OCULA President Caroline Stewart University of Guelph-Humber OCULA Spring Dinner Speaker - David Trick Spring into fall: attend upcom- ing OCULA events by Monica Rettig, shared the key findings of this re- Brock University search which was published in 2009 Fall is a season full of beginnings and in Academic Transformation: the possibilities. In academia, we can all Forces Reshaping Higher Education in get caught up in the excitement of Have you ever looked at Ontario’s Ontario (McGill –Queens UP). change, whether it is new subject higher education system and responsibility, a completed library scratched your head wondering, According to Trick, the higher educa- renovation, a new job or just a new “Where is this all headed?” tion system in Ontario is affected by batch of eager students. Your OCULA two key factors. The first is the shift executive is also looking forward to Dr. David Trick spoke directly to this from an elite system with limited en- the fall as we have both new events concern at the 2010 OCULA Spring rollment to a near-universal one. The and a new OCULA librarian resident Dinner hosted by York University at research suggests that, as a result of in place for the coming months. the lovely and historic Glendon Hall. this shift, Ontario colleges and univer- sities can expect a 2 per cent increase OCULA council has some interesting Trick, a Glendon alumnus, has a long in the number of students by 2021—a activities planned for the next few history of involvement in post sec- change that effectively translates into months. Mark October 21 on your ondary education in Ontario and has the demand for spaces in two new calendar because this is the day of held senior positions such as assistant universities and three new colleges. our fall 2010 event. It will take place deputy minister of postsecondary However, many Ontario universities at the North Campus of Humber Col- education and chief executive officer have already undertaken major ex- lege and includes a complementary and vice-provost for the University of pansion in recent decades and these wine tasting plus a fall harvest meal Guelph-Humber. Several years ago, institutions might not be interested along with entertainment from tal- he was approached by the Higher in growing further in order to accom- ented Humber faculty. We have part- Education Quality Council of Ontario modate this forecasted increase in nered on this event with the Ontario to contribute to a study of the forces demand. Association of Library Technicians/ shaping higher education in Ontario Association des bibliotechniciens de and, in particular, to identify future Trick and his colleagues also high- l’Ontario (OALT/ABO) to strengthen concerns. In his presentation he continued on page 2 ties within the library community. Our spring 2011 event will be pre- Librarians at the G8/G20 protests: a bit of public debriefing sented in collaboration with the by Caroline Stewart, University of Guelph-Humber and Dave Hudson, Univesity of Guelph Western New York/Ontario Chapter of the Association of College and We ran into each other at “People other. As it turned out, we have both Research Libraries and we will also be First. We Deserve Better,” the main wanted to debrief together about co-hosting a one-day conference on rally and march at Queen’s Park in the protests because these events innovation to be held in Niagara. Toronto on July 26 during the week of have given us much to think about— protests against the G8/G20. Though as librarians and as members of the In addition to these events, our new we were both excited to see another larger community. What follows is our OCULA Resident Paula Cardozo is librarian at a protest, we did little thinking about a few basic issues: continued on page 2 more than say so and high five each continued on page 3 Fall2010/No.41 1 President’s Message OCULA Spring Dinner Speaker - David Trick continued from page 1 continued from page 1 joining us this month. Paula will be lighted a significant change in public working at Nipissing University and policy. Governments of the devel- Canadore College Library in North oped world, including Canada, have North Bay as well as attending council recognized that the production of meetings. As we welcome Paula, we new knowledge in higher education must also say thank you and say good- and the successful transfer of this bye to Monica Rettig. Monica was knowledge to the workplace results the first participant in the residency in higher future incomes for citizens. program and did her placement at As such, governments have invested Brock University in St. Catherine’s We heavily in research funding and appreciated Monica’s participation in scholarship bodies, driving a strong council meetings and her submissions competition for funding amongst to InsideOCULA. Hopefully she will researchers. remain involved in OCULA and we are pleased that her contract at Brock has As a consequence of these two forces, been extended. faculty members must take on two that a simple demand for more gov- expanding and simultaneous missions: ernment dollars is not the answer and ...we must continually advocate teach more students and produce offered a number of solutions: for libraries and the academic high level research. “Something’s got community... to give,” Trick argued and he sug- • Create new teaching-focused institu- gested that this “something” is the tions without the focus on research. amount of time and attention given to Ontario is a unique jurisdiction in that Finally, over the past few months we undergraduate instruction. At many we insist all universities must be re- have been reminded that we must con- institutions, undergraduate class sizes search–driven. These new institutions tinually advocate for libraries and the are too large, causing students to would accommodate more students academic community on issues such miss out on interaction with faculty without taking away from existing col- as the recent cuts to some Knowl- members. A significant share of un- leges and universities. edge Ontario programs. The Ontario dergraduate teaching—approximately • Consider more flexible models for Library Association’s current strategic 5 per cent at large institutions—is faculty rather than the existing strict plan highlights the importance of ad- done by part-time faculty, resulting 40% (teaching)/ 40% (research)/20% vocacy and one of the four key goals in a number of problems including a (service) model. of the plan is to collaborate to extend loss of continuity and integration with • Offer shorter degree programs libraries’ strategic voice. Clearly programs as a whole. such as the three-year baccalaureate, OCULA has an important role to play allowing students to move through in achieving this goal. Not only will While Trick suggested faculty, govern- the institutions more quickly without we support you by providing resources ment, and students are not respon- diluting the quality of education. so that you can stay informed but we sible for the current state of post sec- • Have a frank conversation with gov- may also be calling on you to join us ondary education in Ontario, he did ernment around expectations for the in raising awareness of important top- argue that the systemic problems are higher education system and the ac- ics and concerns. due to the fact that since the 1960s, companying costs in order to develop Ontario’s large scale publicly funded a better funding model. Have a great 2010–2011 school year system of postsecondary education and please join us for the fall event on has not been updated. In particular, More information about David Trick is October 21. there has been no attention paid to available at http://davidtrick.com. developing new kinds of institutions. So, what is to be done? Trick argued 2 ONTARIO COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION Librarians at the G8/G20 protests: a bit of public debriefing continued from page 1 our reasons for being at the protests, selves to, exclusive forums for crucial integrating both a sense of public duty our impressions, and the various decisions on global matters as is the and a sense of social responsibility responses to the events. Though case with the G8/G20—when more into one’s work (mostly in the context these are our preliminary and perhaps inclusive forums exist already. of my friend’s upcoming move into superficial reflections, our conversa- a job in news media). We also spent tion suggests that there is indeed But I also went partly for my own some time walking alongside, and much more to talk about. If you’d like learning—about my continuing sharing stories with, an older couple to continue the conversation, feel free education, if you will. I really value from the northeastern United States to contact us via emails (see below). those who do not keep their opin- who were visiting friends and had de- ions to themselves, who are able to cided to take part in the march while Why we hit the streets move from being quietly reflective to they were here. confidently and articulately sharing Caroline: I went to the G20 for a num- their critical perspectives in public. As When I think of the circulation of in- ber of reasons. Through the course someone who sometimes finds it dif- formation, especially in the context of of my education and professional life, ficult to this, it is important to me to librarianship, I tend to focus on docu- I am continually realizing the impor- hear others articulate their concerns ments and data moving through dedi- tance of social justice and activism.