Questions

It was a question that Joey Chung recalled during their presentation at the New Librarians' Symposium in Adelaide, when observing that they were often one of only a few Asian librarians at libraries conference events... where, at one such event, Joey's colleague asked:

Joey, do you think that it is a bit funny that you're the only Asian in here?

Joey's response: Ah yeah, so what? I'm so used to it by now.

You don't need to have prepared a workforce diversity trend report to be aware that the Australian library and information sector has a diversity issue when it comes to people of colour and, unfortunately, this is seemingly even more the case when it comes to delegates that are sent to professional conferences.

However, in a strange twist of fate, I was fortunate enough to be sent as a delegate to attend the biennial conference of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA), held in Hobart last week.

Hello Hobart!

For me, this was a unique conference event, for two reasons:

1. Other than my colleague, there were no other delegates (to my knowledge) from the library / cultural sector; and

2. The overwhelming majority of delegates were people of colour.

And I have to say, it was a breath of fresh air - and that's not just the Tasmanian climate!

There were a number of recurring themes - things that we really should be talking about in libraries - and yes, some of us do, but they are usually far from the top of the priority list:

Working with First Nations people. The vast majority of us are migrants in somebody else's country. We need to acknowledge traditional owners, and seek welcome to country. We need to work toward reconciliation for the past deeds of Australia's colonisers - deeds that we all benefit from, to the detriment of First Nations people. But also, importantly, we need to support new migrants to Australia to connect with First Nations people, exchange knowledge, find common understanding, and collaborate to build community together.

The opening night reception began with a welcome to country, and the official launch of FECCA's Reconciliation Action Plan. The next morning, one of the keynote speakers was a Palawa Elder, and over the two days, there were quite a number of presentations of case studies where multicultural communities were actively engaging with Indigenous Elders to deliver intercultural exchanges - particularly in facilitating resettlement programs for refugees and asylum seekers. The underlying message here was that we need to stop looking at immigration through a colonialist perspective, and connect better with First Nations values when living in somebody else's land. And when we think about multiculturalism and inclusion of minorities, we must remember that our First Nations people are minorities in their own country.

Lobbying and advocacy. As keynote speaker Hana Assafiri began her presentation - we live in a polarised world. We need to be vigilant against discrimination. We need to understand that bigotry is hate speech and not free speech. We need to be honest about what is happening, and be truth-tellers.

Shen Narayanasamy from Colour Code talked about the moment of realising that 24% of Australian residents were from non-European backgrounds - twice that of the black American population. Furthermore, in 49 seats across Australian, 1 in 5 residents are from non-English speaking backgrounds, and despite common perceptions, many migrants, multicultural and First Nations people in Australia are swinging voters. That's a huge source of political power. And so, people of colour in Australia need to stop begging for acceptance, and instead mobilise and work together.

There are so many important often-unheard voices in Australia that need to be heard, and their messages brought to the forefront of our cultural institutions.

Defining and measuring multiculturalism. Australia does a good job of collecting data on first generation migrants, but for subsequent generations - not so much. Official data only looks at country of birth and/or language spoken at home, so if you're Australian-born and speak English, you don't count as being from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. This is a set of criteria and definition which came out of a context of exclusion from the White Australia policy. It leads to misleading statistical base data - where the population diversity statistics are out by approximately 1.4 million people - and there is no right for people to self-identify as being from a culturally diverse background.

This, of course, needs to also be considered by libraries (and *cough* library associations *cough*) when considering the statistics on diversity, and using them as the basis for the services that they provide to their communities.

Cultural competency in the workplace. I learnt of a number of initiatives in this area - the Bureau of Meteorology have a Multicultural Access and Equity Action Plan, which outlines their actions for engaging with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The Department of Human Services have, over the past three years, rolled out a multicultural awareness program to a total of over 22,000 staff, and are collaborating with staff who deliver their Indigenous cultural competency training to provide further anti-discrimination training. HealthWest in Melbourne have gone further, and developed Standard for Workforce Mutuality - the idea that the diversity of the workforce should represent the diversity of their client base. Furthermore, this is an intersectional measurement of diversity, assessing cultural identity along with gender, sexuality, disability, and so on.

Communicating with multicultural populations. Non English-speaking people in Australia need information too - perhaps moreso than anybody else - if we want to be facilitators of social cohesion in our community. We saw a number of presentations showcasing multilingual services - particularly online communication. One such example, ASIC, highlighted the importance of this, as one in three small businesses in Australia are run by migrants - and in most cases, it's their first business. So, it's important that they have access to clear guidance for managing a business well - and legally!

Again, for cultural institutions, we can no longer get away with being monolingual in our communications, especially if we want to engage with multicultural communities and include them in our cultural collections.

So, after spending two days exploring these topics with a bunch of (mostly) non-white non-librarians, I wonder: how hard would it be to have a library conference that was dominated by these kinds of themes? Is that too much to ask?

As an aside, the headline speaker at the Thursday night dinner was Australian comedian Nazeem Hussain - and at one point, he posed the question:

How awesome is it to be at an event in Australia where white people are the minority?

Obviously, a rhetorical question.

Secret Asian Man: the privileges and pitfalls of "passing".

One of my best friends in high school was quite open about the fact that he hated all Asians.

Not that I thought he was necessarily going to go out and commit hate-crimes. The early 90s were a simpler time: casual racism was still socially acceptable, Con the Fruiterer was hilarious, and One Nation was but a twinkle in Pauline Hanson's eye. To be honest, I think he mostly just had a problem with the rich international students from Hong Kong and Singapore who seemed to be too cool for everybody else.

It's only really in hindsight that I think it was odd that he'd express his hatred of Asians if one of his good mates was one. I can only assume that (a) he didn't know I was Asian, (b) he thought of me as more "Aussie" than "Asian", or (c) he was trying to drop a hint, and I just wasn't catching on.

I was initially raised in a bilingual household, until my parents were worried that my English was getting too muddled-up. Even still, through much of my primary school years, I went to Chinese language schools on Saturday morning - which I absolutely hated. I was skilled with using chopsticks from a young age, and my mum would do most of the cooking in the family, which meant that more often than not, meals would consist of some variant of rice or noodles with veggies and some meat. Still, we kids loved it when it was dad's turn to cook, as it mostly involved pies or sausages.

It's only been in recent years where I've really come to accept my identity as an Asian-Australian. Before then, it was always something that was used against me, whether it was hilarious teenage jokes about being the product of the sex trade, or random drunken strangers who'd shout "Ohhh kon-ni-chi-wa!" or the highly-original "Ching-chong! Ching-chong!". That is, they weren't telling me to go back to my own country, or threatening to bash me.

When recalling these experiences, my white friends were always outraged and indignant on my behalf - but also a little surprised. After all, I "didn't even look that Asian" (so they'd tell me). Like being a "halfie" wasn't even worth it.

And in spite of my experiences, I also accept that, for much of my life, I've had the privilege of "passing" as, well, ambiguous. Certainly, on paper, I have a Western name, excellent English language skills, a nice predominantly-white middle-class profession as a librarian, and was born and bred in Australia. And without any reason to indicate otherwise, people assume that I'm white - and I don't give them any reason to think otherwise. I figure that they can work it out later on, once they've had a chance to get to know me as a person first.

Of course, that ambiguity can also lead to its fair share of awkwardness. Even when people have the best intentions and, purely out of curiosity, find themselves asking me that classic, "So, where are your parents from?" Like I need to provide my detailed family lineage, so that they can understand my, skin tone, facial bone structure, curly hair and ability to actively reverse the effects of ageing. They're often surprised (as am I) when they reveal that they thought that I was either Greek, Polynesian, or Jewish.

In recent years, I've noticed a trend at presentations given by professionals from First Nations backgrounds. They introduce themselves, not only by their name, but also their cultural group - and sometimes they even do this in their language. Whilst this may be an important statement of authority or sovereignty over the topic that they are going to speak on, another thing always intrigues me: the speaker is often from a mixed-race background, and if they hadn't explicitly stated their cultural identity, I would have no idea whether they were from a First Nations background or not.

I've spoken to other professionals from mixed backgrounds about their experiences, and whilst they are privileges to not being "obviously" Black, Brown or Asian, there are pitfalls too. We share experiences of discrimination, and a passion for promoting diverse voices in our professional fields. However, at times when we put ourselves out there, we can find ourselves challenged from "both sides". My white colleagues have often felt awkward or uncomfortable when I bring up topics such as (for example) white colonial narratives dominating cultural institutions, but at the same time, I experience a reluctance amongst my colleagues who are people of colour to engage in such discussions, and I can't help but feel like it's partially because I'm "not Asian enough" to be part of such a movement, especially when I've had all the privileges of "passing". Indeed, when I was elected into the IFLA Standing Committee for the Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section, one response from a colleague was, "Oh, that's interesting. What's your connection with multicultural populations, then?" It definitely felt like a challenge - for me to justify putting myself forward for such a role when there might be more suitable candidates. And maybe I should - even now, I experience my share of imposter syndrome, and suspect that I'm just being a dramatic leftie playing the race card when others have it so much worse.

I'm not saying that I'm entitled to be the spokesperson for Australian-Chinese communities - nor would I necessarily want to. But I do feel that librarians of colour should stand together, to ensure that we are all represented as a part of our society when it comes to our cultural institutions, and that we provide services and collections that connect with all communities in our society. We should all be proud of who we are, and be counted.

And I am not half a person.

Where are the radical librarians of colour in Australia?

This month's glamblogclub theme is "radical" - and I'm not going to dwell too much on defining this term, other than to say that, depending on the context, it can be positive or negative, but is almost always focused on an extreme form of change and disruption - whether it be technological change, a shift in paradigm, or overhaul of power structures.
So, what does it mean to be "radical" in the context of libraries? For me, as a person of colour floating in a sea of whiteness - colleagues, collections and clients - I have many strong opinions on the topic of libraries and cultural diversity.

When I look to forums such as Twitter, and conference events, particularly in the USA and Canada, I see a strong contingent of radical librarians of colour, sharing their experiences, challenging whiteness in their collections, services and teams, and generally banding together to support one another.

And I wonder - why doesn't this happen in Australia? I see a growing trend in pursuing critical librarianship as a form of radical action amongst librarians, but amongst those who are particularly active, there is most notably a lack of cultural diversity. Of course, there are a couple of exceptions, but they are exactly that - exceptions.

Of course, this is Australia - a country where the White Australia policy is still in living memory for most of the older generations of this nation. As a child, I grew up in a culture where to be a real "Aussie" was to be white, and the best that the rest of us could do is try to fit in, and live in "harmony". To challenge that would just be to draw attention to one's own difference, and fuel the opinion that perhaps, if I don't like it, I should go back to "my own country".

Part of me wants to think that times have changed since then, but then I just have to look to any Australian person of colour who has voiced a radical opinion in the media, and then watch the torrent of abuse unfold.

So, there's often, at best, an uncomfortable reluctance to speak out on matters of cultural diversity, even when surrounded by well-meaning white folks. At worst? Well, ask me some time when we've both had a couple of drinks.

In a professional context, there's still so much risk involved in challenging the status quo from a cultural perspective. It's an uncomfortable conversation for everybody to have, particularly if you're in the vast minority. If you don't see that changing any time soon, there's nothing to be gained, and plenty to lose. I feel uncomfortable even writing this blog, as I fear reprisals of one form or another.

Of course, that discomfort isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's important to acknowledge. I don't feel comfortable talking about the lack of cultural diversity in libraries, when I'm surrounded by white folks - even when they're being supportive allies. It just makes me feel even more isolated and different. Alone, I'm just not ready to be radical.

So, instead, here's my modestly-radical proposal - and a call-out to all other Australian librarians of colour out there who have been silent for too long. Find each other. Make the time to meet in a safe environment and have these important conversations, critiquing and interrogating the systemic whiteness in your libraries. Mobilise, collaborate and be active. Find your collective voice. Write to professional publications - or create your own. Put together conference panels. Whatever it takes to build our own professional community to ensure that, in these conversations, there is nothing about us without us.

(And if you don't know anybody else that you can connect with, you can email me - I'm happy to get things in motion.)

Our endgame as librarians.

It's the end of the year, and this month's GLAMblogclub theme is "End".

As an annual milestone, the end of a year is often a time of reflection on the past year of our ongoing journey; where we were this time last year, then things that we've achieved, the challenges and setbacks, and the direction in which we're headed. And it got me thinking: where does this road lead, what is our endgame as librarians, and most importantly, how do we make it happen?

Firstly, as many of us know, the cultural sector is a very difficult nut to crack, and for many, the endgame is simply getting a coveted ongoing job as a librarian. It doesn't even have to pay that well, so long as there's a modicum of job security. The process of getting to that point as a new graduate can be so frustrating and fraught with setbacks that, once we finally get there, there's a feeling of, "Yes! I've made it! I'm a librarian!"

But then what? I was reminded of this question recently when I spotted the following tweet:

When the vocational awe wears off, it’s hard to figure out what to do next.

— LIS Grievances (@lis_grievances) December 28, 2018

It seems that vocational awe is a concept that only librarians appear to be obsessed with - an online search will bring back many references to it, almost entirely in the context of libraries. For a good rundown on the topic, see this article by Fobazi Ettarh, who explains it far better than I can.

So, what do you do when you realise that all that glitters isn't actually gold? I'm often surprised when I ask librarians about their aspirations for effecting change, and they say words to the effect of, "Oh, I'm not really career-minded. I'm just happy to do this job as long as the work is interesting."

And I feel conflicted, because on one hand, we work in a sector where change is necessary on so many levels, and we need to be the ones doing that. At the same time, I feel like that's my vocational awe taking over, and that, at the end of the day, it's just work. For many, we're only paid to do the job that's in front of us. We're certainly not there to dismantle systems of oppression that are inherent in the institutions that we serve.

But if not us, then who? This is the stuff that keeps me awake late at night.

More importantly, how? In his latest post, Nathan Sentance highlights various ways that cultural institutions have contributed to colonial destruction of First Nations cultures. "As history institutions, they have helped in supplanting First Nations history with a newly created colonial memory, working almost as propaganda distributors for the settler state." He proposes that these institutions need to share their power with grassroots organisations that actively seek to repair colonial damage and prevent further harm.

And it's certainly not the first time I've heard the suggestion that librarians need to relinquish the power that they hold in their roles. Whether it be through enforcing oppressive vocabularies in their subject headings and classifications, or supporting cultural biases in the collections that they build or even in the application of library fines, we are supporting inequality in our society.

evening

if you're a librarian talking about access to library resources, then ending library fines is in your best interests. monetary fines hurt the economically vulnerable (homeless, working poor, children) and create a barrier to access thus not continue#endlibraryfines

— andy (@wawoodworth) December 28, 2018

Of course, librarians are the best when it comes to making excuses for themselves - which are often justified. Whether it be a lack of support from peers / supervisors, limited resources, or it simply "out of our hands", too often we find ourselves in a situation we we have to stand by and watch on, frustrated that we can't do better. Especially when we should do better.

So, back to the original question: What is our endgame?

Do we keep our head down and work hard for years for that promotions so that, 5-10 years down the track, we're in a position where we might finally be able to effect the change we want to see - knowing the risk that, having reached that point, we might still be impotent to actually effect this kind of change?

Do we accept our fate as being implicit in supporting systems of oppression, since it's not just librarians but most professionals that are in this situation, and just try to make change where it's possible? After all, we all need to work, firstly, to put a roof over our heads and food in our mouths. Our jobs are not our lives.

Do we take up academic pursuits? If we can't effect change from within, then we critique our practices through academic research and published papers - though there's no guarantee than any critique - no matter how well it's based on evidence - will lead to changes in practice. If anything, it's just further supporting a system of observation and interpretation from a place of privilege, without motivating real social change.

Do we leave librarianship? After all, if we're so passionate about social justice, wouldn't it be better to work in an organisation that directly deals with these issues, and it's from those platforms that we can critique cultural institutions and externally lobby them for change. (Or better still, move into politics where we can legislate the change that's needed - much easier said than done, I know!)

At a dinner party last night, I raised this question and, other than a general consensus that I shouldn't be preoccupying myself with all this during the Christmas / New Year break, one of my friends stated, "I'm completely aware that I'm part of the problem. We all are. But I'm also selfish, and I can live with that."

It's not really a satisfactory conclusion for me to reach in this post, but it's an important reminder that, whilst it is a kind of selfishness, I also need to be kind to myself.

Happy new year.

New beginnings...

So, last month I waited for the last day of the month to write my GLAM Blog Club post, but since this month's theme is "beginning", I am attempting to get this out in the beginning of the month.

A little over two weeks ago, I started a process which resulted in me receiving this item of apparel in the mail.

Every enrolment comes with a free hoodie!

Yes, I applied to go back to university, and as of next month, I will be commencing a Graduate Certificate of Education (Educational Research), which consists of a couple of units of coursework and a minor research thesis. If that goes well, then I'll be on track to move on to a PhD.

So, the obvious question is... why?

Every other time I've gone to university, it's been about doing coursework to get a piece of paper that will improve my career prospects. But this time, it's different.

There have been a number of moments in the past year that have prompted me in this direction:

• Running into my old LIS course coordinator from university, chatting about libraries for a while until I hear the inevitable question: "So... when are you going to finally do a PhD?"
• Reading about opportunities for a PhD scholarship, researching the ways that collections represent multicultural Australia in National and State Libraries, and thinking, "That is exactly the kind of topic that I'd want to be researching, if I were doing a PhD!" and realising that whilst I'm completely unready to take on a PhD right now, I'd like to make sure that in the future, if such an opportunity were to arise, I'd be in a good position to apply.
• Going to IFLA, and seeing presentations by librarians on topics such as the lived experiences of immigrant staff in German libraries, and thinking, "Wow, I wish were having these kinds of discussions in Australia."
• Coming back to Australia, and then seeing discussions on Twitter from librarians attending the Joint Conference for Librarians of Color in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and thinking, "That sounds amazing! Why aren't we having events like this here in Australia?"

And of course, I know the reason why. I've known it all my life living in Australia, and yet I'm still often reluctant to call it out for what it is. The few times that I have, I've at best made people feel noticeably uncomfortable, and at worst been verbally abused.

So, I want to build my confidence to be able to investigate and critique the ways that cultural biases and whiteness exist in our cultural institutions, in a way that is accessible and intelligent - and I feel that pursuing academic research and publication is an effective way of doing this. I want to find ways to foster these kinds of discussions in Australia, and build a professional community that supports Australian librarians of colour in being able to share their lived experiences in a safe environment.

Yes, I'm a bit scared. I've always felt more like a creative than an academic, which seems like a ridiculous dichotomy, given that they involve very similar skills. Most of what I write comes from a place of emotion, motivated by hope, fear, inspiration and curiosity. I worry that I don't have what it takes to research and write academically. It's been quite a few years since I've had to write an essay, let alone take on even a minor thesis.

But seeing these research opportunities arise, and academic communities growing overseas, I want to be a part of that world, and so, this is a new beginning to take me on that path.

Wish me luck!

Returning to face the strange...

I love conferences, and I love travelling and working overseas. They are both opportunities to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, explore new ideas and cultures, get a sense of what's happening in other places, and really expand your outlook on everything from professional to socio-political, cultural and personal issues.

Returning, on the other hand, is strange. Everything's familiar, but you're looking at it all through a different lens.

This is something that I've encountered at multiple times in my life:

- Returning to live and work in Melbourne after 2.5 years in Darwin
- Returning to live and work in libraries in Melbourne, after living for most of year in Japan.
- Returning to live and work in libraries in Melbourne, after having spent most of a year working on various projects in the development sector in PNG and Vietnam. (Are you starting to see a trend?)
- Returning to Australia, after spending over two years working in the development sector in Vietnam and Kosovo, and swearing that you'll never go back to libraries, and then returning to libraries anyway - though not in Melbourne.

It also happens when I go off to a conference, whether for a few days or a couple of weeks, such as my recent IFLA adventure, fill my head with all of the big picture issues, and then return back to my everyday job.

So, what makes it strange?

Well, firstly, comparatively speaking, Australians are obscenely privileged. Even those who are marginalised. That's not to say that their lived experiences aren't legitimately challenging, but when you see the levels of poverty and social inequality that people experience in other parts of the world, and worked with people who have lived through war and genocide, it's hard to empathise with those in the library who might be, say, very upset about delays in their collection delivery, or the quality of the wifi in the reading room. It takes a while to get back into the headspace of the average Australian, which also means shutting out that voice in your head that says, "These are such First World problems" but instead accept that now I have to reprioritise my values in order to do my job well. And it's strange.

Secondly, we don't necessarily do things much better in Australia. Going overseas and working in places that are challenging in terms of technical competence, bureaucracy and inefficiency, it's tempting to think at the time, "Oh, we don't have these problems in Australia." Except we do, and don't have the excuse of living in an under-resourced developing country. Occasionally, we're much worse. Which feels strange, all things considered.

Finally - and this is more in relation to my recent return - going off to IFLA and engaging with presentations and speakers from libraries all around the world, I'm reminded of all the big topics that we need to engage with when we work in libraries. We're inspired by technological innovation, and go deep in discussing problematic issues that are common across the world. I return to work, determined to be mindful of these things in practice, but everything feels incongruous with this mindset, and/or completely out of scope with my current duties. And it feels strange, because suddenly I don't know what I'm doing here, if I can't apply these principles into my work.

These thoughts remind me of a conversation I had with a colleague over a year ago, who was quite vocally "not a librarian", and challenged the idea that they - or anybody in the team, really - needed to study librarianship in order to do their job well. I didn't deny that this was true, but at the same time, I feel that what defines us as librarians isn't necessarily what we do in our operational day-to-day jobs, but how we engage with the professional issues within the sector, and push for change, whether it be institutional or on a wider scale. And I feel that sometimes, the only way we can really do that is to engage with the issues outside our bubbles - whether through travelling to conferences, working abroad or pursuing research - and when we return we should "face the strange". That is, really interrogate those things that just don't feel right in our work, and grate against our professional principles. Because these are the areas that need ch-ch-ch-changes...

17 Days in Malaysia: Part Six - Indigenous Matters and Sarawak

It's been over three weeks since I returned from Malaysia - longer than the time I actually spent away - so I'd best wrap this up, with my final post in this series!

Before flying to Kuching on Friday, I downloaded the Grab app onto my phone. Grab is basically Uber, but you pay cash to the driver, and when you're overseas and unfamiliar with the lay of the land, and can't necessarily rely on language skills, it's made such a difference. And like Uber, it's also cheaper than taxis.

So, when I arrived at Kuching Airport, I was able to dodge the usual gauntlet of taxi drivers, and its minefield of negotiations and potential scams, and instead request a Grab on my device - knowing exactly how much I'd be paying in advance. Arriving in the early evening, I checked into my hostel, and unwound by wandering up the Sarawak riverside, watching the sky turn with the sunset. As a regional city, Kuching is a lot more laid-back than Kuala Lumpur, with a huge Chinese influence in its businesses, architecture and, of course, street food - which I took in with enthusiasm.

View this post on Instagram

Foodie adventures in Kuching: Sarawak laksa, cha kueh, and Kolo mee.

A post shared by Andrew F (@lib_idol) on Sep 2, 2018 at 3:50am PDT

Saturday morning came and I set off for the Sarawak State Library for Day One of the Indigenous Matters satellite meeting. The proceedings kicked off with the usual welcome speeches, and a performance of local indigenous dance in full traditional dress, which was wonderful and performed by local school students. Around the room there were stands set up showcasing crafts and traditions of the various local indigenous groups, from the local Iban, Bidayah and Orang Ulu people. What is fascinating is that Sarawak has over 27 different ethnic groups - though this number varies as sometimes different groups are categories together as sub-groups.

Moving into presentations, the first speakers were from the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Malaysia, discussing the digital platform that they'd developed for documenting the cultural heritage of the "Ring Ladies" of the Embhan community in remote mountainous Sarawak. After collecting thousands of items of visual data, there were challenges in compiling this information systematically, so they developed E-DIVO, an app designed specifically for labelling and describing visual images as cultural and ethnographic knowledge.

Embhan “ring ladies” - though many wearing brass rings since childhood, there is a new generation who have started practising the tradition of wearing brass rings in recent years. #indigenousmatters #wlic2018 pic.twitter.com/kKqVEssYQ0

— The Librarian Idol (@lib_idol) September 1, 2018

The next presenter was Dr Madeline Berma, from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Consultancy), who gave quite an impassioned speech about the troubled state of Indigenous populations in Malaysia, often referred to in a wider sense as "Orang Asal". She started off talking about how in her lived experiences, people assume that she is of Chinese Malay origin, or possibly Burmese, given her name "Berma". But the reality is that in Malaysia, the mainstream is to think in terms of the three prevalent identities (Malay, Chinese, Indian), but don't consider the possibility that people might be of an Indigenous identity, and so they effectively become invisible in the community. They are often ignored when it comes to national representations of Malaysian cultural heritage - except when it comes to dancing for tourists, as more of an exotic addition to the mix. She then went on to talk about the usual socioeconomic problems that Indigenous people encounter - which are very common to First Nationals people around the world. Her overall point - culture is politicised, and in Malaysia, it is the Malay Muslim peninsular culture that dominates all others, effectively erasing Indigenous culture that is devalued and forgotten. If we're serious about development, then we cannot talk about development without talking about sustaining traditional communities and their knowledge.

Our communities have valuable knowledge that we must sustain and treasure. #wlic2018 #indigenousmatters pic.twitter.com/zCJCH4zp8j

— The Librarian Idol (@lib_idol) September 1, 2018

This was followed by a visit to the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, where we were served lunch, learned about the ways that they collected traditional knowledge related to local plants and wildlife, and visited their ethnobotanical garden.

After a late afternoon break, we were picked up from our hotels and taken to a dinner reception, where we were treated to cultural performances, an array of local dishes, and invited to participate in some "traditional" dancing (which was strangely almost-identical to the Electric Boogie / Slide).

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IFLA Indigenous Matters satellite meeting dinner...

A post shared by Andrew F (@lib_idol) on Sep 1, 2018 at 6:43am PDT

Sunday morning began with a keynote presentation from Camille Callison of the University of Manitoba and the IFLA Indigenous Matters committee. She spoke at length about the work that she'd done with the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) in establishing Indigenous Matters working groups, improving Indigenous representation from across all provinces and territories, and developing their own protocols for sharing and communicating Indigenous knowledge.

Canadian Federation of Library Associations have a number of working groups focusing on areas of Indigenous matters. https://t.co/QDupnKmb5z #indigenousmatters #wlic2018 pic.twitter.com/s4a0uk3arV

— The Librarian Idol (@lib_idol) September 2, 2018

This was followed by a tour of the Sarawak State Library, including a separate children's area, computer study area, American Corner and maker space, reading rooms, and special collections of local history and local publications.

After lunch, the final event was a panel session with members of the IFLA Indigenous Matters standing committee, where there were many topics discussed, but to be perfectly honest, I was starting to run out of steam. One clear message I do recall from this discussion stuck, though, and that was that before we can decolonise our collections, we need to first decolonise our practices, attitudes and ways of thinking as professionals. Which sounds obvious when put like that, but we still have a long way to go.

Panel discussion with members of the @ifla_im standing committee. #indigenousmatters #wlic2018 pic.twitter.com/0QDQw3RUzx

— The Librarian Idol (@lib_idol) September 2, 2018

I felt privileged to be able to attend the first ever satellite event of the Indigenous Matters section, and to meet and get to know those involved in the standing committee, being from Canada, USA, New Zealand, France, and Sweden. There were not-so-subtle hints that they'd love to have somebody from Australia, and I promised that I'd mention it when I returned home - especially as they're calling for new committee members in the near future. I was also excited to hear that next year, Indigenous Matters is running a joint satellite meeting with the Library Services for Multicultural Populations section in Georgia, and between the opportunity to visit Georgia and the diverse discussions that are bound to be explored, I am already primed to book my ticket to go!

Most importantly, though, with the end of this session came the realisation that... I was finally on holiday! I had four full days, which I used to explore museums and cultural sites, visit the Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary, cruise the Santubong wetlands, and explore Bako National Park. My pro-tip: organised tours are expensive, and you can visit most of these places on public transport for a fraction of the price. Just make sure you give yourself time. But Kuching was the perfect city to be based whilst doing day-trips in the region.

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A day at Bako National Park.

A post shared by Andrew F (@lib_idol) on Sep 5, 2018 at 2:53am PDT

Thursday evening came, and with it, the long arduous journey that consisted of four flights from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to Sydney and finally, Canberra. It was pretty much the most painful part of the trip, with its share of delays but none of which resulted in a missed flight. At midnight on Friday, I arrived back at my apartment, relieved to finally be home.