Registration is now open for our 2019 Annual Conference: 50 Years of Celebrating Libraries. Please visit our conference page to view our fantastic program and to register.
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;
Thank you to our Sponsors
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.
2019 Keynote Speaker: Beth Maddigan
We are proud to announce that Beth Maddigan will be a keynote speaker at this years conference.
Beth Maddigan is the Head of the Education Library & Commons at Memorial University. She has worked in libraries since 1982 in seven different positions, three different types of libraries, and two provinces. Beth is an advocate for community literacy and free library programming. She was the lead author for three books on these subjects and continues to research community-led library initiatives in public and academic libraries.
Keep up to date as the planning continues:
For the NLLA 50th anniversary conference, we are seeking proposals, the deadline date is March 18th, 2019. Extended until March 29th!
The NLLA is pleased to announce the 3rd year for the Conference Bursary for the 50th Anniversary Conference. The bursary will be open to all members of the NLLA currently residing in Newfoundland and Labrador. The bursary can be used for travel expenses and/or accommodation. Funds will be awarded on an as needed basis.
POST-CONFERENCE SOCIAL
Tuesday April 30th, 2019 5:30pm
Merlo’s Inferno
193 Kenmount Road
(not included in conference fees)
2019 NLLA Conference Bursary: Time is running out, get your applications in soon!
NLLA’s 50th Anniversary Conference will take place over two days, on Monday, April 29th and Tuesday, April 30th, 2019. This year, our theme is 50 years of Celebrating Libraries.
The NLLA is pleased to announce the 3rd year for the Conference Bursary. The bursary will be open to all members of the NLLA currently residing in Newfoundland and Labrador. The bursary can be used for travel expenses and/or accommodation. Funds will be awarded on an as needed basis.
Bursary Guidelines:
Deadline for Application will be Friday April 12, 2019.
Funds can be collected at the 2019 NLLA Conference. If you are unable to attend the conference, the bursary will be forfeited. Please note, due to limited funds, if the number of applicants exceeds the funds available for bursaries, bursaries will be awarded to as many applicants as possible. Not all costs may be covered and will be reviewed on a case-by-case situation.
- Who can apply
- You must be a member by the time you apply
- What the funding will cover
- The cost of two-way travel from hometown to St. John’s
- Accommodation associated with conference attendance in St. John’s
- What do I need to provide
- Application form
- Accommodation invoice/receipt
- Receipt(s) can be submitted after the conference. In some cases, it may not be possible for recipients to get accommodation receipts until they checkout. Additionally, travel receipts may not be issued until a return trip is completed. Bursary funds will not be issued until receipts are received.
- How to estimate travel expenses
- Driving – Gas is charged at $0.35/km
- Bus – DRL Price Calculator
- Air – Air Canada, WestJet or Pal
- To qualify, members must be:
- Employed in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in a library/archive/museum related field and have worked in that field for at least one year
- Must have prior authorization to attend or take part in the conference from your supervisor/employer
- You can become a member when submitting the application by also submitting the membership application and fees.
- The reviewing of applications and awarding of the bursary will be made by the Bursary Planning Committee, comprised of members of the conference planning committee and chaired by the Vice President of NLLA.
Call for Proposals for the NLLA 50th Anniversary Conference Extended to March 29
NLLA’s 50th Anniversary Conference will take place over two days, on Monday, April 29th and Tuesday, April 30th, 2019. This year, our theme is 50 years of Celebrating Libraries.
Libraries and library workers in Newfoundland and Labrador have long played a significant role in the history and culture of our province. From our very beginnings, we have strived to preserve, serve, and educate; we have supported and empowered users by providing rich learning and social spaces, and sometimes just by providing a safe and welcoming place to go. We work continuously to ensure that our communities have access to information, technology, and resources for learning, and to build and share collections that support and preserve the culture and history of our province.
The value of libraries in Newfoundland & Labrador can be seen in the number of people who pass through our doors, both physical and virtual. It can be seen in the grass-roots protest that emerged in 2016 when the people of our province learned that their public libraries were under threat. Libraries are valued in our province, across communities and library sectors, because we retain our core values even as we continue to evolve; learning, transforming, and making new discoveries alongside the communities and people we serve.
For five decades the Newfoundland and Labrador Library Association has witnessed and supported both our ongoing values and our continuing transformations. Our association brings together library workers from all sectors, building and enriching our own community, while advocating for our libraries and the people who use them.
Now is the time for us to celebrate all that we have accomplished. In honor of the NLLA’s 50th year, we want to hear from you, our members and supporters. What does 50 Years of Celebrating Libraries mean to you? How does your library practice our core values? What new discoveries have you made? What have you learned from the past? What do you look forward to, as we move into the next 50 years?
For the NLLA 50th anniversary conference, we are seeking proposals for the following presentation types:
Long presentation or workshop:
45-minute sessions, composed of either a 30-minute presentation and 15-minute question period, or a 45 minute workshop. May be either practice-based or research-based.
Short presentation or workshop:
30-minute sessions, composed of a 20-minute presentation and 10-minute question period. May be either practice-based or research-based.
Lightning talk:
7-minute timed presentations, designed to give attendees a brief glimpse into an idea, project, program or activity.
Book teaser:
10-minute presentations consisting of a book talk and reading of a short excerpt. Teasers can be based on any book chosen by the presenter, including fiction, non-fiction, adult or children’s literature (does not have to be authored by the presenter). Please state book title in abstract.
The deadline for proposals is Monday, March 18th. Please submit your proposal using our online form (https://goo.gl/forms/8J9tBaP5Zb1ZrTOn2), and remember to include:
- An indication of the presentation type (long presentation, short presentation, lightning talk or (book teaser).
- The presentation title plus a brief abstract (max. 250 words for a long or short presentation; max. 100 words for a lightning talk or book teaser) describing your topic and the goals of your presentation.
- Contact details (name, library, position, telephone number and email address) for each speaker.
- A brief (max 50 word) biography for each speaker.
For questions or comments, please contact Conference Chairs Donna Inkpen (dinkpen@mun.ca) and Katie Lawton (catherine.lawton@mi.mun.ca) or Janet Goosney (jgoosney@mun.ca) of the NLLA Conference Program Committee.
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.
2018 Annual Conference: Preliminary Program
The program for our 2018 Annual Conference: Smooth Sailing through Rough Waters on May 7 is almost finalized. We currently have over a dozen talented and inspiring speakers scheduled from public, academic, and provincial libraries and community organizations. You can visit our conference webpage for more details.
Have you registered yet? Online registration is open, plus we have a conference bursary available to assist you with attending this year’s conference.
nlla.ca 