NAIDOC Week (5 to 12 July) is an opportunity to explore stories, histories, art and culture from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices.
This year's theme, 50 Years of Deadly, is a tribute to the people who have built NAIDOC and continue to show up, year after year.
To celebrate the week, Bayside Libraries' have launched an extensive Indigenous collection.
This dedicated collection began more than 20 years ago through the work of Bayside Council's Indigenous Affairs Advisory Committee, formed in 2003.
Committee members Diana Pittock, the late Ellen José and Linda Sparrow worked closely with library staff to review books across Bayside's library branches, identifying works by Indigenous authors and books focused on Indigenous topics.
Diana said it was encouraging to see more books by Indigenous authors added to the collection each year.
"As language and understanding change over time, it was important to review books carefully and build a collection people could genuinely learn from," she said.
Today, the Indigenous collection includes more than 960 items, and spans a number of genres, with the largest collection housed at Brighton Library.
The collection offers readers of all ages opportunities to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and storytelling.
All books in the Indigenous collection are marked with a distinctive feather motif, designed by Torres Strait Islander Elder, Ellen José.
Diana said novels by Indigenous authors often gave readers insight into lives and cultural experiences that may differ from their own.
"Cultural knowledge can enlarge non-Indigenous readers' awareness of the richness of the society in which we live," she said.
"It is a joy to celebrate the depth of Indigenous culture by looking into these books," she said.
As NAIDOC Week celebrations take place across Bayside, residents are encouraged to continue exploring Indigenous stories, histories and culture through our libraries' collection all year-round.
