Concordia’s Indigenous Student Librarian Program celebrates its first graduates

Sarah Monnier and Chloe Belair-Morin are the first graduates of Concordia’s Indigenous Student Librarian Program.

Both recent graduates from McGill University’s Master of Information Studies program, Monnier and Belair-Morin recently became the first to complete the tri-university initiative where First Nations, Métis or Inuit graduate students from McGill or Université de Montréal participate in a two-year-long paid position at the Vanier or Webster libraries at Concordia.

“I am thrilled that both Chloe and Sarah were able to join the Concordia Library team over the past two years while completing their master’s degrees in information studies,” says Lorie Kloda, associate university librarian at Concordia. “Despite some challenges due to the pandemic, including working almost entirely remotely for a year and a half, they were able to contribute to many library initiatives and gain experience in a variety of sectors.”

The Indigenous Student Librarian Program was designed to push for more diversity in the field, as well as to directly support Indigenous graduate students by providing real-world experience within the profession.

Overcoming significant barriers

“The reason I pursued an archival career is because I have always admired the work of archivists and their ability to give voice to local histories of objects, people and institutions. During my time working and volunteering, I realized there are significant barriers for Indigenous people to have access to their cultural records,” says Monnier, a member of Lac Seul First Nation.

“Historically, the most insurmountable issue is that the stewardship of archival material remains in the hands of large institutions that are physically distant from local communities. Within these institutions — due to lack of community input — these materials have been misinterpreted, misidentified or simply removed altogether.”

In order to create the change she wanted to see and bridge the gaps she saw within current archival systems, Monnier says she realized she needed to bolster her education and professional skills to progress in her field. Monnier and Belair-Morin began their work at the Concordia Library in September 2020 and have indeed been able to share their knowledge with the university community while sharpening their skills on the job.

“The Concordia Indigenous Student Librarian program provided the perfect combination of the academic and hands-on experience necessary in order to develop the skills of an academic librarian or archivist,” says Monnier.

One of the main projects undertaken by the two graduates was the development of the Library Companion Resource Guides for the Pîkiskwêtân Learning Series.

“The Library resource guides are an invaluable tool to support the Pîkiskwêtân Learning Series and we are really fortunate to have had Sarah and Chloe collaborate on its development, along with Concordia librarian Susie Breier,” says Kloda.

The students were also able to work on a number of other projects throughout their time in the program, including creating an online course reserves reading bank; developing library exhibitions and digital outreach material; and working with Special Collections to digitize the Boyce Richardson fonds.

“The fonds project was really important to me as my main area of interest in my field is archives,” says Belair-Morin, who is Algonquin from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg. “I gained a lot of valuable experience and skills in this area, like learning how to properly handle photographs and slides, as well as practicing my description skills.”