This year’s conference of the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums was held in Koror, Palau from Nov. 13 to 17, 2023.
“IN the canoe, we are all one family: the navigator is your father, the canoe is your mother, and you are all brothers and sisters,” explained master navigator and son of Mau Piailug, Sesario Sewralur in a speech to close the final session of the annual conference of the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums held in Koror, in the Republic of Palau from Nov. 13 to 17, 2023.
The week-long event saw delegations representing institutions across Oceania including Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Yap, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and for the second year in a row, welcomed a representative from the Space Science Institute of Star Net, an organization that creates and provides educations STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) resources for libraries and the communities they serve, in Boulder, Colorado.
This year’s theme was to “Re-evaluate, Re-focus, Re-connect: Adapting to the New Norm in the Pacific.” Presenters were eager to share about the programs and tools their institutions have been utilizing to engage and serve their islands and communities.
Last year’s conference was held at the Crown Plaza Resort on Saipan, where Palau was announced as this year’s host. Among the institutions representing the Northern Mariana Islands was the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, the Chamorro and Carolinian Language & Heritage Studies Program, and the Northern Marianas Humanities Council.
Humanities Council Archive Manager Roberto Santos presented on how past and recent book ban and information filtering movements have been manifesting in the censorship of our own oral traditions, noting that, “as Pacific Islanders, much of our traditions and our identities are preserved and passed on through the stories we have told and continue to tell, and this method is still very much a preference in our island nations. My colleagues and I are realizing that reconnecting to the legacies of our peoples means filling in the gaps in archive records, providing resources to allow every demographic to engage with the information contained in our institutions, and ensuring that the stories on our shelves are complete, supporting the stories that we are telling and including our diverse peoples.”
President of Palau Surangel S. Whipps Jr. and Vice President J. Uduch Sengebau-Senior also delivered opening and closing remarks at the conference, respectively, encouraging the attendees in their work and collaboration.
JKPL Director Erlinda Naputi was elected unanimously for an additional year as PIALA president to much celebration and the pride of the Northern Marianas, and announced that next year’s annual gathering would be hosted by Chuuk.
