Inside The Alberta Library
‘Inspiration’ is not an easy word to define. We know it when we feel it. And in the library community, many people seem to be feeling it.
Over the past few months a strategic planning team has been working on a new strategic focus for The Alberta Library. Michelle Toombs, Nancy MacKenzie, Pilar Martinez, Dan Mirau, Kenton Good and Renee Reaume all brought great ideas, energy and inspiration to the initiative.
One of the ideas that came out of our conversations is that The Alberta Library exists to inspire greater appreciation of the value of libraries to Albertans.
That’s, well, inspirational.
The strategic planning initiative was informed by the results of last fall’s NEXT Symposium. As a final report on the symposium was going to print this month, it was clear both from the photos of the participants and the insights gleaned from the feedback that library community members were engaged and inspired by the process.
While we look forward to sharing the results of our strategic planning process and the NEXT Symposium report later this month, there are other signs of inspiration within the library community.
At the Alberta Public Library Services Branch, the MLA Committee Report, Framework for the Future: Positioning Alberta Libraries for the 21st Century, has provided the framework for a new strategic direction for the branch in taking a broader leadership role over the next few years.
Post-secondary library directors are also working closely together through a new committee, seeking new ways to collaborate and address emerging issues.
And later this month many of us will be fortunate enough to get together to share ideas at the Alberta Library Conference in Jasper – one of the most uplifting conference locations in the world.
Of course there won’t be any shortage of challenges as we move ahead together. But perhaps that’s all the more reason why a little inspiration is a good thing.
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TAL Profile: Tim Janewski, Director of Library Services, The King's University College
What drew you to your profession?
I have always been a voracious reader and spent a lot of time in libraries as a kid. After deciding that teaching junior high was not the right career for me, I applied to SLIS at U of A and found a profession that I truly love.
Why do you think libraries are important?
Libraries are a vital part of the infrastructure that supports the intellectual and social life of our communities. There are no other agencies, departments or programs that do the wide variety of things libraries do in our communities.
Who had the most influence over your career?
Heide Blackmore, a friend and former colleague. She is currently Supervisor of Adult Services at the Strathcona County Library. She taught me that it’s important to think before doing and that it’s ok to challenge assumptions. I have turned to her for wisdom a couple of times when making big career decisions and have always appreciated her carefully considered advice on how to make up my own mind.
What major changes have you noticed in your time in the library community?
I have worked in libraries long enough to have seen the transition from card catalogues and paper indexes to ILSs and the Internet, so I would have to say that the evolution of information technology has brought the most obvious changes to the community.
What has been the most rewarding part of working with the library community? What have you enjoyed the most?
The most rewarding part of working in the community is the spirit of collaboration and cooperation that flows between all types and sizes of libraries.
What is the best/most memorable item you ever borrowed from the library?
A thesis on gold deposits in the North Saskatchewan River. It provided me and my Dad with maps to some great gold panning areas in the last couple of years before he passed away. He was very impressed that I could find that kind of information for him.
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise others in the library community.
Most people don’t know that my secret identity is The Kung Fu Librarian! This term at King’s I enrolled in (and survived) Introduction to Martial Arts, despite the fact that I am old enough to be the father of every student in the class.
What is your involvement with The Alberta Library?
I have represented a couple of different libraries on the TAL board for the past ten years and currently I serve on the TAL Finance Committee. I’ve always been a TAL supporter and I’m glad to play a small part in ensuring its continued success.
APLEN launches training wiki
Finding training resources is now easier than ever with the APLEN Training Wiki.
The wiki launched on March 24, provides a virtual space where APLEN Nodes members can seek out vetted resources and share materials that have proven useful in their libraries.
The wiki currently includes resources on such varied topics as
database training, RSS feeds, governance and marketing. In fact, Lauren de Bruin, APLEN Training Librarian encourages library staff to share training materials on any topic – from basic computer maintenance to board roles.
Lauren even invites people to post material they feel is very specific to their library because it may serve as an inspiration for someone else. The purpose of the wiki is to exchange training resources which optimizes the investments made by individual libraries when creating resources.
Lauren vets all items for quality and content. All resources posted must be current or currently useful and meet the training needs of libraries.
Visitors to the wiki will find a variety of materials including slide presentations, handouts, reference information, quick guides, videos, FAQ sheets and more.
The wiki is publicly accessible for viewing and downloading items, but only Lauren and members of the APLEN Technology Training Committee (TTC) can edit, add or delete materials. Lauren invites any member of the library community to download and make use of the resources and to contact their TTC representative if they have a good resource they want to share. (Each APLEN Node has a representative on the TTC.)
Lauren is confident that the Training Wiki will prove to be an open, easy to use tool that supports libraries in their training efforts. See for yourself how easy it is at www.aplentraining.wikispaces.com.
Library Q & A: Alberta Government Library
The Alberta Government Library recently completed a reorganization of services and collections available at their sites. In light of the changes we thought it would be timely to check in with Linda Scott, Manager of Library Services for a quick review.
What was the impetus behind your recent reorganization and consolidation of services at certain sites?
The consolidation helps the Government of Alberta (GoA) meet its current financial constraints, advances the standardization of library services and, most importantly, enables us to preserve library services of the most value to our customers. In addition, the closure of three libraries will free up valuable GoA space.
The change is part of an on-going transition to a new service model that emphasizes electronic access and delivery of information to clients’ desktops, but the standard services, such as reference services, interlibrary loans, tables of contents and current awareness will continue to be offered.
Which sites are open?
Services and collections have been consolidated at four sites:
- 107 Street Site (families, communities and the workplace)
- Capital Boulevard Site (education, culture and government operations)
- Great West Life Site (agriculture, energy, environmental sciences and infrastructure)
- Telus Plaza Site (health, justice and law enforcement)
Click here for a complete list of the ministries served by each site.
What is the scope of your collection?
Each site has a different focus and the scope of our collections is described in the previous question.
We have been focusing more on electronic resources for journals because of storage and access issues. We have quite a number of specialized databases to meet specific client needs (e.g. Agricola and CAB for Agriculture clients) but also a number of general interest databases.
Who do you serve and what services do you offer your clients?
Our primary clients are GoA employees. Our services include reference, interlibrary loans, collection management, circulation, subscription and monograph purchasing, management of electronic journals and databases accessible to all GoA employees.
What access do non-government users have?
Our site libraries are all open to the general public, including consultants, other NEOS clients, students, and the general public. They may use resources on-site or borrow material using a NEOS or TAL card. Reference using on-site resources is provided at the discretion of the reference staff.
What is your relationship with other libraries in the province? Do you offer inter-library loans?
The Alberta Government Library is a member of the NEOS Consortium and benefits greatly from reciprocal access to NEOS collections. We are also TAL members. We offer interlibrary loans from our collections to libraries around the world.
What are the roles of your staff e.g. research, circulation?
Library Director, 4 Head Librarians (one for each site), Web Services Librarian (handles access and website management issues), Licensing and Technical Services Librarian (E-resource licensing and coordination of technical services streamlining projects), reference librarians, interlibrary loan technicians, serials and acquisitions technicians, cataloguing technicians, administrative support staff. Circulation is handled by all staff although technicians and admin support generally have the primary responsibility.
What is your library’s biggest current challenge?
Maintaining contact with ministries that are spread out over the City of Edmonton and the whole province takes a lot of time and effort. As with every library, providing critical resources within the budget is a challenge.
What idea are you most proud of over the last five years?
We have been able to expand our services and access to electronic resources across government, resulting in seamless and convenient access for all clients.
Where do you see the most opportunity for innovation over the next decade?
Expansion of electronic access to materials to all clients within the Government of Alberta and development of electronic methods of delivering training require creativity and training.
Coming soon: the library community speaks out
The library community has spoken. And coming soon, you can read all about it.
Later this month The Alberta Library will unveil Listening in, speaking out - Ideas and Insights from NEXT: A Library Futures Symposium. The document distills the discussions of over 250 library community participants at the symposium, which took place last October.
Conversations at the symposium generated over 250 pages of comments. The report is a snapshot of the themes and ideas that emerged from the discussions.
“The ideas and insights in the report should not be taken as prescriptive in nature,” says TAL CEO Clive Maishment. “Participants were engaging in broad-ranging discussions and were not working toward building consensus.”
Rather, Clive says the ideas and insights can inform strategic thinking and planning and act as a starting point in engaging communities in further discussion. In some cases, the ideas and insights are already being implemented in libraries across the province.
Outcomes for the symposium included contributing to the vision and strategic planning process of libraries and sparking innovation, learning and creativity. The symposium was also designed to build connections and build community.
“Part of the value of the report is that it keeps the conversation going,” says Clive. “The library community is engaged in thinking about the future, and this is part of our broader conversation together.”