Northern Territory Library
Community Stories
Northern Territory Library in partnership with Pitjantjatjara Council is developing a new community database, which will replace Our Story.
The partnership is developing a new version of the Pitjantjatjara Council Ara Irititja software to be known in the NT public library network as Community Stories.
The funding for this project was a result of the Northern Territory Library winning the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2007 Access to Learning Award. Funds from the award are being used to enhance the delivery of library services and programs to remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
The current version of Ara Irititja software has been in use for over 15 years in Australia and the opportunity to introduce many new features has been taken up with gusto by the Northern Territory Library.
After an exhaustive international fact finding phase the project produced a specification which has now been signed off by both parties and moneys are now flowing.
A real value-add is the requirement that the software becomes open-source in the future.
Please contact Nicholas Kirlew, NTL Manager of Library Technology, for further information on Community Stories.
PH: (08) 8922 0843 or E: Nicholas.Kirlew@nt.gov.au
Background
The Northern Territory Library (NTL) in partnership with Local Councils provides public library services to Territorians. In remote communities library services are delivered through the Libraries and Knowledge Centres (LKC) Program. This program was developed in response to requests from Indigenous communities, who wanted assistance to preserve their cultural heritage and provide appropriate access to it.
The highlight of each LKC is its own Our Story database, which enables the community to establish a unique digital collection of local knowledge by creating, adding and repatriating content related to their own culture and history. Our Story uses the Ara Irititja software, developed specifically for Pitjantjatjara communities in Central Australia.
Our Story enables community members to connect with their history in a simple and direct manner. It provides a measure of ownership over local historical and cultural records. It inspires a sense of pride and self worth in individuals. Young people particularly are learning how to use the database and developing the skills needed to manage it. It is bringing more people into the local library, where they can access a range of library services, designed to promote literacy and lifelong learning.
While Our Story has been a tremendous success in our Libraries and Knowledge Centres, it has become evident that the underlying software is showing its age and is unable to perform some commonly requested tasks. Recommendations from the Libraries and Knowledge Centres Evaluation (2006) state that NTL should consider the future development of the Our Story database and the incorporation of new technologies in order to remedy some of these concerns.
NTL’s deployment of the Our Story system in 16 communities has shown that there are both strengths and weaknesses associated with the current software.
NTL are now looking to develop a system that may complement or replace the current Our Story system. This software will be specifically tailored for implementation across NTL’s Libraries and Knowledge Centres, primarily located in 13 remote Indigenous communities. An array of new features, many relating to search fields and browsing functions have been considered by NTL.
Current Status
Northern Territory Library's mission is to develop communities by connecting people to information, preserving NT documentary and cultural heritage and helping people learn.
The Community Stories project facilitates the achievement of this. The primary technical benefits stemming from this project are increased functionality and usability of the database, including the ability to absorb extra features and cater to emergent technologies. This will allow us to build a more comprehensive searchable, customisable and flexible database and therefore provide a better service to our clients and increase the product's use.
The Community Stories software will provide better access to collections of relevance to local communities and enable community members to annotate and comment individual items and collections. This level of interactivity will bring more people into the local library, where they can access a range of library services, designed to promote literacy and lifelong learning.
Resources |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Further information |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
