The sessions listed on this page will be available on-demand to virtual and in-person attendees during the conference and for six months following.
Digital Content as a Bridge to Community, Authors, Publishers, and Vendors: What's New and What's Next
Description: The CULC Digital Content Working group works on behalf of public libraries to increase awareness of digital content issues and advocate for sustainable solutions. Advocating for fair access and licensing for Canadian Content and addressing the challenges of public digital content access in Canada are key priorities for the group. These efforts have continued through 2024. In this session, members will share details about the Canadian pilot of the Digital Public Library of America's Palace Project in Vancouver and Edmonton, recent vendor advocacy, work on legislative solutions to ensure eBook sustainability, and planning efforts for the upcoming 2025 One eRead nation-wide book club. Find out more about these initiatives, the impact for libraries and the communities we serve, and what to expect next.
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Canada's eBook Legacy: Expanding Digital Legal Deposit to Canadian Trade Publishers
Description: Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has collected e-books from Canadian publishers under the legal deposit mandate for many years. In 2023, LAC introduced an automated acquisitions workflow for trade publishers that accepts ONIX metadata with e-book and e-audiobook submissions. This milestone aligns LAC's digital deposit workflows with publishers’ metadata standards, streamlining submissions for both parties. With new workflows in place, LAC successfully acquired thousands of new titles and backlists from publishers who had not previously submitted digital formats. Despite this progress, LAC faces challenges in driving broader compliance across the industry. This year, LAC is ramping up outreach efforts by engaging with publisher associations and leveraging industry newsletters and social media to emphasize the importance of digital legal deposit. This presentation provides an overview of LAC's automated workflows, highlights progress, and shares strategies to engage more publishers in building a national digital collection that reflects Canada's vibrant literary landscape.
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Expanding Horizons from Bridge 13
Description: We are from a community where Bridge 13 has historical meaning in connecting two sides of a city, in a region which has recently experienced a noticeable population growth increase. This presentation will focus on the figurative bridges we helped build to (re)connect with our increasingly diverse community (including seniors, children, the vulnerable, adults, teens and families), using partnerships we created with many community organizations. Thus showing all libraries have potential to do what we have done regardless of budget and restrictions.
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Cine-Kids Film School: launching a media literacy program for tweens at your public library!
Description: Interested in offering filmmaking or game design classes at your library? In 2024 the Fredericton Public Library launched Cine-Kids Film School, an exciting free program backed by a grant from UofT's GLAM Inclubator. This course offers ten foundational classes that cover the essentials of screen-based storytelling, using iPads. Curriculum includes: Filmmaking for Tablets; Directing; Acting for Camera; YouTube Shorts Editing; Storytelling + Storyboarding; Stop Motion Animation; Documentary Filmmaking; Film Theory; Scratch Code; Super8mm Filmmaking. Over 140 children attended 18 sessions taught by eight talented instructors. Join us to unpack the technical and administrative steps involved in launching this program.
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Bridging Information Science and Health Equity: Developing the Black Canadian Health Research Database
Description: Traditionally, Canadian hospitals, clinics, and physicians do not collect data on the racial identities of patients. While this 'race neutral' practice echoes Canada's commitment to multiculturalism, it leaves a significant gap in information on the social determinants of health of minority populations, such as housing, policing, mental wellness, or environmental racism. In this presentation, librarians and student researchers detail a collaboration to bridge this gap: the first stage in the forthcoming Black Canadian Health Research Database. Supervised by University of Toronto Mississauga librarians, three Black-Identifying, undergraduate students interrogated academic, government, and non-profit databases, amassing a collection of public data, advocacy, and critiques of racism in Canadian healthcare. The team further sought partnerships and feedback from future users, including researchers, physicians, and advocates for Black health and wellness. The result is a diverse dataset, vetted and indexed by student researchers: an effort in critical information literacy put toward illuminating systemic inequities.
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Empowering Change: How the Grant-Funded Period Positivity Project at the Library Tackled Period Poverty with Vibrant Community Partnerships
Description: The Springwater Public Library's Period Positivity project addressed the critical issue of period poverty in Canada, thanks to a $57,596 Community Grant from the Shoppers Foundation for Women's Health. This initiative provided free menstrual products and services through a three-part effort. Library branches installed free dispensers for pads and tampons, expanded their menstrual health book collection, and introduced two specialty kits. The "All Season Kit," available in March, included a reusable pad, and the "Summer Kit" launched in June 2024, featured a period-friendly swimsuit. These kits were distributed at no cost. To ensure broad community access, the library partnered with local organizations including the Elmvale Food Bank, Elmvale District High School, Sharewear, the Barrie Native Friendship Centre, and the Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre. This project showed how libraries could address health inequities, offering a replicable model for other communities to follow.
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The IFLA Accessibility Metadata Network: Advocating for an Inclusive and Equitable Resource Discovery Experience for All Library Users
Description: In 2024, the International Federation of Library Associations approved the creation of the IFLA Accessibility Metadata Network in response to a need for international cooperation in the development of metadata to promote the sharing and discovery of accessible resources. Sponsored by six IFLA committees, Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities, Audiovisual and Multimedia, Cataloguing, Bibliography, Subject Analysis and Access, and the Advisory Committee on Standards, the network's goals are: develop international best practices and guidelines on the recording and use of accessibility metadata to support an inclusive and equitable resource discovery experience for all library users; hear from three Canadian members of this network about the aims of the network and expected outcomes.
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Battle of the Brains: Neurodivergent Staff in a Neurotypical Work Environment
Description: In recent years, the mission statement of libraries has expanded to recognize the unique needs of neurodivergent individuals. Those who identify as neurodivergent have historically been peripheralized, forced to work within environments that do not prioritize their way of processing information. New developments in the field in psychology have also uncovered that conditions such as ADHD may present differently in women versus men. In these changing times, library staff may find themselves lost, having to navigate a new diagnosis, new medications and the stigma of mental illnesses. The public perception of neurodivergence puts these staff members at a disadvantage when it comes to their new reality. It's important to recognize that not all staff process information in the same way, and to develop strategies to ensure that your neurodivergent staff are able to be successful in their duties.
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Connecting Community through Collections: Celebrating 10 Years of an Author Recognition Program
Description: 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the University of Regina Author Recognition Program, an annual celebration of the University Community's scholarship. This presentation will outline how the program has evolved over the past decade and highlight the successes and challenges of running a perennial program. It will also showcase the program's success in creating and strengthening connections between the Library, the University, equity deserving groups, and the wider community.
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Unlock a World of Stories! Introducing the Palace App in Canada
Description: Vancouver Public Library (VPL) and Edmonton Public Library (EPL) are proud to be piloting the Palace App in Canada. The Palace Project introduces the new kid on the library e-lending block! It is the result of a partnership of the non-profit open technology organization Lyrasis and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). The Palace App allows libraries to provide titles from multiple vendors in a single app rather than through the respective vendor’s app. The App continues to be refined based on customer and library feedback. The long-term customer experience goal is to reduce the fragmented user experience and become the one place where public library customers go for their digital content. The Palace Project is committed to working with publishers to secure multiple license options for individual titles, enabling libraries to stretch their resources further and build diverse digital collections. As more libraries join, our collective resources and opportunities to access exclusive content grows! Join us to learn more about VPL and EPL's journey through implementation and shared desire to provide equitable access to digital content.
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Literary Image Descriptions for Graphic Novels and Picture Books
Description: Learn how accessible graphic novels and picture books are made to leap off the page and into the minds of print-disabled readers. The Literary Image Description (LID) Project helps publishers and authors create vivid renditions of their illustrated books, where every image is artfully interpreted and described with the full involvement of the original creative team. The described books are then converted into audiobook, EPUB and braille formats so that readers with print disabilities can fully enjoy the thrilling action of a comic book or a stirring narrative of a graphic novel. Currently only available through accessible reading services such as the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA), the commercial versions will soon be offered to enthusiasts of comics, graphic novels and illustrated books through retailers and public libraries. The LID Project is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and administered by eBOUND Canada.
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Bridging the Data Gap: Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data for Holistic Library Reporting
Description: In today's data-driven landscape, libraries must move beyond traditional reporting methods to capture a complete picture of their impact. This session focuses on how libraries can effectively bridge the gap between qualitative and quantitative data to provide more holistic and meaningful insights. By integrating patron feedback (e.g., through tools like LibSat) with quantitative metrics (e.g., usage statistics from LibPAS), libraries can create more robust reports that reflect both user experiences and measurable outcomes. Participants will learn strategies for combining these two data types to enhance reporting accuracy, demonstrate value to stakeholders, and better inform decision-making. Real-world examples will showcase how libraries have successfully integrated qualitative and quantitative data to provide a fuller understanding of library performance, offering attendees actionable steps they can implement in their own institutions. With the growing need for libraries to demonstrate their impact, this session addresses the importance of using comprehensive data to tell a compelling, well-rounded story.
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Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraging Transactional Data to Enhance Library Services
Description: This session delves into the essential role of transactional data‚ such as program attendance, calendar integrations, and reference queries‚ in shaping library services. Attendees will explore how libraries can harness transactional data to enhance user experiences, optimize services, demonstrate library value, and drive evidence-based decision-making. Through real-world examples, participants will see how libraries have effectively implemented strategies to leverage transactional data to the benefit of their patrons. Participants will also work through various strategies for overcoming common library challenges relating to data tracking, integration, and analysis. Undoubtedly, participants will leave this session with great insights on demonstrating the impact, value and successful implementation of data-driven approaches, in areas that have seen the most sustained growth in library usage and operational costs over the last decade.
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Understanding Linked Data and How Your Library Can Benefit Today
Description: Linked data is the future of library metadata. And while adoption of linked data and associated workflows vary by library, the need to better understand linked data is here today. To many librarians, it's a wholly new concept, which means fully adopting this new technology and practives will take time, and will begin with an understanding of why linked data is important, and what it means for the future of librarianship. This program will help answer those questions and provide a baseline for the need to evolve library metadata. While the library industry has been researching and exploring the concepts of linked data for decades, we’ve reached a tipping point where today's data, infrastructure, and tools offer a means to put linked data into action. This includes new methods and processes that provide opportunities for all libraries to implement components of linked data that make sense for them.
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Building Bridges and Ascending Summits: Examining Developments in Canadian Federal Open Educational Resources (OER) Advocacy
Description: Despite a history of work in open education, Canada's lack of a national department of education creates a major barrier to federal involvement in OER. Recognizing these challenges, steps have been taken to develop a coordinated approach to advocacy among national stakeholders. The presentation explores how advocacy priorities were identified by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL)'s National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources in Canada (McNally & Ludbrook, 2023). The Framework identified advocacy proposals that focuses on three key areas - Indigenous OER, Francophone OER and OER infrastructure and policy. The session explores the outcomes of the three summits that were held on each key priority area, such as formal advocacy positions. The presentation provides an important viewpoint into the interplay between stakeholders, a coordinating strategy document, and focused advocacy summits to develop and refine advocacy strategies for work in the future of OER in Canada.
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How Libraries Can Do More Through Grant Funding!
Description: Join DoGood Funding for a workshop on evidence-based writing. We will provide training on effective grant writing strategies to raise more money for Library programs. We will explore evidence-based grant writing, and how effective research and accurate budgets can improve grant outcomes. We will discuss the key questions posed on grant applications, how funders review and assess applications, and what makes a strong grant. We'll also cover common grant writing mistakes and how you can avoid them to secure more funding for Library programs.
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Sharing Climate Action to Strengthen Collective Creativity: Short Stories from BC
Description: Join us for a series of inspiring lightning talks sharing creative activities from across BC's library sector and take away ideas for what we can do together to address climate change and strengthen our communities. These short talks will start with BCLA's 2024 Climate Action Statement, which provides a framework for understanding climate change and the range of ways library organizations can help, followed by a series of examples spanning a new course in MLIS education, ongoing work with library boards, fresh results from the BCLA climate impacts and actions benchmarking survey, and programming and outreach initiatives like Read4Climate displays and Climate Action Week.: BCLA's Climate Action Statement- Essential Climate Justice Responsibilities in the Library Sector; Climate Action Toolkit; Climate Action Week- Libraries and Communities Acting Together; UBC Climate Justice Course for Information Professionals; 2024 Climate Benchmarking Survey; Library Boards and Breaking Down Organizational Barriers; Read4Climate Resources.
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Not "Light and Frothy": The Forgotten Radical Feminist History of Canadian Librarianship
Description: As Librarians, one of the reasons we may be compelled to work in spaces providing access to information is to allow patrons to learn from history, to propel their research and inspire their future plans. As library professionals, it's also important that we know our own history and the efforts that came before us to make our work possible today. Two librarians and researchers will present their emerging research into a forgotten chapter in library history - the radical feminist past of Canadian libraries in the early 1970s which included library workers leading labour movements and the publication of the library activist newsletter, The Emergency Librarian. This presentation will include both findings on the history of activism in librarianship - which speaks to many timely issues facing us today such as book banning, labour rights, and community care - and the benefit of librarians doing primary source research into the history of librarianship.
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Video Games in the Library: Building a Video Game Development Series with Construct 3
Description: Video games in libraries have become a popular form of programming, but are often limited to play sessions and tournaments because of the high barrier of entry for video game development. This session plans on expanding the skill set of staff by addressing the challenges that libraries often face when looking toward offering higher level programs. Using the Construct 3, a free open-source web based platform, participants will be given an overview of how to create a video game without any prior knowledge of coding, by using visual logic instead. The session will cover the basics of Construct 3, outline the development of a program series, and discuss how to integrate other library programs and recourse. The aim of the session will be to have participants leave with the ability to teach a video game development program at their own branches using the resources and scripts provided.
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Trans Lit: What It Is, and How to Include It In Your Public Library
Description: In a time when transgender people have become a victim in the culture wars, one important voice is all too often missing in the so-called 'trans debate': that of transgender people themselves. Many trans library users still struggle to find the books that would empower them, and our cisgender users are deprived of their perspectives. This session will familiarise the audience with the concept of transgender literature, look at barriers to the inclusion of this literature in public library collections, and offer practical tips on how to start to overcome them in a checklist format. We will touch on issues about discoverability, format and categorisation. This author will draw on experience as a trans librarian in the UK, where public libraries have been picketed, harassed and even burned down by alt-right agitators. We will look at the Ontario context and what can be learned from work done in the UK.
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Crisis Service Partnership: Toronto Public Library (TPL) and Gerstein Crisis Center (GCC)
Description: Public libraries are increasingly operating as a conduit to social services and their resources. In this context, the library space can serve as a low-barrier location that facilitates service navigation. This session will explain how the program enhanced the library system's capacity to assist vulnerable persons using the space. Two pilot branches will share their experiences and demonstrate how this service served as a bridge to critical assistance for vulnerable persons. Highlighting the strengths of both organizations, this workshop will provide the groundwork for meaningful collaboration between the library resources and the existing crisis services network.
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Canadian Public Libraries Fighting Mis- and Disinformation: Research and Recommendations
Description: In 2023/2024 Canada's Privy Council funded research exploring how Canadian public libraries might work together to build community resilience to misinformation. A literature review identified effective strategies that can be taught to community members to help them respond to misinformation they encounter in their day-to-day lives. An environmental scan identified existing library and community programs and engaged subject matter experts and practitioners. This project uncovered high levels of concern among Canadian libraries and highlighted the need for a national effort to fight mis- and disinformation. Join us to learn about what was learned, our recommendations for next steps and updates on this important work.
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From Book Returns to Return on Investment: Financial Resilience for Library Customers through Community Collaborations
Description: Financial stress is one of the leading challenges for Canadians, and libraries are uniquely positioned to help bridge the gap in financial knowledge and resources. This session will showcase how libraries can strengthen relationships with community organizations to support customers around the topic of money, budgeting, access to benefits, filing taxes and more. Join Toronto Public Library, Prosper Canada, North York Community House and WoodGreen Community Services for a practical session on strategies for delivering financial supports to customers. Through interactive discussions and a case study of the successful Financial Empowerment pilot at Toronto Public Library, participants will gain actionable insights into replicating these initiatives in their own communities. Equip yourself with the tools and connections needed to transform library spaces into hubs of financial learning and support!
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Building Bridges Through Readers' Advisory
Description: This presentation will explore how readers' advisory services can serve as effective tools for building bridges within communities. By connecting library resources with the diverse interests and needs of community members, libraries can foster relationships, promote understanding, and enhance the overall fabric of their communities
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