Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
In 2018, the National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) CEOs committed to all staff within their organisations completing the NSLA Culturally Safe Libraries Program (CSLP) across three years. The long-term aim of the CSLP is to make NSLA libraries culturally safe public spaces and workplaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors and staff. In the two-and-a-half years since the CSLP project plan was endorsed by NSLA, our understanding of what this actually means has changed dramatically. The scale and ambition of this program, the benefits of doing it well and the consequences of not doing so, have become increasingly apparent. An internal evaluation of the first stage of the program was completed in late 2020. It demonstrated the commitment of the NSLA libraries, with between 70-100% of staff in each library enrolled in the online foundation training course developed by AIATSIS: Core Cultural Learning. But it reiterated that Core training is only a first step in building cultural competency, and highlighted broader implications of the program for library leadership and policy that call for more immediate attention. In this panel discussion, representatives from NSLA libraries will share their individual perspectives, and explore what cultural competency really means in both an individual and organisational context.
In 2018, the National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) CEOs committed to all staff within their organisations completing the NSLA Culturally Safe Libraries Program (CSLP) across three years. The long-term aim of the CSLP is to make NSLA libraries culturally safe public spaces and workplaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors and staff. In the two-and-a-half years since the CSLP project plan was endorsed by NSLA, our understanding of what this actually means has changed dramatically. The scale and ambition of this program, the benefits of doing it well and the consequences of not doing so, have become increasingly apparent. An internal evaluation of the first stage of the program was completed in late 2020. It demonstrated the commitment of the NSLA libraries, with between 70-100% of staff in each library enrolled in the online foundation training course developed by AIATSIS: Core Cultural Learning. But it reiterated that Core training is only a first step in building cultural competency, and highlighted broader implications of the program for library leadership and policy that call for more immediate attention. In this panel discussion, representatives from NSLA libraries will share their individual perspectives, and explore what cultural competency really means in both an individual and organisational context.
