There are three exciting AAAL Executive positions up for election at the Spring 2017 AGM on Thursday, April 20, 2017 in Calgary.  If you’re looking for a new way to contribute to the Association or build your CV, please consider putting your name forward! You are also welcome to nominate a colleague from any AAAL member library.

If you are interested in being nominated for any of these positions, or would like further information about the positions, please contact any member of the AAAL Nominations Committee (Samuel Cassady, Jane Duffy, Isobel Rancier) before February 28, 2017. A brief Statement of Interest for each nominee will be sent out 2 weeks before the AGM in April.

Chair (one year position as of April 2017 – formerly a 2 year position)

• Conduct the Fall Meeting, Annual General Meeting, and Executive Committee meetings;
• Coordinate meetings: contact hosting institution; ensure Workshop Committee has activities planned;
• set date and agenda items;
• Act as spokesperson when representing AAAL to other associations, agencies & government departments;
• Coordinate with the AAAL Communications Committee to ensure members are aware of new and upcoming meetings.

Chair Elect (one year position as of April 2017 – to transition to Chair after one year)

• Maintain liaison with other library associations and external organizations, and ensure news and updates of interest to the Association are reported at the Fall Meeting, Annual General Meeting, and via the AAAL blog and social media;
• Call for standing committee members as needed and ensure standing committee positions are filled;
• Support and consult with the Chair as needed, sharing duties as the Chair sees fit;
• Conduct general meetings in Chair’s absence.

Membership Coordinator (2 year position)

• Maintain current membership records, files and forms for AAAL members and affiliates, along with participants in the Resource Sharing Agreement;
• Coordinate with the Secretary/Treasurer the collection of membership fees;
• Coordinate with the AAAL Communications Committee to ensure the website reflects current membership;
• Create and coordinate the distribution of post-meeting evaluations to membership.

We are pleased to announce the Call for Proposals (CFP) for CAPAL17: Foundations & Futures: Critical Reflections on the Pasts, Presents, and Possibilities of Academic Librarianship. This will be the fourth annual conference of the Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL) to be held May 30th – June 1st as part of Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2017 in Toronto, Ontario which lies in the territory of the Haudenosaunee and the Mississaugas of the New Credit River.

This conference provides an opportunity for the academic library community to critically examine and discuss together the ways in which our profession is influenced by its social, political, and economic environments. By considering academic librarianship within its historical contexts, its presents, and its possible futures, and by situating it within evolving cultural frameworks and structures of power, we can better understand the ways in which academic librarianship may reflect, reinforce, or challenge these contexts both positively and negatively.
The deadline for proposals is the 23^rd of December, 2016.

For more details download the full call for proposals.

The AAAL Executive is looking for an enthusiastic library staff member from an AAAL institution to put their name forward to fill a vacancy on the AAAL Professional Development Committee.

Please express your interest via email to cj.dejong@ualberta.ca by Monday, November 14th.

The Alberta Association of Academic Libraries (AAAL) Fall 2016 Meeting will take place on Thursday, November 17, 2016 at the University of Alberta.

Please consider submitting a proposal for a 20 minute session on something new or engaging that is happening at your library, or on a topic applicable to academic libraries in our province!

What new program, service, or space are you and your library providing to your user community? What new technologies or tools are you using to improve how you, your library, or your users get things done?

Looking for ideas on what to present? Check out past AAAL Lightning Strike presentations.

Wondering how we’ll select sessions? Take a look at our new rubric and use it to prepare your proposal.

Submit your proposal online by Monday, October 24, 2016.
In need of financial support to present at the meeting? Apply for an AAAL Professional Development Award as part of the submission process.

We hope to see you in Edmonton in November!

AAAL Workshop Committee
Claudette Cloutier (UCalgary)
Shawna Murphy (MHC)
Trish Rosseel (UAlberta)