Open Shelf Editor – OPEN SHELF

What’s new in Open Shelf?: July 2019

It's that time again! This is our last issue before September and we are gearing up for two exciting opportunities. Plus, we have features on supporting medical research, working in a precarious job market, developing leadership skills ... and more hot summer reading.

Podcasts for book lovers

With podcasts covering pretty much every conceivable thought, notion or idea, it makes sense that there would be countless podcasts for readers and book lovers ... and for readers' advisory as well!

At the centre: A conversation with Nêhiyaw educator Amanda Moosemay

Listen to a conversation between Samantha Martin-Bird and Amanda Moosemay about treaties, community hub libraries and a First Nation school library.

Open call for applications

Would you like to work as a member of a creative team that shares stories about libraries in Ontario? Then consider volunteering as the Open Shelf story editor.

Save the date!

The inaugural Little Branches, Rural Roots Library Conference will take place at the Arnprior Public Library on October 4 and 5, 2019: Join us!

Each day is interesting: Supporting research and innovation at a regional health centre

Kimberley Aslett has no regrets about becoming the lone health librarian in her local hospital. She revels in a job where every day is different because her role is to directly support health research and innovation.

Food for thought and hope for new librarians in a precarious job market

People often think of librarianship as a financially lucrative career, but with many libraries now offering only part-time hours and irregular shifts, it is very possible to become a working-poor librarian.

Public Library Leaders program: Making connections, creating future leaders

Now in its fourth year, the Public Library Leaders program is gaining a reputation for preparing library managers to successfully advance to higher levels of leadership within their institutions.

Call for innovative stories

Is your library thinking outside the box to help your community? We want to hear ALL about it!

Introducing OLA’s Advocacy Toolkit

We are working to organize networking and communication opportunities and to make resources related to advocacy available to libraries. To fulfill our mandate, we officially launched the OLA Advocacy Toolkit in May 2019.

Sarah Roberts

Sarah Roberts is the Advocacy & Research Officer of the Ontario Library Association.

Helen McDonnell

This month, The Library IT Crowd features Helen McDonnell.

Democracies need libraries

The American Library Association’s democracy statement reads, in part: “Democracies need libraries. An informed public constitutes the very foundation of a democracy; after all, democracies are about discourse—discourse among the people. ... It must ensure that citizens have the resources to develop the information literacy skills necessary to participate in the democratic process.” This might seem like some pretty big shoes to fill, but there is truth to it. Public libraries help us stay informed and keep us kind.