Report from the BC Libary Association Conference from :
Janet Mumford, Teacher Librarian, Kathleen McNeely Elementary, School District #38 , Richmond-
Janet is a recipient of the Ken Haycock Professional Development Grant.
I would like to thank the British Columbia Teacher Librarians’ Association for making it possible for me to attend the BC Library Association Conference in 2006. I also attended the conference in 2007. I will report on both conferences in this report.
The BC Library Association brings together library workers who are employed in all kinds of library and information services and centres such as school libraries, public libraries, college and university libraries, and special libraries. Often the conference is held along with the BC Library Trustees’ Association, which allows library board members and librarians to sit side by side, learn together about a wide range of topics, and talk directly about the state of libraries and the possibilities of future library services. The synergy that is created by bringing together library directors, instruction and reference librarians, technical services librarians, teacher librarians, children and youth librarians from public libraries, collection development and management librarians, circulation librarians, library assistants and technicians, community librarians and library trustees is truly energizing.
The caliber of the conference key note speakers and conference sessions is consistently high and allows librarians to come together to discuss common issues and concerns. It also allows librarians to learn about programs and services developed in one type of library and to see how it can be applied in other kinds of libraries. Different libraries often service the same kinds of patrons. It is interesting to consider how patrons that use school libraries such as 5 to 18 year olds, parents and guardians and the many professionals who services children in schools, can benefit from programs, services and other practices used in other kinds of libraries. The Young Adult and Children’s Services Section (YAACS) of the BC Library Association holds its annual general meeting at every BCLA conference. All kinds of library workers are welcome to join this section that advocates for library services for young people and become involved in the executive and the section activities.
A highlight of the BCLA conference are the fundraising activities organized by YAACS for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize given out each May, by the BCLA at the BC Book Prizes Gala. In 2006, one of the fundraisers was a special luncheon in honour of the late Professor Sheila Egoff. Professor Judith Saltman, in her tribute to Sheila Egoff, “A Twice Told Tale of the Legacy of Youth Services Education at UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies” provided participants with a journey through the life of one of Canada’s pioneers in developing literature for Canadian children that tells their stories and is of a high caliber. Professor Saltman’s presentation made me realize how fortunate we have been in British Columbia to benefit from so many leaders in the world of children’s literature in Canada such as professors Sheila Egoff, Ron Jobe, and Judith Saltman at the University of British Columbia.
Many Teacher Librarians return to university to pursue graduate degrees. The Young Adult and Children’s Services Section of BCLA provided participants the opportunity to learn from a recent graduate of the Masters of Children’s Literature Program at UBC. Kirsten Andersen, former Youth Services Librarian at Richmond Public Library who now works for Victoria Public Library presented the findings of her research on literature for young people and the relationship between the print materials and the film versions and adaptations. Kirsten’s talk was entitled “I Liked the Book Better: Investigating Book-to-Film and Film-to-Book Adaptations in Children’s/Tween/Teen Book and Film Industries. Kirsten’s findings helped me to value the wide range of reading and media materials linked to books such as those of Meg Cabot. Her discussion provided librarians with ways to have young people critically read, view and discuss such works in library book clubs and discussion groups. During the 2007 BCLA conference, Kathryn Shoemaker, children’s book illustrator and current PhD student at UBC in the Department of Language and Literacy Education presented her research on visual literacy of children’s picture books, which follows up on her thesis work for her MACL degree.
Another relevant session for Teacher Librarians, was the panel discussion of Teen Councils and Clubs at various public libraries such the Coquitlam Public library and The Vancouver Public Library. Public youth librarians and teens from their councils discussed the various ways that young adults are empowered by being directly involved in decision making, program planning and implementation, collection development and technical services. It was especially interesting to learn about integrating music and multimedia in teen library programs. As a school librarian I found this very enlightening to learn about what teens choose to do in libraries beyond what they must do when they come to school libraries with their teachers or to public libraries with their school related assignments. Since this presentation, I have implemented some of the ideas in my K to 7 school library with the grade 7s and the results have been very positive.
There were many other sessions at the 2006 conference that would appeal to Teacher Librarians at the BCLA conference on topics such as Picture Book Clubs, Storytelling for Children, and Serving People with Disabilities. The 2007 conference featured many sessions on such topics as technological and intellectual freedom issues such as social networking and censorship of materials and resources for young people.
I highly recommend that my colleagues in the BCTLA attend the BC Library Association’s annual conference that takes normally takes place in April of each year. In our work to advocate for school libraries and school libraries professionally staffed by Teacher Librarians, it is rewarding to mingle with our colleagues from a wide range of libraries and library services. Librarians, all other kinds of library workers and library trustees value what we do. We can form professional relationships with them and help one another in our shared endeavours to ultimately serve the information and literacy needs of the young people of British Columbia.
- Janet Mumford
For more information on the
BCLA Annual Conference,
consult the association’s web site:
http://www.bcla.bc.ca/
