2024 Conference Registration Now Open | |
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Cadmus Delorme will be the presenter for this year's Mary Donaldson Lecture on the evening of Thursday, May 2. Cadmus Delorme, a Cree and Saulteaux, is a citizen of the Cowessess First Nation, where he served as Chief from 2016 to 2023. Mr. Delorme received a Master of Public Administration in 2016 and an honourary degree from Saskatchewan Polytechnic in 2023. During Mr. Delorme’s time as Chief, his focus was on political sovereignty, economic self-sustainability, and cultural rejuvenation. In April 2023, Mr. Delorme decided not to run for a third term and is now Partner to OneHoop Consulting Group and to Flowing River Capital Group which focuses on enhancing Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action #92, Business and Reconciliation.
The 2024 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference will be held May 2-3, 2024 in Regina, SK at the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Centre.
Conference registration is now open! Register before March 15 to get the early bird discount. Visit our website for a full conference schedule and to learn more about our speakers and sessions.
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Conference Sponsors & Exhibitors
SLA is also now seeking sponsors and exhibitors for the 2024 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference. This event brings together library and information service professionals from every part of Saskatchewan’s vast library sector. The diversity of the anticipated 200 conference delegates offers a wide reach for your organization or company, with delegates attending from public, academic, school, and special libraries.
Partner with us to reach our delegates and receive a wide range of benefits. Take a look through our 2024 Sponsorship & Exhibitor Prospectus to learn more about our event and what you can expect as a sponsor and/or exhibitor.
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Freedom to Read Week
Resources Available
Freedom to Read Week (FTRW) is just around the corner, running from February 18-24 this year! Make sure your library is ready to celebrate this important event.
Freedom to Read has once again created posters and social media graphics in both English and French that anyone is free to download and use. Digital copies of the poster are free, and print copies are also available to order for a fee. Please note that, since the digital posters are now free, SLA will no longer be purchasing the poster on behalf of Saskatchewan libraries. Each library will need to download their own digital poster.
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Free FTRW Webinar
SLA is hosting a free webinar as part of our FTRW celebrations, titled 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. 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.
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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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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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SLA Board Seeking Member at Large Nominations
Are you looking for a great opportunity to contribute to your profession? The Saskatchewan Library Association is currently seeking nominations for a Member at Large board member!
As a board member with the Saskatchewan Library Association, you have an opportunity to lead and influence the direction of the Association. You will become familiar with issues affecting libraries of all types and have a voice in broader issues related to libraries.
As an organization, we work collaboratively to improve and support libraries through advocacy, communication, engagement, professional development, and networking. You will gain experience that contributes to your professional portfolio as well as engage with colleagues at a personal level.
This position is a two-year term from 2024-2026. The SLA Board usually meets five to seven times per year, and many meetings are held virtually. Members at large are also required to participate as members on two SLA committees.
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Thank You for Supporting Family Literacy Day
Thank you to every library, staff member, and library patron who participated in Family Literacy Day on January 27!
It is wonderful to hear about all the amazing programs that were being held in libraries across the province on that day, including a Family Literacy Day Stuffy Sleepover at Meadow Lake Library! The photos on the right show the Family Literacy Day program that took place at Regina Public Library's Sunrise Branch.
Has your library recently run a fantastic program you want others to know about? We want to hear about it! Send an email to info@saskla.ca with some information about the event, when and where the event took place, and your photos, and we may feature it in an issue of SLAte!
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• 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
• Mar. 1 - Mary Donaldson Award of Merit application deadline
• Mar. 15 - Early bird registration deadline for the 2024 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference
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Hello everyone,
Big news out of Toronto this past week at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference! The Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB) and the Toronto Metropolitan University Centre for Free Expression (CFE) have announced a new partnership combining their efforts on a single, shared database tracking library challenges all across Canada.
The newly-combined CFE-CFLA/CFAB Library Challenges Database tracks any and all challenges filed against Canadian library materials, programs, displays and room usage, including the type of complaint, the reason(s) listed for the complaint, the action(s) requested by the complaint, and the action(s) ultimately taken by the library. Submissions to the database may be made either anonymously or under the name of the library that has received the challenge, and may be either current challenges or examples of historical challenges that the library has received.
Paired with the CFE Library Policy Database (a vast cross-section of currently active policies in libraries across Canada for easy reference and inspiration) and the CFE Profiles of Challenged Books (a quick-reference guide to frequently-challenged library materials in Canada including awards lists and review summaries for each item), libraries and librarians in Saskatchewan and across Canada will be well-equipped in 2024 to handle the ongoing increase in challenges as they arrive. As the essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson and the video game Mortal Kombat 3 both famously once said, "there is no knowledge that is not power."
Until next time,
James Hope Howard
SLA President
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CFLA Representative Needed
for ALA Committee
The American Library Association (ALA) Office of Accreditation is seeking a nomination from CFLA-FCAB to serve as a Canadian representative on the Committee on Accreditation from June 2024 to June 2028.
Individuals from CFLA member associations (including SLA) are invited to put their name forward by contacting CFLA-FCAB by email at info@cfla-fcab.ca by Friday, February 9th, 2024. Please include a short summary describing your interest in serving on the Committee, including any relevant experience. Only the selected individual will be contacted, but CFLA-FCAB thanks everyone for their interest.
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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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