{"id":7474,"date":"2026-05-26T11:06:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T01:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/?p=7474"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T01:11:47","slug":"from-collections-to-classrooms-the-unfinished-business-of-critical-librarianship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/from-collections-to-classrooms-the-unfinished-business-of-critical-librarianship\/","title":{"rendered":"From Collections to Classrooms: The Unfinished Business of Critical Librarianship"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the April 2024\u202f<\/span><\/span>Blak Focus<\/span><\/span><\/em>, we introduced\u202f<\/span><\/span>Critical Librarianship<\/span><\/span>\u202fas an unfinished practice that challenges colonial power in collections, archives and information systems by centring Indigenous voices and knowledge sovereignty. This edition extends that conversatio<\/span>n,\u00a0<\/span>from\u202f<\/span><\/span>collections\u00a0<\/span>to classroom<\/span>s<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>through our guest speakers, the library staff authors of\u202f<\/span><\/span>UQ Has a Blak History<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/a>. Their\u00a0<\/span>work\u00a0<\/span>demonstrates<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>what happens when\u00a0<\/span>critical librarianship\u00a0<\/span>moves<\/span>\u00a0beyond custody of records into teaching,\u00a0<\/span>learning<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>truth<\/span><\/span>\u2011<\/span>telling<\/span>. Together, these conversations highlight\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0ongoing responsibility of libraries to activate Indigenous histories<\/span>\u00a0in ways that are\u00a0<\/span>ethical,\u00a0<\/span>accountable<\/span>\u00a0and relational<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This work builds\u00a0<\/span>on a long lineage of Indigenous, critical and decolonial scholarship that has challenged claims of neutrality in libraries and higher education, and foreground<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0political<\/span>\u00a0ethical and relation<\/span>al dimensions of knowledge<\/span>\u00a0work<\/span>. It is shaped by Indigenous scholars working at the intersection of librarianship,\u00a0<\/span>archives<\/span>\u00a0and knowledge sovereignty<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0including Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Martin\u00a0<\/span>Nakata<\/span>\u00a0and Kirsten Thorpe, amongst\u00a0<\/span>many<\/span>\u00a0others<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Critical Librarianship has\u00a0<\/span>been effective at exposing the bias in classification systems<\/span>, information systems<\/span>\u00a0and across the policies<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0infrastructures and professional norms\u00a0<\/span>that shape how\u00a0<\/span>knowledge is created,\u00a0<\/span>circulated<\/span>\u00a0and authorised<\/span>. It has challenged the neutrality of library\u00a0<\/span>and information institutions<\/span>, making visible the ways<\/span>\u00a0institutional systems reproduce colonial hierarchies and\u00a0<\/span>exclusion<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Much<\/span>\u00a0of this work has\u00a0<\/span>centred<\/span>\u00a0on the archive, on how knowledge\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>s organised<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>described<\/span>\u00a0and assessed. What\u00a0<\/span>remains<\/span>\u00a0less developed is what happens next<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>critical librarianship\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>enacted through teaching, learning, community\u00a0<\/span>engagement<\/span>\u00a0and everyday professional practice<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

UQ has a Blak History,<\/span><\/i>\u00a0provides one\u00a0response\u00a0to this question, not\u00a0as\u00a0theory but as a practice.\u00a0Developed by the University of Queensland Library\u2019s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander\u00a0Collections and Services team,\u00a0the resource\u00a0is an open, digital learning module that introduces the history of UQ in relation to First Nations peoples. It brings together collections, archives,\u00a0places\u00a0and institutional histories\u00a0into the curriculum, positioning the library as an active participant in teaching and learning rather than a supporting service.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The shift\u00a0matters.\u00a0It moves critical librarianship beyond\u00a0identifying\u00a0bias in systems and\u00a0towards\u00a0enacting\u00a0change. It\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0what it looks like when librarians engage directly in how knowledge is taught, not just\u00a0how it is described or accessed.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth-telling as library practice<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Critical librarianship has long asked how institutions organise knowledge\u00a0and decide what is made\u00a0visible.\u00a0<\/span>UQ has a Blak History<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0extends this\u00a0work\u00a0by asking what it means for libraries to\u00a0participate\u00a0in truth-telling.\u00a0Drawing on institutional collections, the resource surfaces\u00a0histories that have\u00a0not\u00a0always\u00a0been visible within dominant university narratives. In doing\u00a0so, it positions the library within a broader process of institutional reflection,\u00a0responsibility\u00a0and accountability.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What UQ has a Blak History<\/em> makes clear is that the movement from archives and collections to classrooms is not a one-way process. Collections inform teaching and teaching reshapes how collections are understood, contextualised, and valued. This translation of knowledge into curriculum is not neutral; it involves negotiation, interpretation and at times, acknowledgement of loss. This is where critical librarianship becomes lived practice. It is enacted in systems and policies about:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n