 my introduction in the Navajo language. So as always as proper protocol to be able to introduce ourselves. So just in case we do have relatives out and about and so anybody listening, they'll know that it's a relative that's listening or that's presenting. Okay. Yeah. So we do have three locations for the Navajo Nation Library. So we have the main library in Winderock and then we have one out in Keyenta out towards Canta, Arizona, near the Utah, Arizona state border. And then we also have another location out in Torreón, New Mexico, which is located on the far east end of the Navajo Nation. And that neighbors with the Hickory Apache Tribal Nation, as well as the Pueblo Hemish. So they're, you know, neighboring tribal nations that are also near the Navajo Nation. And so in the case for the Navajo Nation, we have what it's called a plan of operation. So that's kind of a kind of guideline as far as what, you know, the type of program that we are and, you know, because we're also housed under the Department of Dinette Education. And based on my own experiences, a lot of libraries on tribal nations are also housed under their own Department of Education. So the main library, once again, is out in the Winderock area. And we're also nested within the Visitor Center or the Library, Museum and Visitor Center, which was established back in 1997. So it was a state-of-the-art building that was established to be almost as a knowledge and information resource for the, or for Navajo people there. And so generally, when we do, like, our goals, generally that's just to share with a lot of the other departments and also with Council to let them know that these are the different things that we're doing. So as of 2021 was when we last updated our plan of operation so that we can also include the Community Library Initiative, which will also cover going forward. And then so, you know, generally, we just want to provide information, educational resources, but also start building in the cultural programming portion into what we're doing as well. Language revitalization, doing, like, weaving workshops, even potentially do, like, a lot of silversmithing as well as doing moccasin making. So these are kind of ideas that we try to tie in to say of how we, you know, build upon our own knowledge and then how people, you know, build their competencies within it, but also looking into how, as, you know, almost like, how would you say, like, modern ideas and ideals that we can incorporate, like, especially with digital literacies and information literacies as well. So generally, this presentation was actually for also our Board of Education. I said, hey, you know, it also, it really ties in very well with, you know, what we have to present. So that's why there's listing of our fiscal budget. So that's what we generally operate under. And so generally, for us, it's a lot of our staff and fringe benefits, salaries, I should say, and fringe benefits are the ones that really take up our costs. And we have to, you know, really think in terms of how we can provide services. And so it's one way that we are able to extend out more of our positions and have more, incorporate more as much as we can in the library. So we do have about 60,000 items in the catalog. The point of interest that many people really like, our library is to, oh, it didn't adjust really well, but everyone really likes our special collections. So and based on my own experience at working in the University of Arizona, and then doing internships like over at the Sequoia National Research Center, over at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, that they have a really good amount of native and some Navajo collection, but at the Navajo Nation Library special collections that we do have a lot of indigenous, a lot of Native American focused books, as well as Navajo materials. And some of those materials that don't actually circulate because, you know, those are the last of its kind at this point. So we definitely try to be stingy with some of our resources. And some odd years ago that the Navajo Nation Library did partner up and then there was memorandum of agreement between the Navajo Nation Library and the Navajo County Library District because we are located in the eastern, like near the northeast portion of the state of Arizona. We are technically in the Apache County, but we're, but we had more cooperation with the Navajo County. So in that we also joined the Navajo County Library District. So that was back in 2013. So all of our, so all of our metadata information like that that goes into our catalog, they house it there at the headquarters at NCLD. And that's also between us and the Kanta Branch Library and slowly we'll incorporate the Torion Branch Library as well, so that everyone does have access and they can see exactly what we have in these, you know, different locations. And there was little encouragement at the bottom line, you know, to say, hey, sign up for our library card. We're always pushing for that. So a huge part of what we're doing at the Navajo Nation Library, when we think about how we're, you know, reimagining and how we're trying to, trying to close the gaps in like information inequities and then in knowledge system, as well as, you know, the greater saying or at least what I always used to remember hearing is the digital divide. So because of COVID-19, that, you know, they were able to actually see it, they're actually able to see that, you know, we couldn't just go on to Zoom sessions, we couldn't do remote working. There's a lot of things that we were unable to do because we didn't have access to high speed internet, in this case, having broadband connections or having connections to fiber optic connections. So with the e-rate initiative, there was a consortium that was set up and established back in 2022 and 2020. And that was to represent both the Navajo Nation Library and the Navajo Nation Head Start programs. And so that was altogether would establish fiber optic connections all across the Navajo Nation. And so this is 100 megs of connection speed and it couldn't go all the way up to, you know, it could go up to a gigabyte of megs. And it's just ridiculous, just, you know, I was just thinking about those terminologies of, you know, how the rate of the speed of all these different connections can go. And then now you have different things that are, you know, that are supposed to be there to help. And I know that there is like Starlink that's even the most remote areas on the Navajo Nation actually utilized. And then there are like QSNET, but I think the preference is to go high speed and to use something like Starlink. But in this case, with the e-rate initiative, if some of you aren't familiar with e-rate, e-rate does, at least with the universal service administrative company, through the FCC, they provide, you know, a big chunk of funding through the federal government. And they do what's either, I'm trying to remember clearly, but I think it's an 85% match to do, you know, these large-scale construction. And I believe the Navajo, and through the consortium that they were offered, you know, so many, so many billions, or I shouldn't say millions of dollars, to be able to, you know, have service providers come in and to bid on these contracts and to extend out, you know, very, to basically just build these fighter webs all across the Navajo Nation, especially to provide access to the internet. So as you can see here that in early 2021, USAC did award 50 million in order to help for the funding year of 2020. And that's to construct over 600 miles of fiber optics. And that goes into ADA chapters, 53 Head Start Centers, and the two branch libraries as well. So much of these contracts were awarded to, so NTUAW was actually Navajo Telecommunications Utilities Administration. And then they have a sub-organization that's NTUA Wireless, NTUA Wireless. Yeah, so many acronyms that it's really ridiculous as an administrator. But there's also sacred winds communications. They mostly handle a lot of the contracts on the New Mexico side. NTUAW handles everything on the Arizona side. And then also internet solutions actually helps out with the more remote Navajo chapters, especially when we're looking at like Tuijile, Alamo, as well as Rayma, remote satellite Navajo chapters. So they have the good benefit of being able to have really good fiber optics that are built into their communities. And one really good example is actually Rayma chapter or Pine Hill area on the New Mexico side that they have set up almost like a whole loop of internet connectivity. And that's all in part with the E-Rate Initiative that they were able to establish these fiber optic lines all across their community. And then as of late 2021, the USAC had awarded an additional $17 million for the funding year of 2021. And then because it kind of formatted weird on here, but below that it should say that as of late November 22, we were notified that we did get category two funding, which is what will upgrade on overhaul a lot of networking and that type of equipment. They're at the chapter houses. And so I should kind of go back a bit. Chapter houses for Navajo Nation, they are kind of like if Navajo Nation itself is one big state, then each of the agencies kind of act as regions and then every chapter acts as its own state. And so the chapter houses kind of act in that way that they do get their own funding and then they have their own building to operate under their own administration. So that's kind of the independence that the Navajo Nation definitely encourages many of these chapter houses to act as. And so these are what's funding a lot of these chapter houses in order to have these connections. And then so there has been this kind of weird thing of what do we call these? Do we call these chapter houses, chapter house libraries, e-rate libraries? And when we did consult with the state of Arizona and the state of New Mexico libraries, no one liked the idea. So in kind of being able to rebrand and refocus a lot of that, we decided that community library is the best way to describe it because chapter houses are of the community. So part of that is also community library. So our task under this initiative is to establish community library services at each of these locations. And so some of them are wanting to have this potential to also become branch libraries. So these are kind of, there's already systems and programs that are set up when we think about public libraries in general that all these things have already been established, set up in policies and everything. So when someone leaves that, when somebody comes in that they're updated with everything. So in this case, we're having to really learn on our own about how to do that as well and to really kind of wake a sleeping giant that the Navajo Nation is. And that also goes with information and then our library services too. But yeah, this kind of goes over definitely the inequities, the digital divide, especially that COVID-19, because we're still in the pandemic. And then, but the stay at home orders were the ones that are, was the thing that kicked off, that made us, that made everybody realize just how behind that the Navajo Nation was. So this was all part of going into, factored into why everything had to be set up going forward. And many of the chapter houses, they don't have, you know, a lot of space in them. And so because of it, both the state libraries in Arizona and New Mexico had agreed to waive the requirement of having a physically circulating library. So they went ahead and approved that many can use digital resources as a way to say that this is an equal measure. And that, so, but there is still that potential where the requirement will come back around. But many of these sites and locations really do need either an upgraded building or they do need, you know, a new space altogether. And so those are things that we are definitely looking at exploring, especially updating our plan of operation to say that, you know, we don't, you know, we no longer maintain, but we also build libraries as well. So when we think about building new services and building all these new things that, you know, this is on our end, that it's like, you know, just this watershed moment that these are things that people really want. And these are things that they really need. And so centering that back on to and focusing with community libraries is one way that we can start extending people's expanding their knowledges in a way that we provide as much information as we can and to make sure that there is a way that they're navigating towards that. So all together, if we were to count up the different contracts that are there, there's about 96 chapter houses across both Navajo Nation, I mean, across Arizona and New Mexico. And all together, there's about 128 chapter houses. So, so right now, with the contracts, we are able to do 96, but we are leaving it in the air to be able to do all 128. So essentially, the Navajo Nation library system will go from the three branch libraries into, you know, a larger, larger system. So definitely one of the larger tribal library systems that would be set up across, you know, within the US. So, but as of yesterday, we actually have 30 of the 56 based on the funding year 2020 that have done the training and have been given their Wi-Fi connections, as well as given a computer Chromebooks. And then we have provided a lot of the training so that they are able to help many of the many of the chapter members navigate towards digital resources, if they need job, you know, resources, services that we do have it built into these sites that they can look through. And then that we have also been able to do like reference interviews and things like that, where that's something that many of the staff members are able to understand and know, because as with any tribal community, sometimes the trouble I think the running joke is that, you know, customer service is drastically needed for any, you know, tribal community, you know, like that show reservation docs, you know, nowhere is that really highlighted more than what, you know, than these characters when they have to go to like the IHS or when they have to go to administrative offices that it's like, wow, like they could really, you know, do a lot more. So that's part of the training too. So and so this is kind of where we do focus for the tribal, for the community library training. So definitely customer service strategies, privacy, confidentiality, and what's called reference interview. So we do our orientation so much like how, you know, I was able to kind of explain what the situation was, what our library system looks like at a glance, and then also to the resources that we do have. So we do have access to electronic books like the big ones, especially Libby, Cloud Library, Freeding, and then especially being able to pinpoint everybody towards Gale pages as well, because that's another that provides a lot of research and other databases. And it's very specific as to what type of databases that to do offer. And of course, you know, many of you that do have access or are working with your University Library, you know, being able to look through, you know, your favorite ones. And I've been losing because I remember writing my whole thesis and that's all I ever had to use was all my library resources at the University of Arizona. So another part of really changing what we're doing at the Navajo Nation Library because my predecessor, you know, there were some programs at events that he was able to want to be a part of. But I think for us, I think the when I first stepped on to the position was to really think about and reevaluate the different programs and events that we could set up there at the Navajo Nation Library. So one example that we do have is right here is the trunk retreat, which was held back in October of 2021. So we definitely had a lot of people. We had a really good amount that we filled up the whole parking lot just outside of the building. So we were really happy to work and coordinate with the Navajo Nation Museum, I launched first things first, all these different programs and organizations that really do work closely with the Navajo Nation. And then of course, the individual in the center is our Miss Navajo Nation, Niagara Rockbridge, who was actually Miss Navajo from 2021 to 2022. So, but we were able to host a trunk retreat there at the Museum Library and Visitors Center. And so another another event that we did hold was actually a blind date with the book. So that was February of last year. So we were able to set up displays and do things like that. But the funny part was having the blind date with the book and actually having the covers covered. And so when people come in, they would be like, well, what's all this? Or, you know, is this, can I take this? It's like, yeah, go ahead. And so that was another way that we were able to do like our book distribution because we got a, I think I'm trying to count up the number, but about around 100,000 books from the Barnes and Noble Foundation. So we got a whole lot of new books from them. And so we use that as a way to distribute when we do outreach programs. Or if we because we also take boxes and boxes to different chapter houses. So some of them that are, you know, housing the community library, that they do actually set them up as checking out. So the really interesting part is some of them actually do use like the old card cataloging. So especially to say what has been checked out because we're, you know, because of our budget constraints that we are unable to, you know, expand out our digital or our electronic cataloging system. So that's something that we are definitely looking at to do with the external funds to expand that out so that many of the community libraries across the Navajo Nation are able to, you know, use a scanner and to check books in and out. And then essentially the main library will be the hub where they send all the books and then we can catalog and properly document, provide the metadata, the descriptions, things like that, that we can do for them and then give to them. And then, of course, they can circulate the item. And so the other program that we actually did was this read across the Navajo Nation. So at the time we did have Miss Navajo Nation, the Navajo Nation President, Jonathan Nez, the Navajo Nation First Lady, Fafilia Nez, and then we also had the Navajo Nation Second Lady, Dottie Leiser, who is on the far right. So we also did also do a proclamation and that was the Read Across Navajo Nation. So we were able to do Read Across America and then also too, where at the time we did have the focus with Dr. Seuss. And but this year we'll actually be more focused on Read Across America, even though it's, you know, Dr. Seuss books are very whimsical, that we do want to focus, essentially start focusing on indigenous readings and authors, as well as the same thing with Navajo titles, authors, you know, readings, things like that. So but it was a lot of fun to host this Read Across Navajo Nation, especially to be able to have the four do their own types of do their readings as well. So this year that we are looking to have different little substations and then individuals can come in and do, you know, they can read to the all that do come by. So for some of you, if you're looking to add some books into your library or if you're already working at, you know, at your own library, whether you're, you know, you're at a public library or a tribal library or what have you, these two individuals have books out that are currently just phenomenal books that do they have out. So Daniel Vandiver, as the author of Horizon, as well as Fallenland Holden, and then Brian Young, the author of Healer of the Water Monster. So both of them, you know, gaining a lot of momentum, you know, for these books that they wrote and even being awarded from the American Indian Library Association. So, you know, and this is, I believe that is the first time that at one time, you know, two individuals, two authors from a tribal community were awarded at the same time. So Daniel and Brian, both being the net that we also wanted to celebrate them. And this was all during the Navajo Nation fair. So the main Navajo Nation fair happens around, you know, the beginning of September. So we were able to kind of use that momentum to also advertise and to really promote this event to have Brian and Daniel and to present them with plaques and certificates and to really, you know, have everybody join us because they were able to do their own their own readings for their book, for both of their books. And so that, you know, we're very extremely fortunate to be able to host them and then to also have President Nez join us during this event and then also Ms. Navajo as well. So it was almost a who's who of, you know, Navajo Nation for them to join us for the celebration. So I believe we do have it on our YouTube or our Facebook page. So if you are interested in kind of looking at the highlights, then you can do that on our Facebook as well. So another program that we were able to work with and to set up is also with the program called Kith and Kin. Kith and Kin, they were coming in like every Wednesday and their focus was doing a lot of, you know, like childcare, like, you know, what are best ways of cooking, you know, it's like basic lifestyles that they would help. Because if you're the one that's having to basically babysit or taking care of children, then this is one way that they help you to, you know, do other things besides like saying, hey, there's a TV or, you know, here's a tablet or something like that. But to also do to develop, you know, their brain, to do, you know, have all these different activities that they can do. And then also to do like food handling, learning, you know, what types of recipes are good and even providing like a recipe book. And then some that did bring their little ones that they were the little ones that were tended to buy their assistants. So they would do like little games, do, you know, different drawings, activities. So it was a really good program that was really set up for individuals that, you know, assisted and took care of their of little ones. And when we did offer it during the summer, we would have, you know, individuals that were like in high school and they would be, they would have to take care of their siblings, their younger siblings, because their parents would be, you know, at work from eight to five. So there's that timeframe from three to five o'clock that they had to figure out like, hey, you know, what can I do to cook or what can I do to entertain, you know, my siblings. So Kith and Kin was a really good program that we were fortunate to host along with the individuals over at First Things First. And so this past October, we did host once again the Trunk retreat with the Navajo Nation Museum. And then same thing, we just had a lot of people come to come to the event and and I really wish I was able to have, you know, if you could zoom in or look at some of the pictures in here, there was, you know, a variety of costumes that were really, it was really, really fun to see a lot of individuals really dress up and they, at the end of the evening, that we were able to do a costume contest with the Navajo Nation Museum. So individuals were able to get prizes for having, you know, really good costumes. But a lot of these things that we really do with the Navajo Nation Library is do book distribution. So and then we also have, you know, like binders and things like that, pencils, paper, you know, just as much as we can to distribute out. So yeah, there you go. So you can see some of the costumes that we did have like the little Sanderson sisters, a little Tuscan raider to the right. And then somebody actually dressed up as the former president, Jonathan Nez. So that'll be like in the middle picture. So that that it was just completely hilarious. And then we had so if you look towards the bottom that there was somebody who did dress up as like a conehead, you know, people that did bring in like the little dinosaur scooby-doo costume. And then somebody did dress up as the Mandalorian. So, you know, everyone just tapping into their favorite movies, television shows, things like that and joining us. And so and then one of the other as of last month, we actually hosted this Navajo tea and watch my stories. So back in the late seventies, they did an animation of coyote stories. So that was one way of doing cultural and language preservation. And so through these stories, it was just all completely recorded and dubbed in the Navajo language. So we happen to have the digital copies in our special collections. So this was one way that we were able to promote and really get individuals to come out for to watch the coyote stories. And so and then the other benefit was, of course, as refreshments to serve Navajo tea and serve blue corn mush as well. So those being traditional foods that we're able to incorporate into this type of program. And we had a good turnout. And then we have a new Ms. Ms. Navajo Nation who did join us, Valentina Clitso, because she she's a new new Ms. Navajo from twenty two to twenty three years. And so for just about the twenty twenty one as well as the twenty twenty three are twenty twenty one and twenty twenty two. Those fiscal years we actually had virtual readings. We did have Daniel Vanderbilt as well as Brian Young do virtual readings of their books. But this year we decided to definitely explore having author readings and visits so that the authors can actually come to the library. So the individual that we did have you can go ahead and zoom out so people can see the the title of this book. But this is also another book that it's really, really good. Unfortunately, it's always tough for me to make time to actually read. I'm always reading memos, emails and doing replies. But but it was really good to hear this book on audiobook, which is shuttered from Ramona Emerson. So she did let us know that she is writing a part two to the book. So she wanted to do a three part series for the book. And so that just made us extremely happy to know that, you know, we could keep in contact with her and then she could provide her, you know, do her readings, but also provide her insight as to how she, you know, got her inspiration to write her debut novel. So we did have a really good turnout, even though, like right here, it looks like oh, like it's very sparse. But I think all well all together face to face, we were able to get about 20 people. And then for our online, we're actually able to get about 24 individuals that joined us on zoom. So things like this, we definitely do try to do hybrid, because just trying to utilize our fiber optics at the library that we are able to provide even, you know, continue to do online programs as well. Because even if they did, well, they did lift the mask mandates on the Navajo Nation. So masks are optional. But, you know, due to public safety and everyone's concern for public health, that everyone still does, you know, do their best to keep wanting to keep one another safe. So the other events that we definitely didn't have planned, or we did plan out, you know, throughout the years. So like, especially the Seed to Supper program, that's done with the University of Arizona, especially their cooperative based out of Apache County. So we were more than happy to host Anna Rita Begay, who does host the gardening, and a lot of it's kind of basic gardening. So especially, and the unique thing is using the soils and the seeds, based off of around Navajo Nation that we could use, utilize within, you know, individuals joining could understand and know how to do that in the area. So that's been a really good emphasis of being able to, you know, incorporate sustainability, and individuals wanting to learn more about gardening. That's one way that they can do it. And then another one we hosted was actually last year, or in 22, about a couple months ago, was the Diabetes Awareness Fair. So that's our connection and collaboration with like special diabetes program, as well as the Fort Defiance Hospital, Navajo Nation Shopping Center, OPVP, so that we definitely had a really fun time being able to set that up. And then also do health literacy for individuals that were able to attend and having a turkey trot, and which was a lot of fun and had a blast. And then a documentary with Lila June. So the the documentary was called Inhabitants. I don't know how much more time I have. Oh, we're on the same wavelength. I was just going to about to message you and say we have about 15 minutes. So if we can hopefully leave a little bit of time for questions, that would be awesome. Okay. Okay. I'm trying to think of my slides from here, because I think a lot of it kind of just goes over other programs and events that we were able to have. And then then on our end, where so coming up for some of the events that we do have, we do have the open mic, which will be next Friday. And then every Friday, we have computer basics and then early childhood tips every Wednesday, because we got a mini grant to be able to have new children's books, toddlers books, and then making that available. And then being able to do like do the sessions where we do emphasize the need to reevaluate how we actually read to our little ones, because it's very different when we read to someone that's in elementary or someone that's in middle school or little ones that are or even individuals that are in high school, because of their development as they go along. So it is really different when you have to read to your toddlers and you're away, you're as we like to say in Navajo, but that's but it's very important to kind of reevaluate things like that. And so this kind of highlights what we're trying to do with our external funds. So the afterschool and summer programming, that's something that we're trying to because it's all been finally settled, but it has to be spent by June 30th. And then we're definitely working to have language and linguistics built out on the New Mexico side. And then so we had a really good grant from the state of both of these are both coming from the state of New Mexico. So our concerns of course, spending it in a timely manner, only because of our internal processes also gets in the way. Yeah, so definitely more information about external funds. Yeah, so I mean, it's just the internal side of it that really does poses a problem because of how much we're trying to push for advancements and evolution at the Navajo Nation Library, that it just feels like the Navajo Nation itself isn't necessarily ready. I should say more specifically our tribal government is still taking steps as far as examining and trying to catch up to a lot of different sources that are coming in, especially when it comes to financial assistance. And this kind of just highlights it really quickly. And so the outlook for us is that definitely turning a lot of the community libraries into branch libraries, so that they're actually physically circulating libraries. Many are interested in doing that and continually providing investing into digital resources, services that will across the Navajo Nation establish the Navajo Nation Digital Library. We also want to invest into our own library integrated library system or ILS so that we can be self-sustaining and self-sufficient. And this idea of being able to have our own data, especially now that it's really emphasized for digital sovereignty or data sovereignty as well. So we can also extend that towards these different items that we do have out there. And then of course to be able to update more tables, update our technology, our shelves, books, because all these things have been either donated or just given to us that with these external funds that we can revamp, upgrade, update, and really to bring the library itself into a more modern library and to, I think, that's the goal of just about every program is to modernize our identities as far as who we are as a program, who we are as departments. And I think everything else on the rest of the slide kind of just highlights the challenges and issues, but then that'll have a lot of our contact information. So I think I hit time, so I do be able to ask questions. And Donovan, that was fantastic. Are you able to see the questions as they come into the chat? Or would you like me to read them out to you? Or how would you like to do it? Yes, please. Yes. I have it read out to me. Yeah. Okay, so what I've seen so far, Keao would like to know, do the each animations have English subtitles and are they publicly available to watch? So for the Ma'i stories, they are actually only provided seasonally. And so we do have it currently on our Facebook, but we will take it down because it's for us to follow traditional protocols. And so for like our creation stories or any type of animal stories, during the winter, it's okay to tell it because a lot of the animals are, they go into hibernation, they go into their burrows. So they won't be able to hear us, especially because for us, the power and strength in our language is still being able to have that. And so, you know, because, yeah, so it's like we, you know, like essentially it's like you don't want somebody talking about you in front of you. Because sometimes like, hey, you know, I didn't know that. And so I think it's the same thing with how we do these stories. And the stories are all completely in the Navajo language. So I don't think they've ever done like subtitles because they really wanted to promote these animations to children. So that they can get a hint of, you know, Navajo language, and then they could also try to, you know, pick out words. Because if you look at, you know, like finding Nemo, like that's in Navajo, and you can go to Disney Plus and actually hear the Navajo dub for that. And then it's the same thing with Star Wars too. The first Star Wars that they also have that completely in Navajo, but it's a dub in it. And then as of recent, there's the Comanche movie, or they did a dub for the latest Predator movies. So so it's really good to see that a lot of these languages are being incorporated and in a mainstream type of venues or applications as well. Okay, thank you. We have another question that came in from Brianna and Brianna states regarding grants. Do you have to compete with other state library systems when applying? Do you receive additional funding or grants from entities like the Bureau of Indian Affairs that is specific to tribal communities? So for us, I think when it comes to because we're not essentially as much as we really want to when we think about how sovereignty works, especially with tribal nations, you know, it almost the way that it's set up with the US is you want these tribal communities to be on that level of states. But for us, because we're under, you know, still under like the state of Arizona, essentially Navajo Nation proper, that we're under the state of Arizona, that essentially we just compete with other public library systems within the state. And then but the interesting part about New Mexico is that they are, you know, they're being very, very helpful towards tribal communities, especially with the Yazi Martinez versus the state of New Mexico case, that the Navajo Nation is getting more funds because of that. But on our end, that we're trying to set up branch libraries on the New Mexico side, especially in larger populated tribal communities like Shiprock, for example, that's one that we are looking to set up another branch library there, and then have a position or even positions that we can have, you know, a library director there and then have their assistance as well. So, so that, you know, this is kind of a really big way that we need to expand. And this is right away that we need to input a lot of other, you know, policies and other little rules that we can implement within the library so that we are consistent across the board. And then the second part, we don't generally try to deal with BIA because it's just always trying to deal with federal entities is always interesting. And then the Navajo Nation itself is trying to be as separate as possible from BIA and BIE. So I think that's part of that. What's what's happening, at least what we've seen. But, you know, that's something definitely we could also look into, look into, you know, tap into as well because any type of external funding for us, you know, we'll definitely try to utilize because we definitely need as much assistance as we can because we're operating as kind of within a within, you know, like a bare bones type of situation. So we were able to barely cover our staff and then our fringe benefits as well. Okay, thank you. Looks like we've had a comment come in. It looks like this is Cindy whole from bridging knowledge. And she says it's wonderful to hear about all of the programs and we appreciate hearing about the progress as well. Is there funding for the physical spaces to develop facilities for the chapter sites? This is Cindy my computer died. I don't know if you have more to say yet or if you want to go to the next one. Um, yeah, for that one. So under the Mexico side, we're definitely getting external funding from the state of New Mexico. So it could be where we are looking into where spaces can be expanded and renovated. Because spaces are at least the chapter houses on the New Mexico side are the ones that are under the community library initiative are want to actually set up as branch libraries. So that's something that we'll definitely look into. But definitely some do have older buildings that they want to actually renovate or to modernize so that they can house, you know, their own library there. And then, of course, with the assistance from the state of New Mexico that we can, you know, populate with more books, tables, desks, things like that. So yeah, so that that would be wonderful to start doing that with them. Great. Okay, looks like we probably have time for one more question, which is any this is from Michelle any recommendations on digital slash data sovereignty with establishing the custom ILS systems to incorporate the traditional ways of knowing for classification schemes to incorporate oral traditions, geography and linguistics. That would be, I mean, awesome. If there was a system, but the one I can think of right now is like Merca to Merca to has definitely have the support and they're also open source and they're, they do have an interface that's easy to use. So I think that would be a really good system to really house a lot of archival and these, you know, things that are tangible. And then if they're in intangible items that are recorded, especially when it comes to, you know, like songs, even ways of speech, ways of speaking like even those can be preserved like on a system like Merca to. And then, of course, it can be incorporated with its own metadata and its own meta description. It really depends on whom is all, you know, working on these things together, that that they can do that. And there is another group called local contexts, that they also do provide like a new way of classifying a new way of codifying, you know, these type of ideas, because there are, you know, initial steps that have been set up to where things like this can be preserved. But I think on that end, where it's a lot of digital and data sovereignty, I think these are new grounds that we're definitely exploring. And there are working groups that are, you know, building towards that. And I can try to think of individuals that are also helping towards those efforts. Because even like our own metadata, like what we have in our catalogs, you know, things like that also need to be protected. And then as far as like any type of customization with ILS, the big, the big one that I often hear about is like COA from Bywater Solutions. So that can be definitely revamped and can be because it's open source that, you know, these things can be built into it. So I mean, I think definitely the investment towards something like that is definitely there. But it's actually having the individuals to put this, you know, everything together. And I know for a while, Dinec College, they did definitely have their own ILS over in Seili. But just because of the upkeep and everything, they weren't able to really keep a lot of their developers that it became very difficult for them to maintain it. So they did go with a bigger ILS system. And that being more focused with academic libraries. But that's a good question, though. A great question. Okay, we've had some more comments come through, but it looks like we're very close to the end of our session for tonight. And I just want to thank all of the participants and especially Donovan, thank you so, so much for sharing your wisdom and your experiences with us here at San Jose State. I know that the students really appreciate your time. There is one more comment, and that is Cindy is asking folks to email her for a survey link since she wasn't able to join on her computer. Her email is bkscholar21atgmail.com. If you want to email her after the session to receive a link to the survey about this presentation. And I want to thank everyone for your participation. And especially Donovan, thank you so, so much for sharing your knowledge with us tonight. Thank you all. And Cindy, thank you for inviting me. Sheila, thank you for moderating. So yeah, thank you all. I really enjoyed it. And it's always nice to boast about what's going on at the Navajo Nation Library. So I always like to say that it's not just, you know, focused on me, but it's definitely the whole system altogether. And what we do going forward, I couldn't do without, you know, my staff's help. So I applaud them for a lot of their hard work and efforts as we go forward. So and, you know, thank you all for allowing me to express from as representative from the Navajo Nation Library.