2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

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BEST PRACTICES 2012
Reaching Out to Tribal College and University Libraries: A Project to
Provide Interior Library Resources and Services
By George Franchois, Director, U.S. Department of the Interior Library
One of the missions of any library or library system is to serve the needs of
underserved populations in its user community. Those without access to resources
that most of us take for granted, such as the Internet, basic reference materials,
general educational items, and employment vacancy announcements, rely on their
local library to be able to provide them with a means to tap into these resources.
This past year, the Department of the Interior Library was approached by the
Bureau of Indian Education and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium
(AIHEC) for help with a similar type of mission. Both of these organizations were
seeking ways that the Interior Library could provide faculty and students at tribal
colleges and universities with access to some of the resources and services that are
provided to the staff of the Interior Department.
Tribal college and universities have a tradition of providing higher education to
Native American populations residing in and around Indian Reservations, mainly in
the western United States. These educational institutions are controlled and
operated by Native American tribes and are members of AIHEC. They include
institutions such as the College of Menominee Nation, the Haskell Indian National
University, the Navajo Technical College, and the Red Lake Nation College.
The partnership between the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian
Education, and AIHEC came about through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
signed by all parties in February 2011. The MOU establishes a partnership between
AIHEC and the Interior Department to assist in fulfilling the mandate of an
Executive Order signed by President George W. Bush in July 2002. Executive Order