The COVID pandemic, economic insecurity, increased political polarization and social unrest have severely tested our country and affected how members of the public interact with one another.
Designing for the Future is an interactive workshop that will guide participants on how social and behavioral changes from the pandemic will affect the future design and operation of libraries and other public institutions.
The Alaska State Library has partnered with NYU professor and space planning expert David Vinjamuri to offer workshops in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks.
Don’t have funds to travel to one of the workshop sites? Consider applying for a CE grant from the Alaska State Library.
This project features presentations on topics especially of interest to tribal libraries and tribal librarians. Eleven videos are now available, with more on the way. Topics range from programming to professional development to archival sources.
Historian Bob King discusses the use of sailboats in the Bristol Bay salmon fishery until 1951. It was one of the last sailboat fisheries in the United States despite its status as a major fishery. King has a background in journalism and extensive knowledge of Alaska fisheries issues and is a project historian on the <NN> Cannery History Project.
The Alaska State Museum’s FY23 Grant-in-Aid (GIA) program is accepting applications through June 1. Mini-Grants of up to $2000 are available for small museums with annual operating budgets less than $100K. Museums of any size may apply for a Regular Grant of up to $12,000 to fund a project. Museums may apply for just one grant.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium have formed a new partnership to bridge the gap between culture and modern technology for the next generation of Alaskans. The Naaxein Teaching Partnership gets its name from the Tlingit word for robe, as a 19th century Tlingit Chilkat robe is at the center of the collaboration.
"Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium form Naaxein Teaching Partnership to bring culture and technology together" by ANHC, ANSEP, ANTHC,
[A] crew of researchers set out on a mission to find the wreck of a cannery ship that sank in Southeast Alaska over 100 years ago...
But the crew isn’t just relying on high-tech gadgets to locate the lost ship. They’re also turning to the historical record. Researcher Shawn Dilles says he’s looked all over the country for photos of the Star of Bengal and the site of its wreck like the ones in the collection of the Wrangell Museum, housed in the Nolan Center.
“I think the Nolan Center played a critical role in this,” Dilles said. “I’ve looked in archives all over the country and seen some of these photos, but not those two critical photos.
"How do you find a century-old shipwreck in Southeast Alaska?" by Sage Smiley, May 11, 2022. KSTK.org.
Duke University Ph.D. student Dana Wright came to Kodiak to study a baleen whale owned by the Kodiak History Museum. Baleen are bristle-like hairs that grow out of the baleen plate on the upper gum of certain whales, which filter plankton from water.
Wright is hoping to discover information about the migration patterns of the North Pacific right whales — the most endangered species of large whales...
"Researcher hopes to learn about endangered whale by studying Kodiak History Museum whalebone" by Alex Appel, May 16, 2022. Kodiak Daily Mirror.
Museum Midday, a series of online museum presentations and programs from with Ketchikan Museums, has wrapped up for the season, but you can view recordings on the museums' YouTube channel.
"Museum report" posted by Maria Dudzak, May 11, 2022. KRBD.org
Hundreds of hours of audio from an unlikely historical source are now archived on the internet, and available for anyone to listen to.
Southeast Native Radio was broadcast over KTOO in Juneau for 16 years, from 1985 to 2001. The volunteer-produced show played as current affairs at the time, but twenty-one years later it’s become a window into the lives of the people and events that shaped Native culture in the region over the last century.
"Southeast Native Radio aired for just 16 years, but its voices will live on in a new digital archive," May 19, 2022. KCAW.org.
When history buff and writer Ray Hudson moved to Unalaska in the 1960s and became a teacher, he started collecting books about the region. That collection grew to become the island’s largest collection of books about Alaska.
“Peat, our wonderful library assistant is the master of that collection in the public library today,” said librarian Karen Kresh.
"Longtime library employee curates pared-down Alaskana reading room" by Theo Greenly, April 12, 2022. KUCB.org.
Alaska History News, the quarterly of the Alaska Historical Society, shared a NARA update:
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is plugging away on digitizing Alaska’s federal records housed in Seattle but little progress has been made in upgrading or replacing the archives facility there. That’s according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a March letter to the Alaska Historical Society, responding to our request to her for an update.
"NARA digitizing Alaska records, still no new building planned" by David Ramseur, Summer 2022. Alaska History News.
[I]t’s an opportunity for children’s museums across the United States to bring the exhibit to their local community, offering children the chance to experience life in an Alaska Native village right in their own backyards.
"Award-Winning PBS Kids Series Molly Of Denali® Featured In New Traveling Museum Exhibit," May 17, 2022. GBH.
The Never Alone game was launched in November 2014. CITC produced the game alongside gaming company E-Line Media. The video game honors Alaska Native storytelling and is based on a traditional Inupiaq story (Kunuuksaayuka) about a young person who fights a great blizzard that threatens the community’s survival.
Never Alone was groundbreaking because of its inclusive development process. The game was made with Alaska’s Inupiaq community—elders, writers, and storytellers.
"CITC’s Never Alone Video Game Receives Prestigious Peabody Award," March 24, 2022. citci.org.
Gov Docs 101 is a series of introductory subject webinars on frequently-requested Government information topics. The webinars are designed for newer depository coordinators, however anyone with an interest in the subject may attend.
This workshop will provide an overview of resources, tools, and research provided by the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC). The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse is an Office of Family Assistance (OFA) funded national resource for fathers, practitioners, programs/Federal grantees, states, and the public at-large who are serving or interested in supporting strong fathers and families.
Do you have an online event or news to share? Email us!
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