Join us in welcoming James Hope Howard as President of SLA's Board of Directors!

SLA sought nominations for the role of President in the spring of 2023, and James was appointed to the position of President at the AGM in May 2023. James was officially welcomed into his leadership role at the June 20, 2023 Board meeting.

James brings a wealth of experience to SLA. He is the Director of the Pahkisimon Nuye?áh Library System and is a present member of the Saskatchewan Information & Library Services (SILS) Consortium Board of Directors.

James has also been actively involved in SLA for many years, serving on volunteer committees and as a Member-At-Large on SLA's Board from 2015 to 2017. SLA Board and staff extend a warm welcome to James as he begins his tenure of leading the organization as President.

We also want to extend a huge thank you and our deepest gratitude to outgoing President Amy Rankin for her hard work and dedication leading SLA in the last four years!

Amy was immensely dedicated to the work of many committees. Her involvement and contagious beautiful personality will be missed. We extend best wishes to Amy as she enjoys some new-found time for her hobbies and to spend with family and friends. 

Culture Days Grants

SLA is offering 10 grants of up to $200 each for libraries to offer programming during Culture Days. Half of the grants will be given to programs focused on culture, and half of the grants will be given to programs focused on truth and reconciliation.

Grants are open to any institutional or individual SLA members.

The application deadline is July 13. Applicants will be notified whether or not they are successful by July 21. Click here to apply or learn more!

Saskatchewan Library Week Grants

Need help funding your Saskatchewan Library Week program? SLA is offering 25 grants of up to $250 to help libraries celebrate Saskatchewan Library Week.

Applications open on July 17 and close on August 11. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their funding request by the end of August. All individual and institutional SLA members are eligible to apply.

The application will become available on our website here on July 17!

Congratulations to Our Summer Program Grant Recipients!

Congratulations to the 14 libraries who were recipients of our Summer Program grants! We were blown away with the many applications we received and the high quality of summer programming being offered all across Saskatchewan.

Our grant recipient libraries were: Broadview, Cutknife, Fort Qu'Appelle, Lafleche, Leoville, Lucky Lake, Luseland, Norquay, Outlook, Paynton, Rockglen, Shaunavon, Tugaske, and Wakaw.

The programs being put on in these libraries ranged from summer reading programs to technology training to performances for children, and everything in between. If you live in or near one of the above communities, ask them about their summer program!

We also want to extend a big thank you to our Summer Program grant sponsor, SaskTel, who has generously supported this program for several years. These grants would not be possible without SaskTel's support!

Happy 50th Birthday to

Palliser Regional Library!

Congratulations and happy birthday to Palliser Regional Library, which turns 50 years old this month! The region was founded on July 3, 1973 and has since grown to include branches in 20 communities.

Palliser Regional Library is hosting a mini-fair at its headquarters location in Moose Jaw the afternoon of July 3 to celebrate.

Learn more on Palliser's website here!

New SLA Position Statements

As part of its work over the last year, SLA's Advocacy Committee has been reviewing current position statements. The committee identified two areas where new position statements were needed to highlight SLA's stance on current issues.

The two new position statements are:

• SLA's Commitment to Intellectual Freedom
• SLA’s Commitment to Open Access to Information, Resources, Programs, and Services

These new position statements have now been finalized and posted to SLA's website on the Advocacy page.

SLA Signs on to Statement of Support for Drag Queen

Story Times

In June, The Partnership put forward to its members (including SLA) a statement of support for drag storytime events happening in libraries across Canada and beyond.

After receiving Board approval, SLA has joined the many Canadian library associations in signing on to The Partnership's statement, titled In Defence of Drag Storytime: A Statement of Support from Canada’s Library Associations.

Click here to read the full statement!

SLA Seeking Rep to

The Willow Awards

Are you looking for a great professional development opportunity? SLA is looking for one of its members to provide representation on the Board of Directors of the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards (SYRCA), The Willow Awards Inc.

The mission of SYRCA –Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice –The Willow Awards, Inc. is to promote reading and celebrate Canadian literature. Each year, Saskatchewan children and youth vote for Willow Award recipients from finalists nominated in three award categories.

As an external representative you would provide volunteer board support to SYRCA, The Willow Awards Inc. to advance their mission and organizational objectives and provide follow up reports to the SLA Board of Directors.

The SYRCA, The Willow Awards Inc. board meets on the below Saturdays:

• September 16, 2023 (AGM/Board meeting)
• November 18, 2023 (Board meeting)
• February 10, 2024 (Board meeting)
• June 8, 2024 (Board meeting)
• September 14, 2024 (AGM/Board meeting)

If you would like to get involved in board governance and make a difference in the lives of young readers, celebrating Canadian literature, please email your interest to info@saskla.ca.

• July 13 - Deadline to apply for Culture Days program grants
• July 17 - Saskatchewan Library Week grant applications open
• Aug. 11 - Saskatchewan Library Week grant applications close

Hello everyone,

I’m excited to be writing to you today for my first SLAte appearance as your new President of the Saskatchewan Library Association! I want to extend special thanks to our outgoing President, Amy Rankin, who has done an amazing job over the past four years in leading the organization through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (For a refresher on some of Amy’s incredible contributions during her time as President, please check out the 2022-2023 SLA Annual Report.) Thank you, Amy!

As we enter the height of the Saskatchewan summer, I hope that everyone is enjoying the opportunity to get out and about into the great outdoors, and taking advantage of the chance to explore regional parks for free through the Regional Park Pass Lending Program. The program runs until September 15, and passes may be borrowed from your library of choice for a seven-day loan period. The Saskatchewan Regional Parks Association website offers a map of all regional parks in the province, so please be sure to look for the ones closest to you.

The summer always seems to fly right by, and we’ll be into the fall months before we know it. The SLA staff and board are working hard on some very exciting programming, grants and contests for everyone to enjoy in the months to come, so please stay tuned!

Best regards,

James Hope Howard

SLA President

U of S Seeking Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence

The University Library at the University of Saskatchewan is seeking expressions of interest from Indigenous artists and storytellers to become the library's fourth Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence.

The Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence is a flexible, part-time residency slated to run for 8-12 weeks beginning in January 2024 at the University Library.

The Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence program has two primary objectives:

• To create and participate in programming designed to promote intercultural understanding and story-sharing between and among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. While this will occur primarily at the University of Saskatchewan, there will also be opportunities to deliver programming to community audiences through a partnership with the Saskatoon Public Library.
• To provide time and space for the development of the Storyteller’s own creative storytelling practice.

Click here for more information and to apply!

Saskatchewan Library Association

12 - 2010 7th Avenue

Regina, SK  S4R 1C2

Phone: 306-780-3633

Email: info@saskla.ca

Web: saskla.ca 

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 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. 

The Saskatchewan Library Association gratefully acknowledges the support

of our funding agencies.