Library Policy

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. 

The library is one of the last free public spaces that is open to all. However, often those considered “undesirable” are kept away from the library in order to make others feel welcome and safe. While we do sometimes see problematic behaviours in the library, this does not mean that we cannot strive to ensure that we as library workers provide excellent customer service to all who enter the library.
 
 

Policies are the superstructure of library service, and this half-day workshop will introduce participants to the tools needed to build and maintain that superstructure. This will be a hands-on session with opportunities to create policies for use in your public library. Participants are encouraged to bring existing policies for collaborative review during the workshop. There will also be a lynx. Prizes will be given. This workshop will be of primary interest to CEOs/Directors and Trustees/Board Members working in a public library setting.

In this session, we’ll look at the ways ingrained Ableism affects our outlook, equipment, and our service to patrons. Focus will be on practical advice to address these concerns, in order to provide better service and a happier workplace.
Learning Objectives:

• Identify how the medical model of disability is pervasive and affects our service negatively
• Understand the Social Model of Disability
• Apply the Social Model to improve service to patrons

This workshop will show you a new made-in-Alberta approach to planning that lets you pick your own way to Learn (talk to the community), Plan (analyze data and write a great Plan of Service) and Do (put the plan into action, measure results and celebrate success).
Learning objectives:

• Community engagement / needs assessment
• Analyzing information, picking services that fit local needs and writing a plan
• Putting a plan into action, measuring results and celebrating success

This session examines a selection of 50 books listed in the WorldCat library catalogue on the subject of Native American Genocide -- the titles of which include variations of the terms genocide, holocaust or extermination – and finds that all but two are described with euphemistic terms such as “Indians of North America – Government relations.” I argue that the library’s ideologically-situated “power to name” (Olson) can help to reinforce politically convenient but unjust narratives regarding historical and contemporary genocides, and in contradicting the intent of the authors of these books actually comprises a form of holocaust denial, as well as a barrier to reconciliation. As a pathway towards reconciliation in library science, sources of Indigenous and progressive alternative terminologies and tools are introduced that can promote more accurate retrieval of — and, more importantly, honest engagements with — Native American genocide literature.

How to conduct a practical and useful policy audit in a public library setting. This is not primarily a policy-writing session but a discussion of how CEOs and trustees can co-create a successful audit. Topics will include assembling a critical list of policies to cover and how to manage the auditing process at the library board level. Policy = Cool. Like. Bowties!