Joeten-Kiyu Public Library executive director John Oliver Gonzales said on behalf of the CNMI Library Council, Florine Hofschneider and the Tinian library will meet with heritage institutions and partners for a workshop to be conducted by Dr. Cecilia Lizama Salvatore.
Gonzales said the workshop will discuss organizing, managing and preserving valuable cultural heritage materials and collections.
The workshop participants will be able to explore the different components that make up a community’s cultural heritage.
They will learn some of the cost-effective and efficient methods and practices for describing materials and collections to enhance knowledge of one’s cultural heritage.
The will also learn about the different issues involved in managing cultural heritage materials and collections, as well as some of the strategies and procedures for preserving cultural heritage materials and collections.
Gonzales said the workshop will provide conversations regarding cultural heritage which will allow participants to discover and reflect on how they can do their part to safeguard local cultural heritage for the next generation.
He said the workshop is made possible by funds provided by the Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grant from the Institute of Museum & Library Services, for which JKPL applied.
JKPL’s project that is funded by the grant is titled “CNMI CARES (Cultural Assets Restoration & Education Strategy).”
Yesterday, the “Cultural Heritage Collections in the CNMI: Doing Your Part” workshop and presentation took place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library in Susupe and was attended by 50 participants.
A similar workshop is scheduled at the Rota Public Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 9.
Gonzales is urging each participant to bring an item or object that represents his cultural heritage.
Salvatore grew up on Saipan, graduating from Mt. Carmel High School. She is a respected educator and scholar of archives, libraries, and cultural heritage institutions at the Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, where she is an associate professor.
Salvatore, MLS, Ph.D., is also a national certified archivist.
