The Washington Library Association met for its fall conference in Yakima, Washington, from October 17–20. Kyla Sweet, education and curriculum specialist for the Pacific Northwest National Resource Center on Canada, provided a presentation to a full house titled “Beyond Borders: Exploring Canadian Indigenous Children’s Literature and Resources.”
Kyla showcased why Canadian Indigenous resources are particularly relevant to Washington libraries and users, which sources and publishers are most useful, and how to access them. The participants also learned about current Canadian terminology, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as well as MOOCs, listservs, critical resources and other sources to support their work in strengthening Indigenous and Canadian resources in their libraries.
Attendees included school librarians as well as public library systems buyers and programmers. They asked great questions and engaged in a lively discussion. There was also a display of children’s books by Indigenous authors from Canada. One attendee commented on the wealth of information provided about Indigenous children’s literature and its value to her curriculum.
For a copy of the resources discussed, please contact Kyla at outreachk12@wwu.edu.
The Pacific Northwest National Resource Center for Canada (NRC) joins the Canadian Studies Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington with the Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University. K-12 Study Canada is the flagship professional development program for educators for the NRC.