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There are several different resources that can help you find books written by Indigenous authors. American Indians in Children’s Literature, written by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, and Dr. Jean Mendoza (Euro-American, USA) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books. Their website includes lists of books that they do recommend, as well as books that they don’t recommend, and why.

The website of the American Indian Library Association (AILA) provides resources for “the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaskan Natives.” It also awards the American Indian Youth Literature Awards in even years. The award was established to, “identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by American Indians and Alaska Natives. Selected titles present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts.” Checking out the list of award winners is another good way to discover more books by Indigenous authors.

If you’re looking for more adult and non-fiction recommendations, Birchbark Books is a bookstore owned by Louise Erdrich, who is a well-known Ojibwe author. Browsing through their catalog can be a great way to find books by Indigenous authors that interest you, thanks to their organization by genre.

Interested in learning more about Native American history? Check out last year's Native American History Month blog post, or this blog post from 2022, which provides more information about traditional Native Lands. For a good non-fiction history book, check out An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.

Check out the Native American History month display on the first floor to see some books by Indigenous authors in our collection.

Thank you to Hannah Eastburn, Print Materials Processing Specialist at the University of Kentucky for her recommendations of places to find Native authors. Any errors in this post are my mistakes, and do not reflect her excellent advice.

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Native American Books

November is Native American Heritage month. One of the ways that we can celebrate Native American Heritage Month all year is by reading books by Native American authors. As books by Native American authors have become more and more popular, encouraged in part by Native-owned publishing houses, it has become easier for all of us to find books in our favorite genres that are written by Indigenous authors. Books such as Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, We Are Still Here by Traci Sorell, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, and There There by Tommy Orange, The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava.There are several different resources that can help you find books written by Indigenous authors. American Indians in Children’s Literature, written by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, and Dr. Jean Mendoza (Euro-American, USA) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books. Their website includes lists of books that they do recommend, as well as books that they don’t recommend, and why. The website of the American Indian Library Association (AILA) provides resources for “the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaskan Natives.” It also awards the American Indian Youth Literature Awards in even years. The award was established to, “identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by American Indians and Alaska Natives. Selected titles present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts.” Checking out the list of award winners is another good way to discover more books by Indigenous authors.If you’re looking for more adult and non-fiction recommendations, Birchbark Books is a bookstore owned by Louise Erdrich, who is a well-known Ojibwe author. Browsing through their catalog can be a great way to find books by Indigenous authors that interest you, thanks to their organization by genre. Interested in learning more about Native American history? Check out last year's Native American History Month blog post, or this blog post from 2022, which provides more information about traditional Native Lands. For a good non-fiction history book, check out An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Check out the Native American History month display on the first floor to see some books by Indigenous authors in our collection. Thank you to Hannah Eastburn, Print Materials Processing Specialist at the University of Kentucky for her recommendations of places to find Native authors. Any errors in this post are my mistakes, and do not reflect her excellent advice. ...

Five Reasons to Try a Graphic Novel

This week we welcome to the blog Garrett Hohmann, Public Services Librarian here at Loras. Garrett is an avid advocate for graphic novels, and has written this blog to encourage people to read graphic novels.Five Reasons to Try a Graphic NovelThey are approachable – If you can read this, you are already equipped to read a graphic novel! Some readers are intimated by the format, but the literacy required doesn’t extend beyond making sense of words and pictures. They are a great way to explore complex stories without overwhelming you with text; graphic novels typically do not take long to read. They are diverse – Graphic novels are comic books, but they don’t all look like Spiderman. If you haven’t felt drawn to the art styles of comics, you may have not found the right book. The styles are as diverse as the stories themselves. You can find memoirs, history, fantasy, mystery, romance, sci-fi, and your favorite literary classic adapted into graphic form. They are immersive - If books are more than words on a page, then graphic novels are more than pictures in a frame. Graphic novels tell you a story but show you that story in a way plain text cannot. Reading a graphic novel is like self-directing a movie that progresses at the pace you determine. You decide how long each shot lasts and how much gravity it has.They are an entry point– If you don’t consider yourself a ‘book reader’, graphic novels could turn you into one. While they aren’t a cure for your diminishing attention span, you might find yourself liking the idea of sitting down and having a solitary, uninterrupted session of quiet reading on the regular. This could be habit forming!They are beautiful and unique – To read a graphic novel is to experience an artistic expression distinct from traditional books. There is a sort of magic that emerges between the frames and pages and your imagination once you ‘get it’. I encourage you to try one from our 2nd floor book display which will be up next week after our Ruth Suckow display. ...

Open Access Week - 2025

Open Access Week is celebrated every year to celebrate and champion open access resources. If you’re unfamiliar with open access resources, check out this blog post from 2023 that gives a history of Open Access Week, and defines open access.Many open access resources are text based, such as open access journals, textbooks, and books. Publishing through an open-access model gives authors more control over their work, and allows more readers to find, and engage with their materials. In academia, open access resources can be great resources for students, as there is no cost barrier to accessing the materials. (If you’re a professor at Loras and interested in using an open educational resources, check out this page. If you’re interested in creating an open educational resource, check out this page)Open-access resources cover more than just text-based materials. Images can also be open access, often through a Creative Commons license, which allows the creator to still retain some rights over their intellectual property, while also allowing others to use it freely. (Interested in learning more about creative commons licenses? Click here for general info!) Creative Commons zero, or CC0, is a license that allows free use, reuse, and remixing of items. Many of the largest museums in the world have begun the process of making items in their collection that are in the public domain available under CC0, which means you can freely make use of those items. You can alter CC0 artwork, use it in your own works of art, sell copies of it, do whatever you’d like with it. (It’s important to check that the item you’re using is in the public domain, and what the license on that item is.) This can be a great way to decorate your home inexpensively, or to add to assignments that need artwork in the public domain. Here’s some of the most prominent museums with open access collections: The Met The Smithsonian The National Gallery of Art The Art Institute of Chicago The Cleveland Museum of ArtThanks to these images being shared under CC0, there are many websites that do creative things with open access artwork. This site is a clock that uses art from the Smithsonian’s open access collections to tell the time. This website, from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum (part of the Smithsonian) has you write on the left side, as it pulls images from the Smithsonian that contain similar words and displays them on the right. The Cleveland Museum of Art lets you view many items in their collection in 3-D, such as this suit of armor for a knight and his charger, or this Hittite statue.For more information, check out our Open Access display on the fourth floor of the library....

Iowa's Hidden Gem: Author Ruth Suckow

“When people live in Iowa, they are rather apt to like it” according to Ruth Suckow, the author featured in the display that is visiting the library from October 20th to November 16th, and she would know. ...

Native American Books

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