The Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages project is a digital archive of literature in Australian Indigenous languages from around the Northern Territory. Beginning with a focus on books produced during the era of bilingual education (1973 - 2000s), the collection now includes over 4000 items in over 35 different languages. The materials in the collection are both widely dispersed and endangered, and contain interesting and significant stories, many with beautiful illustrations, and many with English translations. With permission from the language owners, materials have been identified, sourced, digitised and OCRed, then uploaded to an open online archive so people can find them and read them.
As a Living Archive, this resource will enable researchers nationally and internationally to engage with the texts and related resources, and with the original owning language communities, to pursue collaborative research.
The archive, which is available through www.cdu.edu.au/laal, has been funded by the Australian Research Council through the Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme, and is being set up by these partner agencies: Charles Darwin University, Australian National University and the NT Department of Education, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Northern Territory Library, NT Catholic Education Office, and Australian National University.