Adults

Over the past few years, I have worked on making staff evaluations meaningful, but have fought against the tediousness of them. By incorporating competencies and moving towards a format that can be reused year after year, staff know what to expect and can use the evaluations for goal setting and self evaluation. By creating an atmosphere of joy, staff evaluation sessions have a stronger, more positive impact on staff, supervisors, and the library as a whole.
CAROLINE VANDRIEL has been the Library Director in Sylvan Lake for over five years. Born and raised in Ontario, she travelled the world teaching before getting her MLIS at Western University and moving to Alberta. She has two cats and a dog and enjoys gardening and looking at old houses.

In this session, we will take you through the steps we followed to create a library program for children with autism and other persons with developmental disabilities (PDD). Learn about beneficial partnerships and resources to create your very own Sensory Storytime.
JENNY COFELL is a Children’s Librarian at Lethbridge Public Library, which is no small order! Jenny has reached new heights by developing innovative community partnerships, integrating play into the library, and being an effective library champion for families and children.
LAURIE DARVEAU-WILLMS is a Library Technician at Lethbridge Public Library. Places, parenting, pets, pinball, paddleboard – not necessarily in that order – sum up Laurie in a nutshell. She is also passionate about creating inclusive programming and spaces.

Advocacy is important for the future of libraries. However, some library professionals are too nervous to explain what they do and what amazing impact it has on the community. Do you have an elevator pitch ready? If you were stopped by a member of city council, could you quickly summarize the great things library professionals do each and every day? Public speaking takes time and practice. The great part is, the more you do it, the better you get. If you are too nervous for public speaking, you are missing a great opportunity to advocate for your library and deliver those important messages to the people that need to hear them the most.
ANDREA NEWLAND is a Consultant Librarian with Parkland Regional Library. She has worked in many different types of libraries since completing her MLIS from Western University in 2002. She has a passion for advocacy, change, and seeing libraries move forward.

Southern Alberta libraries are partnering with health and wellness organizations in the province to bring rubber chickens, skating passes, camping equipment, roving gyms, bike repair stations, symphony tickets, walks in the woods, and much more to our communities. Find out how in this inspiring and entertaining session.
LISA WEEKES is Manager of Partnerships and Community Development for Chinook Arch Regional Library System, which consists of 33 member libraries across southwest Alberta. Physical literacy and lifelong active living are personal and professional passions that guide her regional program and project development. Having worked in the public library world for over 10 years, Lisa believes responsive library collections and programming place libraries in a powerful advocacy position for community development and growth. On the personal side, Lisa enjoys planning and undertaking family trips across Canada and beyond with her husband and two teen sons.
BARBARA LONGAIR is Manager of Public Services and Children’s Services at Lethbridge Public Library and is an active community advocate.

Libraries must do advocacy and fundraising in order to grow in a time of change and opportunity as government funding at all levels tightens. The Board, Director, and Staff at the Okotoks Public Library created a Vision, wrote a fundraising policy, and then began to implement an active advocacy and fundraising campaign. They set up booths at events, met with community groups, planned and organized fundraisers, and worked with local councils and administration. Specific, practical ideas will be outlined during this workshop. Please bring your questions and ideas for advocacy and fundraising to share during the 10-minute discussion at the end of this session.
LORRAINE CATHRO After a 20-year university teaching career, Lorraine gained marketing experience as a sales representative for Scholastic Publishing and as an investment advisor at a brokerage firm. She now assists in advocacy and fundraising initiatives toward library expansion as a member of the Okotoks Public Library Board.
LARA GRUNOW is very passionate about creating a public library that is the hub for its community and believes that libraries can play an integral role in helping create happier, healthier communities. The key is ensuring that stakeholders, potential community partners, and local residents know how our collections, programs, and services can benefit them. That is why, as newly appointed Library Director, Lara makes a point of getting out of her office and into the community.
PAT COE has previous experience with fundraising and advocacy through a wide variety of volunteer and business activities. As a former volunteer and employee at the Okotoks Public Library, she now serves on the Library Board and is participating in advocacy and fundraising efforts for the expansion of the library.

Makerspaces are the big buzz around public libraries today, but without proper planning the project can easily fall flat. This session will detail Airdrie Public Library’s experiences in planning, implementing, and maintaining a makerspace, as well as share lessons learned throughout the process. This session will also talk about the importance of being agile towards change, as nothing goes as planned!
KELLY KIRKPATRICK-LAUZON is the Operations Manager at the Airdrie Public Library. Kelly has been with the Airdrie Public Library for 8 years managing different departments including information services, information technology, technical services, collections, and inter-library loans. Prior to Airdrie, Kelly worked at Northern Lights Library System as the Information Technology Consultant. Kelly is passionate about the role libraries play in creating successful communities of people who are dynamic problem solvers and freethinking, lifelong learners.

Public librarians can feel isolated, as if on islands, battered by the seas of change. We’ll explore ways libraries can build local capacity – in their communities and their libraries - by leveraging partnerships. Concepts discussed will include valuing the unique strengths in each of our libraries, capacity building as a reciprocal relationship between the library and its service community, and authentic partnership. Attendees will leave with two tools they can use immediately in their libraries.
MARGO GUSTINA Deputy Director, Southern Tier Library System Painted Post, NY she/her
Margo Gustina is an outspoken believer in the power of community to lead libraries toward more meaningful practice. As Deputy Director for the Southern Tier Library System, a cooperative which serves predominantly rural communities in New York State, Margo facilitates planning, funding, and governance conversations and processes.

The increasing cost of post-secondary education is a problem faced by students across our country. Although libraries do not have control over contributors such as rising tuition fees and student debt loads, they can provide some financial relief through their collections. Library collection policies have traditionally been designed to exclude textbooks as items that are purchased. However, in the age of digital, the reasoning behind many of these policies could be called to question. Is it time to begin looking at expanding the library’s role in supporting students with some required course materials? How can we design library collections to support the curricular needs of users, while also balancing shrinking budgets and ensuring the needs of our entire communities are met? Over two semesters, Okanagan College Library saved students more than $110,000 in textbook costs by purchasing electronic versions of required and recommended books through library suppliers and making them available through the Library. Learn about the project and the steps involved, what worked well, and what we would recommend others do differently.