SLA is now accepting session proposals for the 2023 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Libraries Expand Horizons.” This theme invites us to reflect on the many ways that libraries serve, support, and enhance their communities.

Have an idea for a presentation that fits our conference theme? We’d love to hear from you! The deadline to submit your session proposal is November 30.

The 2023 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference will run from May 3-5, 2023 at the Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon. All conference sessions will be held in-person at the conference venue.

Submissions from within Saskatchewan and outside the province are welcome.

Click here for more information and to submit your session proposal!

Prison Library Sub-Committee Looking for Donations

The Prison Library Sub-Committee is seeking your support!

You can help improve access to library resources for incarcerated people in Saskatchewan. The SLA's Prison Library Sub-Committee is currently partnered with the Regina Correctional Center and Paul Dojack Youth Center to provide their incarcerated populations with reading materials.

We need books for adult and young adult audiences. Books must be:

1. Paperback
2. In good condition
3. Not overtly violent in nature

We are also accepting monetary donations, which will be used to purchase books that have been specifically requested by correctional staff and/or incarcerated persons. A particular interest in self-help, memoirs, biographies, and books by Indigenous authors has been identified.

To donate books, please contact sub-committee Chair Marika Hunter at marikahunter@gmail.com. To make a monetary donation, please fill out our online donation form.

Feel free to share this information with any individual or organization that might be interested in this project. 

SLA Seeking New Members on its Continuing Education Committee

Do you have a passion for continuing education and dreaming up new learning opportunities? SLA's Continuing Education Committee is looking for new members!

This committee is responsible for developing and promoting education opportunities for SLA members, adjudicating applications for SLA's continuing education grants, and recommending new education initiatives to SLA's Board of Directors.

Are you interested in joining? Email Tina Kleisinger at tkleisinger@saskla.ca for more information or to express interest.

Yorkton Public Library Opens New Read Indigenous Space

Congratulations to Yorkton Public Library on its brand-new Read Indigenous space!

SLA Executive Director Tina Kleisinger attended the opening ceremony on September 29. The new space includes new technology, furniture, art, and more than 200 books that are all tied to reconciliation.

The Read Indigenous space was created in partnership with the Yorkton Tribal Council, including a $7,500 donation from the Yorkton Tribal Council to purchase new Indigenous books.

Saskatchewan Book Awards

Seeking Jurors

The Saskatchewan Book Awards (SBA) is seeking jurors residing outside Saskatchewan to adjudicate the 2023 book awards in 14 categories. SBA's mission is to promote and celebrate literary and publishing excellence in Saskatchewan.

SBA's Call for Book Submissions closes November 1, and they are seeking jurors from outside the province to ensure they have jurors that are arm-length. The number of books jurors will review depends on the submissions for each award category.

For more information on the criteria and submission guidelines, visit the SBA's website.

Anyone interested in becoming a juror can contact SBA Chair Donna Woloshyn by emailing wolos3@sasktel.net.

SLA Program News

TD Summer Reading Club Updates

1.Award Application Deadlines

The deadline to apply for Library Awards and for the TD Summer Reading Club Accessibility Award is November 14!

Last year Melville Public Library took home second place in the Library Awards, winning $4,000. Apply and give your library a chance to do the same!

Click here for more information on how to apply for these awards.

2.Changes to Ordering Timeline

Library registration and material orders will be accepted starting November 1 this year, with the deadline to register or submit your orders on November 23! This timeline change is to avoid ongoing print industry supply chain issues.

Click here for more information on how to register and order supplies.

SLAte Now An Open-Access Publication

SLAte is now an open-access publication under a Creative Commons license! Under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY-NC-ND copyright license, SLAte is now available for anyone to republish and distribute with attribution.

Click here for more information about how you can share SLAte and how this impacts contributors.

Book Spine Poetry Contest a Success

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in and helped promote our 2022 Book Spine Poetry Contest!

The contest closes today, and we have received more than 400 entries spanning all age groups. We can't wait to read through them and pick our winners!

Greetings!

It has been a busy month at SLA. The staff and Board started the month with a two-day strategic planning session facilitated by Andrea Wagner. We also invited a few SLA members to round out the discussion, which was fruitful. Everyone came out of the room rejuvenated and excited for the next few years.

And of course, we closed out the month with Saskatchewan Library Week and a Board meeting. I was so excited to see all the programming and messaging across the province throughout Library Week. SLA undertook a social media campaign throughout Library Week, ensuring that all library sectors were represented. The messaging is a great example of the snippets we can all use with our funders, government and beyond.

Unfortunately, Megan Ashcroft has announced her resignation from the SLA Board. We appreciate her contributions and dedication to the Board, especially throughout the challenges of the COVID years. We look forward to working with Megan in the future. 

As a result, we welcome Danielle Raymond to the SLA Board as a member at large. Danielle brings with her a great deal of experience both within and outside of the library community. Most recently, Danielle was on the Board of Saskatchewan Association of Library Technicians and has worked at the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation library for a number of years. Danielle is also on the Conference Program Committee. We are excited to be working more closely with Danielle in the coming years.

Most of the committees have met already and I am looking forward to an exciting year of programs and services. Please reach out if you are interested in joining a committee or the Board.  

Regards,

Amy Rankin

SLA President

MLB Survey Seeking Feedback on Cataloguing Practices

The Multitype Library Board’s (MLB) Indigenous Subject Headings project is currently underway. In preparation for when new subject headings will be ready for widespread implementation, the Technical Advisory Group would like to know more about the cataloguing practices being used in Saskatchewan libraries.

MLB has created an online survey intended to be answered by Saskatchewan library staff who manage the catalogue and have specific knowledge of cataloguing workflows. The survey will be open until November 12, 2022.

Click here for the survey.

Please forward this survey to any relevant staff at your institution. Any questions about the survey can be sent to Devon Lemire at devon.lemire@gov.sk.ca or 306-787-1180.

SERP Training and Promotion Survey

The Saskatchewan Electronic Resources Partnership (SERP) Planning and Development Committee has created a survey to collect feedback from SERP partners across all sectors.

This information will be used to investigate training and promotion solutions that make sense for SERP. The survey is open to any staff working in a SERP partner library.

The survey closes November 25, 2022. Click here to learn more or to take the survey!

Saskatchewan Library Association

10 - 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.