Hi Laurel,
Your proposal for the “Indigenous Heritage Collection of Alameda County” is admirable. By preserving the cultural and historical materials of the Muwekma Ohlone Indigenous Tribe with Mukurtu CMS, you’re ensuring their story endures. It’s inspiring to see your personal connection to this project and your dedication to preserving your community’s heritage. This initiative has the potential to make a profound impact, bridging the past with the present for future generations.

@laurele This is amazing! I had not heard of Mukurtu at all and I am thrilled to learn this exists. In one of my archives class we talk frequently about the importance of cultural protocols for access to certain materials and I am so glad to see you discuss that here and that this CMS exists specifically to address that. The level of research you’ve done is impressive. I particularly like the way you’ve laid out your “Mukurtu in the Wild” section as I have been struggling with how to frame some similar content on my report and you’ve given me some ideas. Very well done!

@laurele, thank you for highlighting this important work. Your report is well laid-out and very informative. My tribe, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, uses Mukurtu as a platform for learning Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo. I thought about doing my report on something like this as well, but then pivoted to something completely different! 😋

Hi Laurel, I’ve learned so much through reading your inspiration report. Thank you for this well researched and clear proposal – I would love to see it implemented! I was also in Professor Johnson’s course last semester and learning about Mukurtu was a highlight. It’s so cool to see your proposal bring it into action locally.

Great topic! The discussion group that I lead at my library spent quite a bit of time discussing the need for high schools to offer, and perhaps require, classes on life skills. Because of budget restraints, these classes have been removed from schools, as well as vocational classes that would teach a skill and employment readiness. I wonder if not teaching these to our youth, and young adults not feeling grown up, are actually related.

I wonder too if many of us were never really taught these skills, so the idea of “you just figure it out” makes more sense to us — GenX is notorious for having been ignored as kids, and then we’re notorious for doing everything for them to bulldoze the path. As the world’s gotten infinitely more complicated, so too do the processes around everything.

I’d bet that a fair few of us could stand to take some adulting classes as well. “Here’s what really happens when you buy property, step-by-step. Here’s how you sew a patch on your jeans. Here’s what all the garbledygook on the new hire paperwork really means.”

I am encouraged to see libraries offering adulting classes. Check out what these libraries are doing https://medium.com/everylibrary/learning-to-adult-at-the-library-41403654efbf.

Also, ALA has a book on Teaching Life Skills at the Library , albeit expensive: https://alastore.ala.org/lifeskills

@laurele this is a wonderful story about your connections to Half Moon Bay. I did that exercise yesterday with the library staff in Illinois and was very interesting when we debriefed: Most of the people said they imagine themselves outside or in nature. Most that shared said they were alone as well. Interesting.

@laurele this was so much fun. I also appreciate your candor and sharing where you have found yourself in life. The videos you shared were perfect for absolutely illustrating your points.

@laurele, so interesting to think about! Each generation has their own idiosyncrasies and think our own is immutable. I’ve never felt like such an old foagie as I have since having an 11-year-old daughter (I’m 42). I’ll have to try the “heart hands” challenge with her. 🫶

Hi Laurel,
Great work on your innovation strategy. Gardening can be such a rewarding experience; I was lucky enough growing up to plant seeds and see them grow into corn, squash, beans, etc. The positive effects of these programs can be incredible, as they show that if you take care of a plant or tree, they will take care of you mentally and physically.

@laurele this is a perfect example of one of the things. I hope everyone takes away from this class. That idea of biting the bullet or diving into something that might make us a little bit uncomfortable, but really turns out to be a useful learning experience. What a great example to that you found inspiration for another class by using AI. Absolutely right on target.

I had chat GPT write a story for me about my dogs Billy and Sam joining Fleetwood Mac on tour. It was actually the sweetest little story. I ended up sharing it with the university writing committee and we had a nice chuckle about how sweet it was.

@laurele I love the connection you make between the packhorse library project and the hyperlink library. Absolutely. I hope your final paper goes well in INFO 285.