March’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Jane Duffy, Librarian III, City Centre Library, MacEwan University.

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1.  If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Trigonometry

2. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Dame Philippa Talbot (In this House of Brede)

3. What is your proudest non-work related accomplishment? Quitting smoking 25 years ago.

4. What do you eat for breakfast? Eggs (scrambled or boiled)

5. What do you do when you’re not working? Walking my little Shih Tzu, Peter; reading

6. What is your favourite quote? “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverence the race that is set before us…” Hebrews 12:1

7. What is your favourite colour? Sunshine yellow

February’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Shawna Murphy, Outreach librarian, Vera Bracken Library, Medicine Hat College.

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1.  When was the last time you were nervous? I’m often nervous, but I think that’s actually a good thing. I’m always trying new things so I never get too comfortable.

2. If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for? It would be a big old East Coast ceilidh. Fiddles, guitars, bodhrans, jam sessions, step dancing, and a huge house to fit everyone into! And it would be just because- you don’t need an excuse to have a party!

3. What is your best piece of career advice? I am still pretty new to this librarian thing, and I am much more qualified to listen to other, more experienced people’s advice than to give any myself. However, I guess what’s working for me is being adventurous, getting out of my comfort zone, trying new things, and being invested in my role(s). I know that’s all very cliche but I think being open and excited about what we do is absolutely the best way to learn and grow in this profession.

4. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? Battlestar Galactica, Once Upon a Time, and Downton Abbey (I couldn’t pick just one)

5.What is your proudest work-related accomplishment? In 2012 I spent 4 months in Bangalore, India, working as an intern with the Hippocampus Reading Foundation. I helped develop and implement an ESL story time program and a teacher training program for use in government school libraries and the Hippocampus Learning Centres set up in rural villages. I really enjoyed my time there and learned so much. It really opened my eyes to the positive impact libraries and librarians can have on the communities they serve.

6. What do you do when you’re not working? I like zumba, reading, knitting, baking, going for walks, traveling, and playing board games. I also love to dance. My favourite thing to do though is just hang out at home, watch Netflix with my husband, try new recipes, have friends over, and just generally enjoy life.

7. What is your favourite quote?
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
– Mary Oliver
https://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/133.html

Thank you for our patience waiting for January’s 7 Questions With… AAAL Members. It was slightly delayed due to the holiday break but we are back, and January’s installment features Anne Carr-Wiggin, NEOS Manager and Coordinator of Indigenous Initiatives at University of Alberta Libraries.

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1. What is something interesting you learned in the last month? I learned more than I ever knew about acquisitions as we start the NEOS Shared Acquisitions pilot project! MacEwan is the lead library and I think it will make a difference to how we do things, and hopefully save time and money for NEOS libraries!

2. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life? A mix of Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, Lou Reed and Christian Hansen!

3. If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be? Indigenizing and decolonizing the library along with some great students and colleagues from the university and the First Nations Information Connection libraries. Libraries have a lot to offer in the journey to Reconciliation.

4. What is your best piece of career advice? Always seek to collaborate and bring more people in to what you are doing. Leadership should always be shared.

5. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? Binge watching is the ONLY way I watch anything so it’s hard to pick a favourite! Christmas break this year involved the last season of Downton Abbey and Orphan Black. On my list: more of Broadchurch, Wire in the Blood, Last Tango in Halifax and River.

6. What is your proudest non-work related accomplishment? My husband died when my daughter was six months old, and I’m proud that I guided her into the amazing young woman she is today! I can’t claim all the credit, as a lot of who she is is due to her, but I’m pleased with how she turned out!

7. What is your favourite quote? Ah but in such an ugly time the true protest is beauty. – Phil Ochs

December’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Mary Weasel Fat, Library Coordinator, Red Crow Community College Resource Centre

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1. When was the last time you were nervous?  I was kind of nervous at the TAL meeting in November when I did the RCCC fire update but once I got going I felt like I couldn’t stop talking.

2. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad, but it turned out to be for the best?  The RCCC fire of August 2015 which destroyed the campus including the library-it was a blessing in disguise as we have a new campus located at the Old Saipoyi (Standoff) Elementary School and we will be building a new college campus to be completed in two years. We hope to build our dream library/archives in this facility-New Beginnings-Looking Forward.

3. If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be? Setting up the RCCC Archives.

4. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? Reign TV show

5. What is your proudest work-related accomplishment? Receiving the LAA President’s Award for helping to set up the Kainai Public Library on my Reserve-Kainai First Nation. The award burnt in the RCCC fire in August along with some other awards I received.

6. What is your proudest non-work related accomplishment? My daughter Maya and my grandson Ryder Maxwell.

7. What is your favourite colour? Turquoise

November’s installment of 7 Questions With… AAAL Members features Liz Fulton-Lyne, Lead Instruction Librarian, NorQuest College. 

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1. What is something interesting you learned in the last month? Last month I attended the Augustana Information Literacy workshop and learned about McTighe and Wiggins’ “Understanding by Design Framework,” which is a backwards design method. It could be quite useful as a tool for curriculum planning and thinking about information literacy in relation to broader learning goals. I learned a lot that day. It was a great workshop.

2.  When was the last time you were nervous? I recently ran a 10K “race” for pancreatic cancer, and leading up to the day I was really nervous! I hadn’t run that far for years. In fact, up until 2 months ago I had not run at all for over a decade.

3. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Make perfect pastry.

4. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad, but it turned out to be for the best? In 1998 my husband was transferred to a job in Ontario. It was our 3rd move in 3 years. I had a baby and toddler and was reluctant to move far away from family and friends here in Alberta but during our time there we made great friends, had another child, and I discovered my career in libraries!

5. What is your best piece of career advice? Say yes more than you say no. Sometimes saying yes means taking a risk, or rising to a challenge, but in my experience, it often leads to opportunities.
6. What is your favourite thing to binge watch? Game of Thrones and House of Cards.

7. What is your favourite quote? “You’ve really got to start hitting the books because it’s no joke out here.” – Spike Lee