Steve chats with Allison Waukau, Native Community Liaison at Hennepin County Library, about her work connecting the library with the Native community, how libraries can better hire and retain Native staff, how publishing is (slowly) improving at telling authentic Native stories, and the importance of land acknowledgements.

Read the transcript!

Allison Waukau (Menominee/Navajo) resides in Minneapolis, MN and works in Community Engagement. Allison currently is a Member at Large with the American Indian Library Association and one of Library Journal’s 2021 Movers & Shakers. Allison’s professional interests include exploring library land acknowledgement practices, developing community-led library programs, and elevating the voices and perspectives of her Native community.

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Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing.Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including reader’s advisory, cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of libraries’ top titles and other stories of interest to the library community.

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