. She was the State Library of Victoria Aboriginal Cultural Research Fellow in 2022. 

Professor Kathleen Butler has been implementing culturally innovative pedagogy seeking social impact for 25 years. Her work spans disciplinary focus in sociology, anthropology and Indigenous Studies; broad leadership in Indigenisation of curriculum; and cross-disciplinary engagement with STEM. At the University of Newcastle, Kath has worked within mainstream Humanities, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, supported the Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous Portfolio and currently heads the Wollotuka Institute which is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year. Her teaching ranges from large-scale core courses, small post-graduate cohorts and guest lectures in both online and face-to-face offerings.

Dr. John Doolah is a proud Torres Strait Islander Meriam-Samsep man of Eastern Torres Strait heritage. John was a course coordinator and he lectured in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies at the University of Newcastle for more than 7 years. He is currently a Ngarrngga Post Doctoral Fellow and lectures at the University of Melbourne at the Faculty of Education.