Nominations Open for Two SLA Awards | |
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The SLA Frances Morrison Award is an award of merit for outstanding service to libraries given in the name of one of Saskatchewan’s exceptional librarians. This award is open to all, individuals or institutions or groups, and not restricted to professional librarians or members of SLA. The recipient must be nominated by a current SLA member.
The nomination deadline for both awards is Feb. 1, 2024. Learn more about each award by clicking the buttons below!
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Congratulations to Our 2023 Book Spine Poetry Contest Winners | |
SLA is thrilled to announce the winners in each of the four age categories for this year's Book Spine Poetry Contest! | |
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Ages 5-8 Category:
1st Place: Aashwee Pandya
2nd Place: Clark Panchuk
3rd Place: Georgia Thiessen
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Ages 9-12 Category:
1st Place: Gretta Weiler
2nd Place: Kayleigh Collins
3rd Place: Ethan Sjogren
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Teen (Ages 13-18) Category:
1st Place: Ashley Mannerfeldt
2nd Place: Melody Schwartz
3rd Place: Mylee Andrews
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Adult (Ages 19+) Category:
1st Place: Lisa Lam
2nd Place: Gwen Reynolds
3rd Place: Janelle Fettes
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Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's contest! SLA received a total of more than 500 entries, and it was great to see everyone's enthusiasm and creative writing skills. | |
Indigenous Subject Headings Now Available
The Saskatchewan Indigenous Subject Headings Project has the aim of modernizing terms in library catalogues related to Indigenous Peoples in Saskatchewan. This project is a response to the Canadian Federation of Library Associations-Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques call to action 5 that “libraries should strive to decolonize access and classification” and is led by the Multitype Library Board for Saskatchewan libraries.
The Saskatchewan Indigenous Subject Headings are now available online at https://mlb.libguides.com/SK_ISH.
The Multitype Library Board extends its thanks to the many Indigenous community members and library staff who shared their expertise, insight and dedication in supporting this project, as part of a shared journey toward reconciliation. It also thanks the Outreach and Technical Advisory Groups, composed of Saskatchewan library sector staff, for their work on this project.
The Multitype Library Board is hosting a free webinar to share more technical information about the project. The webinar will be held on Dec. 6, 2023 at 2pm.
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Thank You for an
Amazing 2023!
As we draw to the close of 2023, the SLA Board of Directors and staff are looking back on the past year with pride at the accomplishments of our organization.
With the support of our members and our volunteers, SLA has had a busy year!
Over the past year, SLA has:
- Hosted five webinars, with a total of more than 200 registered participants;
- Formed a new partnership with the Saskatchewan Roughriders Foundation;
- Received more than 600 entries between the Get in the Game for Literacy Success Contest and the Book Spine Poetry Contest;
- Engaged with hundreds of people across Saskatchewan through the One Book One Province program, featuring the book Five Little Indians and author Michelle Good;
- Formed the Family Literacy Day grant program;
- Given out dozens of program grants for Family Literacy Day, summer programming, Saskatchewan Library Week, and Culture Days;
- Generated discussion about the importance of intellectual freedom and the services libraries provide through social media campaigns during Freedom to Read Week and Saskatchewan Library Week;
- Partnered with the Saskatchewan Regional Parks Association and the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association to offer the Regional Park Pass Lending Program, with all library regions participating and a total of 1,200 regional park passes circulated throughout the province;
- Hosted the 2023 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference, with nearly 150 delegates attending; and,
- Launched a new website, featuring a members-only area and giving members the ability to manage their own membership information online.
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None of this work would be possible without the hard work of our committed volunteers or without the support of our institutional and individual members. Thank you also to our funder, Sask Lotteries, for enabling SLA to continue its important work of furthering library service in Saskatchewan.
We look forward to another exciting year in 2024!
Consider Donating to SLA
Your donation goes directly to supporting the opportunities SLA provides for library and information service professionals as well as the programs that benefit residents all across the province.
SLA is a non-profit organization that offers valuable programs and program supports, professional development opportunities, and networking opportunities to its members. SLA is also committed to advocating for all types of libraries and to furthering library service in Saskatchewan.
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• Dec. 1 - Nominations open for the SLA Frances Morrison Award and for the Honourary Life Member Award
• Dec. 6 - Multitype Library Board webinar on the Indigenous Subject Headings Project
• Jan. 27 - Family Literacy Day
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Hello everyone,
I’d like to begin today by congratulating all winners in our annual Book Spine Poetry Contest! This year’s contest had hundreds of great entries to sort through, and I know that our jurors for this year were very impressed by the creativity on display from all around the province. (A big thank you to all of our jurors as well!) The full list of winners for all age ranges is now available on our website.
Congratulations are also in order for all contributors to the Saskatchewan Indigenous Subject Headings (SK ISH) Project, which has formally launched its subject headings listing document on Nov. 13 after three years of planning, consultation, engagement and hard work to create Saskatchewan-specific and culturally appropriate subject headings for the decades to come. This step of the project represents a significant milestone for library services to Indigenous peoples in Saskatchewan, and I will be very excited to see the new subject headings make their way into our catalogues over the coming months and years.
It’s been another successful and busy year of library service all across the province; the late-1900s musical act Smash Mouth once wrote that “the years start coming and they don’t stop coming," in a song that is now old enough to be considered Classic Rock. (Sorry.) So here at the end of another year, from all of us to all of you, Happy Holidays! May you receive all the books that you’re looking forward to, and have all the time you’ll need to read them.
Until next time,
James Hope Howard
SLA President
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WILU Conference
Call for Proposals
From May 15th – 17th, 2024, Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library will host the 51st annual Workshop on Instruction in Library Use (WILU) at the Richmond campus in Metro Vancouver, B.C. WILU is devoted to teaching and learning in libraries and this year’s theme is Embracing Change.
The WILU Planning Committee invites session proposals that consider what it means to embrace change in an evolving and ever-shifting landscape, which can include topics such as: artificial intelligence, academic integrity, Indigenous knowledge, universal design in instruction, accessibility, compassionate community, and many more.
The deadline to submit a proposal is Dec. 4, 2023.
WILU is an annual Canadian conference where delegates meet to discuss timely topics on information literacy.
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OCLC Offering New
Free Courses
OCLC is offering four new on-demand free courses for libraries, archives, and museums.
Archive, library, and museum staff face similar challenges when responding to a crisis, de-escalating conflict, and addressing burnout. OCLC is excited to share four new on-demand courses that provide staff in cultural heritage institutions with information and tools to learn how to prepare for and handle these situations.
The four courses available are:
- Introduction to Crisis Communications for Libraries, Archives, and Museums
- Crisis Communications Planning for Libraries, Archives, and Museums
- From Burnout to Balance
- De-escalation Strategies for Libraries, Archives, and Museum Staff
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SLAte Submissions
Have something you want to see in SLAte? Send us a submission! The deadline for SLAte submissions is the 25th of each month, and submissions must be emailed to Lynn Penner at lpenner@saskla.ca. SLA reserves the right to change or edit any submission, or to refuse publication in its entirety.
SLAte is an open-access publication under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY-NC-ND copyright license, excluding all logos and other material where indicated.
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