A Reflection on Cultural Wellbeing When Interacting with Collections Through Object Based Learning at the University of Sydney Library
Tracks
Ballroom 4 - In-Person Only
| Tuesday, October 13, 2026 |
| 11:50 AM - 12:20 PM |
| Ballroom 4 |
Overview
Pippa Herden, First Nations Collections Curator at the University of Sydney Library
Presenter
Pippa Herden
First Nations Collections Curator
University of Sydney Library
A Reflection on Cultural Wellbeing When Interacting with Collections Through Object Based Learning at the University of Sydney Library
Presentation Overview
As the First Nations Collection Curator, protecting cultural wellbeing when working in the oldest academic library in the country can be difficult due to the nature of the material. It is evidence for Australia’s racist, misinformed and outdated attitudes towards First Nations peoples across almost all parts of research and literature. Yet how do we maintain a sense of cultural wellbeing when we are looking at materials that directly impact it? What measures are in place to manage cultural wellbeing? Whose job is it? Through Object Based Learning (OBL), we uncover how Library collections and archives are the material evidence for assimilation policies, systematic oppression and colonisation of First Nations people and Country. We ask ourselves and our patrons to investigate dominant histories that are often outdated and misinformed and unpack whose voices and histories are silenced and why. This allows people to constructively scrutinise their own learning and engage with truth telling, knowledge-sharing practices and cultural awareness, regardless of discipline. Through object based learning the goal is for people to develop lifelong learning skills in recognising self-care in the archives and how to critically evaluate diverse materials in relation to their cultural, ethical, and social impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Biography
Pippa Herden is a Gomeroi woman originally from Tamworth NSW, and now based on Gadigal Country in Sydney. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and English and a Master of Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of Sydney. Her professional career began in book selling and public libraries and continued as the Indigenous Engagement Officer at the University of Sydney Library until October 2024. She is now working as the First Nations Collections Curator at the University of Sydney Library in the Rare Books and Special Collections team.
Through her studies and current work, Pippa is focusing on understanding the First Nations knowledges in the legacy collections, how to enhance collections descriptions and access to these knowledges for communities and to improve engagement with mob and the archives. She is focusing on developing further skills in Library-based exhibitions through community engagement and also exploring cultural wellbeing through collections in an academic library context. She is at the beginning of her professional journey in the GLAM sector and is looking forward to collaborating with, and learning from, other Indigenous professionals in the space.
