Communications

This session will explore the library “story” or brand in a broad way and challenge you to begin thinking about your own library’s brand. Find out how library staff and volunteers (including trustees) contribute to that story every day, and how social media (both the library’s social media and individual employees' or volunteers' social media) can affect that brand.
Learning Objectives:

• Understand what the library brand is, and apply that to your library
• Recognize how individual employees and volunteers build the library brand
• Identify the elements of a good social media policy

In the spring of 2017, the Calgary Public Library launched an ambitious project to revitalize Alberta’s oldest public library, the Memorial Park branch. Learn about some of the exciting ways in which CPL is animating its spaces, trialing new services, and fostering community dialogue. Take home scalable ideas to revitalize your own library.
Learning Objectives:

• Explore new services and programs being trialed at Memorial Park
• Identify creative, scalable ways to engage with patrons

The Community Development Project is aimed at defining and implementing a new way of looking at community outreach activities throughout the Ottawa Public Library. It starts from the premise that we will engage with the community itself to help us define barriers to library service, identify solutions and work together to implement new initiatives.

Most of us are familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Some of us already use these tools for our libraries. But are we using them effectively? Let us show you how to create a social media plan and set goals so you can get the most out of social media and effectively market your library, programs, and services. You will learn why a social media presence is essential for your library’s advocacy and marketing, tips on creating the best posts for each platform, and how to create your own customized social media plan.

F08 - Connecting With Multicultural Communities: Intercultural Communication Workshop
Fri Apr 21 2017, 10:30am–11:45am, Cordova Ballroom

SESSION DESCRIPTION

BCLA's Diversity and Multicultural Services Committee conducted an online survey in April 2016 to identify challenges faced by libraries when serving multicultural communities. The survey received 77 responses from libraries in BC: 71% indicated that their biggest challenge was a lack of familiarity with multicultural communities and their needs, while 81% of the libraries indicated that intercultural training would help them better serve ethnically diverse communities.
This workshop will be a first step in addressing these challenges through exercises, problem-solving, and interactive discussion of real-life library scenarios submitted by library staff.

SPEAKERS

Ravi Basi, Surrey Libraries

Biography: Ravi Basi is Manager of Multicultural Services at Surrey Libraries. For the past 25 years she has provided outreach, programs, and workshops to newcomers, immigrants, and refugees in Surrey, BC, one of Canada's most ethnically diverse cities, as well as formed strategic liasions with community stakeholders such as immigrant settlement agencies and the City of Surrey's diversity departments. Ravi has also been involved with ongoing anti-racism programs and initiatives. 

Ravi's work with multicultural communities is fuelled by her own family's experience as immigrants, as well as the conviction that immigrants enrich our communities and are vital to Canada's success on the world stage, and that libraries can play a crucial role in their transition and success.

Fereshteh Kashefi, BSC, MLS, North Vancouver City Library

Biography: Fereshteh Kashefi is Multicultural Services Librarian at North Vancouver City Library where her passion for all things multicultural is focussed on building multilingual collections and improving library services to immigrant communities. 

Prior to moving to Canada, Fereshteh was Head of National Bibliography at the National Library of Iran and also taught Cataloguing and Classification at the University of Tehran.

Thu Apr 20 2017, 9:00am–10:15am, Salon C

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Creating a compelling business case or grant application can make the difference in getting the resources you need. A well-written RFP can result in competitive, high-quality proposals. The skills, structure, and approach used in business cases, grant applications, and RFPs can also be applied elsewhere with great effectiveness. Panelists will share their expertise and best practices from varied perspectives to help you build your own tool kit for business writing success.

SPEAKERS

Deb Hutchison Koep, North Vancouver City Library

Biography:
 

Deb Hutchison Koep is the new Chief Librarian at the North Vancouver City Library. She has several years’ experience in library finance, preparing business cases for operating, capital and staffing resources and participating in public procurement processes for both facility and IT projects. She is an expert in library technology planning and implementation, and in her previous role at West Vancouver Memorial Library recently implemented new models for public technology service and staff technology skills assessment and development.

Ben Hyman, Vancouver Island University

Biography:
 

With leadership and management experience in Co-ops, government, post secondary, public library and private sector environments, Ben’s take on business cases is a little different. For operationalizing inclusive community approaches, and advocating for the use of open tools and social procurement processes, he has been labelled a “lightning rod.” Ben is currently the University Librarian at Vancouver Island University.

Daphne Wood, Greater Victoria Public Library

Biography:
 

Daphne Wood’s experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors includes strategic planning, media relations, and brand management. She is a graduate of Carleton University's school of Journalism with a Masters of Business Administration from Royal Roads University and an Executive Masters of Library Information Science from San Jose State University. Daphne is the Director of communications and Development at the Greater Victoria Public Library and is serving as the President of BCLA in 2016/17.