Feedback from Town Hall Meeting

In December of 2022 members of the Newfoundland & Labrador library community participated in a town hall to discuss the future of the Newfoundland & Labrador Library Association (NLLA), which has been on pause since the beginning of the pandemic. 

At this time we are sharing the minutes of that meeting, and inviting any comments that you might wish to share.

Finally, please note that prior NLLA membership is not a requirement in order to participate in this process; we welcome comments and feedback from all interested members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Library community.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Janet Goosney, QEII Library
Stacey Penney, QEII Library
Katie Lawton, Marine Institute
Emily Blackmore, NLPL
Crystal Rose, Grenfell

Minutes of Town Hall Regarding the Future of the NLLADownload

What’s Going on with our Web Address?

Our domain name, nlla.ca, was unfortunately hijacked. We are doing what we can to recover it, but in the meantime, we are using our free wordpress URL to maintain access to the site. You can find us at https://nllibraryassociation.wordpress.com.

NLLA Offering Reduced Membership Rates for 2020

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the 2020 NLLA Conference, the NLLA is offering reduced membership rates:

• Librarians: $20 Now $15
• Library Technician/Library Assistant: $15 Now $5
• Student/Library Supporter: $10 Now $5
• Retired Librarian: $10 Now $5

Please consider joining or renewing your membership to help support your library association during this time.

NDP Letter to NLLA

Libraries Matter!

Thank you to the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party for showing their commitment and support to the Newfoundland anf Labrador Public Libraries.

Letter from Alison Coffin, NL NDP [link to PDF].

Newfoundland & Labrador Election 2019

Libraries Matter!

All candidates have been sent letters regarding their stance on the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries, and whether or not they will follow through with the EY Organizational and Service Review recommendations, as laid out in the Future State Plan.

Letter to Dwight Ball, Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Letter to Alison Coffin, New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Letter to Ches Crosbie, Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

Letter to Graydon Pelley, Newfoundland and Labrador Alliance

If you want your candidate to know that Libraries Matter to you, fill out this form and all responses will be forwarded to the party leaders.

NLPL Budget Request

The Newfoundland and Labrador Library Association (NLLA) is pleased that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is invested in the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (NLPL), something exemplified by the spending of almost $250,000 on an organizational and service review of the NLPL as a whole by an external source in 2016.

The recommendations from the EY report have been encapsulated in the Future State Plan, and now the government must truly show they are invested in our provincial libraries by increasing the budget by $1.7 million, bringing the total  budget to just under $13 million.

The EY Report found that, per capita, NLPL is the least well supported library system in Canada.  The requests detailed in Phase One of the Future State Plan, such as increases to library hours, library materials, and programming, as well as improvements to technology, and library leadership, will be the first step in reaffirming the Government’s investment in Public Libraries in this province.

Please see links for correspondence with the Minister of Education Early Childhood Development;

• NLLA letter to the Minister of Education Early Childhood Development
• Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development response letter to NLLA

Thank you to our Sponsors

DIAMOND

 

 

PLATINUM

 

SILVER

IRON

 

 

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES are available please contact Catherine Lawton (Catherine.Lawton@mi.mun.ca) or Donna Inkpen (dinkpen@mun.ca) for details.

NLLA Board Game Social & AGM

Come one, come all to the NLLA Board Game Social & AGM! This is NLLA’s 50th Anniversary – so come hear about some of the upcoming business and events that we will be pursuing in 2019.

While we intend to organize more social gatherings in the upcoming year, we’ve decided to take this opportunity to combine our first social event of the year with the regularly scheduled AGM – this event is scheduled for Friday, January 25, 2019, from 3-6PM, in the Community Room of the A.C. Hunter Public Library at the Arts and Culture Center in St. John’s. The AGM segment of the meeting will begin at 4PM. You are under no obligation to stay for the entirety of the event – pop in to make the rounds, stay for the whole event, or come just for the AGM segment.

We will have refreshments (coffee/tea + snacks), and a selection of board games to try out, courtesy of the newly added Board Game Collection housed at the AC Hunter Public Library.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to melissa_feaver@hotmail.com at your earliest convenience so we are able to confirm attendance numbers.

NLLA Book Face Contest

It’s Canadian Library Month! Enter the NLLA Book Face Contest by uploading your Book Face photograph to social media (either Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) with the hashtag #NLLAbookface. Prizes will be drawn throughout the month of October for some sweet, sweet library swag!

 

What is a Book Face?

It’s a photograph where the cover of a book lines up with a person’s face or body, creating a funny/cool/cute/terrifying result!

NLLA Response to the Future State Plan for the PILRB

Last spring the much anticipated Ernst and Young (EY) report on the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board (PILRB) was released. The Newfoundland and Labrador Library Association (NLLA) saw many gaps in that report, which left more questions than answers. The association has expressed concerns with this report when it first came out.  However, one major EY recommendation with which the NLLA agreed was the need for a multi-year plan that detailed how to resolve existing challenges in the underfunded PILRB.

The much anticipated response from PILRB to the EY report, the first Future State Plan, has now been released and is currently with the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development awaiting budgetary approval.

The Future State Plan is a multi year approach to fixing the system and starts with a 1.7 million increase. This is not new funding; it is a restoration of funding provided to the PILRB prior to funding cuts in 2013. As the plan indicates, these additional funds are essential in order for the PILRB to increase library hours and staffing throughout the province; and to invest in new books and library resources.

The NLLA believes that the Future State Plan is a great start, and we hope to see our provincial government invest in the future of libraries in Newfoundland and Labrador, by first accepting all budget recommendations outlined in this document.

The NLLA will review this document extensively and respond with further inquiries and thoughts in the coming weeks.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Library Association recognizes and would like to commend all those involved in the substantial work that went into the Future State Plan. We look forward to engaging in collaborative discussion on the future of public libraries in the province.