BCLTA BULLETIN – October 13, 2009

CONTENTS

Announcements
Featured Grants
Featured Resources
Upcoming Events
Member Information Requests
Advertisements

Announcements

• On Tuesday, September 29 BCLTA President Andy Ackerman, BCLA President Ken Cooley and VPL Director Paul Whitney (standing in for ABCPLD President Ursula Brigl) met with the Honourable Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for Early Learning, to communicate the essential nature of library service and the need to reinstate and increase library funding at the earliest opportunity.  Please click here to read a summary of the 2009 meeting, a copy of the Brief provided to Minister MacDiarmid in advance of the meeting, and a follow-up letter sent afterward.

• Following the September 29 meeting with the Minister, BCLTA President Andy Ackerman attended a meeting with Edel Toner-Rogala, Chair of the BC Libraries Cooperative, to learn more about the BCLC.  Among the points covered at this meeting were the following: BCLC is not associated with PLSB; the BCLC Executive are elected by BCLC members; membership consists of individual libraries, both public and academic; BCLC’s primary mandate is to work collectively on special projects such as Evergreen; BCLC is task-oriented and is not interested in governance or advocacy; PLSB awarded the Cooperative $10,000 in funding for 2009.  More information on the BC Libraries Cooperative can be accessed here .

• The 2009 BC Libraries Reception was jointly hosted by the BC Library Trustees Association, the BC Library Association and the Association of BC Public Library Directors and held in conjunction with the Union of BC Municipalities Convention in Vancouver on the evening of Wednesday, September 30.  The reception was a great success, with approximately 450 people in attendance – this was a good 150 more than in previous years, which was a pleasant surprise for the event organizers!  Among the attendees were many, many local government elected officials, as well as a solid provincial contingent of MLAs and staff.  Also of note were the many library sector representatives – both trustees and staff – who made the trip downtown to mingle and connect with our local and provincial politicians.  Reception highlights included a library slideshow prepared by Mandy Davies of BCLTA; a mini-keynote address by Dr. Ike Barber of UBC’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre; an address by the Honourable Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for Early Learning and Literacy; and presentation of the 2009 Library Director of the Year Award to Edel Toner-Rogala of Burnaby Public Library.  Please click here to access a full summary and photos from the 2009 reception. A special thank you to our 2009 sponsors: Bury Media & Supplies and 3M Canada .

• BCLTA members are strongly encouraged to participate in the Budget 2010 Consultation process.  Library representatives can attend local public meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services or prepare written submissions to the Committee by the end of October 2009.  BCLTA and BCLA will be making a joint submission, but it is imperative that individual public libraries also make the case for restoring and enhancing library funding in 2010.  Please visit the Budget 2010 Consultation page online for further information on participating in this important process.

• BCLTA will soon be releasing the initial report in what will now be a long-term infrastructure study of BC’s public libraries.  The report, completed by consultant Daphne Wood in June 2009, will be made available via the BCLTA website by the end of October, along with information on next steps in the infrastructure study project.  Please stay tuned for further information.

• Message from her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, in honour of Canadian Library Month:  There is nothing quite as stimulating as a book to delve into the fascinating world of history, knowledge or fiction.  As we celebrate Canadian Library Month, let us give ourselves over to this wonderful adventure...  To read the entire message from Her Excellency, please click here .

• AskAway Public Library virtual reference service to continue in current form until June 2010.  AskAway, the province-wide virtual reference service, is a collaboration between public and post-secondary libraries in British Columbia. Following the August 21 announcement by the Ministry of Education that AskAway will not receive funding in 2010, the AskAway Advisory Committee has been discussing the future of the service.  The existing funding for the service is sufficient to maintain Public Library AskAway services through June 2010: the end of the current school year. The AskAway Committee continues to investigate possible models for collaborative virtual reference in British Columbia from July 2010 onwards, contingent on libraries’ ability to staff the service, and will present these to the Association of BC Public Library Directors (ABCPLD).  Post-Secondary AskAway is funded by its libraries in partnership with BCCampus, and this core funding remains in place.  Public Library AskAway service is used by thousands of British Columbians, and has answered more than 110,000 questions since it launched in 2006. Over half the questions answered by the librarians staffing public library AskAway come from BC school children in grades 5 to 12. 53% of AskAway users are new to BC public libraries, and have not used any library service before.  For more information, contact: Christina de Castell (Christina.decastell@vpl.ca ) or Anita Cocchia (anitac@eln.bc.ca ).
• Literary clearcut prompts quick response: BC's beleaguered literary organizations are forming the Coalition for the Defence of Writing and Publishing in British Columbia one day after the Arts & Culture branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & the Arts simultaneously removed all funding from the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia ($45,000), BC BookWorld newspaper ($31,000) and the BC Association of Magazine Publishers ($20,000).  Click here to access the full text of this news release and to learn more about the Coalition for the Defence of Writing and Publishing in BC.

• BCLA’s Bibliotique has a limited number of copies of the Westcoast Impressions 2010 calendars created by students in the IDEA program at Capilano University.  Last year, calendars were sold out by mid November!  Calendars are full colour, and large format.  They include artist statements, Canadian and US holidays, and the lunar cycle.  Each calendar comes individually shrink-wrapped with a protective card insert.  Oder by email to bibliotique@bcla.bc.ca .  Calendars are $15.00 each (plus 7% PST), with a 10% discount for BCLA members (PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A MEMBER IN YOUR EMAIL).  Shipping is free to libraries on the InterLINK or lower mainland college/university delivery routes.   Shipping outside of lower mainland delivery routes by Canada Post is quite expensive – over $5.00 per mailing.  Our suggestion is that orders be coordinated within libraries so shipping can be more efficient and less costly. 

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FEATURED GRANTS

• The BC History Digitization Program is now accepting applications for 2010.  Established in September 2006, the BC History Digitization Program promotes increased access to British Columbia's historical resources by providing matching funds to undertake digitization projects that will result in free online access to our unique provincial historical material.  For information about the program and to download the 2010 application form, please click here . The deadline for applications is December 18, 2009.

• Is your library considering a new green building initiative?  Why not encourage your municipality to access funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund™ (GMF)?  GMFs are still available for use as the municipal share of stimulus projects and other green infrastructure initiatives.  GMF is open for business and ready to help finance local infrastructure projects at below-market rates.  Whether you are looking at financing options to take advantage of recent stimulus funding or to fund other green municipal projects, GMF can help. It’s not too late to access funding for this year. Applications submitted by early December 2009 will be reviewed by March 31, 2010. For more information on capital project funding, visit the GMF website or contact Paul Gregory, GMF Outreach Officer, at 613-907-6291 or email pgregory@fcm.ca .

Has your library taken advantage of a grant or funding program you’d like to share with the rest of the trustee community?  If so, please contact Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org with the details.

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FEATURED RESOURCES

• How much benefit does your institution, your user, receive for every dollar spent by the library? What's the annual return your institution realizes on what you spend on your collection? Cost/Benefit Analysis and Return on Investment are measures often used by financial managers to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of their budget policies.  If you haven't looked into value/ROI calculators yet, you need to. Using them is one of the best ways to prove your value to the people who control your money. Don't wait till they're trying to cut your budget…start using value calculators now! They don't take perfect measurements, but they can be quite eye-opening to those who wonder why libraries should continue to eat up precious funding: Libraries historically have greater ROIs than many other organizations.  Check out the three calculators linked from this Marketing Libraries blog post : ROI/cost benefit, retail value calculator, and database ROI calculator. The creator of the calculators is the US National Network of Libraries of Medicine.
  

• The Marigold Library System’s publication Marketing 101: Expanding the Library’s Customer Base details the seven things people need to know about the library in order to help increase the library’s customer base. This publication can help guide you when you’re planning a marketing program, refreshing your existing communication tools or thinking about enhancing services and programs.  The guide is also posted on the Library Association of Alberta site under “Advocacy” and is intended for wide distribution and use. (Marigold would appreciate acknowledgement on any material from Marketing 101 that is reprinted.)

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UPCOMING EVENTS

• The Canadian Library Association is pleased to announce that October has been designated as Canadian Library Month!  The idea for a month dedicated to library and information services in Canada was developed by library partners from across the country to help raise public awareness of the valuable role that libraries play in the lives of Canadians.  This year’s theme is Your Library, Your World: Now More than Ever.  Resources, including a backgrounder, copies of the poster and bookmark, and promotional ideas from previous years can be found on the CLA Library Month webpage.  Tell CLA how your library has celebrated this year by emailing a short article (200 words) with pictures to jgreen@cla.ca . If chosen, the article will be published in the December issue of Feliciter. Entries must be sent to Judy Green no later than November 2 for consideration. October is a busy month for libraries: October 16, 2009 is Canadian Library Support Staff Day; and National School Library Day is October 26, 2009.

• October is Health Literacy Month, and BC’s health librarians are celebrating by raising awareness of health literacy. Health literacy is the ability of people to access, understand and use information to make decisions and maintain their health. According to the Canadian Council on Learning, “60% of adult Canadians lack the capacity to obtain, understand and act upon health information and services and to make appropriate health decisions on their own.” There is a strong link between literacy, education, and health status in Canada; thus the Health Libraries Association of BC encourages health professionals, the public, and librarians everywhere to raise Canada’s level of health literacy.  Healthcare professionals can ensure that they communicate to patients in a way that patients understand. The general public can practice daily reading and help foster a love of reading in the next generation of Canadians. Librarians can assist the public in connecting with health information at the appropriate literacy level for each individual, and promote quality health information resources to the public. For more information on health literacy in Canada,and health literacy month, see the Canadian Council on Learning’s Health Literacy in Canada page and Helen Osborne’s Health Literacy Month site.

• On October 14, Vancouver and Gibsons Public Library Employees will help raise money to support grassroots HIV/AIDS-related projects in Africa by daring to come to work dressed and accessorized in ways that leave no doubt as to how cool and wild, hot and sexy library people really are!  CUPE 391 has initiated this dare, with Management support, as part of "A Dare to Remember," a fundraising campaign organized by The Stephen Lewis Foundation .  A CUPE 391 Dare Fundraising Page has been created on the Stephen Lewis Foundation's A Dare to Remember website.  So on October 14, expect to see Vancouver and Gibsons library workers wearing  colourful, interesting outfits, crazy hats, extraordinary earrings and exotic earrings . . . or dressed in other ways that showcase their amazing personalities, hobbies and interests.  It will be a Day and a Dare to remember!  Please spread the word . . . and consider sponsoring our dare.  Donations of any amount are welcome.  For more information see Library Employees Dare to be Cool and Wild, Hot and Sexy (or Just Goofy and Silly) on the CUPE 391 website.

• Leader’s Circle – Fraser Valley, October 21 through July 2010.  Leader’s Circle is a monthly opportunity for voluntary sector leaders to learn together, and from one another; to develop a network of support; and to share and receive ideas and feedback. The program consists of eight breakfast workshops beginning October 21, 2009 through July 2010 and is designed for Executive Directors and Board Members. For more information, click here or contact Marife Sonico at 604-637-8289.

• The BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association is gearing up for the Drop Everything and Read! challenge on October 26, 2009.  Please click here for further information and consider participating in this excellent literacy initiative.

• Videogames, Virtual Worlds and Real Learning...October 26, 2009, 4:30-6:00 pm, Dodson Room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC. Every day millions of children and youth login to virtual environments where they play, socialize, create and explore a digital landscape as avatars or "virtual characters".  By the end of 2011, researchers estimate that 80% of active Internet users will be using virtual worlds. While virtual worlds are undeniably popular among children and youth, they have attracted the attention of anxious adults, teachers and librarians.  Parents and child advocates suggest that videogames are dangerously addictive and even toxic to real-life pro-social development.  Others decry the blatant commercialism and commodification of childhood experience.  Researchers Dr. Kathy Sanford and Liz Merkel from the University of Victoria and Dr. Eric Meyers from The University of British Columbia will share what they have learned about the nature of videogaming and virtual worlds. This special event has been sponsored by UBC's School of Library Archival and Information Studies in collaboration with the UBC Education Library and Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.  A live podcast of the panel presentation will be available so that participants off campus may join with us for this exciting National School Library Day event.  For more information about this event, contact Jo-Anne Naslund, joanne.naslund@ubc.ca , or 604-822-0940, or, Simon Neame, simon.neame@ubc.ca .

• Announcing the TD National Reading Summit: "Reading and Democracy," November 12 and 13, 2009.  The TD National Reading Summit will bring together writers, educators, publishers, librarians, and public officials who care about crafting a blueprint for a reading Canada. Speakers from across the country and around the world will share their research and experience in developing reading promotion programs, and delegates will lay the groundwork for implementing new programs and policies with both provincial and federal participation. For more information, email info@nationalreadingsummit.ca .

• April 22-24, 2010 – BC Library Conference.  The BC Library Association, the BC Library Trustees Association and the Health Libraries Association of BC invite you to the sunny, scenic Okanagan for the 2010 BC Library Conference at the new Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, just two blocks from the beach and Okanagan Lake.  The Conference Call for Proposals is now available at www.bcla.bc.ca/documents/BCLC_Conference_Call_for_Proposals2010.pdf – the deadline for submissions is Monday, October 26th, 2009.  Registration for delegates will open in early spring 2010.

BCLTA welcomes the submission of upcoming events of interest to trustees.  Please send notice to Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org to have your event included in next week’s bulletin.

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MEMBER INFORMATION REQUESTS

• BCLTA hereby issues a call for resolutions to be considered at the Association’s upcoming Annual General Meeting, to be held Saturday, April 24th in conjunction with the 2010 BC Library Conference in Penticton. Resolutions must be forwarded to BCLTA by February 23, 2010 (60 days prior to the AGM) and shall only be accepted from Institutional Members in good standing.  Voting Representatives of Institutional Members may also put forward resolutions from the floor of the AGM which, if duly seconded, shall require a three-quarter majority to be considered.  Please forward all resolutions to admin@bclta.org .   

• BCLTA is looking to update its Strategic Planning Resources webpage at www.bclta.org .  Please contact Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org if you have experience with a project consultant who provided excellent facilitation of your strategic planning process – or if you know of, and would recommend to other library boards, a company or person working in this field.

Do you have an information need, issue or concern you’d like to put to the larger trustee community?  If so, consider submitting a member information request to Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org .  Often our best resource is each other!

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ADVERTISEMENTS

Advertising in BCLTA’s Open Door newsletter, weekly member bulletin and website is now available to businesses, consulting firms and others who provide goods and services of interest to library trustees and public libraries.  Please contact Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org for information on BCLTA advertising criteria and pricing.

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