Summer 2007 80 Baker Cres
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LETTER oF THE LAA Issue 155 ALC 2007 Inside: Edmonton Public Library Wins LAA Award of Excellence Harry's Arrival Doesn't Have to End the Fun Spruce Grove Public Library Opens in New Facility "Good Medicine" Tour was a Dream Come True for Peace Library System What Boomers Want: They're changing old age and library service with it Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 80 Baker Cres. NW, Calgary, AB T2L 1R4 Phone: 403/284-5818 FAX: 403/282-6646 http://www.laa.ca ISSUE NUMBER 155 SUMMER 2007 ISSN 0705-4890 People ....................................................................................................................... 1 From the President's Desk ................................................................................................. 2 From the Executive Director ............................................................................................... 3 ALC Action ....................................................................................................................... 4 Association News LAA Continuing Education Grant Deadline Sept. 15 ................................................. 6 Call for Proposals for ALC 2008 ............................................................................... 6 Edmonton Public Library Wins LAA Award of Excellence ......................................... 7 LAA Annual General Meeting ................................................................................... 9 Around the Province EPL and Transit Join Forces to "Catch" People Reading ......................................... 10 Rocky Public Library Offers Books to Go! Program .................................................. 11 Harry's Arrival Doesn't Have to End the Fun ............................................................. 12 AALT Presents Awards at Annual Conference ......................................................... 13 Spruce Grove Public Library Opens in New Facility .................................................. 14 Innovative Partnership Brings a New Service to Alberta ........................................... 15 Grande Prairie Writers Find Their Dreams ............................................................... 16 Chinook Arch Celebrates 15 Years of Municipal Cooperation .................................. 16 Calgary Public Library Honours Volunteers .............................................................. 17 Drayton Valley Municipal Library Celebrates its 50th Anniversary ............................ 18 Beaumont Library News ........................................................................................... 19 News from the School .............................................................................................. 20 "Good Medicine" Tour was a Dream Come True for Peace Library System ............. 21 Across Canada & Beyond Top 10 Reasons Why Canadian Public Libraries Implement RFID........................... 22 In Case of a Reading Emergency, Pop the Trunk .................................................... 24 What Boomers Want: They're changing old age and library service with it ............... 26 What's In An Acronym ........................................................................................................ 30 Forthcoming Events............................................................................................................ 31 Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 PEOPLE At the Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT) on May 26, 2007, a new Board of Directors was elected: President: Tamara Abrams, President-Elect: Currently vacant, Member-at-Large: Anne Marie Gaszi, Conference Co-Chairs: Leanne Gosse and Judy Richardson, Journal Co-Editors: Blanka Kaiser and Sylvia Smith, Marketing Chair: Carol Fowler, Membership: Laura Sommerville, Secretary: Lynda Shurko, Treasurer: Anne Marie Gaszi, Web Team: Marnie McFarlane. SLIS is delighted to make the official announcement that Ann Curry will begin a five-year term as Director of SLIS in January 2008. Dr. Curry will come to us from the School of Library and Archival Studies at the University of British Columbia, where she is presently Professor and Chair of the Doctoral Studies Program. Dr. Curry is an award- winning teacher, a productive researcher, and an actively contributing member of both the professional and the scholarly LIS communities. Peggy Sue Ewanyshyn, who is currently completing her MLIS degree, has been awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to follow the international Master in Digital Library Learning (DILL) offered in cooperation by Oslo University College in Norway, Tallinn University in Estonia, and Parma University in Italy for 2007-2009. The scholarship is 21,000 Euro per academic year for two years. Peggy Sue was the recipient of an LAA Continuing Education grant last year. Julia Reinhart has been appointed as Assistant Director of the Shortgrass Library System, effective July 1, 2007. She joins the leadership team of Bob Batchelder, Assistant Director, and Harold Storlien, C.E.O. Julia has worked in the Alberta Library Community for almost six (6) years, first as Head Librarian at the Brooks Public Library and then as Public Services Librarian for SLS. Before moving to Alberta, she completed her B.A. at the University of Guelph and her M.L.I.S. at the University of Western Ontario. She put herself through university by working as a library clerk at the Guelph Public Library, and when she graduated from Western she worked at the D.B. Weldon Library after which she managed two school libraries for the London District Catholic School Board for a period of four years. Julia is currently Chair of the APLEN Technology Training Committee, sits on the TAL Licensing Services Committee, and has been a member of the APLEN Standing Committee, TAL Advocacy Committee and the Standards for System Libraries Committee. Cover photos 1 1. Karen Labuik, Marigold Library System, left, with author Catherine Ford. 5 2. Nicholas Basbanes gave a rousing author talk about book collecting. 3. There were plenty of elk around the Lodge to keep us on our toes. 2 4. Keynote speaker Tod Mafin with ALC LAA co- chair Marianne Graff. 4 5. Peter Crerar, Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Strategic Services, Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing, left; keynote speaker Silken Laumann; and Punch Jackson, Director, Libraries, Community and Voluntary Sector Services, Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing. 3 Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 1 FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK Della Paradis In the weeks following the Jasper conference, optimism is evident among LAA members. Optimism that a shift in focus could be coming and we will see much needed change in our libraries. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ray Danyluk, charged the community with articulating a vision for libraries in Alberta. Not any vision, but a real vision; one that expresses impact on our communities; one that is sellable; and inspires stakeholders to take action. This, all on a timeline that allows documents to be compiled, vetted and launched in October. The former Department of Alberta Community Development has taken the lead in organizing focus groups and ensuring the urgency and opportunity within this initiative is not lost. As always, we’re grateful to the leadership demonstrated by the Department. We trust that enough vision exists within the community that a unifying focus can be pulled together. The proof is in the forthcoming document which we keenly await. Certainly, the focus group discussion LAA participated in touched on but sometimes slid sideways on what the vision is. The vision for Alberta libraries cannot be about the library; the vision must focus on social impact. The library is just the ‘how’ we’re going to make the change in the world. Therefore, an impact-filled, sellable vision for libraries cannot be a things like ‘a one stop source for information’ or ‘to increase the profile of the library’ or even ‘one card, one catalogue, one collection’. All of that is good but it is about the library and not about impact. Until we discipline ourselves to focus and talk about social impact, we will continue to ‘get what we always got’. No one gets tingly about a “vision” that does not express the ‘why’ or the point of our activities. It takes courage to have a real vision that expresses impact and then to hold ourselves accountable for it. Without that courage, clarity and accountability, how can we expect the support necessary to move forward? A meaningful vision for Alberta’s libraries could relate to literacy levels, high school dropout rates, the economy or some other widely accepted social issue. Then we must make the value of the library bloody obvious – how much in tangible, quantifiable measures do we impact the social issue? It’s scary to hold your feet to the fire but we do not have the right to complain about not being “on the radar screen” when the social impact of the library isn’t obvious. Imagine the difference a unifying vision could make to our advocacy efforts. Advocacy continues to be a struggle in the library community because there is no coherent, cohesive rallying cry that people can get behind. A vision expressing social impact is needed to spur people on. We look forward to the unveiling this fall. A new LAA Board was formed at the AGM in Jasper. Right to left, Anne Carr-Wiggin, Past President; Wendy Grønnestad-Damur, Director; Sona Kothari, Director; Christine Sheppard, Executive Director; Marianne Graff, 2nd Vice President; and Della Paradis, President.