BCLTA BULLETIN – September 27, 2009

CONTENTS

Announcements
Featured Grants
Featured Resources
Upcoming Events
Member Information Requests
Advertisements

Announcements

• The Presidents of BCLTA, BCLA and ABCPLD will meet with the Honourable Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education, on Tuesday, September 29th to further discuss long-term library funding and other issues of importance to the library community.  This meeting will take place in conjunction with the 2009 UBCM Convention in Vancouver, and will be followed up by the Minister’s address at the BC Libraries Reception the next evening.  A joint briefing document provided to the Minister in advance of this meeting is available on the BCLTA website at http://bclta.org/advocacywk.html .

• The BC Library Conference Program Committee invites those working, serving, or interested in the fields of librarianship, archives or education to submit program proposals for the 2010 annual BC Library Conference, which is sponsored by the BC Library Association, the BC Library Trustees Associations, and the Health Libraries Association of BC.  The conference will take place in Penticton, at the Trade and Convention Centre, from April 22-24, 2010.  The deadline for submissions is Monday, October 26th, 2009.  Full submission requirements and instructions are available at: www.bcla.bc.ca/documents/BCLC_Conference_Call_for_Proposals2010.pdf . Further information on the BC Library Conference is available through the conference logo on the BCLA website at www.bcla.bc.ca/ .

• CLA Conference & Tradeshow – Edmonton 2010 – Last Call for Proposals.  CLA is pleased to invite members of the library community and other interested parties to propose program submissions for this national event. Proposals are being solicited on any topic relevant to the Canadian library and information professional community. The conference has no set theme, and there are no defined subject streams – proposals on all topics of professional interest will be considered. The submission deadline is September 30, 2009. For further information or to submit a proposal, please visit www.cla.ca/conference/2010/ . 

• The following is an announcement about the loss of provincial AskAway funding for public libraries in BC, from the AskAway Public Library Advisory Committee. (AskAway, the province-wide virtual reference service, is a collaboration between public and post-secondary libraries in British Columbia.) On Friday, August 21st, public library directors in BC received notice from the Ministry of Education that provincial funding for public libraries’ participation in AskAway has been cut as of 2010. The funding – $350,000 in 2009 – supports the provincial coordination and staffing of the program for public libraries and the management services and software. Post-Secondary AskAway is funded by its libraries in partnership with BCcampus, and this core funding for software and administration remains in place.
  
  Thousands of British Columbians access the service, which has answered more than 110,000 questions since it launched in 2006. Over half of the questions answered by the librarians staffing AskAway come from B.C. school children in grades 5 to 12. One commented “I really like how I can ask a librarian anything, especially when I don’t know where to look myself.”
  
  Libraries throughout the province contribute staff to the Public Library AskAway service, available from 10am-10pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am-5pm on Friday and Saturday (closed statutory holidays). Public Library AskAway services will continue to be offered with the remaining provincial funding until at least March 31, 2010.
  
  Over the next few months, the provincial committee that oversees the Public Library AskAway service will consult with public libraries around the province to discuss alternative models for the future of collaborative virtual reference among public libraries in British Columbia.
  
  For more information contact:
  

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FEATURED GRANTS

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 Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org with the details.

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FEATURED RESOURCES

• Check out the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre – a revolutionary and evolutionary facility dedicated to the intellectual, social, cultural, and economic development of people in British Columbia.  The Learning Centre is the gateway to UBC’s extensive library systems as well as to other library collections around the world, and is intended to be a leading facility in the development, provision, and delivery of learning resources and services to British Columbians.  Dr. I. K. Barber will be delivering a mini-keynote speech on the economic impact of libraries in their communities to delegates attending the 2009 BC Libraries Reception at UBCM on the evening of Wednesday, September 30th. 

• 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

• September 30 – BC Library Reception at UBCM.  As in years past, BCLTA and partners (BCLA and ABCPLD) will host a Library Reception in conjunction with the annual Union of BC Municipalities Convention.  This year's reception will be held in Room 1 of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.   This is an excellent opportunity for members of the library community to meet informally with UBCM delegates from around BC and to celebrate local government support of public libraries.  Dr. Ike Barber of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC will deliver a mini-keynote speech on the economic contribution libraries make to their communities, and the Minister of Education will bring provincial greetings as well.  We welcome all UBCM delegates and members of the library community to join us – attendance is free and registration is not required.  If you would like additional information about the reception please contact admin@bclta.org .

• October 2009 is Canadian Library Month!  This year’s theme is “Your Library, Your World: Now More than Ever.”  Find out more at www.cla.ca/clm09 .

• 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 Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org to have your event included in next week’s bulletin.

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MEMBER INFORMATION REQUESTS

• BCLTA hereby issues its first 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 execdirector@bclta.org .

• BCLTA is looking to update its Strategic Planning Resources webpage at www.bclta.org .  Please contact Errin Morrison at execdirector@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.

• BCLTA is interested in gathering examples of small library budgets to establish a best-practices repository for member use.  If you would be willing to share your budget for use as an example, please contact Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org .  Anonymized budget documents are welcome.

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 Errin Morrison at execdirector@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 Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org for information on BCLTA advertising criteria and pricing.

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