NLLA President Comments on Library Closure Review: We Need to Address Chronic Underfunding

NLLA President, Krista Godfrey

NLLA President, Krista Godfrey, spoke to CBC today about the provincial government’s announcement that it would be suspending the public library closures until a review can be done. Godfrey told CBC, “The best plan would have been to make an informed decision and have a transparent process, and obviously that’s not what happened to begin with, but better to realize that a mistake was made.”

“We’ve had a lot of feedback from communities, they’ve been very upset, kind of blindsided by this decision, so I think this will give them a chance to actually have their voice heard, which is excellent.” CBC reported that Godfrey said it’s vital now to ensure the committee conducting the review looks at individual libraries to make informed decisions if they move ahead with closing any of the locations.

“Libraries are great equalizers, they are part of people’s lives from birth to death,” she said.

“One of the things I’m hoping will come out in this review is how underfunded this system is and will show that in order to provide the best system, we need to address the chronic underfunding that has happened.”

Read the full CBC article.

NLLA Executive Meeting Schedule

The NLLA Executive will be meeting on the following dates for 2016-17:

June 14
July 12
August 9
September 13
October 11
November 8
December 13
January 10
February 14
March 14
April 11

Welcome the 2016-2017 NLLA Executive!

We’re pleased to announce the newly elected 2016-2017 NLLA Executive members are:

President: Krista Godfrey
Vice President/President Elect: Kate Shore
Treasurer: Kristen Romme
Secretary: Stacey Penney
Membership & Recruitment: Patrick Gamsby
Professional Development & Events: Patti Bryant
Library Technicians and Assistants Representative: Donna Inkpen
Past President: Amanda Tiller-Hackett

NLLA Exec 2015/2016 Meeting Schedule

The NLLA Executive met on September 15. Future meetings are scheduled for:

October 6, 2015
November 17, 2015
December 15, 2015
January 12, 2016
February 16, 2016
March 15, 2016
April 12, 2016
May 17, 2016
June 14, 2016

If members have any issues they would like to communicate to the NLLA Executive, please contact current president, Amanda Tiller-Hackett.

Positions available on the Executive Committee

The NLLA Nominations and Elections Committee opened nominations during the Fall 2013 general meeting. We are seeking nominations for three members of the executive committee. Terms take effect as of the spring General Meeting, to be held on June 10, 2015.

The positions available are:

• Vice President/President Elect – A three year commitment to the executive committee, the Vice President learns the ropes and plans the Spring Conference, serves as president the following year and Past President the year after that. Travel to Toronto for The Partnership meetings in August and January is required. NLLA President and VP receive complimentary registration at the OLA Super Conference.
• Treasurer – A two year commitment to the executive committee, the Treasurer shall collect and disburse all monies of the Association, subject to the direction and approval of the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall manage the Association’s bank account and facilitate the transfer of signing authorities. The Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget and financial statement for the year just past on behalf of the Executive Committee and work closely with the Director of Recruitment and Membership.
• Library  Technicians & Assistants Representative – A two year commitment to the executive committee. The LTA Representative shall serve on the Standing Committee on Professional Development and Events.

If you are interested in taking advantage of a great opportunity and serving on the executive of the NLLA, please contact the Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, Kathryn Rose.

2014-2015 Executive Committee

Erin Alcock, Past President, 2013-2014 and Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee would like to announce the successful candidates from this year’s election at the April 28 Annual General Meeting:

• Vice President/President Elect is Amanda Tiller from the Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University
• Secretary is Emily Blackmore from Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries

A big thank you to Amanda and Emily for stepping forward and taking on these important roles!

Becky Smith will be staying on as Treasurer for an additional year and Ryan Lewis will be transitioning from his position as Secretary to the Director of Recruitment and Membership.  Extra thanks to them both for all of their hard work.

2014 Conference Keynote: Azzo Rezori

CBC News Reporter, Azzo Rezori will be the keynote speaker at our 2014 Annual Conference

NLLA is pleased to announce the keynote speaker for our 2014 Annual Conference: Head in the Cloud, Feet on the Ground, will be CBC News reporter Azzo Rezori.

We have some excellent presenters this year from the Newfoundland & Labrador Public Library and Memorial University Libraries who will be covering topics like children’s digital literacy, Wikipedia editing, and Linked Data. We also have an exciting “lightening round” to close the conference where 6 speakers will give exciting, face-paced, short presentations. Visit our conference page for the full programme!

The NLLA Annual General Meeting will also be held at 2:00-3:00 pm when we will be accepting nominations and voting on our new executive officers.

Today is the last day for online registration. We hope to see you on Monday!

Nominations for Executive Positions are Open!

The NLLA Nominations and Elections Committee opened nominations during the Fall 2013 general meeting.  We are seeking nominations for two elected members of the executive committee.  Terms take effect as of the Spring General Meeting, to be held on April 28, 2014.

• Vice President/President Elect – A three year commitment to the executive committee, the Vice President learns the ropes and plans the Spring Conference, serves as president the following year and Past President the year after that.
• Secretary – A two year commitment to the executive committee, the Secretary is responsible for minutes of all executive and general meetings and overall communication with association members.

If you are interested in taking advantage of a great opportunity and serving on the executive of the NLLA, please contact the Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, Erin Alcock.

Please consult our Constitution for more information.  

This year we are piloting online elections!  The intent is to allow all members to vote, not just those who attend the general meeting in person.  Please stay tuned for more information and the election itself (to be held mid-April).

The NLLA wants you!

The NLLA nominating committee is seeking nominations for one officer of the association, the Vice President/President Elect.

• This is a three year position; Vice President for the first year, President the second and Past President in the final year.
• Activities and responsibilities include; planning the NLLA Spring Conference in the first year and learning the ropes so that you can act as the official representative of the Association.

If anyone is interested but would like to ask some questions please get in touch. Nominations will be heard from the floor of the annual general meeting to be held from 10:50am – 11:50 am on May 13, 2013 but will also be accepted via email to me ekalcock@mun.ca in the event that you cannot attend this meeting (please drop me a line either way, it will be useful to know that nobody is interested in doing this sooner rather than later). The election will be held at the annual general meeting, votes will be by secret ballot (special arrangements for those members unable to attend this meeting can be made. Please get in touch if you would like to take advantage of this).

We are also seeking a volunteer or possibly two to serve as coordinators of NLLA’s Canadian Library Month and Freedom to Read week activities for the upcoming year. Again, if more information required, please get in touch.

Please consider getting involved in our awesome association! These positions are open to any interested members.

Erin, President 2012-2013

Libraries Without Librarians Don’t Make Sense

CBC News released an excellent article today on the Newfoundland & Labrador Public Library cuts, entitled “Libraries Without Librarians Don’t Make Sense.”

NLLA Past-President, Crystal Rose, who attended a budget forum organized by the NDP, is quoted in the article. Rose said the NLLA is “just baffled at the lack of planning and consultation that went into the decision-making for the budget cuts, and I think the public library system is a perfect example of the short-sightedness and the complete lack of understanding that went into the layoffs.”

Rose went on to say, “The analogy I would use would be if you took a hospital and [then] you laid off all the doctors, and then you said to the remaining staff, ‘We’re just going to divide that work up amongst you guys. Oh, we’re going to fire some of you as well, and, oh, the public is not going to be affected.”

She questioned the logic behind the Provincial Government’s decision-making. “In Corner Brook, with our beautiful new library building, where we have had a librarian for 35 years, we now have no librarian,” she said. “What went into that? What consultation and long term planning went into a decision like that — that you’re leaving the City of Corner Brook without a librarian?”

The NLLA had previously released a statement criticising the lay-offs of NLPL Librarians and library support staff. Please voice your concern to Education Minister Clyde Jackman through our take action form.