Welcome to NSLA

Call for Nominations - Norman Horrocks Award

2010-03-11T12:05:00.002-04:00

The Nova Scotia Library Association is seeking nominations for the

NSLA Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership.

The Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership was established to honour leadership in the Nova Scotia Library community and is given by NSLA for distinguished contributions to the promotion and development of library service in Nova Scotia. Those contributions should be of lasting significance and may be for leadership of various kinds – ranging from local projects to those of provincial scope, and may cover any type of library activity.

Deadline for Nominations is May 31, 2010

Procedures for Nominations:

1. Nominations must include nominee name, address, telephone, fax and e-mail address, if applicable

2. Nominations must be made in writing and signed by two nominators, one of whom must be a current member of the Nova Scotia Library Association

3. Nominators are responsible for documenting the accomplishments of the candidate and for creating a package to support the nomination. Documentation as available and appropriate may be submitted.

4. Nominations must include three letters of endorsement (which can include ones from the nominators)

5. Nominations of persons previously nominated but not chosen may be resubmitted. Receipt of all submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail.

Send Nominations to:

Norman Horrocks Award Committee
c/o NSLA Past President
Yvette Frost
Western Counties Regional Library
405 Main Street
Yarmouth, NS B5A 1G3
yfrost@nsy.library.ns.ca

Call for Nominations - Emile Theriault Award

2010-03-11T11:59:00.002-04:00

The Emile Theriault Library and Information Technology Award recognizes the efforts of a library support staff member who has made a major contribution to their library community.

DEADLINE for Nominations: MAY 31, 2010

To nominate someone:

1. nominations must include nominee name, address, telephone, fax and e-mail address, if applicable

2. nominations must be made in writing and signed by two nominators, one of whom must be a current member of the Nova Scotia Library Association

Nominators are responsible for documenting the accomplishments of the candidate and for creating a package to support the nomination.

Documentation as available and appropriate may be submitted.

a. nominations must include two letters of endorsement (which may include ones from the nominators)

b. nominations to be sent to the NSLA Past President

c. The nominee must work in a support staff capacity in a library in Nova Scotia.

For more information, contact:

Yvette Frost

Past President, Nova Scotia Library Association

c/o Western Counties Regional Library

405 Main Street

Yarmouth, NS B5A 1G3

yfrost@nsy.library.ns.ca

LBANS/NSLA Conference 2009

2009-10-26T10:52:00.002-03:00

Miss the 2009 LBANS/NSLA Conference already? Here are some photos for you:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44009671@N02/
Enjoy!

More Professional Partners needed for 2009-10

2009-10-09T14:54:00.002-03:00

Thanks to all of you who have registered for this year's Professional
Partnering Program. In the next week we'll be sitting down to pair
professionals with students.

The response from students this year has been tremendous, though, and
we need more professionals for the programme. Please consider participating.

Detailed information and registration forms can be found at http://simsa.dsu.dal.ca/cla/Professional_Program.html .

Jessica Babineau and Michael Steeleworthy
CLA Student Chapter co-chairs, 2009-10
student.cla@gmail.com

js462443@dal.ca, steeleworthy@dal.ca

NSLA/LBANS Conference 2009

2009-09-30T16:13:00.004-03:00

Have you booked your room yet for the NSLA/LBANS Conference 2009 in Yarmouth, Oct. 23-25? If not, you had better hurry. Yarmouth is also hosting Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala and Conference on Saturday, Oct. 24 and there are 125 people attending so space/rooms will be at a premium. We have only 10 rooms left (as of Oct. 1 morning) from the ones we have had set aside for the special rate at the Rodd Grand hotel and they could go quickly.

Remember that NSLA banquet is Caribbean theme!

2009-09-10T12:29:00.004-03:00

This is a reminder to everyone coming to the 2009 NSLA/LBANS Conference in Yarmouth, Oct. 23-25 that the banquet on Saturday, Oct. 24 is a Caribbean theme so dress accordingly, por favor! It's going to be hot, hot, hot ...

Call for Applications - NSLA Conference Bursary

2009-08-31T16:59:00.005-03:00

The NSLA Conference Bursary provides financial assistance to a library
staff person who is in need of assistance to attend the NSLA annual
conference.

Requirements:

The applicant must not have attended the conference in the last two years
The applicant must send a letter outlining his/her need
The applicant must be a library staff person and a current member of NSLA

All applications must be received by Sept. 25

The chosen applicant will be notified by October 2

For more information, contact:

Past President
Nova Scotia Library Association

Lynn Somers
c/o Keshen Goodman Public Library
330 Lacewood Drive
Halifax, NS B3S 0A3
somersl [AT] halifax.ca

50 Things to Do on the Way to Yarmouth NSLA conference

2009-08-13T14:23:00.002-03:00

The 50 Things to Do on the Way to Yarmouth and the 2009 LBANS NSLA Conference program are available online:

http://www.westerncounties.ca/events/NSLA/50thingstodo.pdf

http://www.westerncounties.ca/events/NSLA/conference.pdf

Please let fellow NSLA members know and begin planning to register soon and have some great things to do on the way!

Penny Logan Awarded Outstanding Alumni Award

2009-08-11T18:25:00.007-03:00

The School of Information Management is delighted to announce that the Associated Alumni has awarded this year’s Outstanding Alumni Award to Penny Logan (MLS, 1985).

Currently the manager of Library Services at Capital Health, Penny has had a successful career which has included positions in public and special libraries. Her colleagues consistently praise her for her open door policy, her clear thinking, her focus on user-centered services, and her strength as both a leader and a mentor.

Penny has been described as a gracious ambassador for the Nova Scotia library community, and as someone who brings enthusiasm, intelligence, professionalism, a global perspective and a refreshing sense of humour to every initiative with which she is involved. Her many contributions were recognized this past year when she was awarded the 2008 Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership by the Nova Scotia Library Association. As one of Penny’s nominators noted “Penny Logan is a leader in the library field; locally, regionally and nationally. “ Penny is a strong role model for current School of Information Management students and an excellent example of the impressive professionals who graduate from the School.

Please join us to honour Penny Logan at a joint event of the Associated and the School of Information Management, to be held on Thursday, September 17th in the Sculpture Court in the Dalhousie Arts Centre at 6:30 p.m. for a 7:00 p.m. start. At this event we will also be welcoming new students and celebrating the School’s 40th Anniversary.

For further information: Donna Bourne-Tyson (Chair, Alumni Association)
Donna.bourne-tyson [AT] msvu.ca / 902.457.6108

2009 LBANS NSLA Conference program now available online

2009-08-04T11:50:00.002-03:00

The 2009 LBANS NSLA Conference program is now available online:

http://www.westerncounties.ca/events/NSLA/conference.pdf

Please let your fellow NSLA members know and begin planning to register soon.

It is going to be hot, hot, hot!

Bill C-322: an Act to Amend the Canada Post Corporation Act

2009-06-28T10:17:00.005-03:00

Letters were recently sent by NSLA President, Yvette Frost, to all the Nova Scotia MPs asking them to support Bill C-322, an Act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act (library materials), re-introduced by Mr. Merv Tweed, MP for Brandon祐ouris, Manitoba.

View letter (PDF)

Related:
Merv Tweed's Private Members Bill C-322: http://www.mervtweed.com/Bills.htm
CLA Press Release on Bill C-322 (March 2, 2009): http://bit.ly/billc322

2009-06-26T07:09:00.005-03:00

Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research has just published its latest issue (Vol. 4, No. 1, 2009) at http://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj.

Be sure to read the article by Sue Adams, a past NSLA Board member, called Our Activist Past: Nora Bateson, Champion of Regional Libraries. The article "traces the story of one of the colourful leaders of the library profession, who established a regional library system in Prince Edward Island and set the stage for regional libraries in Nova Scotia" making it particularly relevant to all of us in the Nova Scotia library community.

Final call for nominations

2009-05-27T14:36:00.003-03:00

The May 31 deadline for nominations for the Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership and the Emile Theriault Library and Information Technology Award is fast approaching. Please send your nominations to:

Past President
Nova Scotia Library Association
Lynn Somers
c/o 60 Alderney Drive
Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4P8

For more details, see

Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership
http://nsla.ns.ca/aboutnsla/horrocksaward.html

Emile Theriault Library and Information Technology Award
http://nsla.ns.ca/aboutnsla/theriault.html

Fundraising - seeking ideas that work for small libraries

2009-05-06T09:08:00.001-03:00

Can you describe a successful fundraising event held by your library
or Friends of the Library? What practical tips can you offer to
others? What lessons were learned?

Visit the website of Friends of Canadian Libraries and contribute
ideas, documents and links: Please think about what you can
contribute, so that we can share more resources, expertise and ideas (http://www.accessola.com/focal/fundraising.html).

I have also started a blog, http://www.libraryng.com/, and welcome a
dialogue on this topic.

Jami van Haaften
Friends of Canadian Libraries
jvanhaaften@sympatico.ca

NSLA/LBANS Conference 2009 Web pages updated!

2009-04-16T10:05:00.007-03:00

The Nova Scotia Library Association and Library Boards Association of Nova Scotia 2009 Conference Web pages have been updated with new information about the hotel, reservations and exhibitor and sponsor forms.
You can check them out here:
http://www.westerncounties.ca/events/NSLA/nslaindex.html
We'll see you in Yarmouth from Oct. 23-25, 2009 where we will help You Find the balance!

Nova Scotia Library Association Invitation!

2009-04-07T10:20:00.003-03:00

The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
on The Global Economy

Plus Question & Answer Session with Frank McKenna
Deputy Chair of TD Bank Financial Group

On behalf of the Power Within Inc, we are pleased to present to you and your guests an opportunity to see the Honorable President William Jefferson Clinton live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The event will take place from 3:30PM to 5:30PM on Thursday May 28th, 2009.

For a limited time, members and guests of Nova Scotia Library Association are eligible to participate in this extraordinary session at an “early bird” rate.

Register general tickets today at an “early bird” rate of $99 plus GST. (A savings of $30 off the public rate of $129). VIP executive tickets (preferred seating) are available at $169 (a savings of $30 off the public rate of $199). Call today because these tickets will sell out fast.

For complete details, please visit http: http://www.powerwithin.com/pdf/Clinton_Halifax_2009_RM.pdf

To Register: Call Toll Free 1 866 886-4775

Call Toll Free 1 866 886-4775 and be sure to let Ryan know that you are calling for the Nova Scotia Library “Early Bird” rate. Visa, MC and AMEX are accepted forms of payment.

Group Rate: Register 9 tickets and receive the 10th complimentary (Limited Time Offer).

To receive the Nova Scotia Library Association registration rate, tickets must be registered Toll Free 1 866 886-4775. Online registrations do not qualify for the member rate.

Please forward this invitation to your colleagues and guests so that they can benefit from this advance invitation!

All Sales are final. Tickets are transferable. Please add $7 Service Charge per transaction. Online registrations do not qualify for the Nova Scotia Library Association rate.

Value Added Proposal between Nova Scotia Library Association & Power Within Inc (PWI)

Power Within event May 28th, 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia

The objective of the proposal is to provide a value added benefit for members and guests of the Nova Scotia Library Association while delivering a vehicle to encourage knowledge sharing, leadership development, outreach and networking with business and community leaders. In addition, the proposal creates a method to reward volunteers and recognize staff and members for their contributions.

Power Within Inc (Event Organizers) will provide the following:

1. A membership discount for the Nova Scotia Library Association members (and guests) to participate in the Power Within leadership event

2. All communication/marketing documents relating Power Within events and membership discounts (please refer to sample invitation included with the proposal)

3. Client service staff to coordinate registration requests and delivery of tickets to participants.

4. The Nova Scotia Library Association will receive 1 general complimentary ticket for every 9 tickets purchased by the Nova Scotia Library Association members.

Nova Scotia Library Association will provide:

1. Promotional support – stand alone/dedicated email to network based on the following proposed schedule:

a. Thursday April, 2nd 2008
b. April 12, 2009
c. April 28rd, 2009
d. May 8th 2009

There is no obligation to purchase tickets. Members can respond on their own accord.

2009-04-01T10:06:00.002-03:00

Here is the link to the LBANS/NSLA conference Web site: http://www.westerncounties.ca/events/NSLA/nslaindex.html

NSLA/LBANS Conference 2009

2009-04-01T10:00:00.002-03:00

The 2009 NSLA/LBANS conference planning team is seeking photographs from past conferences for a slideshow. If you have old photos (digital), please send them to iwhite (at) nsy.library.ns.ca. We look forward to receiving those photos!

Call for Nominations

2009-03-13T19:17:00.003-03:00

Each year NSLA sponsors the following awards (please refer to the
links for details):

Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership
http://nsla.ns.ca/aboutnsla/horrocksaward.html

Emile Theriault Library and Information Technology Award
http://nsla.ns.ca/aboutnsla/theriault.html

This is a call for nominations for the 2009 awards to be presented at
the NSLA Conference. Please submit applications before the May 31
deadline to:

Past President
Nova Scotia Library Association
Lynn Somers
c/o 60 Alderney Drive
Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4P8

2009-02-27T16:24:00.001-04:00

The Library Boards Association of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Library Association annual conference will take place from Friday, Oct. 23 to Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 at the Rodd Grand Hotel and Conference Centre in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The conference with its theme of "The Juggling Act: Finding the Balance" is being hosted by Western Counties Regional Library.
The conference Web site is located at http://www.westerncounties.ca/events/NSLA/nslaindex.html

Updates and new links about the conference will be added as the conference date approaches. So please check back regularly.

Halifax Public Library Winner of OLA’s President's Award for Exceptional Achievement

2009-02-18T16:25:00.016-04:00

Halifax Public Library was one of the winners of the OLA’s President Award for Exceptional Achievement awarded at the Ontario Library Association super conference 2009. This award acknowledges an outstanding action or contribution that has in a major or unique way enhanced or furthered librarianship in Ontario.

Halifax was a partner of The Working Together Project, which was conceived by Brian Campbell and Paul Whitney of Vancouver Public Library and involved three partner libraries—Halifax Public Libraries, Toronto Public Library, and Regina Public Library. The Working Together Project, funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada, explored how to apply community development techniques in order to develop more inclusive public library services.

The project sought to achieve two main objectives:

1. Through establishing ongoing relationships with socially excluded people, work collaboratively with socially excluded communities to articulate and respond to their library service wants and needs.

2. Identify and examine systemic barriers to library use for socially excluded people and propose policy and procedural change to address these barriers, including the development of an inclusive service planning model.

In order to achieve these objectives, Project staff worked in four urban neighbourhoods with populations who have been alienated from or who do not feel welcome in the public library. Using community development techniques, staff have been working to both understand the barriers faced by community members and to collaborate with them to eliminate barriers and plan relevant services that meet their self-articulated needs.

The project has provided six key lessons:

Library culture, along with rules and procedures, create significant barriers to inclusion.
Libraries must recognise that same or consistent customer service, which does not take into account socio-economic disparity, results in inequitable services that further disadvantage socially excluded people.
Planning relevant and effective library services for socially excluded community members requires a collaboration of equals between the community members and the library.
Relationship building is at the core of effective service planning.
Staff “soft skills” such as empathy, interpersonal competence, and open-mindedness are essential.
People want to see themselves represented in the library and to have an opportunity to participate.

Their work has been amazing and it has culminated in an important publication, a copy of which was sent to every public library in Canada: The Community-Led Libraries Toolkit, is also available in pdf at www.librariesincommunities.ca.

The Toolkit provides philosophical and practical guidance for all stages of the library service planning process, from developing an understanding of community and needs identification through library policy development, service planning, day-to-day customer service, staff development, and evaluation. In addition to being a valuable resource for managers and librarians working with socially excluded communities, the Toolkit content should also be useful for any staff seeking to develop community-led practices, regardless of the social or socio-economic group they most directly serve.

From left to right: Heather Davis, Toronto Public Library; Tracey Jones, Halifax Public Library; Annette DeFaveri, Vancouver Public Library and National Coordinator of the Working Together Project; André Gagnon, Regina Public Library; Sandra Singh, National Director of the Working Together Project; Brian Campbell, Retired, Vancouver Public Library and Founding Director and former National Director of the Working Together Project; Sam Coughlan, OLA President.

Photo courtesy: Brian Pudden, OLA.

NSLA PRESENTS AWARDS AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2008-11-04T10:31:00.002-04:00

The Nova Scotia Library Association held its annual conference October 3rd-5th in Greenwich, NS. The conference was held jointly with the Library Boards Association of Nova Scotia and was hosted by the Annapolis Valley Regional Library. Approximately 120 library workers and supporters from across the province attended the conference, which included author presentations, a keynote speaker, and a variety of workshops related to this year’s theme, “Sharing Resources, Building Communities.”

Awards were presented at the banquet. Congratulations to this year’s recipients:

Penny Logan, Norman Horrocks Award for Library Leadership
Peggy Hiscock, Emile Theriault Library and Information Technology Award
Dawnita Butler, NSLA Award for Library and Information Technology Student
Amanda Horsman, NSLA Award for School of Information Management Graduate
Kate Oland, NSLA Conference Bursary

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the 2008 LBANS/NSLA conference.

Submitted by
Katharine McCoubrey
Public Relations & Promotions Convenor

Conference Time!!

2008-07-10T16:44:00.004-03:00

The NSLA Conference will be a Joint Conference with the Library Boards Association of Nova Scotia. This will take place at the Old Orchard Inn in Greenwich, NS October 3 - 5, 2008. The Annapolis Valley Regional Library will be your host region.

A wonderful line-up of workshops, authors and speakers has been arranged by the Program Committee for everyone to enjoy. The keynote speaker is Scott Walter of CODE. The authors are Len Wagg, Margaret Read MacDonald, Pamela Hickman, Frances Jewel Dickson, Budge Wilson, Hadley Dyer and Marie-Louise Gay. Workshop topics include technology trends, yoga, reader's advisory, roving, early literacy, history of public libraries in NS, and much, much more.
There are two pre-conference sessions as well with limited seating, so don't delay in registering.

Details and any schedule changes are available here on the Annapolis Valley Regional Library website. You can also get your pdf copy of the program at:

http://www.valleylibrary.ca/NSLA/lbansnslaprogram.pdf

Hard copies are being mailed today.

Charlotte Janes
Chair, Local Arrangements
Annapolis Valley Regional Library

New job posting agreement

2008-03-28T03:43:00.001-03:00

We would like to inform you that NSLA, as a member of the Partnership, has agreed that we will no longer accept job advertisements on the NSLA Listserv.

Instead, employers wishing to post jobs are asked to use the Partnership's Job Board (www.libraryjobs.ca).

The Job Board lists positions available to library and information personnel from coast to coast. If the employer is an institutional member of any of the provincial and territorial library associations in the Partnership, the fee for a two week listing on the Job Board is $50. Non-members pay $75.

This new procedure allows employers to have national exposure for their postings, and NSLA benefits by receiving a portion of the fee as additional revenue for the association.

Thank you.

Lynn Somers

President, NSLA

New discounted joint NSLA/APLA membership

2008-01-24T09:48:00.000-04:00

On behalf of the two executives, Lynn Somers, president of the Nova Scotia Library Association (NSLA), and Donna Bourne-Tyson, president of the Atlantic Provinces Library Association (APLA), are pleased to announce a new discounted joint membership for prospective NSLA and APLA members.

New or renewing members can join both associations and save money in the process! Members will save $15 or approximately 20% when memberships are taken out in both associations. A joint membership will cost $65. NSLA and APLA recognize that there are several library associations to which our members belong and this is one way that we can acknowledge and mitigate the financial impact of multi-association membership and also encourage new members to join. We value the support of all our members and want more library workers to benefit from association membership? commented APLA president Donna Bourne-Tyson.

As APLA is a larger association, it is willing to assume a greater financial risk to facilitate this project. After some discussion, the NSLA and APLA Boards agreed that this trial should be handled like the current membership trial agreement that NSLA has put in place with the Nova Scotia Association of Library Technicians (NSALT). It was agreed that a joint membership rate would only apply to individual members, not to students or to institutions. All NSLA and APLA renewal and expiry notices will be adjusted to note this change, effective February 1, 2008.

APLA will be exploring options for similar joint membership discounts with the other library associations in Atlantic Canada.

NSLA president Lynn Somers notes "We are very excited about this new member benefit. Hopefully it will attract new members in addition to providing our current members with a bit of a financial break".

For more information, please see the NSLA website at http://www.nsla.ns.ca and the APLA website at http://www.apla.ca.

Lynn Somers, somersl@halifaxpubliclibraries.ca
Donna Bourne-Tyson, donna.bourne-tyson@msvu.ca