Two New Webinars Coming Up! | |
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Professional Ethics & Political Realities: Responding to Intellectual Freedom Challenges in Public Libraries
In recent years, Canada’s public libraries have found themselves at the centre of numerous extremely controversial issues. At the same time, many library professionals are expressing skepticism, if not outright opposition, to what have been long-standing professional principles and ethics — including library neutrality and intellectual freedom — leaving professionals and administrators alike conflicted over how best to respond to these challenges.
How can public libraries move forward delivering excellent public library services representing diverse viewpoints within a pluralistic society? Join Sharon Day and Michael Dudley, representatives from the CLFA-FCAB Intellectual Freedom Committee, in a session to explore the nuances surrounding the challenges and tensions facing public libraries.
This webinar will take place via Zoom on February 21 from 1:30pm to 3pm. It is free and open to anyone living in Saskatchewan as part of SLA’s Freedom to Read Week celebrations.
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Mary Donaldson Award of Merit Applications Open Soon
Are you a student in a library and information technology program? Do you know someone who is? The Mary Donaldson Award of Merit is a $1,200 award open to any student enrolled in a Canadian library and information technology program and who has completed at least one semester of study.
Applications open on January 15 and close on March 1, 2024.
The award recipient is chosen based on a combination of excellence in academic standing, a letter of recommendation from a faculty member in the program, and a commitment to work in Saskatchewan. Preference will be given to candidates who are residents of Saskatchewan and/or have strong Saskatchewan connections.
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Continuing Education Grants Available Now
SLA is now accepting applications for its three Continuing Education Grants! There are three types of grants available:
Individual Member Continuing Education Grant
This is a grant of up to $500 given to an individual to attend any continuing education opportunity of their choosing (e.g. conference, workshop, etc.). You must be an individual member of SLA to apply.
Organizational Continuing Education Grant
This is a grant of up to $1,000 given to an individual or institution for the organization and promotion of a continuing education opportunity (e.g. conference, workshop, etc.). You must be an SLA member, either individual or institutional, to apply.
Conference Attendance Continuing Education Grant
This is a grant of up to $750 to an individual for first-time attendance at the Saskatchewan Libraries Conference in May 2024. You must be an SLA member, either individual or institutional, to apply.
The application deadline for all three grants is February 15, 2024.
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We've Moved!
SLA has relocated its office space to a new location as of January 1, 2024.
We are still in Regina, but are now located downtown in a space that better serves the evolving needs of our organization.
Our new address is:
Suite 14 - 1870 Lorne St.
Regina, SK
S4P 2L7
Please update our address in your contacts and ensure that any mail sent to SLA in the future is sent to this address. Our staff email addresses and phone numbers have remained the same.
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New Workshop Series from The Partnership
Registration is now open for the next big thing from The Partnership's Education Institute – a personal development workshop series called Resolutions.
This four-part virtual workshop series guides participants through personal development topics to focus their mindset, enhance their workplace relationships, and bring them closer to their professional goals! You can choose to attend one, some, or all of the four sessions.
All sessions are facilitated by Dr. Virginie Mesana of Ariadne Coaching, and take place from 12pm to 1:30pm ET (11am to 12:30pm CST) on their respective dates. The workshops are:
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Jan. 8 - Reconnecting with Your Purpose Through Emotional Self Awareness
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Feb. 26 - Improving Your Relationships at Work Through Deep Listening
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Apr. 22 - Setting Boundaries and Asserting Oneself Authentically at Work
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June 10 - Adapting to Change in the Workplace with Better Stress Management
SLA members qualify for the member price. Each session costs $110 for members and $145 for non-members. For the full series, members pay $350.
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Nominations Open for
Two SLA Awards
Do you know someone who has been dedicated to library service in Saskatchewan for many years? Consider nominating them for an award!
Nominations are now open for two SLA awards: the Honourary Life Member Award and the SLA Frances Morrison Award.
The Honourary Life Member Award is given to recognize individuals who have had an active role in SLA and who have made a longstanding contribution to library service in Saskatchewan. Both the recipient and the nominator must be current SLA members.
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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Prison Library Sub-Committee Seeking Donations
SLA's Prison Library Sub-Committee works to address the deficit of reading materials available to incarcerated youths and adults in Saskatchewan’s correctional facilities, and they need your help! The committee is seeking material or monetary donations to help further their efforts.
To donate books, please contact Prison Library Sub-Committee Chair Marika Hunter by emailing marikahunter@gmail.com. Any book donations must be paperback, in good condition, and not overtly violent in nature.
The committee is also accepting monetary donations, which will be used to purchase books that have been specifically requested by correctional staff and/or incarcerated persons. To make a monetary donation, click the button below and indicate that you want your donation to go to the Prison Library Sub-Committee.
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Congratulations to our Family Literacy Day Grant Recipients!
SLA is delighted to announce our Family Literacy Day grant recipients! It is always incredible to see the quality of programming happening in libraries across Saskatchewan. Congratulations to:
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- Eastend Branch Library
- Glenavon Library
- Loon Lake Library
- Marcelin Wapiti Library
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Meadow Lake Library
Moosomin Public Library Branch
Outlook Community Library
Shellbrook Public Library
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We look forward to hearing your wonderful stories of successful programs. Keep an eye out for Family Literacy Day programs happening in your local library on January 27! | |
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• Jan. 15 - Applications open for the Mary Donaldson Award of Merit
• Jan. 23 - Fundraising 101 webinar with Kathleen Crowther
• Jan. 27 - Family Literacy Day
• Feb. 1 - Registration opens for the 2024 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference
• Feb. 15 - Deadline to apply for SLA's Continuing Education Grants
• Feb. 18-24 - Freedom to Read Week
• Feb. 21 - Professional Ethics & Political Realities webinar with Michael Dudley and Sharon Day
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Hello everyone,
Happy New Year, one and all! I hope that you and yours had a fantastic holiday season, and that you’re all feeling rested and relaxed heading into the first stretch of the resolutions you’ve made for the year to come. Acknowledging that we aren’t very far into the year yet, I can boast that I’ve successfully avoided writing ‘2023’ onto anything important thus far in 2024. I also like to get a really early start on my Whamageddon each year, so kindly do not play Wham!’s “Last Christmas” around me for at least the next eleven months, please and thank you.
Looking forward into 2024, the big standout item on our annual calendar is always the Saskatchewan Libraries Conference (May 2-3 this year at the DoubleTree Hotel in Regina – see you there!), but it also always bears mention that our hardworking staff, volunteers, partners and sponsors are planning a full year of programs, contests, awards, webinars and professional development opportunities for members, libraries and information providers all across the province.
We’ll be featuring all of these events, programs and initiatives here in SLAte as we draw closer to each one throughout the year, so please be sure to watch these pages each month for the newest information. It’s going to be another exciting year for library services in Saskatchewan, so let’s all get out there and get started!
Until next time,
James Hope Howard
SLA President
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Free Family Literacy Day Livestream Event
Family Literacy Day is coming up on January 27! This year's theme, set nationally by ABC Life Literacy Canada, is “Let’s have a Family Party.”
On Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27 you are invited to celebrate Family Literacy Day with the Saskatchewan Literacy Network (SLN), the province's nine Family Literacy Hubs and the Provincial Library and Literacy Office by joining in a free livestream event!
The event will feature Saskatchewan writer, spoken word artist and educator Khodi Dill as he shares from his picture book ‘Welcome to the Cypher’ in English. Illustrations are by Awuradwoa Afful. Everyone is welcome to join! Families, classrooms, and groups can sign up for the event, to receive free digital resources and activities and a chance to win a free copy of the book!
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CFLA Copyright Committee Update
At the November 2023 meeting, the CFLA Copyright Committee discussed the following:
- CARL will be meeting with Parliamentary staffers of the Ministers of Heritage and of Innovation, Science & Industry and with officials from the departments of Heritage and of Innovation, Science & Industry regarding copyright and open educational resources.
- Crown Copyright Working Group received feedback from legal experts on their Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices and will be reviewing this feedback.
- AI Working Group - working on a submission to the Federal Government's Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence.
- Accessibility Working Group - Their next step is to send to expert legal review their guidelines for implementing the Marrakesh Treaty in libraries, including guidelines on Reasonable Search. The Working Group also plans to create a separate document focused only on Reasonable Search.
- The E-book Collaboration umbrella group is continuing to review provincial consumer protection legislation as well as the potential for a provincial government to support public libraries ebook licensing changes via provincial legislation.
- Public Lending Right Working Group - should have a working draft of a Public Lending Right (PLR) statement early in 2024.
- CFLA representatives participated in the WIPO SCCR 44 (Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights). Significant progress was made on exceptions and limitations via the African Group and the USA. CFLA made a submission on how Canada's Public Lending Right (PLR) system is separate from copyright legislation. Canada's system of supporting PLR is favoured by non-governmental organizations at WIPO.
Copyright Committee updates submitted by Christina Winter.
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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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