SLA is proud to announce we will be hosting the 2023 Saskatchewan Book Awards (SBA) awards ceremony in conjunction with the annual Saskatchewan Libraries Conference.

SLA is a longtime supporter and partner of SBA, and is pleased to take on this important event for the literary community. 

SBA announced this change during its 2022 awards ceremony, held recently on June 23, as its board undergoes transformation to work more closely with its founding partners of SLA, the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild, and SaskBooks.

The conference will take place from May 3-5, 2023 and the exact date of the awards ceremony during that event will be announced at a later date.

Congratulations to all 2022 SBA award winners! We look forward to being more closely involved in the celebration of next year's winners, and in the years to come.

Click here to watch this year's SBA awards ceremony on YouTube!

SLA Committee Launches Prison Library Program

Nearly 30 boxes of books have been given to correctional facilities, thanks to the hard work of a new SLA committee.

The Prison Library Sub-Committee, which operates under SLA's broader Advocacy committee, started up in the summer of 2021. Since then, the sub-committee's five members have been hard at work researching the need for books among Saskatchewan's incarcerated people. The members are: Marika Hunter (chair), Shannon Carnahan, Jo Shepherd, Alan Kilpatrick, and James Richards.

On June 3, the sub-committee did its first drop-off, giving eight boxes of books to the Paul Dojack Youth Centre. On June 8, Regina Correctional Centre received 13 boxes of materials for male inmates and six boxes for the White Birch Remand Centre (a women's prison). All these books came from donations gathered by sub-committee members and from weeded materials donated by the Regina Public Library.

The sub-committee has obtained partnership agreements from prison administrators, and members worked with correctional staff to determine which kinds of books were allowed and sought after by inmates.

Moving forward, the sub-committee plans to make quarterly deliveries to these same institutions. They also plan to contact booksellers and publishers about the possibility of fulfilling specific material requests made by inmates and correctional staff.

Continuing Education Grants Available

Are you thinking about attending a conference or workshop? Or thinking about organizing one? You could get a grant to cover your expenses!

SLA is currently offering two kinds of Continuing Education grants to its members:

• Category 1 grants are open to all individual SLA members and cover up to $500 of eligible expenses to attend a continuing education opportunity of your choosing. 
• Category 2 grants are open to both individual and institutional SLA members and cover up to $1,000 in eligible expenses to plan and promote a continuing education opportunity held in Saskatchewan.

The deadline for grant applications is August 15. Click here to apply or for more information.

Grants Creating Program Opportunities

Ten libraries across Saskatchewan are bringing in exciting and engaging summer programs after receiving a grant to make it happen.

Applications for the SLA Summer Performer Tour grants closed June 6, and now 10 libraries are receiving $300 each to create in-person or virtual summer programming. These grants are generously sponsored by SaskTel.

The libraries pitched many wonderful ideas, including putting on magic shows, doing bookmark and feather painting, holding Lego building sessions, and bringing in local authors to do readings. All of these programs will engage communities and bring more people in to their local library.

The recipients are:

• Raymore Public Library
• Ogema Public Library
• Willow Bunch Branch Public Library
• Canwood Public Library
• Lipton Public Library
• Marcelin Public Library
• Jansen Public Library
• Choiceland Public Library
• Foam Lake Public Library
• Norquay Public Library

Congratulations to all our grant recipients. We can't wait to hear about all the fun you have with your performances and activities!

SLA Program News

2022 Saskatchewan Library Week Theme Announced

This year's Saskatchewan Library Week (SLW) theme is "Libraries Expand Horizons," reflecting the endless possibilities that begin with libraries. Libraries provide resources to build community and further our understanding of ourselves, new places, diverse peoples and identities.

This theme was selected after the SLA Programming Committee ran a theme contest, and "Libraries Expand Horizons" was chosen from among a lengthy list of entries. This winning entry was submitted by Lindsay Baker from Wapiti Public Library, so congratulations, Lindsay!

SLW will run from October 16 - 22 this year. As in previous years, SLA is offering grants of up to $250 to member libraries to provide programming for SLW. Click here for more information or to access the grant applications.

Culture Days

Culture Days is happening from September 23 – October 16 this year. SLA is offering grants of up to $200 to member libraries to offer Culture Days programming.

The programming may be used to hire artisans, purchase supplies, offer virtual programs, and more. Click here for more details and to access the grant applications!

Children’s Summer Performer Tours

SLA is creating two videos libraries can access for free to use for children's programming this summer. The videos will be available on the SLA website and shared on SLA social media in early July.

The first video features artist Dustin Ritter, who demonstrates collaborative mural painting. Dustin is a visually-impaired visual artist who teaches drawing and painting to youth and adults. He recently spearheaded a collaborative art show at the Regina Public Library entitled “Make a Mark” that included over 50 participating artists

The second video features Shyla Gaebel, who demonstrates yoga for children from an Indigenous perspective. Shyla is a Dakota woman from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and has been on a journey of reclaiming her roots and identity. She has taught yoga through many organizations, including the First Nations University of Canada, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, SUNTEP, All Nations Healing Hospital, SaskGaming, Indigenous Services Canada, and White Raven Healing Centre.

SLA Program Coordinator Changing

SLA's current Program Coordinator, Leslie Charlton, is moving on to a new opportunity at the end of July. Leslie has been with SLA since November 2020, beginning as the Research and Administrative Assistant and then moving to the role of Program Coordinator just a few months later. Since then, she has brought creativity, fresh ideas, and limitless enthusiasm to SLA as an organization and to its programs. Thank you for all your hard work, Leslie!

We also want to give a warm welcome to our new Program Coordinator, Mary Lou van de Bon! Mary Lou comes to us after more than a decade of working for Regina Public Library, and also brings experience working with non-profits. Mary Lou will be shadowing Leslie for a few days in July to learn the role before joining us at the end of August. Welcome, Mary Lou! 

Greetings! 

The SLA Board is in the transition period that happens each summer. We had a Board changeover meeting in June, where outgoing Board members were able to transition their knowledge to incoming Board members. 

2022-2023 is a time of change for SLA. We have three new executive board members, all of whom have much experience and history with SLA. In the office, I would like to wish Leslie Charlton the best of luck as she moves to a new opportunity and finishes her work at SLA at the end of July. I would like to express my gratitude to Leslie for her hard work and her creativity, which have always been appreciated!

We have also undertaken a search for an Executive Director, since Dorothea Warren is retiring. We expect to have an announcement in the coming weeks.

Although most committees have gone into hibernation for the summer as usual, the One Book One Province (OBOP), Program and Continuing Education committees have continued to meet. OBOP is selecting a title for 2023 and will begin program planning. The Program committee has started planning for Saskatchewan Library Week in October. And the Continuing Education committee has been working on marketing ideas for the Indigenous Student MLIS Education Bursary.

I invite you to consider joining one of SLA’s many committees and/or to consider a Board position in 2023. I would also like to invite interest in the President’s role as my term will end in 2023 and it is important to give you the opportunity to think about it and to reach out to me to learn more about my experience. Please email me at amyj_rankin@hotmail.com if you are interested or would like to learn more about the position.

Happy summer!

Regards,

Amy Rankin

President, SLA

Saskatchewan Library Association

10-2010 7th Ave.

Regina, SK S4R 1C2

Phone: 306-780-9413

Fax: 306-780-3633

Email:  slaexdir@sasktel.net; slaadmin@sasktel.net; slaprograms@sasktel.net

Web: saskla.ca

SLA reserves the right to change or edit any submission or to refuse publication in its entirety. The deadline for SLAte submissions is the 25th of each month.

The Saskatchewan Library Association gratefully acknowledges the support

of our funding agencies.