This is a pretty cool, innovative program with a lot of potential to pay ongoing dividends. And of course, the US is doing the opposite with prisons in Pennsylvania where inmates are no longer being allowed any form of print book sent by family members or charities but they can buy overpriced, overly restricted ebooks, […]
Good to see that the organization comprised of urban municipalities across Saskatchewan passed a resolution at their recent convention calling for members to advocate for increased funding for public libraries. Therefore be it resolved that the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association advocate the Government of Saskatchewan to adequately fund the public library system to keep pace […]
In the current Sask NDP leadership race, you’ll see lots of endorsements from many of the high profile people you’d expect to hear from – current and former MPs and MLA’s, grassroots and labour activists, young leaders and lifetime members. I’d like to talk to you from a different perspective – as a working librarian […]
At RPL’s recent Staff Development Day, I was asked to moderate a panel discussion on fake news. The panelists included a local education prof who specializes in social media and digital technology, a journalism prof who specializes in mass and alternative media and a journalist who is the assignment producer as well as having responsibility for […]
There are a few choices out there but this trailer makes me think “The Public” might be the best library-themed movie ever, in part because it appears to address so many of the issues we deal with in the library every day – homelessness, community engagement and creating a welcoming space, the library’s relationship to […]
I don’t think I’ve ever posted this song for Music Monday but it’s one of my favourites of all-time. “Rain on the Scarecrow” – John Mellencamp Although I knew fairly early that I was never going to be a farmer (my standard line on the subject is that, growing up, I was more into books […]
When an Education Minister cuts funding so significantly that it puts the entire, century-in-the-making public library system at risk of shutting down completely, it’s not surprising that I’m not going to be a fan. Luckily, thousands of other people across the province felt the same way, then-Education Minister, Don Morgan, admitted his mistake and public […]
Yesterday was the last day of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company which was shuttered as part of the Sask Party’s extreme cuts in their last budget. Founded in 1946 by Tommy Douglas’ CCF government as a way to connect and serve a widely distributed and (at the time) mostly rural province, STC hit highs for ridership in the […]
I did a post a while back about the debate many Canadians are having about whether to travel to Trump’s America or not. The reverse is true too – in libraries and other sectors, Americans are looking to move to Canada to raise their families and live in a more fair, equitable and understanding society. […]
It was a fairly last minute decision but after debating back and forth for the past couple months, after library funding was restored, I decided to apply to attend the Sask Library Association conference in Waskesiu. (I know the conference location was probably picked 18-24 months ago but the optics of having a conference at a […]
