Update on TLAM Service-Learning Projects 2014

So far, our group has been able to connect with Chris Kilgour and Felipe Gacharná, DoIt technology staff from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who will be able to help the Learning Center purchase materials for their language project and organize training sessions for the students.

We have also been in contact with Allison Kaplan, a youth literacy specialist from the SLIS department at UW-Madison, who will provide a training session on youth literacy and development for learning center staff. We have processed new science and American Indian books for the Learning Center collection, and we are working on developing a wish list and fundraising website for new materials.

Our group has been learning from the Learning Center staff throughout our visits, and were especially honored to be invited to a powwow in March.  We look forward to continuing our project throughout the semester and hopefully throughout the summer as well.

-Sarah, Emily, and Claire

This semester, the Oneida Film Preservation Project has been progressing well. Besides our class group, we have been assisted by volunteers such as Jordan Radke and April Rodriguez. We began the semester with several short meetings with Lotus Norton-Wisla in which she explained the project, what they had accomplished thus far, and what needed to be done.

After that, we attended a workshop with Mary Huelsbeck, the assistant director of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR), where she showed us where the film itself was stored and how to operate the Steenbeck film editing machines. With that, we were prepared to continue inventorying the film.

Each group member has been working on the project at WCFTR whenever we can fit the time into our schedules, and we continue to use the data-entry form and spreadsheet developed by last year’s TLAM class to compile information about each reel as we watch them.

In order to better understand the film’s context, we travelled to the Oneida Nation reservation near Green Bay on February 28. There, we met with members of the Oneida tribe such as Steve Webster, the Records Manager; Reggie Doxtater, the Historical Archivist; and Loretta Metoxen, the Tribal Historian.

The provided us with background information on the tribe and the film. Since that time, we have been in contact with Steve Webster to keep him appraised of our progress and to inquire about other tasks and goals we can help him achieve, such as researching possible grants and vendors for film digitization.

Currently, we are tentatively planning another trip to the reservation for May 9, when we hope to present some information about vendors and some reels of film we recommend for digitization.

-Eric, Emily, and Jacob

 

Menominee Nation, Special Collections

I worked with Bryan Stevenson in the Special Collections Department of the S. Verna Fowler Academic Library at the College of Menominee Nation during Spring Break this year. There was a museum display case that needed to be set up. Considering the needs of the community and patron requests, Bryan decided that a beadwork display would serve the community best.

I spent the week researching beadwork stitches, tools, and materials. When the research was finished, Bryan and I discussed the set up of the display. I then produced the materials giving descriptions of the beadwork in the display, a fancy dance belt and headband. On my last day there, we put on the finishing touches and the glass was put back on.

This was a wonderful learning experience for me. I was able to work closely with Bryan and see his day to day operations. We made a plan for me to come back in June to produce a Libguide to go along with the display. This will contain links and information for those who would like to learn how to bead.

-Amy

Red Cliff Library Project

The Red Cliff group is preparing for our second trip up North this week.  We’ve started drawing floor plans for the Red Cliff Interim Library opening up early this summer. Within all of the drawings there is a children’s section, laptops or desktops, a Xerox machine and comfy chairs to relax.

The square footage and a wall separating the room in half limit the space, but we are all excited to make this interim space as functional as possible. At our meeting this week, we will present the different floor plans and have a conversation with Carmen and Dee to see what plan would be the most valuable to the community.

In addition to the library design, Erin has been tirelessly working on editing promotional videos for the new Red Cliff community center. It is our goal by the end of the semester to have all of the videos edited and uniform to present to Red Cliff.

-Brenna, Cassy, and Erin

If you have any questions for any of the groups, please write them below! Thanks for tuning in.