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Dear Colleagues,
It was great to see all of you at the 2015 SLA Conference! I found that conference to have a really great feel - everyone was talking to everybody else, and there was a buzz in the air about libraries. I came away from the Mary Donaldson Memorial Lecture with a fresh personal commitment to live and act with courage, inspired by the words of lecturer Gabrielle Scrimshaw. I also came away with new ideas on how to engage my community, based on the work of the opening keynote lecturer, Paula Carr. What was your best moment at the Conference? What shook your world view? Thank you to all those who worked on the conference and made it the great event that it was. The 'Great Minds, Great Ideas' member consultation was an amazing success, because people like you stopped in to participate and to share your thoughts. We are crunching that data now, and will use it to help us infuse the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan with member direction. Thank you so much to everybody who helped us shape the future with that important work. We are now turning our attentions to plans for the coming year. The outgoing and incoming SLA Board Members are getting together in early June to share information, and then the new Board will go forward after that. A fond farewell to Gillian Nowlan, Kimberley Hintz, Deborah McConkey, and Tony Murphy from the outgoing Board - thank you again for all your work. And a welcome to Sean Brooks, Nancy McKenzie, James Hope Howard, and Alison Jantz - it will be great to get to know you better and to do some good things together! We are hoping to get our committees working right away, and we still need you to sign up to help. If you were energized at the AGM with the work that the Board is undertaking, please consider joining a committee. With only a few meetings during the year by telephone, you can help us to stay member-directed and to help us achieve our goals for people like you. We have had some great committee uptake so far, and still need to fill a few more spots. In recent member surveys, for example, people have said that they would like to see more continuing education opportunities and newsletter content geared toward special libraries. If you work in a special library, we could really use your help on the Publications and Programming committees, to help us identify and develop this sort of specialized programming and content. At the recent 'Great Minds' member consultation, someone said that they would like to have more SLA pub nights. If that was you, we would love to have you on the Membership committee to help plan social events. If you don't know how to help, call me and I can help you find something that suits your interests. Thank you for your consideration of this request. I am still working on your behalf as part of the national federation working group (CLA and other library associations from across Canada), crafting a new national library federation. It is a group with strong vision, and we have had some great conversations in the past few months. We will be meeting with the broader stakeholders in early June, just before the CLA Conference, to present our vision to that group. If they tell us that we are on the right track, then we will share that vision document with the wider library community. Stay tuned for that. In between trying to be nationally clever and locally efficient, I will putter in my garden, sit on a public patio with friends , and drive to the lake for rest and relaxation. I hope that your summer is a time of good weather, recharging, and good friendship. Always a pleasure to work with good people on your behalf. Respectfully submitted,
Gwen Schmidt 2014-2016 President
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Welcome New Board Members!
Nancy MacKenzie VP Advocacy and Development Nancy MacKenzie, Manager of Community Engagement and Programming at RPL is new to Saskatchewan. Since arriving she has learned that as promised the summer is much nicer than the winter, the people in SK really do seem friendlier than many other Canadian cities and that Regina is a beautiful little city - and totally under recognized as such - especially by the people of Regina! Nancy has spent many years working in Calgary in all types of libraries and relishes working collaboratively to create innovative programs and services that improve the lives of individuals and communities. She looks forward to working with the SLA executive the Saskatchewan library community.
Sean Brooks: Treasurer
Sean has 20 years of special library experience in a variety of roles from stamping reel-to-reel tapes in an airless, windowless room to director with far too many windows and budget lines. He's new to Saskatchewan and public libraries but enjoying his time immensely. He is a non-fiction reader with a focus on the industrialization of warfare 1840-1950 and has turned that passion into R&D contributions to map and computer strategy simulations. He believes in Lazarus Long and his aphorisms. Most critically the one ending "... specialization is for insects."
Alison Jantz: Member at LargeAlison became the Library Director of the Saskatoon Theological Union in July of 2014. This union includes St. Andrew's College, The Lutheran Theological Seminary, Horizon College & Seminary, and the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad. In December 2014 She graduated with an MLIS from San Jose State University. A keen interest for her is imagining the library as the social/cultural centre of a community, that not only welcomes innovation and diversity, but is a place of learning and enrichment for all who walk through the doors. I have a Masters of Divinity, so my current position makes use of my various avenues of education. I'm excited to contribute to this board and imagine new things together! James Hope Howard: Member at LargeJames Hope Howard is the Library Consultant for the Pahkisimon Nuyeʔ�h Library System and holds an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a Double Honours BA in History and Political Studies from the University of Manitoba. He is also a freelance writer, a chiptune artist, a former community-radio host, and a man that ran a cat blog for five years. Thank You to Volunteers:Members make SLA a more vital organization and representative of the libraries of the province by volunteering time, effort, ideas, and feedback. For 2014-15 SLA had an outstanding board that pitched in and got a lot of work completed and an army of volunteers serving on committees and helping at conference. As well the membership survey, feedback on the CLA issue, and conference evaluation all received good feedback to help the board make decisions and plans on the behalf of the membership. And one last accolade to all the members that attended the Great Minds, Great Ideas Session in the late afternoon of conference Friday to look to the future and share ideas. A round of applause for Board Members who have completed their terms including: * Gillian Nowlan, Vice President of Advocacy and Development has been involved with the Saskatchewan Library Association since she moved to this province in 2011. She started by serving as a member at large on the SLA board and then moved to VP of Advocacy and Development. Gillian has worked as a co-chair of the 2012 Conference and the Nominations Committee for 2012. Most notably Gillian was involved with the new website and managing social media. In her role as VP, Gillian was responsible for the Programming committee (supporting the work of Program Coordinator, Anne Pennylegion), the Publications committee (redesign of newsletter, beginning the redesign of the website, and updating social media), the Advocacy committee (responding to library issues and creating procedures and position statement guidelines), and the Personnel committee (reworking the Personnel manual and evaluation of processes of staff, and developing the harassment and staff travel policies) besides Board meetings and regular Executive meetings in between. Gillian comments, "My time on the board introduced me to librarians across the province and various initiatives and services offered by the SLA. I would like to note that I have valued my time on the board and would like to continue to participate and volunteer on various SLA committees throughout the year." * Deborah McConkey is grateful and honoured to have been able to serve on the Board and Executive of the Saskatchewan Library Association for the last three years now: the first year as VP of Advocacy and Development and the last two as Treasurer. One of the first things she did on the Board was design some puzzles for advertising the TD summer reading campaign in the various Saskatchewan newspapers. For 3 years shehas been on the Executive committee, Personnel committee, Advocacy committee, and Programming Committees (specifically Saskatchewan Library Week), and has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with such wonderful people and being an active part of the broader library scene in Saskatchewan. In the role of Treasurer, she chaired the Finance committee and consulted regularly with the Executive Director regarding finances. Deborah says, "Thank you for the opportunity to serve the Saskatchewan Library Community these last three years in these capacities. I look forward to keeping active in the association and I would recommend each of you consider serving on the Board to keep SLA a member-driven organization in the future." * Kimberley Hintz has been on the board as a Member at Large from 2013-2015. In my first year she sat on the Publications committee and worked with Anne to start the new newsletter. In her second year she was on the Programming committee and worked with Anne for Freedom to Read Week and with Judy on the CEC/EI programs as part of the Partnership. She also helped revamp our Continuing Education grants. She also worked with the conference committee for the last two years developing social aspects of the conference by designing games and ice breakers and building the conference app this year. Kimberley notes,"Involvement with the board has been a great experience for me. I've met library workers from different sectors and areas of the province and we've worked together to build and promote valuable services and programs for our members." * Tony Murphy was elected to the SLA Board as a Member-at-Large in July of 2014, as a mid-term replacement. Over the 10 months of his term with SLA, he participated in board meetings, attended and contributed to the SLA Board Retreat, which featured a diversity planning workshop. While his time on the SLA Board was relatively short, he was able to contribute positively and brought his varied work and educational experience into the discussions and planning. Tony says, "My experience with SLA has been extremely valuable, starting with the fundamental plus of the networking opportunity SLA brings to its board members as they work with colleagues from across library types and from communities around the province. Planning sessions and opportunities such as working with SaskCulture on diversity planning and implementation provided valuable experience to bring back to my own organization. On a more entertaining (and entertained) note, arranging the Saskatchewan Libraries Happy Hour in PA was not only a lot of fun, but was also a good lesson in 'social convening.'" Committee members that served for the 2014-15 year were appreciated as they worked hard to move the work of the association along. Please see an attached list of names here
Committee Call - If you forgot to send in your application we still have a few committee positions available - please check them out and send in an application.
Continuing Education Opportunities: The SLA is making continuing education and professional learning a priority with the establishment of the Continuing Education Committee, the renewed Continuing Education Grant Program, and the ongoing promotion of the Education Institute programs and the Continuing Education Certificate. * Continuing Education Grants are available for personal professional learning activities, for setting up a learning event, or for first time attendance at the SLA conference. The deadline for grant applications is August 15, 2015 and February 15, 2016. Be sure to check out the grant information and consider applying in one of the categories to continue your learning. The application information is here * The Education Institute Catalogue is now available and offers a great many very interesting webinars and courses over the summer. The catalogue also lists the number of points you can earn for your Continuing Education Certificate (CEC) Information about registration can be found here . If you haven't signed up yet, check out the information. Perhaps you employer would be interested in institutional pricing for the whole staff to participate.
Maureen Woods Education Bursary Call for Applicants - SLA is now accepting applications for the 2015 Maureen Woods Education Bursary. Applications will be accepted until October 30, 2015 for students enrolled in the 2015-16 school year. Past applicants that were not awarded can re-apply. For more information visit
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Saskatchewan Libraries Conference 2015Congratulations to SLA Award recipients: * Maureen Woods Education Bursary: Recipient Carrie-Ann Prefontaine
* Mary Donaldson Award of Merit: Recipient James Nobel
* SLTA Life Membership Award: Recipient Gerald Kleisinger
* Frances Morrison Award: Recipient Zenon Zuzak
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The Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA) is having a contest!
We are looking for a theme for Saskatchewan Library Week (October 18-24, 2015) that is short, catchy, and represents all the library types in Saskatchewan. The successful entry will be used on all of our promotional materials-posters, bookmarks and advertising. SLA Board, staff, and committee members are eligible to submit entries, but are not eligible to win the prize (a $50 Chapters gift certificate). Deadline for submissions is 4:30 p.m. June 10th. Questions? Please email your entry or question to Anne Pennylegion, Program Coordinator at slaprograms@sasktel.net I am currently trying to measure the interest in planning grant writing/information workshops for at least one library region. If you are interested in hosting one please let me know. Ideally these workshops would be for library and branch staff, and would also be open to patrons. Please contact Anne at the SLA office at (306) 780-9409 or by email at slaprograms@sasktel.net. One of our members very kindly sent me some information about two grant possibilities that may be of interest to you: -
Heritage Trust Project funding available for digital stewardship and digitization projects- Application deadline June 19, 2015
- Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program supports the revitalization and renovation of community infrastructure (libraries, community centres, museums, recreation facilities etc. - Application deadline: June 17, 2015
Thank you Chantal.
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- The Future Library Project welcomes Margaret Atwood manuscript Read more
- CLA's E-Book recommendations are here
- Is Subscription the Future of E-Books? Read more
- New additions to the Merriam Webster Dictionary Read more
- TPL ambassadors march on City Hall Read more
- Saving libraries in Nepal Read more
- The Friends of Canadian Libraries newsletter (FOCAL) is here
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The Toolshed: A library training and promotion repository
The Toolshed, provides a space for library staff to share, download and comment on library training and promotion resources. It is a joint initiative of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan libraries.
Do I Need an Account? You do not need an account to access any of the free, curated training and promotion materials in the repository. Visit the website and search for material by resource type, training topic or library region.
You do need an account if you want to share the documents you created with others. To share training materials created at your library, you'll need to request an account. To request an account: visit The Toolshed website, select login and select create new account.
What Type of Information is Available? The Toolshed has training material on a wide variety of topics, such as children's programming, computer basics, eBooks, ILS, information literacy, library advocacy, social media and more. The materials are available in a variety of forms. Library staff can upload and download materials in the following document types: .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, YouTube, Vimeo and Prezis.
Any content uploaded to The Toolshed is shared using a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0 Unported License. This means that anyone downloading content from The Toolshed is free to reuse and modify the resource.
For more information, visit The Toolshed or contact Regan.Gunningham@gov.sk.ca
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