As part of Canadian Library Month, CUPE is presenting stories from members of the National Library Workers’ Committee to highlight and celebrate the different roles CUPE library workers play in promoting literacy in their communities.
Fatima Ferreira, CUPE 410
As a librarian working in the Greater Victoria Public Library’s Diversity Portfolio, I work with newcomers and Indigenous communities. I collaborate with local newcomer settlement agencies to introduce newcomers to the library’s free resources and programs. Newcomers often arrive from countries that do not have free public libraries. I help them learn about our digital collections, programs, and spaces they are welcome to enjoy with their families.
The staff in this portfolio work collaboratively to organize author visits and educational programming with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, VNFC, and their lending library, the Bruce Parisian Library, BPL. We also work with local Indigenous Nations to offer early literacy programs and literacy-based afterschool programs. Most recently we provided the BPL volunteers and the early childhood educators who staff the Friendship Centre’s daycare, with early literacy training and support for the library’s weekly storytimes.
The VNFC is the only Friendship Centre in Canada to offer a lending library, and it’s open to all members of the public. Over 80% of the more than 6,000 items on loan are published works by Indigenous creators. The library’s mandate is to foster reconciliation and serve as a community hub for those who would like to learn more about Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Sixties Scoop, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The BPL and the VNFC are also equal parts or more of joy and celebration where Indigenous art and culture is celebrated and shared. The staff at the BPL and I attended the American Library Association Conference in San Diego in June where we gave a presentation about our relationship building and our ongoing partnership promoting reconciliation by supporting each other and sharing knowledge.
I also work with local schools and teachers, providing tours of the Greater Victoria Public Library introducing them to all the library’s digital and print resources. When I first started working as a librarian, a middle school student asked me if I was afraid that I would lose my job in the next 10 years because people can access so much information through Google. I told the student I wasn’t too worried about it because even though there is an abundance of information online, my job is to help patrons find the right information from credible sources.
Information literacy is more important than ever, and it is a key element of library services. I have a direct role in improving patrons’ ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. I help them to find credible resources and learn more about the context of knowledge and how information works. In doing so, I help build a more knowledgeable and empowered community.