ASSOCIATES (2010, March, v. 16, no. 3)
Feature
News from Canada
Karen Hildebrandt
Circulation Services Coordinator, Concordia University College of Alberta, Alberta
Canadian Library Association Library Technician Interest Group (CLA LTIG) Convenor
Karen.hildebrandt@concordia.ab.ca
Conference planning is in full swing in Canada with conferences taking place throughout the country. Local, Provincial, Regional as well as the National conference provide library workers many opportunities for professional development as well as networking opportunities. While most of the conferences take place between April and June there are a few that will take place in the Autumn.
Conferences can become addictive. There’s something in the air that makes you want to keep coming back. Before you know it you can become a conference junky and are trying to figure out how to stretch those PD funds or even your own pennies in order to attend all the conferences you would like to attend.
Sometimes you get lucky. You get to witness a beginning. A first. That was the case for me this past November. I was invited to be the keynote speaker for the Newfoundland and Labrador Library Association (NLLA) Support Workers Conference. I was able to attend their conference as well as the general meeting and it was an exciting time. A large component of the AGM was to determine who this group was, what they would be called, and develop a mission and vision statement. It was exciting to witness the discussion and to see the result. They are now NLLA LTAIG (Library Technicians and Assistants Interest Group). Everyone there felt part of the group and decision making process. The IG encompasses all library workers that do not have their MLIS. They feel value. They belong.
This is what association membership is all about; the benefits you get from the association as well as the benefits the association has from having you as a member.
I look forward to the conferences I will be attending this year. Perhaps I will have the opportunity to witness other firsts while I am there. Maybe it’s someone experiencing their first conference or maybe someone’s first presentation. Whatever it will be I’m sure it will be exciting.
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