G-90v. Indigenous Agency & Intervention in the Bibliographical Record
Brandon Castle Michael Kelly
Course Length: 12 hours
Course Week: 13–17 July 2026
Format: online only
Fee: $900
Blending book history, bibliography, and publishing networks with Indigenous systems of knowledge allows us to view Indigenous collections as belongings entwined with agency and familial relations. Drawing on current and foundational scholarship by Indigenous information professionals, librarians, curators, and archivists, we can begin to braid our knowledge of print culture with practices embedded in Indigenous ways of knowing, intervening in the historical bibliographical practices and research paradigms that have been imposed upon Indigenous-authored materials. This course will explore questions such as: what if we viewed books as relatives, and libraries as dance, song, and traditions? How do we (book historians and information professionals) strengthen our ability to envision Indigenous futures in book history, where Indigenous agency and diverse ways of knowing of Indigenous Peoples are brought to the forefront? Course participants will engage in a variety of discussions and exercises focused on Indigenous sovereignty through assignments, readings, library research, digital humanities tools, and guest speakers that promote practical skill development, context recovery, and deeper understanding of Indigenous realities within the bibliographic record. This course will explore the ways in which Indigenous agency, knowledge, and protocols can be communicated through collections management tools in libraries and archives as well as ethical approaches to collection development and outreach to Indigenous communities.
Course History
Faculty
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Brandon Castle
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Michael Kelly
Brandon Castle
Brandon Castle is the Native American & Indigenous Studies Librarian at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an enrolled member of the Ketchikan Indian Community (Tsimshian) from Ketchikan, Alaska. As a librarian, he supports students and faculty with NAIS research and courses, and provides instruction and programming related to NAIS topics. He holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University, where he participated in the IMLS–funded “Bridging Knowledge” scholarship program, which aided a cohort of Indigenous scholars entering the field of librarianship. He also holds a master’s degree in Museology from the University of Washington. Prior to working at UMass Amherst, he was a project coordinator at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections, where he worked on developing and increasing community engagement with the Collection of Native American Literature. He is interested in the ways the library and information science field can better support and uplift Indigenous Peoples’ needs regarding access to cultural belongings, knowledge, and overall sovereignty.
Full Bio »Michael Kelly
Mike Kelly is the Head of the Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College, where he oversees the school’s collection of more than 80,000 rare books along with a host of archival and manuscript collections. Before coming to Amherst in 2009, he spent eleven years as the Curator of Books at the Fales Library & Special Collections at New York University. He has held many positions within the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL, including a term as RBMS Chair in 2011–12, and he is an active member of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM). He received his M.L.S. from the University of Texas at Austin where he spent two years as an intern at the Harry Ransom Center; he also holds an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia. In 2016, he was awarded the Reese Fellowship for American Bibliography and the History of the Book in the Americas by the Bibliographical Society of America for his work on the bibliography of Samson Occom (Mohegan). He co-curated (with Carolyn Vega) the exhibition “I’m Nobody! Who Are You? The Life and Poetry of Emily Dickinson” at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York which ran from January through May 2017.
Full Bio »