Library Services Collections Cultural Safety

Collections - Cultural Safety

James Cook University Library is a custodian of resources that are by or about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This includes books, theses, language dictionaries, artworks, special collections and more.

Historically, information relating to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was often created and recorded by non-Indigenous peoples. We are aware that items in our collection may contain culturally sensitive information relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, peoples, cultures and histories. This includes:

  • names, photos and voices of deceased persons;
  • secret and sacred information relating to cultural practices, e.g. women's & men's business;
  • Indigenous knowledge acquired or reproduced without permission or proper attribution;
  • descriptions of violence and trauma;
  • and derogatory language that is culturally insensitive and offensive.

JCU Library is committed to providing a culturally safer space when navigating our collections, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as other First Nations, South Sea Islander & Pasifika peoples. We will do this by embedding cultural advice notices within our collections, and where appropriate applying access conditions.

We are implementing cultural advice statements in One Search. Users are advised that our collections as a whole contain culturally sensitive content. We are also adding specific cultural advice to culturally sensitive items as these are identified. Specific cultural advice is used to flag items with content such as: offensive language; references to people who are deceased; images or words that may cause distress; and secret, sacred or restricted information.

Cultural advice statements can be found:

  • Cultural advice statements on relevant Discovery Collections.
  • Catalogue records for specific items.

Support resources are also available for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people affected by JCU Library collection:

The following principles, frameworks and protocols were used to guide the development of this page: