AALT Technician: the Journal of AALT

ISSN 0703-5276 Volume 36, Number 4 Fall 2009

“The Official Voice of Library Technicians in Alberta.”

AALT TECHNICIAN

The Journal of the Alberta Association of Library Technicians

IN THIS ISSUE: AALT SPOTLIGHT

Gothic-ish Picture Books 8

Chat Reference Services at Mount Royal University 10

Secret Lives of Library Technicians … Andrea Zielinski 15

Sustainability Resources 19

Facebook: Protecting Your Privacy While Social Networking 21

AALT on the Move: Grande Prairie or Bust, and the Royal Treatment at Prince George 26

AALT FEATURES

Proof-reading Tips and Grammar Basics [part 1] 12

AALT Conference Update 24

News release: Alberta libraries benefit from broadband boost 25

Under the Covers: Shadows Edge by Brent Weeks 29

Calendar of Events 37

AALT BUSINESS

Journal Advertising and Submission Policy 2

Editor’s Notes 3

AALT: Committees & Volunteers 4

AALT Contributors 5

President’s Comments 6

AALT: Mission & Purpose 23

AALT: Membership Form 30

Board Meeting Highlights & Group Reports 32

Letter from Peace Library System 33

Letter from Kathy Knowles (2009 AALT Conference keynote speaker) 34

AALT: Board of Directors 36

ADVERTISING POLICY All copy for advertising is accepted at the discretion of the Communications Group Chair, who reserves the right to refuse any advertisement. Products are not tested and listings do not imply an endorsement. Payment, Rate Changes, and Cancellations All advertising must be paid in full before your advertising campaign begins. Payment can be made by credit card (VISA and MasterCard) through our online registration system or by cheque. All advertising purchases are non-refundable. AALT reserves the right to change our advertising rates at any time. Rates will not be retroactively applied to any prepaid advertising. AALT reserves the right to terminate any advertising for any reason. If such termination occurs, we will refund your account a prorated amount based on the time that already served. Cancellations before payment is received will be subject to a 15% cancellation fee. ADVERTISING RATES Advertisements must be received prepaid three weeks prior to the release date of the desired issue and must be camera ready. The cost for advertising in the AALT Technician per issue is as follows: ♦ Full Page $100.00 ♦ Quarter Page $30.00 ♦ Half Page $50.00 ♦ Business Card $25.00 The AALT Technician is published quarterly: Fall, Fall, Winter and Spring. AD PACKAGE OFFERS Get better value with your advertising dollar by purchasing one of the following package deals:

♦ Platinum Package – 4 months on the ORS page, AALT Members Only page, and the Library Associations Directory page plus a half page ad in 4 issues of the AALT Technician - $399.00

♦ Gold Package - 4 months on the ORS page and the AALT Members Only home page, and a quarter page in 4 issues of the AALT Technician - $295.00.

♦ Silver Package - 4 months on the ORS page and the Library Associations Directory Page, and a half page in 4 issues of the AALT Technician -$250.00.

♦ Bronze Package – 4 months on AALT Members Only home page and the Library Associations Directory Page, and a quarter page in 4 issues of the AALT Technician - $200.00.

TO PLACE AN AD To place an advertisement on our web site or in the AALT Technician, please contact the AALT President-Elect at [email protected]. The inclusion of an advertisement is up to the discretion of the AALT Communications Group and will fall under the AALT advertising policy guidelines.

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SUBMISSIONS POLICY All article submissions are accepted at the discretion of the Journal Editors’. All articles must be submitted as a .rtf, .txt, or .doc file and may be subject to editing as the Journal Committee sees fit. Articles may be held for publication in a future issue, (in the same calendar year) of the AALT Technician. Questions or concerns regarding this submission policy can be directed to the Journal editors’ @ [email protected].

CONTRIBUTE TODAY! Turn that great idea you had into an article and share it with everyone! Have an article you would like to see? Send us your request. Comments or questions about any content? Want to join the Journal Committee? Send your ideas, requests, questions and comments to:

[email protected]

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR THE

WINTER ISSUE IS: January 10, 2009

AALT Technician Fall 2009

DISCLAIMER All views & opinions expressed by contributors are the sole opinion of the author & do not necessarily

reflect the opinions of AALT.

SUBMISSIONS CONTEST Winners cannot be current

members of the Board of Directors or the Journal Committee.

BEGINNING WITH THE FALL 2009 ISSUE, THE AALT TECHNICIAN IS PUBLISHED ELECTRONICALLY ONLY

3 AALT Technician Fall 2009

EDITORS’ NOTES BY JOANNE SHUM & REA GOSINE A new school year is upon us and it only means one thing… another editorial and back to the usual for me (or as I like to call it, the evening grind). I hope all of you had a great summer and are looking forward to the rest of the year after a nice vacation if you were lucky enough to get away. I went East for my R’n’R, visited some friends in Thunder Bay and then the group of us headed down to Toronto. I’ve visited before to

see family, but this time around was different. I saw a different part of Toronto that I normally would not have seen had I been staying with family. Downtown Toronto is very different than the ‘burbs. I saw the Toronto Reference Library and thought I was in heaven. There was so much stuff in there and it wasn’t just books! My friends had some difficulty keeping me out of the library and pretty much any book store we passed by while exploring downtown. I definitely see another trip to Toronto in the future. There are many more book stores to explore! :o) I spent the first week of September volunteering my time for Worldskills 2009 Calgary to which my employer SAIT was a huge sponsor of the competition. They had all the competitors living in the residence and the library was open late a week early to accommodate them. We had a lot of competitors come in to get internet access. Some of them were so excited to be competing. I also managed to pick up a few team pins here and there. I had a lot of fun, but it made for long days as I would spend my mornings down at Stampede Park doing whatever they sent me off to do and then rush from Stampede Park to the library to start my evening shifts. It was a 15 hour day for four days but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I met a lot of new people, got to see some futuristic designs, (the robotic penguin and jellyfish were AWESOME!), and some of the world’s best doing what they do best in their specific trade or technology. Too bad they don’t have some sort of competition for library technicians. It’d be kind of interesting to see what kind of things we as library technicians would compete in; fastest time for book shelving? Or maybe find the book in 60 seconds? Anyways, enough talk about summer, let’s get ready for fall! As I look at the calendar, I see we have a conference otherwise known as Netspeed 2009 coming up. I plan on attending a few sessions and hope to see some of you there! Also, don’t forget about the AALT 2010 conference as well. I know the Conference committee is hard at work gathering speakers and presenters so stay tuned! They’ve got some great ideas and presenters lined up for us next year and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us all! … Joanne I initially started this editor’s note way back in September – school was new, work seemed new, school supplies were new, and as I now open the document to finish it up (a month and a half later), fall has passed. Technically it’s still here, but we’ve seen snow and rain and had a bout of winter already! Fall to me means a time for lists. I make lists all the time (groceries, things to do today etc.), but fall is the time to break out the mega ‘from now until the New Year this is what needs to be done’ list. Examples include: things to buy for the new school year (even though I don’t work in an academic setting, it is the time to stock up on office supplies), things to accomplish before Thanksgiving (for those of you with yards I hear there are yard/garden-type things to get done? In my apartment it means switching the black-out blinds, pulling out the big blankets for the couch and securing an invitation to dinner somewhere), and finally one of my favourites, the holiday list (I had one friend tell me she was done her Christmas shopping in the middle of September – don’t worry, I’m not speaking to her either). So, now that we’ve passed the time for Thanksgiving and new school supplies, it brings us to the holiday list. For those of you looking for some book suggestions, I recommend Ecoholic: Your Guide to the Most Environmentally Friendly Information, Products and Services in Canada by Adria Vasil. This is a great book with witty and practical Canadian advice for being environmentally friendly. In my household it carries the nickname ‘The Scary Book’ and is the source of several earth friendly changes throughout the apartment. For fiction-lovers we have two articles in this Fall issue that are book reviews, maybe one of the reviewed books would be a perfect gift for someone on your list! One final suggestion for a gift, how about an AALT membership? Why not bring in a new member and give them the chance to learn about and get involved with our association? Don’t forget to get yourself a gift of an AALT membership as well, the online site is now taking renewals. Happy shopping everyone, have a safe holiday season and we’ll see you in the next issue of the Technician! … Rea


Board Committees Executive Committee Kim Martin, President - Chair; Allison Stewart, President-Elect; Lynda Shurko, Member-at-Large

Administration Group Kim Martin, President - Chair; Sarah Stephens, Membership Director; Lillo Lesko, Treasurer; Dianne Guidera, Board Appointee

Communications Group Allison Stewart, President-Elect; Melanie Belliveau, Marketing Director ; Rea Gosine, Journal Co- Editor; Joanne Shum, Journal Co-Editor; Janine Petty; Web Team Director

Professional Development Group Lynda Shurko, Member-at-Large – Chair; Janell Bauer, Conference Co-Chair; Nancy Scott, Conference Co-Chair Director Chaired Committees Conference Committee ([email protected]) Nancy Scott - Co-Chair, Janell Bauer - Co-Chair, Leanne Gosse, Dianne Guidera, Colleen Rowe, Marilyn Segall, Jane Huber, Meera Mitra. Journal Committee ([email protected]) Rea Gosine – Co-Chair, Joanne Shum – Co-Chair, Norman Stewart, Beth Vandenboogaard, Joel Nielsen, Shawna Manchakowsky, Suyun Chen, Valarie Olafson Marketing Committee ([email protected])

Melanie Belliveau– Chair, Deb Cryderman, Chris Gartner, Leanne Gosse, Jonathan Wainwright Membership Committee

Sarah Stephens - Chair, Normita Coralejo, Laura Somerville Web Site Committee ([email protected])

Janine Petty – Chair, Charmaine Sipe, Colleen Rowe, Cynthia Beuselinck, John Neild, Jonathan Wainwright, Lynn Blain, Marnie McFarland, Mike Wareman, Shalena Brown

Additional Committees Alberta School Advisory Committee

Carol Fowler – AALT Representative

AALT: COMMITTEES & VOLUNTEERS 2009/2010


Joanne Shum: “Under the Covers: Shadows Edge by Brent Weeks” [p.29] - Joanne is the current co-editor of the AALT Technician and is a Library Technician at SAIT in Calgary. Rea Gosine: “Secret Lives of Library Technicians” [p.15]; “Sustainability Resources” [p.19] - Rea is the cur-rent co-editor of the AALT Technician and is the Database & Website Administrator for Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA). Kim Martin: “AALT On The Move” [p.26] - Kim is the current AALT President and the office manager at J&W Plumbing. She is a regular contributor to the Journal and a past editor. Sarah Stephens: “Chat Reference Service at Mount Royal University” [p.10] - Sarah is an Information Assis-tant at Mount Royal University and the current Membership Director for AALT. Melanie Belliveau: “Facebook: Protecting Your Privacy While Social Networking” [p.21] - Melanie is a Spe-cialist Advisor II for the University of Calgary, based out of Calgary’s Rockyview Hospital. Tracey Belsher: “Gothic-ish Picture Books” [p.8] - Tracy is a library technician working in an elementary school library in Cold Lake, Alberta. Tamara Abram: “Proofreading Tips & Grammar Basics” [p.12] - Tamara is the Inquiries Clerk in the Adju-dication Unit of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, and a past AALT President.

CONTRIBUTORS TO THE FALL 2009 ISSUE:

The AALT Journal Submissions contest is open again for another year!

This year we’re running TWO contests:

1. Each article is entered to win a to-be-determined prize for the issue submitted for.

2. All entries up to & including the Spring 2010 issue will be entered into a draw for a

chance to win a FREE registration to the AALT Conference

May 27 – May 30, 2010 at the Carriage House Inn in Calgary.

Deadline for submissions to the next issue of the AALT Technician is January 10th, 2009!

We look forward to hearing from you!

[email protected]

CONGRATULATIONS TO YVON BLANCHETTE! WINNER OF THE SUMMER 2009 DRAW FOR A $25 STARBUCKS GC!

PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS BY KIM MARTIN


T oday’s message brought to you by the letter AAARRR (a salute to all the library pirates at Halloween!) Fall is upon us with Christmas not far behind. Before the days of merriment and revelry arrive, it’s time to take a moment to recap what has been happening in our library community, reach out to members, library staff, and the community, and finally, recognize our profession.

ecap – Change is a great way to breathe new life into anything, and libraries and the library community are no exception. Big in the news is the renaming of Grant MacEwan College to Grant MacEwan

University. The library technician program at the new university will remain as is and in fact is gaining in popularity as they received about 88 applications for 2009-2010. Another exciting event was the rejuvenation of the Library Technicians and Assistants Interest Group (LTAIG) in British Columbia with Mary Afonso as the LTAIG Convenor. Mary is a second year student in the Library and Information Sciences program at Langara College. Working with Mary are Stephen Karr and Sarah Felkar, both 2009 graduates of the Library and Information Technology program at Langara College. Once again we have active library technician associations from coast to coast. On another note, it was with mixed feelings that I learned of Rowena Lunn’s retirement as Director of the Marigold Library System. Rowena is the optimal professional who, over the years, made AALT representatives feel welcomed wherever they went and whichever committee they participated on. On behalf of all of us at AALT, I wish her all the best. Other library news of interest is the appointments of Maureen Woods as CEO of The Alberta Library, and Michelle Toombs as the Director of Marigold Library System. Congratulations to both!

each Out – As mentioned in the Summer issue of the AALT Technician, communication and reaching out to our membership are priorities of this year’s Board of Directors. Plans for activities like pub

nights and informal social networking opportunities are in the works, and the Board is working on the idea of participating in community events and activities which will bring further awareness of our association and profession while helping out in the community. Another project coming to fruition is the creation of the AALT Focus Group. The purpose of the Focus Group is to act as a sounding board for AALT projects, publications, ideas, etc. and to give the Board feedback. For more information about the Focus Group, please contact our Marketing Director at [email protected]. We also reached out to the library community by taking AALT on the road. On September 9, 2009 Jonathan Wainwright, our SAIT Student Representative on the AALT Board, made a presentation to the 1st year LIT students at SAIT which was very well received. On September 24 – 25, 2009, I represented AALT at the Rural Libraries Conference ’09 in Grande Prairie. I had the opportunity to chat with delegates from all over northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia, learning more about


some of the issues and concerns that smaller libraries have. Upon leaving Grande Prairie, I met up with some of our colleagues in Prince George who had attended AALT 2009 in Edmonton. You can read more about these adventures in the “AALT on the Move” article further in this issue.

ecognize – The AALT Board and their committees continue to amaze me. All of them show great initiative and such positive energy that it makes anything and everything seem possible. Their

professionalism and belief in AALT and the library technician profession, makes my job as president a “walk in the park”. Each director brings much to the Board table and to their individual position. I encourage our membership to take advantage of this opportunity to work with and learn from these remarkable individuals. If you are interested in working on one of the various AALT committees please contact the specific director or myself at [email protected]. The Board is also working on a project that will promote the expertise of library technicians through the creation of a library technician speaker database. Although this project is still in the planning stages, the idea is to provide a database of library technicians who can be hired as speakers, complete with session topics, brief biography, fees, etc. If this would be of interest to you, please drop me a line at [email protected]. I would like to hear your thoughts about this project. I have one last “R” word to leave with you, renew…renew your connection with the library technician community, renew your AALT membership, and renew your spirit in the upcoming Christmas season. I hope to see you at one of the upcoming AALT events! From the entire AALT Board of Directors, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy New Year!

AALT FOCUS GROUP Have you ever thought about sharing your opinions,

expertise and interest with other professionals?

Would you like to give valuable feedback to the AALT Board of Directors?

Volunteer to be a member of the new AALT Focus Group now! Your time is important so all we ask is for your involvement in occasional discussion.

Your feedback will play a critical role in moving AALT forward.

For more information contact: [email protected]


GOTHIC-ISH PICTURE BOOKS BY TRACY BELSHER

There is nothing more captivating for me than a creepy, fun, gothic tale. These stories may come in the form of lengthy adult and young adult fiction novels or in the fantastical illustrations of a picture book. Working as a library technician in an elementary school library, I read a lot of middle grade novels and picture books. This is supplementary to the young adult fiction titles I read/devour - partly because I’m a writer and I need to stay current on YA trends – and more than partly – more like largely, because I LOVE YA fiction. With my background, both as a library technician and a writer of young adult fiction, I find myself especially drawn to the paranormal / gothic / supernatural-ish MG titles and picture books in my library. It could be con-sidered a bias, but I prefer to call those titles my special area of interest when developing my library collection. And I will admit to ordering a few titles for the library simply because I was dying to read them – but the kids read them, too! My weaknesses are fractured fairy tales – retellings with modern twists. The more unusual, gothic, and dark - the better. With October around the corner, I’m already planning how I’m going to decorate the library and which stories I’ll do as read alouds to the Kindergarten to Grade 6 students at my school. There are some amazingly creepy (but fun!) tales out there – stories that teens and adults would love as well. I thought I’d share a few of my go-to favourites. Let’s dig into some gothic-ish picture books, shall we? The Spider & The Fly – illustrated by Tony Diterlizzi. Based on the fa-mous poem by Mary Howit and illustrated in the style of a classic Holly-wood horror film from the 20s and 30s – this picture book gets its message across with a haunting cinematic feel. Also Diterlizzi’s website just kicks supernatural butt: http://www.diterlizzi.com/

Beauty and the Beast – retold by Marianna Mayer with illustrations by Mercer Mayer. While this is definitely a longer picture book, a title that I might divide into several library storytimes – it is perfect for a leisurely escape when you might need a little magic and romance in your life. A mixture of black and white ink drawings and full colour paintings, com-bined with rich, gothic text – this book is the epitome of cool. And it was published 1978.


Cinderella Skeleton (or Cendrillon Squeletton) - by Robert D. San Souci with illustrations by David Catrow: I first saw the French edition of this title (I work in a French Immersion school) and immediately had to order the English version so I could read it to the students without burning their ears with my horrible French accent (I read / listen to and understand enough French to get by, but speaking it? Not so much.). The illustrations are fabulous. Strange and eerie. Yet

who couldn’t sympathize with the poor wraith who lives in the “…third mausoleum on the right…” Snow White in New York – by Fiona French. Set in New York during the 1920s great Jazz age, this is an art deco, poisoned-cherry cocktail of a take on the classic story. It starts with a very hip first line and pulls you into a glamor-ous, dame of a tale. “Once upon a time in New York there was a poor little rich girl called Snow White.” Princess Florecita and the Iron Shoes –

by John Warren Stewig with illustrations by K. Wendy Popp. This Spanish fairy tale harkens to Sleeping Beauty except it’s all girl power as, thanks to a little black bird, a maiden learns of an enchanted sleeping prince and sets off in a pair of iron shoes to rescue him. The illustrations are dreamy – full of fog and muted pastels. Love it. The Tailypo: A Ghost Story – by Joanna Galdone with illustrations by Paul Galdone: This book simply must

be read aloud. It’s truly frightening in a fun, engaging way. Kids love this story and will often ask me to read it again and again. I made the mistake of dimming the lights in the library when I first read it to a grade 3 class (just before Halloween). The next day a parent called to tell me her son had night-mares. Oops. Now when I read the story, I make sure to give a little pream-ble about it being fiction and just a fun scare – and I leave the lights on. Just goes to show that a well written book published in 1977 can captivate (perhaps too well) today’s youth.

I think I’ll stop there, but I hope you’ll track down these titles. Please share any of your own gothic-ish picture book favourites - I’m always on the lookout for more of these spooky reads. [email protected]

Tracy Belsher is a library technician working in an elementary school library in Cold Lake, Alberta. She writes young adult fiction under her pen name, Judith Graves. Her debut young adult novel (paranormal – vampires/werewolves – it’s gothic-ish!) will be released in March 2010 with Leap Books, a US publisher of teen and tween fiction. Check out her website: http://www.judithgraves.com


CHAT REFERENCE SERVICE AT MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY BY SARAH STEPHENS

D uring the 2008/2009 academic year, the Mount Royal University Library decided to pilot a chat reference service starting in January of 2009. This

decision was made because staff became aware that research demands of the students were evolving, students are not always physically in the library when using resources and chat is a more convenient way for them to receive answers to their research questions. The purpose of the pilot was to gather information about what students need and to measure the success of providing service via chat reference. In order to prepare to provide chat service Katharine Barrette, the librarian in charge of the pilot, tested a number of different chat clients and talked to other libraries providing chat reference to gauge their experiences. In the end the chat client Libraryh3lp was chosen because it had the following features that were deemed useful for the MRU Library:

• There is a single screen name (Libhelp) for all operators. This is an important feature as it ensures that the students see a uniform library presence. It also allows the individual chat operators to remain anonymous.

• It allows multiple chat operators to be logged in at one time. This allows for better coverage during busy chat periods

• Libraryh3lp allows for the collection of data that was imperative to deter-mining the success of the chat pilot, i.e. number of chats and duration of chat calls.

• Libraryh3lp also allows for transcripts to be emailed to the user.

The chat service is presented on the MRU Library webpage (library.mtroyal.ca) in the form of widget that is present on the home page as well as other widely used pages. Students are not required to register or log in before they use the service. They simply need to type their question into the box and hit enter. When chat is offline the hours are displayed instead of a green ‘online’ indicator. The chat widget is freely available from anywhere in the world. This means that people who are not students may also use the chat service. It is a public service similar to what would be provided to a member of the general public who approached the Information Desk.


Librarians and the Information Services staff – those that work on the Information Desk, staffed chat refer-ence. Each member of the team signed up for one 2-hour shift per week. Chat operators worked from their per-sonal workstations. This allowed operators to be able to focus on delivering quality chat service without the distraction of the busy library and the needs of in-person patrons.

Katharine Barrette provided training for all chat operators prior to the launch of the chat pilot. Training ses-sions were broken up into two parts: Chat Basics and Chat Etiquette. Chat Basics discussed essentials like how to log in, how to answer a chat call, how to send and receive files, links and transcripts, transferring a chat to another operator and how to record chat statistics. Chat Etiquette prepared operators for working in a chat en-vironment. Some key topics discussed were conducting a reference interview via chat – using open and closed ended questions to expand on and clarify a query, what students expect from a chat session – clarity, concise-ness and consistency, and what internet language is appropriate. For example when using emoticons (smiley faces) consider how they may interrupt the chat session and how they may be interpreted.

The chat pilot was officially launched on January 19, 2009 with great success. Both students and chat opera-tors were satisfied with the service. During the pilot MRU logged 1205 individual chat calls and 199 instances of simultaneous chats were recorded – the most was 5 at one time! Chat was busiest the week prior to and the week after Reading Week and during the hours of 11-2. The questions that were asked were similar to what is received at the Information Desk. The volume of chats was the most successful aspect of the pilot. The re-sponse to chat reference was overwhelmingly positive and chat is now a regular offering of the Mount Royal Library Information Services Department.

The information and facts in this article were gathered from Chat Reference Pilot Annual Report prepared by Katharine Barrette in 2009.




This is a 3 part article. Look for part 2 of Proofreading Tips & Grammar Basics by Tamara Abram in the Winter issue of the AALT Technician


W elcome to the second installment of the “Secret Lives of Library Technicians”. This time we are introducing Andrea Zielinski from Emery Jamieson LLP. I first met Andrea when she interviewed and

hired me to work as a staff member while at the Edmonton Law Courts Library in 2006. Andrea was, and still is, a big supporter of the students she hired. Recently, I was pleased to have the chance for some Q&A with Andrea, where among other things, she expresses her philosophy of “you are what you believe yourself to be” quite passionately.

Andrea, where are you currently employed? “I work in a solo law library at Emery Jamieson LLP and my current job title is Librarian and Information Specialist”. That sounds like it can encompass a lot, what duties are involved in your job? “My job entails the following: legal research which can then be billed to the file, website design and content management of the website, managing a budget which means reading and reporting monthly on variances that occur, doing an annual budget – which often requires thinking outside the box in trying to run the library so it does not cost the firm exponentially large amounts of money. This could mean cancellations, ordering titles on an annual basis, weighing the costs between online versus paper. I also negotiate contract renewals for online services such as Ecarswell and Quicklaw. Collection development and weeding, basic reference, routing titles of periodicals and law reports, law firm marketing and current awareness through RSS feeds, an example of which is keeping track of all Supreme Court of Canada decisions as well as any other important decisions from across the country. The cataloguing I do is not LC – the collection is too small so it is “catalogued” in general subject areas and then numerically and by year after that. The software I use is InMagic and I usually copy catalogue”.

That is an amazing amount of work for one person! What kind of materials does your library house? “The collection is comprised of textbooks, statutes, law reports and periodicals and these can take different forms - from loose leaf binders to CD. I must update the loose leaf textbooks by filing pages. Currency in law libraries is essential so I must always supplement the collection with online tools – WestLaw Ecarswell and Quicklaw, as well as other internet sites for case law and articles”. Which library tech program were you enrolled in? “I graduated from GMCC in 1981 from what was the Cromdale Campus. It was a converted Safeway and located across from the Cromdale Hotel”. Why did you decide to enroll in the library tech program? “I fell into the program. After high school I had no idea what to do with the rest of my life and I had heard about the Lib Tech program as it was known then. I enjoyed reading and decided to apply”.

THE SECRET LIVES OF LIBRARY TECHNICIANS … ANDREA ZIELINSKI BY REA GOSINE


How did you manage to end up in a law library? Did you have specific ideas about where you wanted to be upon graduation? “I originally thought I would go into public libraries, but by second year I had made the decision to go into special libraries. I then began working for Alberta Justice, Bowker Building, after graduation for four days a week. I had only done one run around question about law and I remember thinking it was the hardest question I had ever encountered. I worked there for two years and then moved over to the Courthouse Library for the next 23 years where I received the best training possible as it enables me to fulfill my current position. I learned how to multi-task, how to tackle difficult questions, meet a wide variety of people - from members of the general public to members of the Bar, which include the judiciary as well as lawyers. I gained knowledge and understanding of the different principles and subject areas in law. I was able to cross-train in different areas such as: supervising, hiring, training evening staff members, indexing, binding, taking money for photocopying. I tried to learn every job I could no matter how small. I was like a sponge and gained more and more skill and was thus able to accomplish more and more. And soon I was completely hooked on law libraries. Was it what you expected? “Being in law libraries and falling into them accidentally was not what I expected, but at the same time it is more than I expected. I love the challenge when difficult questions come up, or discussing pieces of legislation and their impact after the statute is passed, or finding a case that is directly on point. To me it’s the constant learning curve even after 25 years, and not knowing what you will run across on any given day. That to me, gives me the most pleasure and knowing I can help the day to day information needs of the firm. The learning curve is also what keeps me in law libraries, having to research subject areas I am not always familiar with and finding an answer that has helped not only the lawyer but the client as well. It means always thinking on your feet and listening intently to what the lawyers want me to research. But it also takes a lot of hard work and trial and error at first, but eventually you are able to see your way through. You always have to think outside of the box and always strive to learn and grow. I don’t believe in just being a library technician – I believe in being the best librarian I can be. I have lost the label library technician in favour of librarian. I think that if you believe you are, then you are. You must believe in yourself and maintain the belief so you can assist people no matter who they. I think to be successful you have to engaged, interested, push the envelope and continue to learn throughout your career. You have to have enough confidence in yourself as well as your skills to tackle the large as well as the small problems that come up. Learn as many library tasks as you can and always continue to learn through professional associations, networking or on your own. Don’t just believe that you are a library tech – believe that you are a competent person who happens to work in a library and solves problems with ease and confidence”.

“Don’t just believe that you are a library tech – believe that you are a competent person who happens to work in a library and

solves problems with ease and confidence”


What do you enjoy most about your job? “The best thing I like about my job is doing legal research. I find it is the most interesting and challenging, and I am able to learn along the way. Sometimes is can become very hectic because I am working alone and I have no one to hand off to; but if you prioritize what deadlines need to be met first, then it becomes doable. I enjoy coming to work and having to adapt very quickly depending upon what is happening that day. Law Libraries can be very rewarding, but you have to be willing to take the time and immerse yourself and learn and continue to think outside the box. You have to be continually engaged and interested in not only the law but your clients as well. You learn to listen effectively, ask questions, verify information and become a problem solver. You have to continually take on new tasks and challenges. By doing that you can become a much more effective information broker. I have never subscribed to being just a library technician; I have subscribed to being the best librarian I can be and still strive to do that every day. With the explosion of the internet it will become more important to become an information broker instead of a librarian or library technician. More and more information is becoming accessible online instead of in monographs and serials. So the more proficient you become at accessing the information, the better able you will be able to broker the information instead of control it”.

What do you see for the future of law libraries then? “My hope for the future of law libraries is to inject them with people in the library tech program. Law libraries have always been someplace that library school students don’t want to explore and my hope is after reading this that you will want to explore them. It can be the most difficult, but at the same time, the most rewarding library you will find yourself in. Going into the future there will be a greater emphasis on electronic information and the management of it and a lesser dependence on paper. So I think the future of law librarians will be to manage this online content and be able to search it with ease and understanding”.

How do you keep yourself engaged? “I am the Chair of the Edmonton Law Libraries Association (ELLA) for 2009 -2011. I am also a member of Association des juristes d'expression francaise de L'Alberta (www.ajefa.ca), the Canadian Association of Law Libraries and the Canadian Bar Association - Research Lawyers. Being a solo librarian you are constantly having to juggle many different tasks; I am always checking my email and RSS feeds every day, finishing reference questions, etc. I am always on the lookout for how to do things in a better or different way. I am lucky because I can always find someone to speak to and discuss different alternatives. That is the great part of being a member of an association. The networking really pays off when I come across something that I cannot solve on my own”.


So what do you do when you’re not working? “I spin, lift weights, and travel. My husband and I have travelled to Greece, Amsterdam, Italy, the Cook Islands, and we are planning to go to Yugoslavia next summer. We like to spend time off the beaten path and soak up the local culture. I would like to see as much of the world as I possibly can because along the way we have met many interesting people in our travels. To unwind I love taking my dog for long walks in the river valley or just hanging out with my husband or going to see my two grandchildren in Vancouver”. The theme for the AALT Technician this year is “Sustainability” - have you personally, or your library made any changes that are environmentally friendly? “It is very hard to be green in a law library but I try as much as possible to recycle when I can”.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Andrea. I found your answers to be very inspiring. Do you have any closing thoughts? “I try to let people know you are not limited to anything. A library job can be what you make of it through hard work, a willingness to learn and a great joy that comes from helping people find the answers they need. And that you are what you make yourself. If you believe you are a professional then everyone else will”. I can be reached at [email protected].

Andrea and Dante


Has anyone else managed to stay abreast of the constant influx of informa-tion about “being green”? I open the mail in our office and for the past month I have been keeping an informal tally of how many magazines and newslet-ters have come through with some sort of article about being ‘green’, the an-swer being most of them. I came home today to discover a newsletter in our mailbox full of information about sustainability – this one from our insurance company about their initiatives to achieve social responsibility. I’m actually quite frightened by the sheer amount of resources out there. Where do you even start? There have been a slew of events in the past couple of months, both provin-cially and nationally, promoting our sustainable future. One of these events

was National Waste Reduction Week, (represented by national spoke-muppet Oscar the Grouch), held October 19th to 25th. In recognition, there was a seminar at the Alberta Business Link that was presented across the province entitled Greening your Business. Speaking at the session were representatives from the Alberta Recy-cling Council and the Clean Calgary Association, both of whom offered a variety of tips and suggestions for being green: Reduce:

• Cutting down the amount of waste generated by reducing paper use – double side everything • Reduce amount of packaging needed for a product • Implement electronic billing

Reuse: • Giving products a longer life span by using it more than once before recycling • Stock your office kitchen with non-disposable dishes and cutlery • Route or circulate memos & reports rather than giving individual copies • Share with coworkers what you are doing – use ‘join us’ language to encourage participation

Recycle: • A product that has been processed into something new. The most

common way to start a recycling program is with paper & card-board

• Making it convenient will encourage more participants • The most important part of recycling is to close the loop – purchase

recycled supplies for office use, rather than ‘virgin’ supplies you then recycle

Of the variety of programs offered to help both individuals and organiza-tions shape up in terms of being green, one of the most interesting ones is promoted by the Clean Calgary Association. They will come into your place of business, assess your waste habits and provide you with a report about what steps you can take to reduce your footprint. If anyone accesses these services please let us know – we would love to know the process and find out the results!

SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCES BY REA GOSINE


For further information about recycling and sustainability across Alberta, please visit the following suggested websites: Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) www.recycle.ab.ca “The Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) is a not-for-profit, non-political organization formed in 1987, and approved as an official charity in 1995. The RCA's mission is to pro-mote and facilitate waste reduction, recycling, and resource conservation in the Province of Alberta.” Clean Calgary Association www.cleancalgary.org “Green Calgary empowers Calgarians to create healthy homes and communities through environmental educa-tion, products and services.” Alberta Environment www.environment.alberta.ca Waste Reduction Week in Canada www.wrwcanada.com “Waste Reduction Week aims to inform and engage Canadians about the environmental and social ramifica-tions of wasteful practices. It strives to educate, engage and empower Canadians to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.”

Tools of Change www.toolsofchange.com “Founded on the principles of community-based social marketing.” “This site offers specific tools, case studies, and a planning guide for helping people take actions and adopt habits that promote health, safety and/or sustainability. It will help you include in your programs the best prac-tices of many other programs - practices that have already been successful in changing people's behaviour.”

City of Edmonton EcoVision http://www.edmonton.ca/environmental/environmental-programs.aspx “Go Green! It's Our Nature is the theme of a new campaign to encourage citizens to take more environmen-tally friendly actions. Reducing Edmonton's environmental footprint takes teamwork between residents, busi-nesses and the City. We've done well, but we can do more to ‘go green’.” City of Calgary Environment Initiatives http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt?space=Opener&control=OpenObject&cached=true&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=49&in_hi_ClassID=512&in_hi_userid=2&in_hi_ObjectID=249&in_hi_OpenerMode=2& “Protecting Calgary's environment is important to all Calgarians. The City of Calgary is committed to being a leader in responsible environmental stewardship and encourages all citizens to do their part.”

In the Winter issue of the Technician: Many new buildings are being built with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification, in Alberta this includes the new Lois Hole Library – check out the next issue for an overview of what it means to be a LEED Certified building.


Facebook is a privately owned social networking website where users can communicate with friends, update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves, join networks, post photos, take part in groups includ-ing the AALT group (Alberta Association of Library Technicians: the Lighter Side of AALT), chat online, play games, as well as use many of the applications found on the Facebook platform. Joining Facebook can be fun and help you reconnect with your friends, but because this is a global website it is important you do your best to protect your privacy.

When you are joining Facebook the only required information is your name and an email address. It doesn’t need to be your full name. Many people use their first name and last initial. After this point, any information shared is optional. Friend lists are a very useful tool when it comes to privacy. You can arrange your friends according to what you would like them to see. You might not want business friends to be able to see your va-cation photos or what you did last night. When you create a friend list, you are able to go into your privacy set-tings and add your friend list to the “not to be viewed by” column. Facebook has several ways to protect your privacy built in to their system. To check your privacy settings, click on settings on the top right had side of your screen. There are four main areas where you can adjust your settings they are profile, search, news feed and wall, and applications. Profile This area is where you control who can see information on your profile page and what information they can see. It is broken down into the individual sections of your profile and the privacy levels are set for each section individually.

You are able to choose between Everyone, My Networks and Friends, Friends of Friends, Only Friends, Cus-tomize. The highest level of privacy is achieved by choosing Only Friends or Customize. If you choose cus-tomize you can use your friend lists to restrict who among your friends gets to see what type of information.

FACEBOOK: PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY WHILE SOCIAL NETWORKING BY MELANIE BELLIVEAU


Search This area is used to control who can search for you, what they can see, and how they can contact you. Make sure that you have unchecked the box for public search listing, as this prevents your profile from being search-able outside of Facebook.

News Feed and Wall

This area is where you can control what recent activity is visible on your profile and in your friends’ home pages. It is important to be aware that when you write on a friend’s wall or they write on your wall, depending on how you have set your privacy for your wall posts, this message may be seen by you, your friend, and your entire network. If you want to send a personal message to a friend use the Inbox found on the top menu bar.

Applications

This is where you can control what information is available to applications you use on Facebook. Many of the applications found on the Facebook platform are third-party applications and not under the same privacy con-trols as Facebook itself. There may also be links to other websites and advertisements that are not controlled by Facebook’s privacy practices.


Facebook is continually working on ways to help members protect their privacy but in the end, a good rule of thumb is to not post anything on your wall that you would not want everyone to see. If you want to send a per-sonal message to a friend, use the Inbox application found on the menu bar. Adjust your privacy settings so you have protected yourself as much as possible. Happy and safe “Facebooking”, and please visit the AALT group on Facebook: “Alberta Association of Library Technicians: the Lighter Side of AALT”. http://www.facebook.com/

The Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT) is an organization dedicated to fostering and enhancing the professional image of Library Technicians through information, education, promotion and support.

AALT is a non-profit organization with an energetic, dynamic and dedicated membership governed by an annually elected Board of Directors.

AALT strives to: • Address the ongoing professional development needs of the membership • Ensure that a high standard of progressive, timely and appropriate education continues to be offered in the

library information programs • Promote accurate information on the qualifications and capabilities of library and information technicians • Interact with other associations within the library and information field • Provide networking opportunities within an educational framework • Maintain liaisons with various organizations to support Library Technicians

AALT provides an avenue for professional and personal development, interaction and communication through: • the annual Spring conference • regional professional development and social events • volunteer opportunities on committees • serving on the Board of Directors • the AALT Technician journal • the Membership Directory • discussion forums and chats • Online job board

AALT: MISSION & PURPOSE


3636THTH Annual AALT Conference Annual AALT Conference May 27th to May 30th 2010

Carriage House InnCarriage House Inn Calgary, Alberta

Sheri-D Wilson, poet, performer, film-maker, educator, producer and activist. Since founding the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival in 2003, Sheri-D has worked at quantum velocities to present one of the most respected Spoken Word Festivals in Canada. Driven by the passion to connect people, voices and ideas, she founded/organized SWAN (Spoken Word Arts Network) and is the Program Director of the Spoken Work Program at the Banff Centre. (www.sheridwilson.com)

Simon Rose, local author, instructor and avid soccer fan. Simon Rose has written six science fiction and fan-tasy novels for children. He is an advocate of deaf literacy and is the coordinator for the Calgary Children’s Book Fair and conference. (www.simon-rose.com)

Will Ferguson, Calgary based, is among Canada’s bestselling authors, eh! Best known for his humour books about Canada, Will Ferguson is a celebrated and award-winning author whose work is published in over 30 countries around the world. Having written such books as Canadian History for Dummies and Why I Hate Canadians, Travel, History, Fiction and Humour make Will Ferguson a wickedly funny and aggressively pa-triotic Canadian. (www.willferguson.ca/index.html)

SPECIAL CONFIRMED GUESTS:

http://www.aalt.org/conference/index.html


Organizational Skills

Contact [email protected] for more information.

Teambuilding

Time Management

Networking

Click here for source and media information


On September 24 - 25, 2009, AALT participated in the Rural Libraries Conference ’09 at the Holiday Inn in Grande Prairie. There were more than 125 representatives from small libraries across northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. The theme of the conference was “Libraries: Unlimited Potential” and although it said libraries, it was definitely a reflection of the unlimited potential of the delegates in attendance. As the representative working at the AALT booth in the vendor area, I had the opportunity and the pleasure of speaking with a number of school and public library staff. Some wanted information on AALT and professional development opportunities including library technician

programs and courses, while others were seeking advice on how to handle different situations. What I enjoyed most was having the chance to listen and learn more about their often very unique circumstances and I encouraged them to write an article for the AALT Technician so they could share their library experiences. Of course, having the opportunity to hear Marty Chan speak again as well as Kevin MacKenzie was just an added bonus! Networking is definitely a highlight at any conference and Grande Prairie was no exception. I had the opportunity to promote AALT to delegates and vendors alike. As well, it was great to touch base with AALT members, current and past, and former students from the SAIT Rural Library Training Project, currently known as the Library Operations Assistants (LOA) Program. (Special hello to Chris Burkholder and the rest of the crew from the Fairview Public Library!) AALT also presented a session at the conference called “The AALT DVD Project – from Seed to Fruition”. The session covered

the entire production of the DVD from the seed of an idea, through the planning stages, and right up to the final product. The group in attendance was small but their input and feedback more than made up for it. It was unfortunate that Dianne Guidera, the driving force behind the DVD project was unable to attend the conference, but she made sure that I had everything I needed to be prepared…except my shoes but that’s another story!

AALT ON THE MOVE: GRANDE PRAIRIE OR BUST, AND THE ROYAL TREATMENT AT PRINCE GEORGE BY KIM MARTIN

Laural Grimes, former AALT Journal Editor and Echo Hill Publishers representative chatting with a delegate at the Rural Libraries Conference.

Dynamic father-daughter duo from Echo Hill Publishers – Laural Grimes and Dick Randall.

AALT display at the Rural Libraries Conference in Grande Prairie.


This was the second time that AALT has participated at the Rural Libraries Conference and it was once again a positive experience. As I was packing up the AALT booth, I reflected on the strong marketing component that was part of the conference organization. One promotional strategy that was used that some forget, is to invite the press to cover the event. Remember, free press goes a long way! (Check out the article in the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune: Conference gives librarians a chance to network.) On behalf of AALT, I would like to thank Linda Duplessis, the Director of the Peace Library System, and her staff for inviting us to this valuable professional development event and for their hospitality. Following the Grande Prairie experience, I travelled to Prince George, BC where I had the opportunity to reconnect with some of our PG colleagues. One of my favourite things about conference is networking, particularly being able to meet people from different locales. I first met Mary Bertulli, Vaunda Dumont and Wanda Bruvold at the 2007 AALT conference in Edmonton. Prince George was also represented at the 2009 conference by Mary and Wanda as well as a new face, Marty James. Mary and Vaunda both work at the University of Northern BC Library, Wanda is at the College of New Caledonia Library, and Marty, when he isn’t doing radio spots for the library, works at the Prince George Public Library. Although I didn’t get the chance to visit any of them at their libraries on this trip, all of us, with the exception of Vaunda, managed to meet for lunch at the Empress Tea House thanks to Mary’s organization

and yes, high tea was available! Marty arrived at the tea house with an AALT souvenir, one of the highly sought after mini lava lamps from the anniversary banquet in May. It was a perfect touch and added that little extra something to our table! Over lunch we had a great time catching up and I had the opportunity to learn more about each of them and their libraries. (Missed you Vaunda!) I am really looking forward to seeing all four of them on my next trip up to Prince George and this time, I will be visiting the university and public libraries! Thanks to Mary, Wanda, and Marty for having lunch with me and for making my “royal” visit so special! It is encouraging to learn that the library technicians in Prince George have

been actively networking more with each other. Perhaps the camaraderie at AALT

conference had something to do with this… maybe just a little? If you are travelling anywhere and want to check out the local library, I encourage you to contact the library staff beforehand so you have the opportunity to spend a little time with them as well as visit the library itself. It’s a great way to network and expand your learning opportunity. If you would like to have a AALT Board member visit your area, have AALT participate in a career or professional development event that you are hosting, or would simply like to have a face-to-face meeting with

Kim Martin, Marty James (Prince George Public Library), Mary Bertulli (University of Northern BC), and Wanda Bruvold (College of New Caledo-nia) at the Empress Tea House in Prince George.

CROSS CANADA UPDATE


News From CLA LTIG By Karen Hildebrandt CLA LTIG Convenor Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year Everyone! As I am writing this the ground is white, the roads icy and I have this desire to start singing Christmas Carols even though it’s only the middle of October. The time is just flying by and planning is already well underway for next year’s CLA Conference here in Ed-monton. Please mark your calendars for the Library Technicians Networking Social Supper on Thursday, June 3 at the Riverside Bistro, next door to the conference centre. I’ve been keeping busy representing LTIG. This year our interest group is one of the representatives on the conference programming planning committee. There have been so many great proposals it’s really hard to choose. LTIG has put forth a session proposal on library education with a representative speaking on behalf of the LIT programs and another on behalf of the SLIS programs. I’m hoping it will be accepted. I’m still working at having the “Guidelines for the Education of Library Technicians” document reviewed and revised. A proposal has gone to the Executive Committee to form a Task Force so I am just waiting to hear back so that we can proceed. The LIT program chairs/coordinators meeting is now recognized as an annual general meeting at CLA so I’ll soon be making the arrangements for that to take place. It’s been a busy year for writing articles as well as being asked to speak at various conferences on behalf of library technicians. It’s exciting, challenging, as well as humbling and a huge honour. I never dreamed that when I became convener for the interest group five years ago that I would be having the many opportunities I’ve had to meet so many wonderful people across Canada or that anyone would be interested in what I had to say! In fact I’ll be speaking in St. John’s NFLD on November 12. I’m really excited to be going back there even if it is for only a few days. Although there are so many positive things happening, I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have any nominations for the CLA LTIG Library Technician Award of Merit this past year. I’m hoping that we will get some nominations for the 2010 award. The February 28th deadline will be here before you know it so please consider nominate someone you feel deserving of the award. Please also remember the conference bursary as well co-sponsorship of PD events with Provincial Associa-tions/Interest Groups. For more information on the award, conference bursary and co-sponsorship, please visit the CLA LTIG website at http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Library_Technicians Best wishes, Karen

2010 AALT MEMBERSHIPS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

RENEW TODAY AT WWW.AALT.ORG AND CLICK ON MEMBERSHIP

[email protected]


Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks (Book 2 of the Night Angel Trilogy – Sci-Fi/Fantasy) Published by Orbit Books ISBN :978-0-316-03365-7 Kylar Stern has walked away from the life of an assassin. He’s lost eve-ryone important to him and decides it’s time to start over with a new life, new city and new profession, but the lure of the assassin’s life keeps call-ing to him. When a friend appears with some news, Kylar is faced with a decision, to turn his back on the wetboy life forever or risk everything by taking on the ultimate job. There is no way I can do justice to the book in this review without re-vealing some of the events at the end of the first book Way of the Shad-ows so beware of spoilers! Shadow’s Edge deals with more of Kylar coming into his own and trying to find himself. Is he an apothecary or a wetboy? After losing his master Durzo and his best friend Logan, Kylar “retires” and settles for a life with Elene (“Doll Girl” from Way of the Shadows) and Uly, Durzo’s daughter in a new city and a new profession. The lure of the assassin’s life keeps calling to Kylar though as he continues to “patrol” the night by leaping along the rooftops just to keep his skills honed and ready. Elene convinces him to shed his Night Angel persona by selling Retribution, his sword and when he finally does sell it, the past comes knocking on the door in form of his old friend from the slums, Jarl. Shadow’s Edge introduces Viridana, a fellow wetboy who Kylar considers his archrival for wetboy supremacy. She has her own side story which continues into Beyond the Shadows as her story and Kylar’s story are inter-twined. It also introduces Dorian and Feir who become a large part of the plot as the trilogy continues. You also learn more about the sword and the kakari – the “soul” that inhabits the sword. The kakari is hilarious at times as it “talks” to Kylar and sometimes puts him in situations that can be described as comical but also saves his life when the need occurs. The Godking is the main bad guy in this book as he comes to power and begins to cause havoc and chaos in Cenaria. The Godking is quite the villain with a twisted sense of humour, he can be cruel and sadistic in one moment and sarcastically funny in another. We also get an introduction to the Wolf. He plays a huge role in Kylar’s story after Durzo’s death. As well, there is the back story on Durzo, and the creator of the Retribution and Curoc swords as well as the original welders of the two swords. Even though this is the second book of a trilogy, it proved to be a really good read as it built up the suspense to the final book. So much happens in this book, it was hard not to talk about everything that happens. I loved the internal conflict Kylar had to face: a normal life with Elene and Uly, or being a Night Angel. There is a comi-cal line in the showdown between Kylar and the Godking, that just had me shaking my head and groaning be-cause it’s been so overdone but, the placement and timing of the line was perfect and hilarious. The last line of the book provides a cliff hanger that will be explored in the last of the trilogy as Kylar finally comes into his own as a wetboy. In the next issue of the AALT Technician – “Beyond the Shadows” (Book 3 of the Night Angel Trilogy)

UNDER THE COVERS … A BOOK REVIEW BY JOANNE SHUM

Alberta Association of Library Technicians Technicians and Technology : Partners in Information

P.O. Box 700, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2L4 Toll Free: 1-866-350-AALT (2258)

Web Address: www.aalt.org

AALT Membership Form January 1 to December 31, 2010

Please fill in all information, but use the box provided in front of each item to indicate your agreement to have that item published in the AALT Membership Directory. Mark the box [X] if you are willing to have it published, leave the box blank if you are not. NEW MEMBERSHIP: _____________ RENEWAL: _____________ Name: ______________________________________________________________________________________ [ ] Street Address: ____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________ Province: ________ Postal Code: ________________________ [ ] Home Phone: ___________________________________ [ ]Email: ________________________________________________ (This address will be used for Journal delivery) Employer Name: ______________________________________________________________________________ [ ]Employer Address:__________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ City: ________________________ Province: ______ Postal Code: ____________________________ [ ] Business Phone: ______________________________ [ ] Fax Number: ____________________________

*Note: All current members will be listed in the directory by name and (if no other address information has been agreed to) by business affiliation and/or city & province/country. If you do not wish even this minimal listing, please mark the box below.

[ ] I do not wish to have my name listed in the membership directory.


REGISTRATION & PAYMENT ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE - PLEASE VISIT WWW.AALT.ORG TO REGISTER TODAY!

31

Membership type:

Personal $40.00 _______ Graduates of a recognized library and information technology program from an accredited post-secondary institution or Small Library Operation Certificate Holders (Rural Library Training Graduates). Personal members have the right to vote, hold office, and serve on committees.

Student $20.00 _______ Student of a recognized library and information technology program from an accredited post-secondary institution or Small Library Operation Certificate Holders (Rural Library Training Graduates). Student members have the right to vote, hold office, and serve on committees.

Associate $40.00 _______ Persons who do not qualify as personal members but who have an interest in library technology or information management and in the Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT). Associate members have the right to serve on committees. May not vote or hold office.

Institutional $55.00 _______ Libraries or persons who employ or who have an interest in library technicians. Institutional members have the right to serve on committees, and appoint an individual to have all other rights of an associate member. May not vote or hold office.

Affiliate $35.00 _______ Affiliate members are library or records management related organizations who have a professional interest in library technology or information management or the Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT). Where a reciprocal agreement exists a designated representative may vote but not hold office.

Type of Library:

School: Elementary: ______ Jr. High/Middle School: _______ Sr. High: _________

Elementary/Jr. High_______ Jr. High/Sr. High_______ K-12_________

Special: Law: ____ Corporate: _____ Government: _____ Medical: _____

Non-profit: _________ Other: _______________

Other Library Types: Academic: _____ Public: _____ Regional Library System:_________

Other: Records Management: _____ Archives: _____ Alternative Career: ______ Student: ______

Non-Library Environment: _____ Not Currently Employed: _______ Graduate of : _____________________________________________Year: _______________________

Currently a student of: _________________________________________________________________

Would you be interested in running for a Board position? _______________________________

Could you please tell us which union you belong to, if any? __________________________________ Please make your cheque payable to AALT and mail the payment with your completed membership form to:

Alberta Association of Library Technicians

PO Box 700 Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2L4

*AALT is an unregistered supplier under section 148 of the GST Act. Membership fees are GST exempt. +For complete explanations of membership rights please consult the Bylaws.

AALT respects and is committed to protecting the privacy of members. The information on this form will be input into the AALT Online Registration System. Some of the third party online services used by AALT store personal information in their databases. These third party services have their own privacy policies that may differ from AALT's Privacy Policy. The AALT Online Registration System (ORS) is covered under a specific agreement between AALT and Count Me In (CMI), the ORS service provider, which includes obligations by the service provider to protect the privacy of personal information entered into that system. Personal information collected will not be used for any purpose other than by AALT or otherwise required by law. The information is not to be accessed or used by CMI for any purpose other than to maintain the functionality of the ORS system. The Privacy Policy of CMI is located at https://www.cmiregistration.com/user/about/privacy.jxp?org=271.

AALT Technician Fall 2009


Board Meeting Highlights & Group reports (Administration Group, Professional Development Group, Communications Group), will be available on the AALT website under the Members Only page http://www.aalt.org/members/index.html

BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS & GROUP REPORTS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Planning session with Sarah Stephens and Joanne Shum, Co-Chairs for the October 24, 2009 AALT Board meeting.

Stephanie Lynch Alberta Regional Associations Sales Manager for Silver Birch Hotels & Resorts

SAIT Student Representative Jonathan Wainwright recaps his September 9, 2009 presentation to the 1st year SAIT LIT students.

Conference Co-Chairs Nancy Scott and Janell Bauer-Hurdman working on the conference schedule.

YOUR BOARD … WORKING FOR YOU!




BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ALBERTA ASSOCIATION OF LIBRARY TECHNICIANS P.O. Box 700, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2L4

www.aalt.org

Member-At-Large Lynda Shurko [email protected]

President Kim Martin [email protected] President-Elect Allison Stewart [email protected] Conference Janell Bauer & Nancy Scott [email protected] Journal Editors Rea Gosine & Joanne Shum [email protected] Marketing Melanie Belliveau [email protected] Membership Sarah Stephens [email protected]

Secretary vacant [email protected] Treasurer Lilla Lesko [email protected] Web Site Janine Petty [email protected]

Grant MacEwan vacant [email protected]

SAIT Jonathan Wainwright [email protected]

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

AALT Board of Directors 2009 - 2010

DIRECTORS

ASSISTANT TO THE BOARD Dianne Guidera [email protected]

AALT Technician Fall 2008 37

Future Dates To Make Note Of...

November February November 1 AALT 2010 Memberships Available www.aalt.org November 12 Presentation to Grant MacEwan University Students

December 3 9th Annual Augustana Information Literacy in Academic Libraries Workshop Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta, Camrose, AB http://www.augustana.ualberta.ca/services/library/infolit/workshop/

January 10 Submission Deadline for the AALT Technician Winter Issue [email protected]

February 21-27 Freedom to read week www.freedomtoread.ca/

The AALT Board of Directors is seeking any

ideas, comments, and suggestions regarding methods for offering

professional development opportunities. Please send

your comments to the Professional Development

Group Chair at [email protected].

December 5 AALT Board Meeting Online GELA Christmas Brunch www.gela.ca

January 23 AALT Board Meeting Online

February 24 - 27 Ontario Library Association Super Conference Metro Toronto Convention Centre Toronto, ON www.accessola.com/ola/bins/content_page.asp?cid=5

December 31 AALT 2009 Memberships Expire

RENEW YOURS TODAY

AT www.aalt.org

January 27 Family Literacy Day http://www.abc-canada.org/en/family_literacy_day

February 28 Deadline for CLA LTIG Award of Merit nomination

http://www.cla.ca/awards/ ltig.htm

December January

CALENDAR OF EVENTS...

• May 27th - May 30th AALT 2010 Conference - Rebuild, Renew, Recharge

Carriage House Inn, Calgary AB www.aalt.org • June 2nd—June 5th CLA/ACB 2010 National Conference and Trade Show

Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton AB http://www.cla.ca/conference/2010/

Documents

AALT Technician: the Journal of AALT