Fire Destroys Canadian
Tribal College Library
More than half of the books and periodical holdings of the library at Red Crow Community College in Standoff, Alberta, were destroyed in a fire that broke out in a boiler room in the early hours of December 1. A Native American collection of some 2,000 books was completely lost, as were many journal sets, valuable artwork, and electronic equipment. The college serves the students and employees of the Blood Indian Reserve in southern Alberta.
RCCC Library Coordinator Mary Weasel Fat said that her staff had been about one-third of the way through the process of automating the library’s holdings of 20,000 volumes. The fire was still under investigation as of mid-December, and the total amount of damage had yet to be determined.
Cleaning of the damaged structure is underway by Cromwell Restoration of Calgary. The library staff has already begun work to redevelop the collection.
Posted December 24, 2001.
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