All posts by AAAL

7 Questions With Luke Malone

August 4, 20157 QuestionsAAAL

August’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Luke Malone, Collection Development Librarian, the Reg Erhardt Library at SAIT.

1. What is something interesting you learned in the last month? As part of our library PD day this week, we learned about geocaching! This involved a scavenger hunt all over the campus. I had no idea there were little geocaches scattered all around these places I go every day. It was cool learning to use the GPS and finding these little treasures.

2. When was the last time you were nervous? I recently tried an escape room for the first time. Escape rooms are themed rooms that you and a team are locked into. To get out, you solve a series of puzzles. We tried a pirate-themed room, and it was a lot of fun, but also somehow nerve-wracking when I didn’t know what to expect!

3. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Speak French. And then maybe Spanish. Of course, I COULD actually do this, it’s just finding the time.

4. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life? I’m a music freak, so there are many. My all-time favourite song is ‘Malibu’, by Hole. It just sounds like summer to me. My favourite album is D’Angelo’s Voodoo.

5. If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for? It would be a Great Gatsby-style party, with all the lavishness that comes with it. Of course, I’d also need the house. It would be for friends and their friends, and a celebration of nothing in particular.

6. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? I wanted to say Orange Is the New Black, but season three is a bit of a slog. So Nashville!

7. What do you do when you’re not working? Play as much tennis as I can. There’s also a great name that tune night in Calgary, so you can find me at the Cat ‘n’ Fiddle pub most Thursday evenings.

7 Questions With Dana Ouellette

July 2, 20157 QuestionsAAAL

July’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Dana Ouellette, Information Services Librarian, Concordia University of Edmonton.

1. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Mountaineering/climbing. It’s just something I’ve wanted to try for a long time, and I’ve never gotten around to it. It seems like the next logical step if you love mountains and hiking. That or whitewater kayaking looks fun.

2. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life? Asking me this question is like asking Rob Gordon (High Fidelity is both one of my favourite movies and books ever). It depends on the day, my mood, the season, the weather.

Pixies – Caribou
Björk – Jóga
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band – God Bless Our Dead Marines
Sigur Rós – Popplagið
Propagandhi – And We Thought Nation States Were a Bad Idea
Bad Religion – Modern Man
Agalloch – Into the Painted Grey
mewithoutYou – Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Paul Simon – Call me Al (because why am I soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard?)

Pretty much every single song Damien Jurado, David Bazan, and The Appleseed Cast have ever written.

3. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Ed Chigliak (from Northern Exposure) – Nothing ever fazes him and he’s always ridiculously happy. I want that.

4. If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be? I would love to build a responsive website that provides a more consistent user-experience for Concordia students and better integrates the experience of the website, discovery service, a-z database list, authentication system etc… (Just a dream right now).

5. What is your best piece of career advice? I feel like I haven’t been a librarian long enough to give advice, but one lesson I picked up pretty early on is that our users are usually right, so listen to what they say, and vendor sales reps are usually lying, so be skeptical of what they say.

6. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? Any science, astronomy, natural history, or travel documentary; I can lose a whole evening. I also have a mild obsession with Richard Feynman and I will watch anything by or about him.

7. What do you do when you’re not working? I really love mountain biking. I also love hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and traveling. I basically love having adventures, and I love mountains. But sometimes I also love to be lazy and just watch movies with my wife.

Congratulations and Thank You Keith Walker!

June 24, 2015UncategorizedAAAL

On behalf of the AAAL Executive Committee we would like to take a moment to congratulate Keith Walker on his upcoming retirement, and thank him for his many contributions to the AAAL over the years. Keith has been actively involved in the AAAL in many different roles. He was the President of the Alberta Association of College Librarians (now the AAAL) from 1989 to 1991, Director from 1997 to 2003, and Secretary-Treasurer from 2003 to 2005. Our membership and association are better for his leadership and active participation!Thank you Keith for all you’ve done for the AAAL, and our sincerest congratulations on your retirement. We wish you all the best in the future!

Sonya Betz and Robyn Hall
AAAL Co-Chairs

7 Questions With Ann Gish

June 2, 20157 QuestionsAAAL

June’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Ann Gish, Chairperson, Grande Prairie Regional College Library

1. What is something interesting you learned in the last month? I’ve learned a lot about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which is a genetic condition that my younger sister has. It is a connective tissue disorder caused by defects in the synthesis of collagen. In fact, as I write this I am in Washington, DC where we had an appointment with a neurosurgeon who will be operating on her to ease some of her pain and provide her with some stability and mobility.

2. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Speak French, Spanish and Dutch.

3. What would you name the autobiography of your life? Oil and water

4. What is your best piece of life advice? Trust your intuition and think for yourself.

5. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? House of Cards, Homeland, Walking Dead

6. What is your proudest non-work related accomplishment? I am most proud of what I have learned from others, in particular my husband and my sister. My husband works in forestry (not the dark side of the industry) and has taught me to love and appreciate the beauty of nature. I love “the bush” as he calls it and have spent weekends in the mud and rain working with him. My sister has taught me how to remain cheerful, loving and optimistic in spite of being in tremendous pain. She is a testament to resilience, hope and perseverance.

7. What is your favourite quote? What is learned with pleasure is never forgotten – Alfred Mercier

Professional Development Award – Member Report

May 25, 2015UncategorizedAAAL

In 2015, AAAL launched a Professional Development Award for member libraries. Nicole Palanuk, Yellowhead Tribal College, was one of the first recipients of this award, receiving funding to attend the AAAL AGM in April. Here is Nicole’s report on her experience.

It was an honour to be chosen as one of the recipients of the first AAAL Professional Development Award by the Professional Development Committee. As a librarian at one of the six tribal colleges in Alberta, I value every opportunity to meet with fellow professionals and hear about current projects and developments in the field.

I participated in the discussion group about incorporating public library practices into collection development at academic libraries. One of the topics we discussed as a group was whether or not to lend textbooks to students on a large scale rather than simply purchasing faculty requests. Some libraries in our group had begun purchasing all of the required textbooks and loaning them to students. An interesting point was made that public libraries create collections that best meet the needs of their population. One way academic libraries could incorporate public library collection development practices would be to meet students’ needs by responding to their requests for textbooks.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the Spring AGM was the Lightning Strike sessions. The quick format allows attendees to hear highlights from many different projects in a short amount of time. It was interesting to learn about SAIT’s new collection development model and how the roles of liaison librarians changed in response to this shift in duties. The study done by Mount Royal University of academic library users was fascinating in how it highlighted the differences and similarities of the way library spaces at different institutions are used by students. It was great to hear about the successes MacEwan University had promoting their LibQual survey using their in-house marketing team. I also learned a lot from the presentation made by Red Deer College about hosting digital files, digitizing old formats and copyright issues related to the digital media project. Finally, I gained a deeper understanding about the library services at Maskwacis Cultural College and was made aware of the Library Showcase being hosted at Maskwacis, which I was lucky enough to attend this month.

It was wonderful to get the chance to visit Red Deer College Library for the first time and see their new service desk model. The staff was very welcoming and gracious in answering our many questions about the combined service point. In particular, I was very interested in their reserve collection which was open for students to browse and select items. This contrasts other reserve collections I have seen which are usually located behind the service desk and inaccessible to students. This openness and willingness to make staff and resources more accessible to students is something I would like to emulate at my own library.

Overall, I am very grateful to the Professional Development Committee for giving me the opportunity to attend the AAAL Spring Meeting. I plan to incorporate some of the things I learned into the services at Yellowhead Tribal College Library and look forward to future AAAL meetings.

For more information about the Professional Development Award, please contact committee members Suzanne Rackover (Banff Centre) or Janet Sainsbury (Bow Valley College).