ISSN 2369-4939
Volume 6 Issue 6
June 1 , 2020
 


Letter from the President

Greetings! It is a beautiful day in Regina - lots of sun and very little wind. It made for a lovely picnic lunch today. I am trying to find the beauty and the little things to celebrate during this time of uncertainty. I know a lot of you have been affected by COVID-19 - either in your personal life or in your work life. I don't think that anyone can say that they have not been affected. At the very basic level, I feel that everything just takes more energy. Make sure you are doing what you can to take care of yourselves. Be gentle. Even though many workplaces are opening up again, many of us are still trying to figure out what that means.
Photo Credit: Andrew Marshall

I missed seeing you at the Saskatchewan Libraries Conference and I missed the learning opportunities it normally provides us. I hope that we are able to have an in-person conference in May 2021. I, again, want to thank everyone who contributed to what would have been an awesome 2020 conference.

You may be wondering what this means for the 2020 AGM. Wonder no more! Like many other associations and library regions, SLA will be having a virtual AGM. We will be communicating the details to you in the coming days and all necessary material will be made available on the website. The AGM will be held on June 25 at 10:00 a.m. Save the date! Please remember that we will need a quorum of 25 members to move forward.

 
SLA Annual General Meeting: June 25, 2020

Save the date! Please join us on June 25, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. for our Annual General Meeting (AGM). The meeting will be held virtually with more details to follow, including software platform, agenda, and annual report. The  audited financial statements, 2019 meeting minutes and proposed bylaw amendments are already available for viewing. 

More information will be available on our website soon.


Saskatchewan Libraries and COVID-19

On May 5, SLA wrote a letter to the Minister of Education requesting that libraries be included in the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan. We have been informed that public libraries fit into phase four of the plan. We anticipate that guidelines will be provided prior to reopening. We understand that libraries across the province vary in size and services, and the approach taken by library leaders may differ based on those variances. SLA will keep providing you with information as we receive it.

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan libraries are active in  looking for options for reopening  and speaking out about the impact of COVID-19 in libraries . If you would like to share how COVID-19 has impacted your library or your life as a library worker, please contact us at slaadmin@saktel.net.


Congratulations to Mary Donaldson Award of Merit  Recipient 
Toby Cocks

The Saskatchewan Library Association is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2020  Mary Donaldson Award of Merit is Toby Cocks. Toby has extensive experience as an Early Childhood Educator including eight years as a Library Clerk and Children's Programmer at a Public Library in British Columbia.

Photo Credit: Toby Cocks
Toby describes libraries as bustling, busy, challenging, diverse and engaging places.  She notes that they can be noisy, full of life, a second home for many and a great place for networking, relaxing, learning, enjoying and just being.  She has chosen a career in the library field because she enjoys helping people and she finds the diversity challenging and exciting.  Whether shelving or ordering books, finding answers to patrons' questions, providing book recommendations, offering computer assistance or planning and implementing programming Toby is keen to contribute. 

Congratulations to Frances Morrison Award Recipient Bill Sgrazzutti

Photo Credit: Trevor Kiel
SLA is pleased to acknowledge Bill Sgrazzutti  as recipient of the Frances Morrison Award. Bill's career of more than 20 years of service at the University of Regina Library includes innumerable contributions at the local, provincial, and national levels. Locally, he has served generation s of University of Regina students and faculty, initially as a subject liaison librarian for music and education, then as an Associate University Librarian, next as the University Librarian, and finally as the Strategic Initiatives Coordinator. Provincially, he led the growth and development of RegLIN into CASLS, a consortium of Regina libraries. Bill has also been an active member and volunteer with SLA, including serving as co-Chair of the 2017 SLA Conference in Waskesiu. Nationally, while University Librarian; he represented the University of Regina Library at the Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL).


Expression of Interest for SLA Representative on the 
University of Regina Senate

SLA is asking for members to consider representing SLA on the University of Regina Senate. The term of appointment is from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023.  There are typically three Senate meetings held per academic year in the fall, winter and spring.

Decisions on academic programs and related matters generally originate in the faculties, are reviewed by a University academic committee, are considered by Executive of Council  on behalf of the University's Faculty Council, and then are decided upon by Senate. The Senate currently has representatives from 43 different organizations. Click here for further information.
 
Please submit your expression of interest including a brief bio to Dorothea Warren at slaexdir@sasktel.net before June 26, 2020.

Thank you for  considering this opportunity.


CFLA-FCAB Invites Applications for the Position of Executive Director

The Canadian Federation of Library Associations / F édération Canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB) invites applications for the position of Executive Director - Independent Consultant (Executive Director).


Online Storytimes: Copyright Guidelines for Canadian Public Libraries During COVID-19

CFLA-FCAB has released guidelines for Public Libraries to deliver children's storytime online. 

Click here to view the guildelines. 


TD Summer Reading Club COVID-19 Update

TDSRC is working hard to  shift to an exclusively online program and to find ways to support libraries and families through this difficult time. They have compiled a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list to help
 address some of the questions you
may have about the changes being made to the Club.




Culture Days 2020: September 25 to October 25
This year, Culture Days is extending beyond the traditional Culture Days Weekend to a more inclusive and interactive 4-week schedule of activities. Culture Days will run from September 25 to October 25, 2020.

Event registration will open in early June and will support in-person events, digital presentations, live-streamed events and self-guided activities. 

Click here for more information.


SPL Gathering Donations to Support Vulnerable Youth and Families

Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) is gathering donations of toys, games, and activities to build care packages for vulnerable youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kits are being developed for kids ages 0 to 18 and are intended to make it easier for young people to stay at home and have fun while following physical distancing protocols.


University of Saskatchewan COVID-19 Community Archive

The University Library at USask has launched a   COVID-19 Community Archive to document life in Saskatchewan during the global health crisis. The purpose of the archive is to provide valuable source material for researchers-faculty, students, journalists, historians and writers-studying how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the university and the province at large. As a community-driven initiative, the digital archive will include submissions from residents that chronicle individual or collective experiences. This includes photographs, social media posts, videos, creative projects, email, blog entries, journals, and personal reflections. You can submit your content to the archive and view recent submissions at  covid19archive.usask.ca.


Palliser Regional Library Digital Academy

Palliser Regional Library is offering short online courses that are available 24/7. More information is available here or through their website.


OSAC Showcase Cancelled

The Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC), out of an abundance of caution during these unprecedented times, has opted to cancel Showcase 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the OSAC staff and Board of Directors were trying to delay this decision as long as possible, it has become obvious that a gathering of 250 people with artists and agents travelling from across the country was not going to be possible this October.

 
SaskCulture Updates

We would like to congratulate Dean Kush for his new position as CEO of SaskCulture. Dean brings a wealth of experience to this position, including his 10 years of experience within SaskCulture, initially as Program Manager and for a longer period of time, as Associate CEO. 

SaskCulture's Annual General Meeting (AGM) has been rescheduled to  September 11, 2020. Their Annual Report will be available by June 11.

Click here to read the full message.

Willow Awards AGM: June 6, 2020

Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards will hold their annual AGM on June 6th at 9:00 a.m. This will be a virtual meeting held on Zoom in accordance to social distancing measures. Please use the contact form if you are interested in attending. 

Click here for more information.


Library Journal Updates

Click here to read the five most-popular Library Journal articles that people enjoyed recently.

A message from Meredith Schwartz, Editor-in-Chief, can be viewed here.


Value Study of GLAMs in Canada

The Canadian Museums Association, on behalf of the Ottawa Declaration Working Group, commissioned Oxford Economics to develop a study on the value of galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) in Canada. The study aims to capture the fundamental role played by non-profit GLAMs in Canada. The report can be viewed  here.

  
Newsletters from other cultural organizations

 
 
Saskatchewan Library Association
10-2010 7th Ave.
Regina, SK S4R 1C2
 
Phone: 306-780-9413 or 306-780-9409
Fax: 306-780-3633
Web:   saskla.ca
 
 
SLA reserves the right to change or edit any submission or to refuse publication in its entirety.
The deadline for receipt of submissions for SLAte is the 25th of each month.


Everyone, Including Culture, Wins When You Buy Lottery Tickets

 The core funding that SLA receives through SaskCulture is part of the Lottery Trust where a percentage of every lottery ticket sold goes to support sport, culture and recreation groups within Saskatchewan. It appears that recent lottery sales are not meeting expectations, which will not have an immediate effect on SLA. However we encourage you to remind audiences and arts council members that buying lottery tickets benefits the entire community.  Saskatchewan Lotteries has also launched an app that you can download  in the App Store or Google Play. More information is available on the Saskatchewan Lotteries website.