Upcoming AAAL AGM: What to Expect & Apply for PD

The countdown is on for our in-person Spring AGM 2026 on Friday, April 24, 2026, hosted by the University of Lethbridge Library! In anticipation of our gathering, the AAAL Executive Team would like to share what to expect and what to prepare, and encourage you and your staff to apply for one of our PD awards!

What to Expect:

We’ll be starting the morning off right with some light refreshments and socializing before we move into our formal business meeting portion of the AGM. Here, we will ask our members to approve the agenda, approve the minutes of our Fall 2025 meeting, and then move on to verbal reports from the Executive Committee and Subcommittees.

Next, we will have some items that our voting members (or your officially designated proxies) will need to vote on. This will include voting for our next Chair-Elect (stay tuned for calls to submit your name!), an approval of our membership fees for 2026-27, and approval of our bylaws updates. We will be sending out a full meeting package prior to the AGM so you can fully review the materials before voting.

After our business meeting portion, we move on to our Roundtable updates. Each institution represented will have 2 minutes to share an update on their libraries. This can include a short summary of your year, any significant changes that have happened, any successful programs you ran, or issues you have encountered. If we get through everyone quickly, we will have time for questions before moving on to a break, and then we’ll have the rest of the day for presentations, more socializing, and food!

Call for Proposals:

Speaking of presentations, the Call for Proposals is up now, and the deadline to apply is March 17. Apply now to showcase the amazing work at your libraries today!

Apply for AAAL’s PD Awards:

We are encouraging all of our members to apply for our PD Awards, and to please encourage your staff to apply as well! We’re very excited this year to have one award that is reserved for a library staff member in non-librarian positions (library assistants, pages, library tech and librarian student workers, library technicians, information specialists, etc).

We are thrilled to be offering these awards and can’t wait to welcome our full academic library community! The deadline to apply is March 17 so get those applications in soon!

AAAL is so grateful for the hard work of our Learning and Development Committee in organizing the AGM. It is an incredible time to gather, connect, and share ideas with one another. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on April 24 in Lethbridge!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the AAAL Chair, Andrea Johnston, either at aaal.executive@gmail.com or andrea.johnston@rdpolytech.ca

Thank you ALL for everything you do and for making AAAL such a vibrant, inspiring community.

Sincerely,

Andrea

AAAL Executive Board

aaal.executive@gmail.com

Apply Now! AAAL Professional Development Award Spring 2026

Hello AAAL Members,

The application form for the AAAL Professional Development Award Spring 2026 is now open!

AAAL is happy to offer 3 PD Awards of $400 each for the Spring 2026 meeting. All library workers and professionals from AAAL member institutions are eligible to apply. The goal of this award is to help cover expenses to attend and present at the AAAL Fall meeting or the Annual General Meeting each Spring. Library students are also eligible to apply. 

NEW THIS YEAR – One award is reserved for a library staff member in non-librarian positions (library assistants, pages, library tech and librarian student workers, library technicians, information specialists, etc). 

Please see our AAAL Professional Development Award webpage for more information about Application Criteria, Eligible Expenses, Application Process and Award Process.

The application deadline is March 17th, 2026. Notification of awards granted will be sent out by March 31st, 2026. 

See here for information about the AGM and our call for proposals

For more information about the award, contact Céline Gareau-Brennan at Celine.Gareau-Brennan@ualberta.ca

Call for Proposals – AAAL Spring 2026 AGM

Hello AAAL Members,

The Alberta Association of Academic Libraries (AAAL) Spring 2026 Annual General Meeting will be held in person on Friday, April 24, 2026, hosted by the University of Lethbridge Library.

We are seeking presentation proposals for our AGM’s professional development programming. There is no set theme for presentations – we welcome proposals from a range of topics in library work, such as current initiatives, topics of interest to our members, and more. Looking for inspiration? Browse our meetings page to view programming from past meetings.

There are two presentation formats to choose from:

  • 7-Minute Lightning Talks: Quick snapshots to give a brief overview of your idea, research, experience, program, or service.
  • 25-Minute Presentations: A bit more in-depth, allowing you to share research, tools, programs, or services with some room for engaging discussion or activities.

Please submit your proposal no later than Tuesday, March 17th.

 

For information about how presentations are reviewed, please view our Rubric for
Presentation Proposals
.

If you have an idea for a presentation that does not follow the above formats, or have other
questions, please reach out at aaal.learningdevelopment@gmail.com. Presenters will receive
a response no later than Tuesday, March 31st. 

More information about the AGM, including registration and the full conference schedule, is forthcoming. We look forward to seeing you in April!

Kind regards,
The AAAL Learning & Development Committee
aaal.learningdevelopment@gmail.com

Save the Date: AAAL Spring AGM

Hello AAAL Members,

Save the date! The Alberta Association of Academic Libraries (AAAL) Spring 2026 Annual General Meeting will be held in person on Friday, April 24, 2026, hosted by the University of Lethbridge Library.

Library staff from our member institutions are invited to attend for a day of learning and connection, including our business meeting, member roundtable, and member presentations.

Keep an eye on your email for a call for presentation proposals coming shortly! Due to the success of previous years’ programming, there is no set theme for presentations; we welcome proposals with a range of topics, such as current initiatives, topics of interest to our members, and more. There are two presentation formats to choose from:

  • 25-Minute Presentations: A bit more in-depth, allowing you to share research, tools, programs, or services with some room for engaging discussion or activities.
  • 7-Minute Lightning Talks: Quick snapshots to give a brief overview of your idea, research, experience, program, or service.

More information about the AGM and a call for presentation proposals is forthcoming. If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to aaal.executive@gmail.com.

We look forward to connecting with you all in April!

Warm Holiday Wishes and Exciting Times Ahead

Dear Members,

Happy holidays! As we wrap up a successful year, I want to extend heartfelt thanks to each of you for being part of our vibrant and engaged community. Your commitment and care make a real difference, and we’re so grateful for the energy you bring to our association.

A special and heartfelt thank you goes to our Executive team and committee members for their outstanding contributions this year. It’s been inspiring to see their achievements and a privilege to collaborate with them.

Looking ahead, an exciting year is on the horizon for AAAL! We’ll keep communication flowing as we chart this new path forward and explore opportunities that will strengthen our profession and our network. Stay tuned!

From myself and AAAL, we wish you ALL a relaxing break and a new year filled with happiness, health, and success. Thank you for being an essential part of our association!

Warm regards,

Andrea Johnston, Chair

AAAL Executive Board

aaal.executive@gmail.com