University of Alberta Library is celebrating the new Geoffrey & Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library, which is anticipated to open in Fall 2023. This post is part of a series of posts that will showcase the Sperber Library over the next several months.
This post was written by Trish Chatterly – Head, Collection Strategies
We are excited to announce that an Indigenous Healing collection will be situated near the Indigenous Learning space in the new Geoffrey and Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library. In its current form, the Traditional & Indigenous Healing Collection at the Scott Library has a broader scope that includes such topics as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda. Following consultation and in consideration of the location, the scope of the new collection will focus on Indigenous healing more specifically. The global United Nations definition of Indigenous peoples will be used as a framework to guide title selection. Therefore, the collection will include not just works about peoples in the land we now call Canada, but also works about those groups that inhabit countries or regions where other cultures became dominant through such processes as colonisation. Indigenous groups face many of the same societal barriers regardless of location, and we can all learn from their shared experiences. If you’re wondering what will happen to the books about Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, they will be integrated back into the general circulating collection.
With regard to the concept of healing, this extends beyond physical health to a more integrated view of well-being. As spiritual, emotional and socioeconomic aspects of life all influence health and wellness, they will be represented within the collection. The collection will congregate Indigenous healing titles that are currently part of the larger U of A Library collection, as well as new purchases of print titles. If there are titles that should be considered for inclusion in the collection, please submit a Recommend a purchase form with the title details.
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