beyond landmarks
Much is made of the grandeur and significance of many contemporary library buildings. Often stunning, these architectural statements are seen as an inspirational symbol of a city — landmarks that...
View Articlethe story matters
This is a guest posting by Dave Obee, author of The Library Book: A History of Service to British Columbia. British Columbia’s first libraries came in several shapes and sizes — although, for the most...
View Articleare you in your element?
Bonnie McComb, award-winning teacher-librarian at Parkland Secondary in Sidney, is about to retire. Yet she is just as passionate about her role today, while she’s in the throes of converting her...
View Articleroadworks and book arts
Picture a steamroller used by artists in making prints. Make that a three-ton construction steamroller and an unlikely letterpress bed: a city street! photo credit: unknown: laughingsquid.com Picture a...
View Articlelibrarians on the frontier
This is a guest posting by Dave Obee, author of The Library Book: A History of Service to British Columbia. Every few weeks, it seems, somebody somewhere will come up with a list of professions that...
View Articlepartners in reading
It’s been thrilling for me to be part of the Changing Results for Young Readers (CR4YR) initiative, a network of educators with a shared goal of improving life chances for children. CR4YR is making a...
View Articlelean into literacy
In honour of this year’s winner of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award, BC’s Superintendent of Reading, Maureen Dockendorf, and I travelled this week to Powell River Public Library. Powell...
View Articleit’s a wrap
My mother used to quote a Dutch saying: “There is a time to begin and a time to end, and now the time to end has begun.” With mixed emotions, I am leaving my role as Director, Libraries and Literacy …...
View Articleevery interaction counts
Having recently returned to public library work, my librarian heart is filled with joy when I witness daily the interactions between people in an information-rich environment. To see people alone or in...
View ArticleChattanooga’s on the right track
When everyone is capable of creating and distributing content, what can a library look like? An answer might be found in Tennessee. Blessed with a progressive mayor who wanted to make the library his...
View Articlecollective capacity
It’s been three months since I started my new job as a chief librarian. The work environment is obviously very different from the government setting where I previously worked as the provincial...
View Articlelean into literacy
In honour of this year’s winner of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award, BC’s Superintendent of Reading, Maureen Dockendorf, and I travelled this week to Powell River Public Library. Powell...
View Articleit’s a wrap
My mother used to quote a Dutch saying: “There is a time to begin and a time to end, and now the time to end has begun.” With mixed emotions, I am leaving my role as Director, Libraries and Literacy …...
View Articleon the cutting edge
Kathy Sanford is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Victoria. Her research fields are teacher education, literacy, video games and learning. What that...
View Articlea true champion of our freedom to read
It’s been a while since I last blogged in this space, but this past week’s honouring of our Freedom to Read has inspired me to write. Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians...
View ArticleLibraries build communities
Until recently, my father could have been considered the inspiration for Jonas Jonasson’s bestselling novel, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Like the fictional...
View ArticleThe Great MOOC Experiment
Over the past few months, our Parkgate branch library has introduced the concept of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and a ‘pilot MOOC’, using MIT’s massive open online adaptation of its...
View Articlecelebrating culture
This past weekend, our library held a community event called Connection, Acceptance and Community: an Unconference, in partnership with the school district. Last month we held an event In Honour of the...
View Articlethe power of book clubs
As a young mom, participating in a book club met a lot of important social and intellectual needs for me. While those needs eventually shifted as my children moved on to school and I took on a bigger...
View Articlesimply managing
We hear so much about leadership lately. Lots of books, courses, programs, articles, speakers, conferences, consultants and many other resources are available to inspire leaders to be their best. I’m a...
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