AAAL 7 Questions with Jane Duffy

March 3, 20167 QuestionsAAAL

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

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

AAAL Call for Volunteers (extended): Mentorship Working Group

February 5, 2016UncategorizedAAAL

The AAAL Executive is looking for 3-4 members interested in exploring ways that the AAAL might better support mentorship opportunities among our members. The group will be tasked with reaching out to current library mentorship programs, conducting a review of literature on effective approaches to mentorship, and making a preliminary report or suggestions to the membership at the upcoming Spring AGM in Calgary on April 14.

If interested, please submit your name and a brief statement of interest to AAAL Co-Chairs Robyn Hall (hallr27@macewan.ca) and Sonya Betz (sonya.betz@ualberta.ca) by Thursday, February 18.

7 Questions with Shawna Murphy

February 1, 20167 QuestionsAAAL

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

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 to Augustana Workshop staff

January 18, 2016UncategorizedAAAL

The Augustana Information Literacy Workshops have, over the last 15 years, been exceptional opportunities for academic librarians from Alberta and beyond to learn from some of the most influential information literacy researchers and practitioners. But, more than that, the workshops have also provided a venue for academic librarians from Alberta to build a local community of practice. Each year, we have had an opportunity to connect (or reconnect) with our colleagues around the province, spend a day learning from each other, and to have conversations around our teaching.

To Nancy and Mel, and the rest of the staff at Augustana library, thank you for your commitment to information literacy, and for organizing topics, resources, and presenters to help us grow and connect in our profession. Your commitment and passion inspires librarians across the province!

– Posted on behalf of Red Deer College librarians and the many AAAL members who attended these workshops over the years…

7 Questions with Anne Carr-Wiggin

January 12, 20167 QuestionsAAAL

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.

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