Registration is Now Open for the AAAL Fall 2024 Meeting!

Fall Meeting

Registration is now open for our (virtual) Fall meeting on Thursday, November 21st from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Library staff from all member institutions are invited to join us online
for our business meeting and roundtable discussion.

We are still in discussions with our potential keynote speaker; therefore, details and the
full meeting package are still to come.

Please Register Here
 

We look forward to meeting you all online soon! If you have any questions or concerns,
please contact aaal.executive@gmail.com.

Kind Regards,
AAAL Learning & Development Committee

SAMPL Research Lab – Library Satisfaction Survey

Member News

This call for survey participation may be of interest to some AAAL members:

The SAMPL research lab is currently conducting a study, “Checking In: A Job Satisfaction Survey for Library Workers”, piloting a job satisfaction survey for library workers. We have found that the current literature and measures do not capture the unique working conditions and environment of library workers.

This study is being conducted by researchers in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. This survey aims to gain a better understanding of the factors related to the job satisfaction of current library workers in Canada. 

The survey will be available through the Qualtrics platform with the following link https://ualbertauw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dptGP3b2kiSB7Cu and will take 40-45 minutes to complete. Participants must be English-speaking current library workers over the age of 18. They will receive a $5 digital gift card for either Tim Hortons or Starbucks as compensation for their time. Participation is voluntary and information will remain anonymous. Survey data cannot be linked back to participants. 

On behalf of our research team, thank you for your time and consideration. If you supervise or manage library staff, feel free to share this research opportunity with them as well.

Please reach out to the Study Coordinator, Kiranpreet Ghag at kkghag@ualberta.ca, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this study. 

Sent on behalf of,

Amanda Santarossa & Kiranpreet Ghag

Faculty of Education

University of Alberta

Save the Date: AAAL Fall Meeting, Nov 21

Fall Meeting

Greetings AAAL Members,

Mark your calendar! The Alberta Association of Academic Libraries [AAAL] Fall 2024 Meeting will be held on virtually on Thursday, November 21st, 9 am – 12 pm.

Library staff from all member institutions are invited to join us for a morning meeting that includes the business meeting, followed by a professional development activity (program and RSVP to follow soon).

Many thanks,
AAAL Learning & Development Committee

AAAL Sub-Committee Opportunities

AAAL Committees

The Alberta Association of Academic Libraries (AAAL) is seeking volunteers from member institutions to fill the following Sub-Committee Vacancies:

  • Mentorship Committee
  • 2 vacancies (2-year term)
    The Mentorship Committee is responsible for coordinating and supporting the AAAL Mentorship program (Sept-April), including calling for mentors and mentees, pairing participants, and soliciting feedback.
  • Learning and Development Committee 
  • No current vacancies but new members welcome!
    The Learning and Development Committee is responsible for coordinating the Spring AGM and Fall meeting, collaborating with the host institution, and facilitating the running of the meetings.

For a full list of responsibilities for each role/committee, please visit the AAAL Bylaws Page. Any questions about the roles can be sent to Andrea Johnston (andrea.johnston@rdpolytech.ca)

All staff from AAAL member institutions are eligible. For Sub-Committee positions, we only require an expression of interest. Expressions of interest can be sent to the AAAL Executive (aaal.executive@gmail.com).

The deadline for expressions of interest is Tuesday October 15, 2024.

Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for considering!
—
AAAL Executive Team
aaal.executive@gmail.com

Announcement of New AAAL Chair-Elect

AAAL Committees

Dear AAAL membership:

I am delighted to announce that Andrea Johnston of Red Deer Polytechnic has been acclaimed AAAL Chair Elect: Andrea’s term officially began on September 27 at our Executive meeting. A few words of introduction to Andrea follow.

Andrea Johnston is a subject librarian at Red Deer Polytechnic overseeing the Nursing, Pre-Health Sciences, and the Visual Arts programs at RDP. Previously, Andrea was the Librarian at Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary and started her new adventure in Red Deer this past August. Andrea oversees the collection in her subject areas, facilitates information literacy sessions, participates in developing and reviewing the curriculum, and will also be working on RDP’s OER initiatives, as well as video creation. While she is relatively new to academia, Andrea has worked as a professional librarian since 2016 and also worked as a Reference Assistant at both the University of Alberta and MacEwan University during her time as a library student. Her research interests include ghost stories and folklore, gamification and effective teaching strategies, and the role of GenAI in academia. Andrea is eager to contribute to her community of peers and looks forward to potentially serving on the AAAL Executive Committee.

We are most fortunate to have a librarian of Andrea’s calibre on the AAAL Executive. Please join me in welcoming Andrea to our Association!

All best wishes,

Jane C. Duffy, B.A., M.A., M.L.S., M.A.C.T.

Chair, Association of Alberta Academic Libraries 2024-25

Librarian for Mathematics & Statistics, Dept of Public Safety and Justice Studies

Liaison for the School of Continuing Education and MacEwan International

MacEwan University