Decolonizing the literature review

Just spent a remarkable two weeks instructing ‘IED594: The Research Proposal and Literature Review’ with the current cohort of Master’s of Indigenous Language Revitalization students. What a phenomenal experience–a sincere professional highlight. These fifteen students travelled from near and far for a two-week writing intensive course and accomplished so much. We wrote heaps and interrogated important concepts such as ways to decolonize the literature review process. What an inspiring and insightful group of breathtaking humans doing astonishing work in the world. Building capacity for Indigenous languages and sharing their beautiful writing. I am in awe of them all. So much gratitude. Keep going MILR cohort 2026–this is only the beginning!

Bibliotherapy: “Do books have the power to heal us?”

Here is a great CBC article and link to a recent Ideas podcast on bibliotherapy.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/bibliotherapy-health-1.7577698

While I love this idea, it does make me feel a bit old. When I was growing up before personal computers and the internet in the 1970s and ’80s, “bibliotherapy” was life, it was just the norm. Physical books filled my world and by the time I graduated high school I had probably read several thousand picture books, comics, and novels. The same cannot be said for my own children…sigh. A history of reading alongside mental wellness and self-consciousness is worthy of considerably more scholarly study. Will add that to my ‘after PhD to-do list’.

Congratulations new MILR grads!

What a joy to watch the latest group of Masters of Indigenous Language Revitalization (MILR) students convocate–this cohort is seven students! Learn more about these amazing students in the latest issue of the Indigenous Education Newsletter. Watching the growth of this excellent program over the last decade is a professional highlight; it is an honour to be this program’s librarian. I remember when there were two faculty members and a handful of students, now there is a whole department! So many remarkable people have made this happen, starting with the beautiful Dr. Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams.

Microlibraries and children as a unique audience of readers

These Indonesian microlibraries for children are remarkable; what a wonderful recent article in The Guardian. If only every street corner had one!

Discussions on digital versus analog reading continue on. When children are a unique audience of readers, making space for contemplative introspection is something that sets emerging readers up for success. Reminds me of Maryann Wolf’s oldie but goldie 2008 book Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain.

Outstanding BC Studies conference

So happy to have spent this past weekend at my old stomping grounds of UBC for the wonderful BC Studies conference. Highlights included: a night at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) with a guided tour by Dr. Susan Rowley; chairing a remarkable session on tensions of multiculturalism in BC’s history; and, visiting Main Library to remember my first library boss, the lovely Susanne Dodson. What an outstanding gathering–heartfelt gratitude to Paige, Laura, Leanne, and the many, talented volunteers who made this event so successful. Superb sessions, excellent organization, and splendid to connect and reconnect with like-minded colleagues. We are so fortunate to study what we do and where we do it.

Rethinking history education by rereading history books

Pleased to share an update on the BCHT collection in the latest issue of The Ampersand. Written alongside my colleagues, Graham McDonough, Chaa’winisaks, and Lyndzy Harvey, this short piece outlines recent approaches to teaching with these remarkable sources in credit courses offered through UVic’s Department of History and the Faculty of Education. It is always a joy to get our students into the reading room and classrooms of Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA). The assignments our students complete, continue to inspire the values of the BCHT collection and our accompanying research project.

Sakura Season

Throughout March and April in Victoria, the streets and parks are filled with beautiful Japanese Sakura [cherry blossom] trees. When I grew up in Vancouver, there was an annual Sakura festival which is still going strong.

Here is a beautiful haiku that won the 2006 Vancouver Sakura festival poetry competition.

the long road
boughs of white blossoms
light the way

                      Helen Baker, North Vancouver

New blog post for INEHC: “Animals, The North, and settler-colonialism in historical educational media: A comparison of Dutch and Canadian sources in the early 1900s.”

Pleased to write another blog post for European colleagues at the International Network for Education History Collections (INEHC). And, this time my friend and colleague, Chaa’winisaks at Royal Roads University, worked alongside me with developing this piece which is titled, “Animals, The North, and settler-colonialism in historical educational media: A comparison of Dutch and Canadian sources in the early 1900s.” Our recent post is inspired by my INEHC colleague from the Nationaal Onderwijsmuseum [National Museum of Education] in the Netherlands Jacques Dane, who wrote an excellent blog post in November 2024, titled ‘Animal love in the classroom.’ Our recent post considers conceptions of ‘The North’ through a comparison of a Dutch wall chart from 1911 and a British Columbia geography textbook used in schools between 1899 and 1910. If you are interested in blog posts about BCHT, here’s another one I wrote last fall for colleagues at University College London when I was a Liberating the Collections Fellow at the Institute of Education’s Research Institute for Collections. So many compelling similarities and differences. This one’s a long one, so get comfy!

Guest speaker in WRIT 407: Writing for children and young adults.

Thank you to the lovely Sara Cassidy for inviting me to speak about Children’s Librarianship in her course WRIT 407: Writing for children and young adults. This group asked excellent questions about how to build inclusive and responsive library collections, the pathways to becoming a librarian focused on youth readers, and how to professionally navigate an era of increasingly challenged books for children. If you are interested in becoming a children’s librarian, it is a great gig. Happy to chat about pathways to the profession anytime; feel free to book an appointment with me.

Sara is a wonderful local, children’s author; one of my favourite of her recent books is Kunoichi Bunny published by Orca. WRIT 407 students are so fortunate to have Sara as their instructor. Happy writing!

Little Libraries

Victoria, BC, sure does love its Little Free Libraries. Within a 20-minute walk, I came across these three beautiful examples.

According to Little Free Libraries worldwide, there are over 200,000 globally. Victoria Place Making has a great blog post about the city of Victoria’s particular love for them; check out their local map. One of my favourite local publications, Capital Daily, states that Victoria has the highest density of little libraries in Canada. A city of avid readers. Well done, Victoria!

New map in library foyer: ‘Treaty Relations in the Salish Sea’

Next time you are in McPherson Library/Mearns Centre for Learning, be sure to check out the newly installed wall map of treaty relations in the Salish Sea. Developed by the library’s Decolonizing Working Group including Ry Moran, Associate University Librarian for Reconciliation. This map is also informed, by excellent sources such as the ‘History & Territory‘ pages of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council’s website, as well as Professor Brian Thom’s extensive Coast Salish bibliography. If you are looking for a highlight from this bibliography, Duff’s BC Studies piece endures.

Duff, Wilson. “The Fort Victoria Treaties.” BC Studies 3 (1969): 3-58.
https://bcstudies.com/issue-single/bc-studies-no-3-autumn-1969/

Teaching prep for ‘IED594: The Literature Review and Project Proposal’

Designing a syllabus for a new course, or course that is new to you, is a lot of responsibility but also exhilarating! Developing outcomes, lectures, and assignments is a remarkably creative exercise. Keeps my thinking fresh and flexes my scholarly muscles. Looking so forward to meeting the new students this July. Let’s get knee-depth into literature searching!

Victoria Historical Society winter 2025 newsletter

Interested in the history of the Victoria Historical Society (VHS)? Look no further than the most recent issue of the VHS Newsletter where Professor John Lutz and I continue a writing theme started by Jack Bryden’s article published in the fall of 2024. John Lutz and I consulted with numerous previous board members and wrote up an overview of the last three decades of activities by the VHS, “Driven by People with a Passion: VHS Moves into the Twenty-first Century.”

Front cover of the Winter 2025 VHS Newsletter.

When researched and written well, corporate histories can be fascinating. I acquired a small taste for the genre during the 2022 STO:LO Ethnohistory Field School when I wrote ‘Sqwélqwel: A Preliminary Corporate History of the Stó:lō Archives and Library, 1994-2022.’ Still lots to learn, but when I am done my dissertation, I imagine a handful of worthy corporate history writing projects such as a revised inclusive and exhaustive history of the HBC and an update to the Bannerman’s 1985 illustrated history of the BC Ferries. So little time, so much to write…

Museum Studies Symposium 2025

Still reflecting on the excellent Canadian Museums Association Symposium on Teaching, Learning, & Reciprocity. Thank you Tania Muir for hosting! Highlights included the keynote by Dr. Heather Igloliorte, an Inuk-Newfoundlander and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Decolonial and Transformational Indigenous Art Practices at UVic. Met so many lovely people who are fellow practitioners of public history. The evening reception at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria was also wonderful, particularly viewing a piece by the amazing Kent Monkman.

BCHT & EDCI 303: History and Philosophy of Education

What a wonderful week with EDCI303 courses as we analysed the BC Historical Textbooks collection in the Special Collections classroom. So many excellent conversations to begin decolonizing historical curriculum and reflect upon the history of schooling in BC. We also found some remarkable marginalia and ephemera (including a driver’s license from 1953)!

New Library Guide: Vine Deloria, Jr.

This new, brief library guide includes a preliminary bibliography of Dr. Vine Deloria Junior’s work.  The late Deloria (1933-2005) was an influential professor, theologian, and theorist in Indigenous studies.  His works like God is Red and Red Earth, White Lies endure as impactful scholarship.  Many UVic students studying Indigenous education find his work deeply meaningful to their own scholarship.  This guide provides of listing of Vine’s work cross-referenced with UVic Libraries’ holdings.  If you are looking for other topics, at UVic we have over 30 library guides specific to education! Thank you to Chaa’winisaks and her IEd students for suggesting this bibliography!