Author Archives: Layla

Marathon Reading Event

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We are VERY excited to invite you to participate in a Marathon Reading Event!

A what?
The Marathon Reading Event, a joint effort of ALA@UBC, the SLAIS community, and Creative Writing students at UBC, is an opportunity to come together in celebration of our professions, our community, and our love for books. During the event, participants will take turns reading aloud from their favorite works. Everyone is invited to stop by to listen, enjoy treats, and contribute a loonie or two to our by-donation fundraiser. All proceeds will go to program development at the Carnegie Branch of the VPL in the Carnegie Centre.

Awesome! So when and where is this happening?
Wednesday, March 7 from 8 am to 8 pm in the Lillooet Room of IKBLC
Friday, March 9 from 1 pm to 3 pm in the auditorium at the Carnegie Centre

How can I participate?
There are many ways!

– Stop by the Dodson Room anytime on March 7 to listen to readings, relax with friends, eat snacks, and donate to our fundraiser
– Sign up to read aloud from your favorite book at the Google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ni7m1KrHn_DA1Pa9YD1V2P0vqf-psbKjD5Q7-cSLHo0/edit
– Bake something tasty for people to nibble on at the Dodson Room portion of the event, just bring it at anytime on March 7
– Come to the Carnegie Centre between 1 and 3 on March 9 to listen to readings by Carnegie patrons (or to read yourself if there are gaps in the action!)


Some incentives!
Everyone who reads and/or donates to the bake sale will be entered to win a gift card!

We’re pumped about this, and hope you are too. Please feel free to share this with friends, everyone is invited!

Any questions, just send them over!

Surrey City Centre Library Tour Recap

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Check out this lovely piece and photos by Brigid Winter on the Surrey City Centre Library tour co-hosted by the BCLA-CLA and ALA student groups.

A Library, Monumental by Brigid Winter

A monumental library is a very large library but it is more, it is a grand, impressive, meaningful monument with distinctive architecture that inspires wonder.  A building that evokes exclamations like, ‘tremendous’ or ‘magnificent.’  It is a monumental structure that just happens to house a library.  (Shoham & Yablonka, 2008)

I don’t know about anyone else but I certainly felt the magnificence of the Surrey City Central Library at first look.  My initial thought on catching a glimpse of the library from the train was ‘Wow, that is a monumental library.’  Without knowing that it was the library, I recognized that it was the library (does that make sense to anyone else?).  In my unlearned and untrained, non-architectural mind it certainly seemed like a building worthy of a place in any architectural digest.  I was impressed by the use of the space and how everything felt and looked like parts of a natural flow; with natural light streaming through the expanse of glass walls.

Although, there was massive construction taking place directly in front of the library, it did not take away from its WOW factor but made me anxious to see what the entire area would look like after the planned developments were complete. One thing’s for sure – with the library on one side and the city hall the other, the area is bound to be teeming with people; an information exchange zone of sorts.

Our grand tour, led by the able David Kerr, took us from the ground floor (which featured a small café) all the way up to the seventh floor; each floor with its own personality and style and type of people.  There was a lot to see so I’ll just point out some of the features/things that made an impression on me:

  1. The public spaces – we were told that that was part of the plan, to create a lot of open/communal spaces.  However, if you’re the peace and quiet type, there are also loads of quiet study areas you could hang out in.
  2. Self-serve check out and return options available.
  3. Teen lounge and gaming room with huge flat screen TV!  How cool is that?  I sure would have loved to have that kind of library around when I was a teenager.
  4. The visually impaired have been catered for by way of the Read-Ability Center.
  5. The different and unique collection of seating options.
  6. The senior’s lounge.
  7. Computer room and training center.
  8. The ‘sound’ chairs!  Insert a CD or even dock your own iPod/iPhone and just let the music flow over you.  Oh, to own one of those myself…
  9. And let’s not forget the various collections of information  – books, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, journals, etc.

What I appreciated the most was that every age group was catered for in the planning of this library; from preschooler all the way to the senior citizen.  The library has an excellent ‘vibe;” so much so that it didn’t feel like a library at all but a recreation club.  This is definitely a library of the future, keeping pace with the rapid changes in technology and responding to these changes in order to meet the needs of its users.  Here’s to monumental!

References

Shoham, S., & Yablonka, I. (2008).   Monumental Library Buildings in the Internet Era: the future of public libraries.  IFLA Journal, 34, 266-279.  doi: 10.1177/0340035208097227

Meeting Minutes | 12 January 2012

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1. Meeting called to order

2. Welcome and introductions of new and returning members

3. Approval of meeting minutes

  • November 8 meeting minutes are approved, with correction of “brining” to “bringing” under the second bullet of item three (Marathon Reading) and removal of attendance list before posting to the blog.

4. Announcements

  • The winner of the ALA student-to-staff program essay contest is Sarah Fallik. Sarah will be attending the ALA Annual Conference 2012 in Anaheim, CA, this June and will let us know about her experiences there.

5. Old Business

  • Bake sale results: Last term’s bake sale and white elephant gift swap raised approximately $170, which nearly quadrupled the ALA student group account balance. The amount raised makes this a very successful event. Plans to hold another bake sale in March near the end of this term will be discussed at subsequent meetings.
  • Surrey Public Library tour: The joint ALA / BCLA tour of the Surrey Public Library will be held on Thursday, January 26, at 10 a.m. The tour will last an hour, so those joining the tour should block out about four hours for the trip, including travel time. People should expect to be back in time for afternoon classes. An announcement will be sent out with additional information, travel details, and an opportunity to RSVP.
  • Marathon Reading:
    – Carrie reported on the progress of the “marathon reading” event – a way to raise awareness of the ALA student group, raise money for a cause, and partner with other student groups (Librarians Without Borders).
    – The event will go two days (two 12-hour sessions) and funds will be raised by purchase of baked goods during the event (by donation) and from donations made during readings.
    – Funds will go to the Carnegie Center Library and Carrie has been in touch with acting director Megan Langley about having part of the event at the Carnegie Center to allow the library’s patrons to participate.
    – After a vote, it is decided that the likely dates of the event will be February 14 and 15.
    – Next steps will be to coordinate with Carnegie Center and to book a room.
    – Since the readers and the audience will come and go, it will be possible to have the event work around classes.
    – The hope is to also include other departments at UBC, such as the English and theater departments and various MFA programs.
    – A sign up sheet was passed around to solicit additional members of the marathon reading committee: Sam M., Jason K., Meghan W., Nadia S., Elspeth O. and Sarah F.

6. New Business

  • ALA@UBC t-shirt contest: The chapter will be holding a contest to design the ALA@UBC student chapter t-shirt. One-color designs for one-sided t-shirt are due in paper or electronic format to Layla Naquin by February 6. The design should incorporate ALA@UBC, but otherwise, the design is up to entrants. The winning design will be decided by silent vote at the next meeting. An announcement will be sent out with additional details.
  • New ideas / brainstorming:
    – A question from Sam: How is the ALA@UBC student chapter connected to the larger ALA organization. The ALA student chapter at UBC is one of about 60 recognized student chapters. ALA@UBC is currently trying to organize an exchange with the ALA student chapter at University of Washington. Members of the student ALA chapters can join the ALA parent organization at a reduced rate of $33. The ALA membership gives you access to publications and reduced-rate and free online workshops. Members can also join various roundtables and interest groups within the larger ALA organization. The ALA@UBC chapter is relatively new, so provides a great opportunity for members to shape the direction of the group.
    – Other possible upcoming ALA@UBC events include a lunch speakers series. Feel free to contact any of the members of the executive committee with ideas for the group
    – Cherry blossom / haiku festival: Nick proposes a cherry blossom celebration and haiku writing event in March that would allow collaboration with international students and the Asian Library at UBC. The event could possibly be held at the Nitobe Garden at UBC and could involve writing haiku on pink paper in order to create artistic representations of cherry trees in bloom. A sign up sheet was passed around to solicit members of the cherry blossom / haiku festival committee: Jennifer P., Sam M., and Nick J.
  • The next meeting on February 7 at 12 p.m. in the Trail Room at SLAIS will cover the marathon reading, the t-shirt contest, and possible ALA-themed weeks around which ALA@UBC can plan special events (i.e., Banned Book Week in September, which would need to be planned in the spring).

7. Meeting adjourned

Sarah Fallik chosen for ALA Student to Staff Competition

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The ALA Student Chapter would like to congratulate Sarah Fallik in being chosen for the ALA Student to Staff Competition!

Each year, 40 MLIS students are chosen to assist ALA staff during ALA Annual Conference. In exchange for working four hours a day (or a total of 20 hours), these students receive free conference registration, housing, and a per diem for meal expenses. During free time, they may attend programs and participate in other conference activities.

This year’s conference will be held in Anaheim, California from June 21 to 26.

Have fun and learn lots, Sarah!

Meeting Minutes | 8 November 2011

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1. Meeting called to order

2. Approval of meeting minutes

  • October 11 meeting minutes are approved, and it is decided that for the version of the meeting minutes posted on the blog, the names of attendees will be removed for privacy reasons.
  • The names of attendees that appear on previous meeting minutes already posted to the blog will remain unless Layla (laylanaquin@gmail.com) is contacted with a request to remove a name from the record.

3. Marathon Reading

  • Carrie presented an idea to the group to hold a “marathon reading” as a way to raise awareness of the ALA student group, raise money for a cause, and partner with other student groups.
  • At her previous program, the marathon reading lasted three full days. People would sign up for 15-­30 minutes sessions, and the audience would come and go, bringing food to share. Readers are sponsored in order to raise funds.
  • Librarians Without Borders and other SLAIS student groups could be invited to participate and money raised could be split between the groups or donated to the Carnegie Center.
  • Questions going forward include the topic of the readings / possible themed ALA week tie-­ins, the space (IKBLC classroom?), potential co-­sponsoring / participating student or outside groups (MFA program at UBC, MACL program, Librarians Without Borders?).
  • Will aim to hold the event next term. Carrie will lead a committee to organize the event. A sign up sheet was passed around to solicit members of the committee: Marathon Reading Organization Committee – Chelsea Shriver, Carrie Grinstead, Lindsey Krabbenhoft, Nick Josten, Kate Conerton, Judith Guzman-­Montes, Dana Horrocks, Layla Naquin

4. White Elephant Book Swap / Bake Sale Event

  • The White Elephant Book Swap / Bake Sale will take place on November 23. The bake sale will go from 11 a.m.-­2 p.m., and the book swap will go from 12-­1 p.m.
  • Volunteers are needed for publicity, book swap organization, baking / bake sale organization.
  • It is decided that ALA student group members should bring extra books to the book swap to allow SLAIS students who do not bring books to participate. Also, there is a possible tie-‐in to the Carnegie Center book  drive being organized by Librarians Without Borders (you can donate the book you receive in the book swap to the book drive).
  • A sign up sheet is passed around to solicit members for book swap and bake sale committees: White Elephant Book Swap Organizing Committee – Chelsea Shriver, Dana Horrocks, Mary Jinglewski, Sarah Fallik. Bake Sale Organizing Committee – Ebony Magnus, Ashley Pettet, Morgan Gariepy, Judith Guzman­‐Montes,  Layla Naquin, Morgan Barnes, Elspeth Olson
  • Eric Meyer recommends that bake sale be set up on a by‐donation basis, rather than establishing prices for individual items.
  • Caroline points out that it is important to be aware of potential food allergies(nuts, gluten) when baking. Also, IGA and Safeway are having a sale on baking items until November 10.
  • It is determined that Mary will head the book swap committee and Elspeth will head the bake sale committee. Layla will handle publicity.

5. Volunteer Projects / Outreach

  • It is decided to postpone discussion of future volunteer projects until the next meeting in order to focus on the upcoming event. Potential future volunteer projects include collaborations with Librarians Without Borders and the Green College Reading Room Committee.
  • There discussion of possible volunteer opportunities with VPL or Friends of the Library, but it is decided that it is likely not feasible to accomplish this based on library volunteering rules and limited volunteering opportunities with the Friends of the Library.
  • Eric Meyer recommends instead making sure that we get the ALA student group onto the radars of the powers that be by, for example, inviting Sandra Singh, VPL’s chief librarian and a SLAIS grad, for lunch and a chat.
  • This suggestion opened up a conversation about establishing a regular lunch and talk series exploring issues in libraries. Possible invitees include heads of UBC department libraries, librarians from other institutions (Simon Fraser University, Langara College), community librarians / people currently in the field.
  • Dana suggests that these lunches could be a good opportunity to ask future colleagues what they could expect / ask of us as a student group and as future librarians.

6. Announcements

  • Dana emailed Beth Barlow, the head of the Surrey Public Library, to inquire about a tour for the ALA student group. The BCLA YAACS group is going to the Surrey Public Library to meet with the teen librarian on November 16. ALA student group members are invited to join the BCLA group on their visit to the library. The group will return in time for 2 p.m. class. A tour specifically for the ALA student group with Beth Barlow will be postponed until next term when class schedules are finalized.
  • The ALA student group at the University of Washington is excited about the potential collaboration with our ALA student group. Mary and Elspeth will be setting up a Skype meeting with the president of the UW group to plan for next term.
  • The t-­shirt connection that Kaitlynn had mentioned at the last meeting fell through. We will revisit discussion about group t-­shirts next term.
  • The ALA conference Student-to‐Staff program essay is due on December 2. Layla received instructions from Eric on applying, which she will send to the group. The winner will be notified by December 15. Once your name has been submitted to ALA as the winner, you must attend the conference, so only apply to the Student-­to­‐Staff program if you are sure you can attend the conference.
  • Eric reminds us that there will be a SLAIS colloquium November 9 on digital literacy, and there is still a spot available to attend lunch if anyone is interest in joining.

7. Meeting adjourned

Meeting Minutes | 11 October 2011

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ALA Student Chapter Meeting | October 11, 2011
12 p.m. IKBLC, Room 417

1. Attendance

2. Meeting called to order

3. Approval of meeting minutes

  • Chelsea explained that going forward, meeting minutes will be emailed to members for review and approval following each meeting (and prior to the next meeting). Once all suggestions have been incorporated, members will vote to approve meeting minutes at the following meeting, and the minutes will afterwards be posted on the ALA student chapter blog.
  • A vote is taken to approve the minutes from the September 27 meeting, emailed to members by Yolanda, and the minutes are approved.

4. SocialMedia

  • The ALA student chapter has a blog, which is available through the student organization’s page on the SLAIS website or by going to https://blogs.ubc.ca/alaplace/. ALA officer contact information will be updated on the blog. Layla, ALA student chapter webmaster/communications officer, has also started a Twitter feed for the group (http://twitter.com/#!/ubcala). She will be posting information about meetings as well as library news and UBC news. If you would like to follow the UBC ALA student chapter Twitter feed, but don’t have a Twitter account, you can subscribe to the feed using a RSS reader such as Google
    reader.
  • It was decided that members and officers will just use personal email addresses for correspondence as a group gmail address will be unnecessarily complicated for a relatively small group and there is a danger that a group email address will not get checked as often. [NB: After the meeting, we discovered that we already have a gmail address (ala.slais.ubc@gmail.com) that is listed on the contact us page of the ALA blog, so we will continue to have that address available for people to contact us, but we will still send out messages to members with our personal gmail addresses.]
  • If you have anything you would like to have posted to the blog or the Twitter feed, please feel free to send it to Layla at laylanaquin@gmail.com. Or, if you are not currently on the mailing list for the group and would like to be added, please email Layla.

5. Brainstorming: New projects and fundraising ideas

  • The goal of the ALA student chapter is to promote aspects and resources / projects of the American Library Association, so there is an opportunity for the student group to do programming and events that tie into ALA programming, but the group can do things that simply promote awareness of the ALA student chapter and things that the members consider fun or useful or valuable in building a community. Mary called for ideas for what members might like to do.
  • Sarah suggested that for the end of the term, the group might do a combined “white elephant” book swap and fundraising bake sale. While it was pointed out that a bake sale might not make much money, the current budget of the ALA student group would make a fundraiser bringing in even $50 successful. The idea was met with enthusiasm and it was proposed that the date should be set in mid-­November before students started to leave at the end of the term.
  • Judith proposed that we could try to have club t-­shirts made. The cost of having t‐shirts professionally designed and printed could run $10-­30, but there are also cheaper options such as having a chapter member design the logo and creating the shirts with homemade screen printing. Kaitlyn mentioned that she has a connection at home that might be able to design and print the t‐shirts at a discounted price and that she could bring them back with her at the end of the winter break. She will look into pricing and report back to the group. The t­‐shirts could not be subsidized by group funds and would have to be paid for by members.
  • Two dates for the book swap / bake sale were proposed. The preferred date is Wednesday, November 23, with the alternative date being November 16 in the event that the SLAIS lounge is not available on the 23rd. The book swap will go from 12 p.m.‐1 p.m., while the bake sale will last from 11 a.m.‐2 p.m., in order to give the maximum number of SLAIS folks a chance to buy goodies.
  • Carrie suggested that the chapter could take a field trip to a public library in the area and could establish a partnership with another ALA student chapter in order to clarify the role of our group. Mary and Elspeth confirmed that they are in the process of trying to establish a relationship with the ALA student chapter at the University of Washington, whose members are interested in visiting UBC. Jenn suggested a possible field trip to Seattle to visit libraries there and to connect with the UW ALA student chapter. This could be achieved with a bus rented through fundraising efforts, member cars, or a Zipcar.
  • In response to a call for ideas of philanthropic projects for the chapter, Morgan B. suggested volunteering in the central library and Jenn suggested that the Carnegie Library in East Vancouver could most benefit from our assistance. In order not to duplicate efforts of other student groups, such as Librarians Without Borders, who organize outreach programs such as the ones being proposed, it was suggested that the ALA student chapter could reach out to LWB, and possibly also collaborate with the Green College Outreach Committee, offering to provide ALA member time and assistance for projects that are already established.
  • Jenn suggested the possibility of a fieldtrip to the new Surrey library, and Dana offered to talk to the head of the Surrey Public Library system in order to try and arrange a tour of the library.
  • Elspeth suggested the possibly of volunteering at a senior center or doing volunteer reading for the blind. It was pointed out that volunteering though a public library is often difficult to do as they typically don’t allow volunteers, so volunteering would need to be arranged through a “Friends of the Public Library” group.
  • It was decided to focus on the following projects for this semester:
    • Making contact and establishing a relationship with the ALA student chapter at the University of Washington
    • Holiday book swap event and bake sale
    • Tour of the Surrey Library

6. Recap of ALA officer elections

  • Mary recapped the ALA officer election that took place at the September 27 meeting and introduced the new officers. This information will be updated on the ALA student chapter blog.
    • Elspeth Olson (olson.elspeth@gmail.com) and Mary Jinglewski (mary.jingles@gmail.com) are co-­‐ chairs
    • Layla Naquin (laylanaquin@gmail.com) is the webmaster/communications officer
    • Jennifer Pappas (jenn.pappas@gmail.com) is the treasurer
    • Chelsea Shriver (cg.shriver@gmail.com) is the secretary

7. Other business

  • Elspeth reminded people about the ALA student-­to-­staff program, which gives students an opportunity to attend this year’s ALA Annual Conference in June for free. (If you did not receive the email about this program earlier in the week, please email Chelsea.) The deadline for submitting your essay on how this program will help benefit your professional goals is December 1. Essays should be submitted to Professor Eric Meyers (eric.meyers@ubc.ca).
  • In order to be eligible for the ALA student-­to-­staff program, you must be a card-carrying member of ALA, so sign up for membership soon as it takes a while to get your card. In addition to getting discounts to conferences and access to publications and webinars, the ALA membership is a great thing to put on your resume.

8. Next meeting

  • The next meeting will be Wednesday, November 9, from 12-­1 p.m. in the Trail Room. Ideas /items for the agenda can be sent directly to the co-­chairs, whose contact info is above.

9. Meeting adjourned

ALA Student-to-Staff Essay Contest

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Members of the ALA Student Chapter at the University of British Columbia are invited to submit essays toward the Student-to-Staff Competition on or before December 2, 2011.

Essay Criteria
Interested applicants should address the following question in an essay not to exceed 500 words: How will the student-to-staff program contribute to your goals as a SLAIS student and future information professional?

Essays must be word processed and emailed to the ALA Student Chapter Advisor, Eric Meyers (eric.meyers@ubc.ca), no later than 11:59PM PST on December 2, 2011. In evaluating these essays, Eric will be wearing a device that measures electro-dermal activity (EDA – also known as skin conductance or Galvanic Response): whichever one provides an objectively measured warm, fuzzy feeling will be the winner. Just kidding. Essays will be judged on the quality of writing and potential of the author to contribute to the profession.

All contributors will be notified of the outcome of the contest by December 15, 2011. The name of the student chosen will be submitted to ALA as the UBC representative to the program. There can be only one…

About the ALA Student-to-Staff program
Each year, 40 MLIS students are chosen to assist ALA staff during ALA Annual Conference. In exchange for working four hours a day (or a total of 20 hours), these students receive free conference registration, housing, and a per diem for meal expenses. During free time, they may attend programs and participate in other conference activities.

Why is this cool?
The ALA Annual Conference, which will be held in Aneheim, California June 21-26, 2012, is the “the world’s largest and most dynamic library conference and exhibition for librarians from all types of libraries” (ALA homepage, 2011). ALA Annual is an opportunity to engage in significant professional networking activity, not to mention author events, workshops, panel presentations, and rockin’ parties. Oh, and there are free books coming out the wazzoo at the vendor exhibits. Sounds good, eh?

Who qualifies, and how?
To qualify for the ALA student-to-staff program, each student must be a current ALA member and a student chapter member, and cannot have previously participated in the program. Moreover, the student must remain an ALA member through the ALA Annual Conference that he or she is nominated to participate in. Once the UBC Student Chapter submits a name to the program, it cannot be withdrawn, nor can the position be transferred to another UBC student. Therefore, only students who are confident they can participate in the 2012 ALA Annual Conference should submit essays.

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity!

Upcoming Meeting

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Hi everyone!

Due to the conflict with the colloquium series next Wednesday, the ALA Student Chapter meeting has been moved to Tuesday, November 8 at 12 p.m. in the Trail Room.

We will be finalizing plans for November’s white elephant/bake sale event and brainstorming more project and fundraising ideas. Please come and share your ideas!

If you have any questions, send them over. Hope to see you there!

We’re on Twitter!

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I have some exciting news. We are now on Twitter @ubcALA!

Follow us to find lots of exciting, fun, current, old, boring, useless, important (etc) information regarding our group, SLAIS, UBC, ALA or the broader library world!

Not into Twitter? No worries! You can always add us to your preferred RSS reader. To access the our RSS feed, use the following link:
http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=ubcala

If you come across something great that you would like us to share, just tweet at us or send an email to Layla. We’ll be glad to pass on anything you find interesting.

Happy Tweeting!