Alberta Library Conference

Alberta Library Conference presentation by Harper Collins

Presentation by Harper Collins at Alberta Library Conference

Bring your rainbow flags and glitter, and come on out for Pride Month celebrations at the library. Learn how and why your library can participate, what others in the province are already doing, and about some of the resources available to support staff and community members alike. This session will begin with a very brief primer on terminology and etiquette for working with the LGBTQ+ community, context about Pride celebrations, and recent highlights from Alberta communities. Library-specific content will cover ideas for Pride month programs and community participation, and ways to ensure your library is welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community year-round through staff training, policies, facilities and programs. 

In the fall of 2018, Kyla conducted a pilot study at the University of Alberta School of Library and Information Studies to learn more about how emotional labour manifests in public library workers’ interactions with difficult patrons. This session will begin with a brief history of the research on emotional labour, and then go over the pilot study and its findings. Through the stories of the anonymous public library workers we can better understand the emotional labour demands of public library work. Ultimately, emotional labour will never disappear from library work, but together we can find a way to recognize its existence and value.
Learning Objectives:

• Understand what emotional labour is.
• Discover how emotional labour manifests in frontline public library workers’ interactions with difficult patrons.
• Learn how organizational issues play a role in emotional labour.

Programming for adults isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be notoriously difficult! Unpredictable attendance, hard to reach audiences, competing for space in busy schedules – these are just some of the reasons you might be tempted to turn your focus to safer programming bets (early literacy anyone?). Edmonton Public Library’s Adult Services Team has tried to break out of this comfort zone by piloting a variety of previously untested adult programs to see what sticks: passive programming like the Summer Reads ’18, to extremely active programming like the Tour of EPL library bike tour, special events like a literary and local themed spelling bee, volunteer-led DIY workshops, live concerts, guest lectures, “Learn Local” discussion groups, and more. At this session the presenters will share what they've tried, what they’ve learned, and where they’re going next to keep growing great adult programming at the library.
Learning Objectives:

• Identify a wide variety of adult programming ideas to try.
• Gather ideas, tips, tricks, and inspiration for adult programming.
• Creative inspiration

From loaning books to interlibrary loan, the Copyright Act affects how libraries do their work. With the move from print to digital, increasingly libraries lease rather than own subscriptions to journals, ebooks, and databases. The terms of the licence (contract) signed determines how a library can use a product. This presentation will be an overview of copyright and licencing basics.
Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the definition of a library under the Copyright Act
• Analyze some of the differences between fair dealing and fair use
• Understand why jurisdiction is important in a licence

 After a focus group revealed that the citizens of Yellowknife were short on affordable family friendly (and adult non-pub) activities the Harry Potter Escape Room was born. This session will describe in detail how to plan, promote, and execute a successful literary themed escape room. To date, the Harry Potter escape room has brought over 200 people into the library and the current waiting list includes over 25 more teams eager to be part of future sessions.

Shannyn was a municipal councillor, library board trustee and local board member from 2013- 2017 when she became a privacy breach victim. With a unique work-related knowledge of access and privacy legislation, Shannyn embarked on a challenging journey to understand Alberta’s access and privacy legislation as it relates to public bodies and individuals' rights. Her experience as a trustee and breach victim can help public bodies such as libraries understand that serious consideration should be given to preparing privacy breach response plans, including communication strategies that are as open as possible. A good communication plan with the affected individuals is a cornerstone of an organization’s response to a privacy breach, but only if that plan is in place and tested before the breach occurs.
Learning Objectives:

• Define how to recognize a privacy breach.
• Examine the 5 step response plan.
• Discover how to become a privacy champion for your library!

Sometimes libraries have to ‘Find a Way’ to build – or rebuild - a relationship with their local governments. That relationship can be a positive, mutually reinforcing one; however, it can also be something less desirable. Municipal council members are elected by the people of their communities to deliver a wide range of programs and services, and there is always more work to do than there are resources available to do it. This is complicated with the notion with some that libraries have outlived their useful life, and some councillors will wonder why they waste money on a service that nobody uses. If trustees understand how local governments work, how they identify their priorities, and where they get their information, the library board stands a better chance of creating a positive relationship with local governments. Together trustees and staff can find a way to make it happen.
Learning Objectives:

• Understand Alberta local government structure.
• Learn how local governments choose from competing priorities.
• Discuss ideas about how library colleagues have kept the profile of libraries high.

This session will identify challenges of researching newcomers to the public library and their perspectives, including the difficulties in eliciting detailed responses from varied age groups, diverse families, ethnic and cultural sensitivities, language and other barriers; all with a view to better understanding how newcomers use a public library.  Presenters will provide a summary of the challenges and rewards of such research as libraries seek to address the issues of serving more diverse audiences. Newcomers are often suspicious of researchers due to their experiences with government institutions from their home country, and face many challenges in their adopted country related to language, bias, technology and other issues that native Canadians may take for granted. 
Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the importance of empathy in research, listening to user responses, and quantifying anecdotes.
• Learn about time-based metrics and their significance in research.
• Understand how to adapt/adopt research methods for specific audiences.