Velma S. Salabiye

Velma S. Salabiye (June 29, 1948 – July 29, 1996) was a Navajo librarian and promoter of Native American librarianship. Salabiye served as the director of the University of California, Los Angeles American Indian Culture Center Library and was a founding member of the American Indian Library Association.

Early life and education

Velma S. Salabiye was born in 1948 in Bellemont, Arizona. She graduated from St. Michael Indian School in 1966. Salabiye advocated for information about Native peoples to be located accessibly to the people it describes, such as housing tribal archives on reservations. She also recognized the need for more Native American librarians.

Throughout her career, she wrote and co-wrote multiple works on American Indian library collections, promoting American Indian librarianship and collections. She was a founding member of the American Indian Library Association, an ethnic affiliate group of ALA. She died in the summer of 1996.

Selected publications