The meeting was a moderated large-group discussion of questions submitted in advance by members. Questions focused on several subjects including: details of the Norwegian Truth and Reconciliation in relation to libraries, archives, and museums, specific questions about metadata related to Sámi and Kven people, and processes for developing the DALAM library website as well as tagging, subject headings and controlled vocabulary.
Report to the University of the Arctic Decolononizing Arctic Library and Archives Metadata Meeting (DALAM()/Polar Libraries Colloquy (PLC)
June 10 – 15, Tromsø, Norway
Sandy Campbell*
Librarian Emerita
University of Alberta Library
The Polar Libraries Colloquy is a fifty-year-old international organization that is focused on information in and about the Arctic and Antarctic. The Colloquy meets biennially, by tradition, alternating between Europe and North America. This was the 29th meeting of the Colloquy. DALAM is a University of the Arctic Thematic Network led by the Polar Libraries Colloquy. The Network is dedicated to furthering the cause of decolonizing library and archives metadata, removing and/or replacing, inappropriate, outdated, incorrect and derogatory terminology that perpetuates colonial approaches to Indigenous peoples. DALAM holds regular remote meetings and training sessions but holds an in-person meeting at each biennial PLC meeting. Forty participants attended this Colloquy. On the afternoon of June 10, 2024, the DALAM meeting was embedded into the program of the Colloquy, held at the Fram Centre in Tromsø, Norway. During the entire Colloquy, a poster explaining DALAM and its role was displayed.
Apart from the DALAM meeting, there were many other sessions dedicated to Sámi and Kven history, which enriched the knowledge of participants who struggle with appropriate metadata related to these groups. The opening session of the Colloquy was an excellent overview of the histories of the Sámi and Kven people and their relationships with the Norwegian people. We also heard a presentation on “North Sámi Support at the National Library of Finland” and another on decolonizing the Polar UDC classification system. Still another reviewed some of the complexity of working with archival records related to the Sámi and Kven. While some papers and presentations throughout the week related closely to DALAM’s theme, others focused on a variety of information and history-related topics. For example, there was one paper about the mammoth ivory trade in Yakutia and another on climate change in the Arctic. Another paper addressed revitalizing library spaces in the Arctic as learning environments, and still another on new publications in Arctic information science.
The DALAM meeting was attended by 25 participants, both DALAM members and PLC participants. Most of the agenda involved large group discussions related to questions submitted through a members’ survey. Several of the questions related to Sámi and Kven people. Questions included the political status of the groups, the correct spelling of the term “Sámi”, investigating terminology that Sámi and Inuit Greenlanders and other Arctic Indigenous people might deem to be offensive or inappropriate, presence of libraries, museums and archives in recommendations flowing from the Norwegian truth and reconciliation report, and how to identify culturally appropriate tags for works in DALAM’s databases. For many of the questions, there was no resolution or final decision, but the group had the opportunity to hear points of view from different Arctic locations, peoples, and types of information services. While all Arctic cultures have different colonization histories and experiences, we share the imperative to ensure that the metadata that describes works by and about Indigenous peoples is respectful to all. As we move forward with this work, the DALAM network will be a place to ask questions and a clearinghouse for information that will move the decolonization processes forward. DALAM’s next in-person meeting will be at the 30th Polar Libraries Colloquy in Columbus, Ohio in June, 2026.
While the general purpose of the PLC meetings is the discussion of information issues in the polar regions, like many international polar organizations, it also has the larger purpose of encouraging circumpolar familiarity and communication across these regions. In this capacity, the biennial PLC meeting always includes cultural activities and a local tour that showcases some aspect of the host environment. The Colloquy opened with local vocalist, Victor Bomstad, performing joiks. At a later event, musicians, Julie Alapnes and Halvard Rundberg, performed traditional music of the Tromsø region. The tour took participants to the historic Straumen Farm on Kvaløya Island, a site of the Perspectives Museum. This site gave visitors an intimate look at the living and working conditions of island farmers in the first part of the 20th century. At this site, eight buildings have been preserved, including the main farmhouse, the adjacent grandparents’ house, barns, and storage sheds. These are arranged roughly in a row, facing the sea, which was the main access to the farm. The farms along this bay were narrow and ran from the sea to the top of the mountain. Inside the house, many of the household furnishings are preserved, including spinning wheels, a large weaving loom, beds, tables and chairs and cabinets.
Over successive PLC meetings, participants experience a variety of polar settings and come to know many polar librarians, archivists and other information professionals, building a network of colleagues and friends in Arctic countries and countries involved in the Antarctic.
In addition to involvement in the PLC and DALAM meetings, this visit was an opportunity to add to the University of Alberta’s Circumpolar Digital Image Collection. Open access images created by Sandy Campbell during this visit to Tromsø can be searched, viewed, and retrieved here.
*Sandy Campbell is Secretary of the University of the Arctic DALAM Thematic Network and Polar Libraries Colloquy Liaison to the University of the Arctic. Her attendance at the 29th Polar Libraries Colloquy was funded by through the Travel Support for Canadian UArctic Members program, made possible through the Global Arctic Leadership Initiative and supported by Global Affairs Canada.