Webinar

What happens when, despite providing professional and respectful customer service, you are yelled at, threatened, or challenged? When the encounter is done, how do you manage your raw emotions from the event? What supports exist to help you work through these feelings, and start to love your job (and the customers) again? This session will present the findings from a Canadian study that investigated emotional labour in public libraries. Emotional labour is the idea that, working in public service, there is a need to control your emotions in order to accomplish your job. This research illustrated the ways in which public library workers have to respond to intense customer service situations. You will hear stories from the frontlines of customer service and learn about some of the strategies public library workers use to deal with the effects of emotionally charged customer encounters.

A booktalk featuring great new books for public libraries, focusing on children's and teen books. Canadian authors will also be talking about their new books.

Award-winning and bestselling novelist, Terry Fallis, tells the story of his unusual, fateful, and funny journey to the writing life.

An organizational review provides valuable information to support organizational change and refocus the library. It also provides information to support advocacy with funders. This session will explain the process, outcomes and use of the information from the review.

Having worked at libraries with 3D printing and now the proud owner of two 3D printers personally, Lorisia will talk about how to learn how to 3D print and design from her own experiences. Spoiler: it is probably not as expensive or difficult to do as you think! Lorisia will talk about how she learned to 3D design through creating OER Cree files as a case study and will include inspirations/ways that libraries could use 3D printing as well as recommended places to find support.

In 2014, a Spanish lawyer successfully required Google Spain to modify its index so that certain websites were not included in search results for his name. Since then, this decision has both been lauded as a victory for privacy rights, as well as labelled a serious threat to freedom of expression and the public historical record.

From a library and information sciences perspective, the interesting question is whether this manipulation of search results conflicts with the professional and ethical obligations that we hold as librarians and information specialists to provide ethical access to information. And, from a more practical viewpoint, while not yet recognized in Canada, it has also started to have an impact on some of the work we do to preserve information, such as local newspaper digitization projects.

Learn more about this so-called “right to be forgotten” and how it might affect your library work in the future, as well as Canadian privacy law more generally.

"Perfect is the enemy of good", "the only bad decision is no decision", "where is the opportunity here" were some of the common phrases that library directors across the province started using as library services shifted, and shifted quickly, during the provincial response to Covid-19. By the end of this session, you will hear what these three Directors learned about themselves, their organizations and what it means to manage and lead in ambiguity.

If your job looks very different today than it did at this time last year, you’re not alone. Many librarians now find themselves in charge of marketing and promotions ("other duties as assigned"), even though they have no experience. And they’re expected to do it quickly and effectively. It might feel like an impossible task, but Angela Hursh (Senior Engagement Consultant for NoveList and author of SuperLibraryMarketing.com) breaks down the ten most important things you need to know to promote your collection and services.

Beyond addressing basic literacy skills, many libraries are teaching financial, digital, and physical literacy, as well as offering medical, legal, and mental health services, in an effort to meet the needs of the whole person, during the entire lifespan. Barring a few exceptions, most services are free. This is a daunting, complex undertaking. Some argue we should "stay in our lane" and others are cursing the "vocational awe" that leads us to try to be all things to all people. We are burning out in rapid numbers. Meanwhile, as mounting fears and realities around climate change, pandemics, economic recession, and political corruption overwhelm our citizens they are increasingly turning to their libraries for information, shelter, and support. This talk will address those concerns and show how we can lead with compassion. It will argue that the proven solution to keeping librarians sane and service needs met during these turbulent times is by first taking care of ourselves, and then forming partnerships between outside non-profit organizations, government, local businesses, and citizens. More importantly, we will discuss positive steps we can take towards healing, while also acknowledging the grief, trauma, and guilt librarians experience every day on the front lines.

Are you ready to get crafty with Indigenous traditions for 21st century learning? Learn to bridge brilliant craft traditions with STEAM literacies through Indigenous-led maker programs.

In 2019, Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) launched their makerspace, the Creativity Commons, to the public. Dalia built alliances with local stakeholders such as Indigenous artists, makers, and community members interested in cultivating a reclamation of culture through the library makerspace.

Through an Indigenous-led approach to program delivery, libraries can better amplify Indigenous voices in a reconciliatory manner. This not only offers those of Indigenous ancestry the opportunity to learn about their cultural traditions that were outlawed previously in Canada, but encourages a wider audience of community members to learn about pre-colonial traditions and connect with the local Indigenous community in the hands-on process.

Bridging the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities through DIY making empowers life-long learners to celebrate equity, diversity and inclusion, and decolonizes state-funded spaces that have historically excluded Indigenous knowledge-keepers and voices.

Come learn how library makerspaces coupled with sound, culturally appropriate, outreach practices can preserve and pass on traditional knowledge for generations to come and build lasting community partnerships. Simultaneously, we can impart hands-on STEAM-based literacies that foster 21st century learning and welcoming makerspaces for renewed success!