Information Needs.

The content and structure of a digital library will, to a large extent, depend on the needs of the user community. One of the key factors in this particular assessment is the language of the information resource as well as the language used to access content. A 2001 research study showed that 19% of Inuit in the NWT use Inuinaktun as their mother tongue, and that children and seniors had the most difficulty conversing in either French or English (INAC 2005). Gwich’in is a more endangered language. In 1998, only 250 people reported that they could speak the language and only 40 were using it in their homes; thus, language revitalization efforts are underway (GSCI 2012). The importance of language is demonstrated in Inuit peoples’ reports that their cultural values, kinship terms, knowledge of the natural environment and their place in the world can best be expressed in their own language. This demonstrates the need for accessing records in the original language (White, 2006). One Inuit community placed such importance on its language that it voted not to accept satellite television until Inuktitut language programming became available (Soukup 2006). There is a need for both oral and textual information in Inuit culture, and it is this culture that defines Inuit identity (Lyons 2010; Palmater 2009). Literacy is another influencing factor. In the context of online health information, a recent study showed that Aboriginal website users preferred online video presentations of information due to their inability to read, or that they found using English difficult (Gratton 2009). In addition, because some Canadian Aboriginal young people are no longer fluent in their Aboriginal language, they may not be able to learn traditional knowledge from the elders (Castellano 2001). This study will consider these linguistic and literacy challenges in the design of an appropriate digital library infrastructure.

Islam and Ahmed (2012) report that, for rural dwellers, information needs relate to their daily lives and their regions. Cathy Cockney, Manager of the ICRC, suggested that useful types of online resources should include cultural and language learning information, dictionaries and grammars, genealogies, federal government reports, and online course materials for school children, and for those studying trades (personal interview 2012). Examples are the Inuvialuit Oral Histories Project, the Kitigaaryuit Oral Traditions Research Project, the Yellow Beetle Oral History and Archaeology Project, as well as the Schaeffer digital image collection (Cockney, personal interview 2012).