Building a Foundation for Indigenous Librarianship in Australia: Insights from the 2024 National Dialogue Session

Indigenous Librarianship represents a vital yet underdeveloped field in Australia, requiring urgent development as the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) formally recognises Indigenous contexts within its professional framework and government policy increasingly acknowledges Indigenous data rights as national priorities. Drawing on Burns, Doyle, Joseph, and Krebs’ (2009) foundational definition of Indigenous Librarianship as a field that unites library practice with Indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies, this paper sets an agenda for Indigenous Librarianship in Australia. Drawing on international Indigenous librarianship scholarship and Australian policy frameworks, we conducted thematic analysis of discussions from the ‘Libraries and their Intersection with Indigenous Knowledges’ dialogue session hosted by ALIA on 15 October 2024. Our findings identified two priority areas: Indigenous Librarianship and Leadership, and Indigenous representation in library collections, systems and services. We argue that establishing a strong foundation for Indigenous Librarianship in Australia requires structural change within institutions and meaningful partnership with Indigenous communities in advancing their aspirations for sovereignty over Indigenous cultural heritage. We propose two purposeful acts: collaborative research to define Indigenous Librarianship in the Australian context, and the establishment of recognised qualifications and career pathways to support Indigenous-led practice that advances self-determination while connecting to international Indigenous librarianship movements.