Un Puño de Tierra: Why I Must Document Chicana, Latina and Native American Librarians and Archivists

After months of tumultuous moving and tiring days of re-adaptation into a Southern Californian lifestyle, this past week, I was sitting in an Oxnard, CA taquería. If you don’t know, Oxnard is situated by surrounding agricultural fields, a Naval base, all while at the welcome mat to the Pacific and shadowed by the Transverse Range.

The move was a physical reminder that my professional clock was ticking and a firm slap in the face that the cost of living is not cheap or easy. Only having a short apartment hunting timeframe, I had found an overpriced place to live in Ventura, CA. Santa Barbara living was going to be a miracle which would not happen, so I decided to move to the midpoint of LA and Santa Barbara, thus my relocation to Ventura. Before coming back to So Cal, I had the fortune of establishing short-term employment at Santa Barbara City College’s, Eli Luria Library, where I am currently engaging in professional community college librarianship.

It had been some time since I had walked through these green doors, I had been to Oxnard before and had eaten here once upon a time. I quickly realized the new edition; a jukebox which had been given a visible space in the corner of the main dining room. While I waited for my quesadilla, I made my way towards the music box. I may be no connoisseur of música mexicana, yet I do have my favorites and I was in need of some musical solace, After all, this had been a journey and back. After picking two songs which I was able to decipher easily amongst the sets of great musico/@s, I soon came to Ramon Ayala’s Un Puño de Tierra.

Listening, all-the-while contemplating the truth behind the song, I instantly awoke to some suppressed, pressing, past research interests that I plan to engage in very soon once I have a research plan, funding, and participants; every researcher’s dilemma and yes there will be a data management plan.

Ayala reminds me continually, as do other great artists. In that moment, he connected all that I had buried inside me while getting through the day-to-day at Simmons College. His song renewed my intention and reassured why I want to partake and conduct meaningful research. Even more, he is right that “when I die I’m not taking anything with me.” If I create anything, I want my products to be used in ways that innovate and add to the creative. After all, when I do pass, “no mas el recuerdo queda, “ as Ayala reminds us.

Months before, although knowing about the song, I was living in Boston, MA. I was finishing up my MS,LIS at Simmons College and had developed an interest in oral history research methods. Not trained in this area, I decided to do an Independent Study which would provide a foundation and really tell me if I wanted to pursue research methods in oral history in the future.

I had mentioned my interest in documenting the experiences of librarians and archivists, but only to few people I trusted to share my interests with. My intentions in this blog are to share to the community why liberating research frameworks have a place in the LIS/ Archives discourse, that la verdadera palabra comes from people through lived experience. I want to document Chicana, Latina, Native American librarians and archivists not only to partake in meaningful, liberating, work, but to, above all, add to the record.

My interest in this work is part of a social justice ideology, from researchers, writers, músicos, and practitioners beyond and within our fields. It could be argued that ALA has already started an oral history collection, Capturing Our Stories, but after having reviewed some of these videos and transcripts I am unsure of the motivations and treatment of participants. I want to share that oral history research methods and philosophy begins with the utmost respect for participants and the preservation of their words. It is the foundation of any project and where I start myself.

Another reason, I have come forward to share this interest is that I was greatly motivated by Salvador Güerena’s An Archival Call to Action. While in Boston I was reading Pathways to Progress: Issues and Advances in Latino Librarianship which vividly inspired my participation in research. I hope to use his wisdom to inform my project and add to the areas, that he has indicated through expertise, need more research in.

 

Some of the flack I may receive from others, possibly, could be sentiments which indicate that I only have interest in this work because I am Chicana. To those I say yes! I want to do this work because if I don’t it may be done poorly by others who have no vested interest, as I have seen in other projects. And to quote a friend of mine, this work is not a privilege but part of healing work within the disenfranchising system.

 

I am not totally convinced of how diversity functions in our profession. Although I have benefited from the prospects of it in some ways, yet deal with backlash in others. I am more interested in the lived stories of those, before and currently, which tell the collective narrative. Has it been documented to the fullest? I am not convinced it has. I feel the inspiration to document this wisdom for our own benefit, for researchers who need information in this area, and for those to come.

To reiterate Ayala, when we die we don’t take anything with us, but we leave our products, if they are preserved and deemed valuable, and worth preserving. Who decides worth? We know who.

 

Ramon Ayala, Un Puño de Tierra - Youtube

 

 

Librarian: What are you?

Courtesy of Youtube

Monday, November 4, 2013, Austin, Tejas; day one of the Digital Library Federation conference commenced with a keynote address by David Lankes. His charm moved the audience with arousing ideas and concepts. I believe radical was the main theme he planned to communicate through his motivational Skype presentation. I question how innovative the notion that librarians need to move toward being radical to improve communities and society; not to downplay his keynote speech. And please forgive me since I have yet to read the widely respected text The Atlas of New Librarianship.

After all, I can think of countless quote-un-quote radicals, in this profession, who have done, are doing, or will do radical library, archival, and tech work. Let's see, just to name a small few off the top of my head: Audre Lorde, Elizabeth Martinez, Dr. E.J. Josey, Yolanda Alaniz, Yolanda Retter-Vargas, and Myrna Morales. Maybe there is a context for a structural analysis that should be called on when looking at his push for a radical librarianship. To set the record straight, being radical is not a trend. I think using this language to be trendy or avant-garde is dangerous since most oppressed peoples are inherently radical not because it is cool or trendy, but to survive.

Already blessed to be equipped with a working framework of transformative librarianship, what really strikes me happens to be the evolution of librarianship, especially over the past 40 years. It just so happens that the work we do as librarians and archivists is tied to a place, as was pointed out by a young librarian colleague. Later that night, at local Austin veggie haunts, the conversation continued as we pulled apart the notion of what a new term in-place of librarian would be. Informationist? The new word we hear being thrown around, would this word replace? I have no idea and would love to hear your thoughts here.

Getting back to the radical or the evolution of the profession... Today in my Scientific Data Management class, we were inspired by the words and inquiry by Myrna Morales. Today's topic focused on the ethical implications by librarians and big data. How does big data challenge librarians to be critical in respect to data sets, while allowing for conscious neutrality? Just like librarians have an obligation to their patrons, researchers have an ethical obligation to subjects involved in their research. Using Myrna's logic, which I concur with, librarians also have obligations to subjects-- ethically. What is the product and end result of you data? I am not immune to this question and I am consciously trying to ask myself right now. How will the data I create be used, repackaged, co-opted, be perceived, or for anthropologists of the future, if I may, be excavated? How will your data be used, who are the bodies, subjects, objects, and how are your methods related to your radical LIS consciousness? I radically and evolutionally question. 

While Listening

Momentary epiphany often occurs during the mundane. Have you every experienced this? For instance, have you ever been doing one activity and it led you to another, or were you ever in a situation which called on one idea or concept and radically you were led to another thought or place?

While listening, brilliant tokens of insight can manifest themselves, planting a possible answer  to questions in your life, in a totally unrelated way. Although, hearing is not the only sense where we invite our subconscious to brew on the ideas and sounds we take in. I can share that there are situations where we learn from simply listening, in whatever format that might mean to you, even if you cannot hear, there is something about the act of listening which invokes us to the vulnerable and the omnificent.
 
These are a few examples of how these patterns present themselves as lessons, which abstract as they seem are very real, trying to make connection to other connections.

Example 1
In this last semester of library school, I decided to take two courses to culminate my MSLIS program: 1) Scientific Data Management and 2) an Oral History Independent Study. I came into the term thinking these two courses would not have any relation to the other, and I would be proven wrong as the weeks pushed forward. In my SDM class, students are asked to perform a data interview. Sound similar to the interview done in an oral history project? While there are distinct differences, the takeaway was when I found a researcher, created a data management interview, and conducted the interview to create a data management plan. When I transcribed the recording of the interview, not only did I hear the concerns more deeply expressed by the researcher, I heard myself. The act of listening allowed me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a professional.

Example 2
Today, I have been spending the day doing homework. Like many days, I listen to news shows and try to have background commentary for "company." After I had heard today's broadcast of Democracy Now, I decided to hear previously recorded episodes to accompany me while doing my work. I haphazardly chose a random selection from their archived broadcasts. The episode I happen to choose reported on war drone attacks in the "Middle East" and most recently in Pakistan. One of the other topics, which is geographically tied to me being in Boston, was a discussion about the relation of U.S. slavery and ivy league schools in the United States. The MIT Professor, Dr. Craig S. Wilder, commented on his publication Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities, in which he connects to the larger context. This hit home, especially since I was at Brown University in previous weeks. The other commentator was a person who started a center, also here in Massachusetts, the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery. The speaker happened to be a white woman. Not to quote, but to echo her thoughts, she nervously made a comment that people need to listen to each other. That is White identified persons need to listen to the experiences of others and acknowledge the historical context. Alternatively she mentioned that non-White identified persons should also listen to White identified persons in identifying their privilege in the larger context. The issue here is not a binary black and white. What hit, no drew me into this position was again the act of listening. I am not posing a political opinion here explicitly other than I agree with the power of listening.

Example 3
Last week I attended DPLA fest here in Boston. This event was previously postponed due to the Boston bombings, a happening that marked the local community. Like all conferences, ideally, you network. I was able to connect with a well-known person in the library community. During a conversation, this person offered advice to me as I move out of school and into a professional position. Meeting people and hearing their advice, especially from those who have established positions, is intimidating and also one of the best things to happen. I really took what this person said to heart. And again, I was moved in another direction by the act of listening.

These three isolated events actually have connecting bodies. The power and act of listening can go a long way. I am invested in listening to others not just because I am a librarian, but because there is value in what other say and experience. One of the lessons on my mental map of occurrences is that sometimes we learn more about ourselves and others from listening than from talking. Try it next time. See what you learn or don't. Maybe there is not a lesson there for you, but what if there is?

Archivist in Action: Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice

There are people who inspire me for different reasons. I'm sure you can relate to having a hero(s), or someone you have met, read about, or heard of that inspires you to inquire. The great thing about being library-minded is that inquiring and finding come natural to me. Yet, sometimes there are instances that reveal themselves where I am found, and the situation, person, or universal message finds me.

This is the case with a colleague of mine, Renee Neely. Last week, I had the privilege to see archival research in action, where she presented a working project “How Archives Shape our Collective Memory as seen in the 1936-1938 Federal Writers' Project Collection of Slave Narratives,” at a local New England center, the Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice at Brown University. Attending this event was not only informative, gripping, and confronting, but like all spaces that provoke reflection, invoking inquiry.

The obvious takeaway was knowing that this area of study is, in a generalized statement, layered. I was happy to see Renee, an archivist, amongst a room of historians and American studies folk; and me, the only librarian. Including myself into the equation, we were the exact image, poster-child, of what the library, archive roles have in relation to humanities researchers. Renee represented more than a person who specializes in preservation, and archival considerations. The message was greater than "archives." The historians mesmerized by the resources, Renee inspired by the nuances. Drawing on the experience, her presentation was indicative of what has not been said prevalently. Her perspective, challenged and respectfully, critiqued the products and process of our objects of access.

I, also am in the midst of an oral history independent study. I particularly, found her reflections and points of debate on point with what some of the main oral history scholars have worked into the popular reads. Alessandro Portelli, comes to mind. Thinking about what is learned from the act of the interview and the subtle lessons that happen from the project itself. Renee revealed these to us in her presentation and rightfully, tuned in on the major eye-opener: not all projects are developed with the future in mind. Archivists are the keystone species which think about this issue. Not all librarians understand this principle. I have learned many archival deposits of wisdom walking a line between archival and librarian thought. For me, archivists inspire and invoke inquiry.

Adelante Mujer Latina w/ REFORMA

In a room filled with vivacious and glowingly eager youth; Today's Adelante Mujer Latina Education & Career Conference opening ceremony was a place of empowerment and the beginning of a day filled with questions and answers. Normany Cadena, keynote speaker and Boeing Engineer, reality checked the audience with her compelling story-- that most Latinas can relate to. I get emotional when I hear people's stories; because I too have a story that is all too familiar in the minds of chicanas, latinas, and sisters/ brothers that are part of historically disenfranchised peoples.

I was pleased to be amongst the sea of our future leaders-- to be a part of what many womyn in the world may not ever have: a friend, hermana, profa, or mother/father. To say that I was with the REFORMA LA-Chapter bibliotecarias gave me that sense of community that I have never had. Cynthia, Sonia, and Monica, promptly began our panel: Who can help you find the answers to any question? A Librarian, at 10:00 am in our cozy Pasadena City College classroom. Muxeres and muxercitas from different communities in Southern California slowly tricked into room R111. It was now or never, to began what will be a future of speaking in my profession. Like always my heart was beating from childhood traumas, a fear to be in front of others. Sonia soon introduced our panel and we each had a chance to speak about librarianship, or the road to librarianship. Slowly we made our way through a cheerful and upbeat discussion, and I kept thinking how lucky these youth are to have such mentorship at their fingertips. With little certainty, I will never know how valuable today was for the young womyn who attended today's panel, and they will never know how powerful today was for me as an aspiring librarian. I am left with one question that will beg to be answered: what has education meant to me?

Grad School:They Want Me, They Want Me Not...

Have you ever been asked that question..."So why is it that I want to be a librarian?" or "Why do you want to work in a library?"..... People ask me questions like this all the time! The simple response is that I like having the answers to the random mystifying questions that I am asked at my fingertips. I can reach behind me, using my trust worthy ready reference on deck, and literally look up information about killer whales, or like today, teach a young man how to use the library's OPAC. Call me a geek, but I like helping people and myself seek/find answers to their questions and get into new topics/ideas. Everyday is different, although I do have my groundhog library worker days- I just love libraries! Confirming my passion for our esteemed lib-spaces, I just applied to Graduate School. That's right, I am ready to take that next step and actually become an MLIS.

Blog'in It @ Echo Park Library

One of the great perks of working in a library as a Computer Aide is the ability to teach. Each day I encounter moments in my workday where I am confronted with a hands-on teaching situation. Questions like, "how do I?" or "where can I?" are heard daily. With a smile and an answer, I get people where they need to be virtually! Apart from any questions answered on the daily, I have been teaching informal classes every Wednesday and Friday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Computer Happy Hour, was developed to help people in a non-classroom like setting where they can practice their computer skills in a fun, active-learning environment.

I hope to start developing other computer classes that are useful to our developing lives with technology in the digital age. With limited capabilities that the library's computers have, this is a challenge for me to make a class that can be useful to patrons in their digital endeavors, all while using public computers. I welcome any innovative thoughts from you on topics that are of interest.

A recent event that took place @ Echo Park Branch was, Blog'in It: A Class To Start Your Blog. This class was developed to get individuals involved in online communities. Many people are involved in social networking sites where they comment on fragments of information. Blogging can be an organized way of expressing oneself and communicating ideas via the web.

Having just started this blog, I wanted to share my new found knowledge and see how locals could teach me about their interests. And what a great class! I used a power point that I had developed to guide us through the process. Each person was given a pre-made idea board, to aid them connecting their thoughts, since it can be daunting to put ideas together.

LIB 103: Field Trip to CSUN's Oviatt Library

Supervisor of Circulation Services leading the tour with PCC's Spring Lib 103 class @ Oviatt Library, CSUN.

CSUN's Oviatt Library has this really cool storage area......  Part of our course in Lib 103, a class within the Library Tech. Cert. Prorgam,  required a class trip to visit the Oviatt to get first hand accounts of working at an academic library. Our tour was given by the Circulation Services Supervisor. He had great enthusiasm and answered all our questions with ease and professionalism. 



Rough sorting area.



Enter Rm 101: CSUN's Oviatt Library storage area.

PCC and the Library Technology Certificate Program

Pasadena City College offers great training and skills certificates. After not getting into UCLA's MLIS program and San Jose State's online program, I decided to further my library knowledge by taking classes offered by PCC under the Library Technical Certificate. What is great about this program is that it offers people who have little to no experience the opportunity to be competitive with the lifers who serve as our dedicated clerks and paiges.

Shatford Library @ Pasadena City College

As of today, I have taken LIB 1, LIB 10A, LIB 102, and currently I am taking LIB 103. From a student perspective I can honestly comment that  I have enjoyed taking all my classes in the library. Some of the information can be repetitive, but overall I have learned great search techniques and the majority of the librarians rock!!!!! For those people like me trying to get into any type of library-- take the certificate! I have met many dedicated students, great librarians, and skills that have sparked the beginning of my journey to librarianship. 

A Blog?

These past years after CSULA have been some of the hardest; dealing with the economy and the loss of job opportunities, the increase in education costs, and of course the constant attacks against immigrant communities and historically disenfranchised peoples.

So I decided to write a blog chronicling my academic/ pre-grad journey, AND possibly beyond. I felt it was time to use the web to my advantage. After all, what better place to share my professional, school, and activity experiences than the web.

Here I am, a newcomer to the world of LIS, with one pinky-toe in archives and special collections. WE all have our personal stories about libraries, archives, and museums, each with their unique defined places and times. I hope to use this blog to talk about my journey, and more importantly how I can fine-tune my skills.

REFORMA-LA
When I was introduced to REFORMA- LA Chapter, The National Association to Promote Library & Information Science to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, a great group of dedicated, brilliant librarians, para-professionals, archivists, and community, I recall being nervous about my lack of experience and education in Library Science. And who wouldn't be intimidated by a bunch of amazing people with MLISs, other meta-experiences? Although, I did have some familiarity with academic and public libraries due to my own previous research, I still was uneasy. Going to meetings invoked these types of insecurities. As I became more involved, I found ease and community.

What happened, not surprisingly, was that I would find myself challenged again by the social context. In particular, I recall one meeting, to plan the Elizabeth Martinez Scholarship Awards Dinner. During my first meeting a comment was made that stuck in my mind by one of the members that to this day resonates within my personal, academic, and social consciousness. I can’t exactly recall verbatim what was said, but it was in regards to Latino communities with respect to felling embarrassed or shy to approach a the reference desk. Instantly, I had an internal reaction to this comment. I too, could recall being afraid to approach librarians. Information and knowledge have between-the-line connotations of privilege; who feels entitled to ask, whereas who is uneasy to ask evoke, to me, a relational system in which we as information professionals serve within.

Why do I bring this up? As I become challenged by personal endeavors, how I have grown to understand myself, I cannot separate my gender, economic, class experience, and race from who I am. Maybe the connection is not so obvious, but how information is presented to any society is from usually the ruling class perspective.

The comment stated by the REFORMA member has a context within the library agenda worthy of reflection and inquiry. Hopefully, this anecdote has arisen some emotion within you. These are the questions and others that I want to dialogue about. Information is evolving!