A long-range plan to give Indian schools and communities better library services is being developed by the Department of the Interior through its Office of Library and Information Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Indian Education Programs.
Interior's professional librarians, together with BIA educators, are working on the project. They are being assisted by five resource persons with special experience and knowledge.
Three of the five resource persons are Indian: Virginia H. Mathews, an Osage who is a consultant to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; Cheryl Metoyer, Cherokee from the National Indian Education Association, and Lotsee Smith, Comanche from the University of New Mexico. The other two are Norman Higgins from Arizona State University and Charles Townley of the University of Michigan.
A draft of the plan is expected to be available in March for review and comment by the Indian community and other interested persons.
Implementation of the plan will be primarily the responsibility of the BIA education office. Improvement of BIA school libraries will be a major component of the plan.
