Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center

There has been a lot of nonsense written about Native Americans over the years. Fortunately, most libraries have been weeding out the dated and inaccurate texts in favor of more up-to-date and culturally-aware material. It might seem unlikely, then, that a library at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation would be keeping all library material on native peoples, whether it be good, bad, or worse-than-bad. But the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center libraries keep everything in order to preserve the historical record of all writings on Native Americans.

The Information Resources division of the Research Center includes three parts, a Research Library, Children’s Library, and Archives & Special Collections. All share the mission of “preserving and reclaiming the cultural heritage of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation as well as collecting the written histories of other Native North Americans.” The libraries serve tribal members and their families, other Native people, museum staff and researchers, research fellows, students, student groups, and the general public. Considering the great interest in Native American studies, Connecticut is fortunate to have such extensive collections available locally.

The Research Library, for example, contains over 40,000 titles, 800 periodicals, and a large collection of microforms providing current and historical information on the histories and cultures of indigenous peoples in North America. The monograph collection includes a very popular Pequot Collection and Local History Collection covering Native history material as well as local town histories and colonial studies. The Native American Studies collection largely remains in the closed stack area, but is accessible for retrieval and use in the spacious reading room. Patrons use the online catalog to locate items and this catalog is available for searching on the web. None of the material in the libraries of the Research Center circulates.

Just off the reading room and Reference area is the serials collection, where researchers have access to one of the largest collections of newspapers and newsletters from tribal organizations. In addition, many historical tribal newspapers are available in microform. Besides these newspapers, the microform collection includes Bureau of Indian Affairs records, oral history collections, personal papers of individuals, and a large collection of early American imprints. In addition to the microform, there is a collection of visual and audio recordings as well as access to a number of electronic databases. A list of these Online resources is available on the Center web-site.

The staff of the Research Library will assist researchers with the use of the collections and will accept reference requests by e-mail. In addition, Library staff have created bibliographies covering a tremendous range of subjects. These bibliographies, many available on the Center web-site, are a reference librarian’s dream-come-true since they cover many of the most popular and most asked-for topics in Native American studies. Some examples include “Connecticut Tribes & Bands Mentioned in Historical and Contemporary Sources”, “Contemporary Native American Art”, Native American Food & Recipes”, “Native American Literature”, and the “Pequot War”.

This attention to detail, extensive resources, and helpfulness at the Research Library are duplicated in the Children’s Library. Additionally, this library is a lot of fun too, with a Storytelling Room and plenty of CDs and CD-ROMs to explore on-site. The Children’s Library provides an introduction to the Tribal Nation and other Native American nations and serves children through eighth grade, adults who work with children, and researchers of children’s literature. The collections include a Native American Historical Collection that, again, includes the good, the bad, and the worse-than-bad in literature on Native Americans, an Education Collection for educators, and most valuable of all a Native American Research Collection which contains materials written, illustrated, published, or endorsed by Native Americans. All collections are searchable in the Center’s online catalog.

Besides the work of maintaining and preserving their collections, the Children’s Library staff provide library-oriented programs for children and for adults. Of particular note to librarians and educators are the workshops available on how to evaluate children’s literature on Native Americans. And again, staff have created valuable bibliographies to support the use of the Library’s collections and assist in further research.

Besides the wealth of secondary source material found in the libraries discussed above, the Research Center supports an Archives and Special Collections division for the acquisition, preservation, and use of primary source material. This division shares the goals of the libraries in supporting research into Mashantucket Pequot history as well as other Native North American histories and cultures. “Research topics currently supported by the collections include social and political relations between Native Americans and non-Natives: the use of occupancy of lands by Native Americans: the roles of the colonial, federal and state governments…in Native affairs; the presentation of Native American in popular culture; early depictions of Native Americans, as well as other subjects.” The Archives collects and protects many valuable documents, maps, and manuscripts that might otherwise disappear in the popular private market in Native American material.

Archives researchers are encouraged to make advanced appointments. Staff will accept e-mail reference requests. Many of the collections are searchable through the Center’s online catalog.

Of special additional note, the Center sponsors a Native American authors series which “gives readers a chance to hear literature come alive through the voices of Native writers.” Recent events have included Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki), Ed McGaa (Oglala Sioux), Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (Mohegan), and Evan T. Pritchard (Mi’kmaq). Next to visit, this October, is Barrie Kavasch, from The Institute for American Indian Studies. Go to the Center’s website for more details on this series.

The staff of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center Information Resources section include Betsy Peterson (Head, Information Resources/Exhibit Projects), Gabriella Kaye (Reference/Children's Librarian), Sara Niesobecki (Senior Reference Librarian), Nora Costello (Reference/Information Technology Librarian), Julia Campisi (Acquisitions/Serials Librarian), Janet Everett (Library Technical Assistant), Amy Langlois (Assistant Archivist), Laura Nemergut (Archives Technician).

For more information on the Research Library, Children’s Library, and Archives and Special Collections of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center visit their website at http://www.pequotmuseum.org/Home/LibrariesArchives/ and online catalog (www.mpmrc.com). Research Library and Archives hours are 10 AM to 4 PM, Mon.- Fri., and Children’s Library hours are 11 AM to 4 PM, Mon.– Fri.

An edited version of this article appeared previously in Connecticut Libraries.