CREATING A DYNAMIC

COMMUNITY SPACE:

Brianna Marshall and Courtney Brombosz

Indiana Library Federation Annual Conference

November 13, 2012

FALL 2011

About the TMBCC

• Founded by Thubten Jigme Norbu, brother of His

Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

• Established ―to nurture and protect Tibetan Buddhist

cultures inside and outside of Tibet and Mongolia and to

protect and actualize non-violence, compassion, interfaith

tolerance, and transparency‖

• Annual events include a commemoration of Tibetan

Uprising Day, Mongolian Nadam Festival, Tibetan

Summer Camp, Mongolian Summer Camp, and Tibetan

and Mongolian Art Exhibits

• Current Director is Arjia Rinpoche

About the TMBCC

108 acres in southeast Bloomington • Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery

• Cultural Building (including library & gift shop)

• Teaching pavilion

• 4 retreat cottages

• 2 private residences

• Weekly meditation and

other teachings

• Retreats

• Visitors exploring

• Kids playing basketball

• Busy, vibrant community

Cultural Building

• Open and unlocked during daylight hours

• Gift shop staffed by a volunteer (sporadically)

• Visitors sometimes staying in rooms upstairs

• Various community events held here

• Pervasive trust

• No discernible organization of the materials

beyond basic grouping by format in some areas

• No background on library’s purpose, origins, or

how the community wanted the space to be used

• Culturally & linguistically in over our head

• Unfamiliar with titles like Rinpoche, Geshe, etc.

• Many titles in languages other than English

• Desire to be respectful in the space but unsure how to ensure this

• Catalog all materials in an Excel spreadsheet

• Create a print listing of all TMBCC materials

• Create a booklet of policies for use of materials

• Organize materials meaningfully—by subject

• Lynn Svensson, our main contact at the TMBCC

• Andrea Singer, soon-to-retire Tibetan Studies Librarian

• Ralf Shaw, Dean of SLIS

WINTER/SPRING 2012

Sort books by subject and language

• Sayonara Excel spreadsheet!

• Seek out help from Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese speaking

volunteers for assistance with categorizing those collections

Foster community engagement with the library

• Provide guidelines for use

• Hold a ―re-opening‖ of the library for the TMBCC and Bloomington

communities

FALL 2012

• Contact Jim Canary, Head Conservator at

IU’s Lilly Library

• Contact staff of TMBCC to gauge their

thoughts and ideas

• September 9, 2012

• Sent request for volunteers

• TMBCC listserv

• IU Department of Eurasian Studies

• 12 respondents!

Language• English

• Tibetan

• Mongolian

• Chinese

• Others? We’re not sure.

Subject • Religion/Spirituality

• History/Culture

• Language/Education

• Miscellaneous

• Children’s

• Language barrier

• Willingness to follow our organizational system

• Challenging to help them visualize our plan for

the collection

Surprises in the collection

• More languages than we thought!

• Japanese

• Sanskrit

• German

• Dutch

• Many amusing books…

• What would happen if we weren’t there every week?

• How will the library be used, and will the community

contribute to its upkeep?

• Was our hard work going to be part of a permanent

solution for the space, or would it quickly become

disorganized after all of our efforts?

November 3, 2012

1-1:45: Open house begins

1:45-2: Arjia Rinpoche speaks

2-3: Jim Canary discusses the Tibetan book

3-4: Tea and snacks provided

• Represents the sincerity of one’s offering

• Sign of recognition of one’s respect for another

• Mantras woven into the fabric

• The art of papermaking

• Outlawed in 1955

• The Conjurer

• Indian language adapted to Tibetan language

• Indian paper – palm leaf

• Tibetan paper – made from root of poisonous Eastern plant (VERY

acidic)

• Each sheet needs its own mold

• Attendees: 20(ish)

• Donations: $0

• Technical difficulties: 1

FUTURE PLANS

• Finishing documentation

• Finding a steward for the materials

• SLIS student

• Tibetan Studies student

• TMBCC volunteer