Clear guidance yes for LGBTQ+ support, but context matters
Are there hard-and-fast rules for libraries engaged with LGBTQ+ communities? While there are areas where there should be clear guidance, there are others where context is more important.
To be perfect or not
Many of us are busy making instructional videos so that we can teach or provide needed services online. But how do we battle our need for the perfect performance? And many times do we re-record before we think we've got our final product?
Black Lives Matter: Does silence signal complacence in public libraries?
I have been waiting for a statement from my local library on the recent protests aimed at confronting systemic anti-black racism in our North American society and across the Western world. It has been weeks and I am still waiting.
Amplifying the voices of school libraries: Summer lending programs
During the 2020 OLA Super Conference, the voices of Canadian school libraries came together to share, discuss and celebrate the incredible work in K-12 school library learning commons in Canada. In the upcoming months, It's elementary will highlight authors and papers from the conference.
Phone-a-friend: SOLS helps libraries (pandemic or not)
Remember the TV game show, Cash Cab? Contestants could try to answer questions on their own, but if they got stuck, they could phone a friend. The Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) is like that friend who you can call or turn to for an answer.
Meg Uttangi Matsos
Meg Uttangi Matsos is a Branch Manager at Hamilton Public Library. Over the past 10 years she has managed staff teams in small clustered…
Zarena Cassar
Zarena Cassar is a Branch Manager at Brampton Library. From working on expanding Brampton Library’s after hours study spaces to implementing creative ways to…
Peggy Malcolm
Peggy Malcolm is a library consultant for the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS). As part of the SOLS Consulting team, Peggy provides information to…
Beth Lyons
Beth Lyons is currently a teacher librarian in the Peel District School Board. She reflects and shares about her own learning journey as an…
OCULA Council: Statement & actions against anti-Black racism
Your Council stands against anti-Black racism and commits to helping eradicate it from Canadian academic libraries.
Claim this space
This particular blank space is waiting for members of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) community to fill it up, decorate it, contribute.
Theory in practice II: Moving from systemic racism to anti-racism in Ontario public libraries
There is a strong need to explicitly acknowledge deeply embedded racist thinking in order to move towards systemic change in public libraries.
What’s new in Open Shelf: June 2020
So who knew we'd have 12 articles this month ... and at a time when all our lives have been so unexpectedly disrupted? But we do and our topics include acknowledging systemic racism in public libraries, voices (and photos) from those affected by the pandemic, and telling stories through memes. Plus, follow Round II of the panel on whether librarians need an MLIS, learn what's happening with K–12 education, and lisez la deuxième partie de la francisation de Scholars Portal.