News from Nova Scotia

 Submitted by Darlene Beck

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Annapolis Valley Regional Library
http://www.valleylibrary.ca/
 

Equipment 

The reference express terminals in each branch are being replaced with newer equipment as well as with a new look to the screens. Some refurbished equipment has been received through the Provincial Library and is being used to refresh some of the older equipment currently being used by staff.  

Registration with TechSoup, a company that facilitates the distribution of software to non-profit organizations, is complete. The region is able to purchase software at a minimal fee that have been provided to TechSoup by participating software companies. This will allow us to upgrade the software on public computers at a minimal cost.
 

Community Access Program (CAP)

Two fall/winter youth are being hired for branches in Annapolis County. These youth will be working with our Head of Youth Services on a special project, as well as offering computer tutorials for all ages.

A Broadband Rural Nova Scotia Workshop - Planning for a High Speed Future, was held in the Windsor Regional Library on December 10, 2008. This was hosted by the Kings-West Hants CAP Association. Another session will be hosted by the Association of Western Valley CAP Sites on January 28, 2009 in the Digby Library. These facilitated workshops give stakeholders an opportunity to discuss their community’s readiness for the use of high speed Internet. At the end of the session there will be some clear areas where improvements will be needed as well as the identification of areas where that community excels.
 

Automated Library System

There have been some enhancements in the web catalogue as a result of the Provincial Library’s work with custom programming. There are now readily accessible links within the catalogue to our subscription databases. It is hoped that this will increase the use of these very comprehensive tools. Staff at the Provincial Library continue to work with us on other improvements.

During the consolidation of the two bookmobile offices, the Provincial Library used customized programs to change the location of the items in our catalogue. This saved many, many hours of work for our staff, who were then able to dedicate their time to the physical move of the collection.
  
Branch Reports

The Wolfville Memorial Library hosted an excellent weekly art program for school-age children ages 9-12 during November. The Art of Illustration provided participants the opportunity to explore art with various local and celebrated guest artists. The young people worked with clay, watercolour, collage and drawing.  

Later in the month, we were fortunate to have author Dian Day as guest at the Wolfville Library where approximately 30 people enjoyed the reading from her novel The Clock of Heaven. 

Once again, Berwick Library played a part in the Town’s annual Santa Claus festivities. The public was invited to the library after the tree lighting ceremony for a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

On a Saturday afternoon in December, Berwick Library asked the public to join local author Thomas Schultze to share insights and images from his recently published book Frances Anne Hopkins: Images From Canada. Hopkins was a female artist of the 19th century whose husband was an official with the Hudson’s Bay Company and she accompanied him on some of his inspection tours during the last days of the fur trade. Traveling by canoe, she recorded her impressions in sketches, watercolours and oils.

The Windsor Regional Library offered several Christmas programs throughout December. Those included a crafting workshop, special sessions of Fun & Fables with stories, songs & crafts for preschoolers, and a Puppet Show for the whole family, with an Anne-of-Green-Gables twist. In addition, each Wednesday the activity room in the library was made ready with tables and chairs for anyone who wished to wrap presents away from prying eyes at home.  

The Windsor library has been without a book drop since mid-December, due to public safety concerns.
 

Middleton and Wolfville Libraries held special Christmas Crafts programs for children.

The Revere building, which is to become the new home of the Bridgetown Library, suffered an act of vandalism which resulted in an oil spill in late November. It is unclear at this time how the damage might affect the project.

All AVRL branches are looking forward to participating in the Family Literacy Day World Record Attempt in late January – “Most children reading with an adult, multiple locations”!

Cape Breton Regional Library
www.cbrl.ca

The Main-a-Dieu Branch Library

The Main-a-Dieu Library, one of our smallest and quietest branches, is located in the Coastal Discovery Centre in the old Main-a-Dieu elementary school. With the recent retirement of library clerk Lillian Murray, the reins have been passed to Diana Furlong who used to visit the library at its previous location as a child. Diana has been actively reaching out to citizens in nearby areas to raise awareness of the library, and to ensure that the library is a vital part of the community. Many patrons have rediscovered the services provided by the library and circulation has increased dramatically.

Special programs and events began around Christmas and have continued into the New Year with participation in the Family Literacy Day World Record Attempt for the Guinness World Record for “Most children reading with an adult – multiple locations”. Along with the North Sydney, Baddeck and McConnell Libraries, at the end of January, Main-a Dieu hosted 3 readers (Scott Boyd of 101.9 the Giant, Rob Calabrese and Jennifer Ludlow of 89.7 the Coast) and over 30 children who enjoyed 5 Robert Munsch stories together. In total, 206 children and readers participated at CBRL.

Plans are underway this winter for a Writer’s Circle, a program on shipwrecks and an evening of Ghost Stories. The branch may still be small, but it isn’t that quiet anymore!

Linda LeJeune Retires

CBRL is saying adieu but not goodbye to our intrepid ILL clerk, Linda LeJeune. After many years of exemplary service, her great sense of humour and penchant for celebrating all our milestones (even the one’s we’d rather forget!), she will be sorely missed. We hope to see Linda and Phonse at our Seniors Cafés! Barb MacLean has moved from the Sydney Mines Branch to take over Linda’s duties.

Subject Guides on CBRL Website

Librarian Rebecca Boulter has moved on to the PEI library system, but not before developing yet another subject guide to assist patrons in locating information on a specific topic at CBRL. The new subject guide on the Fortress of Louisbourg joins the other guides on African Heritage in Canada, Canadian Law and Genealogy, Mi’kmaq History and Culture, and Using the Internet, as a valuable research tool. The guides are found on our website and include resources found in various parts of the library including: Adult Non-Fiction, Children's Collection, Reference, Vertical Files, Government Documents, and Websites. Take a look!

Health and Wellness Library Resource Guide for Seniors

With support from a New Horizons grant to McConnell Library in Sydney, our Seniors’ Café Co-ordinator, David Newton, and library assistant Chris Thomson have produced a resource guide for seniors that will help support them in their quest for information about health and wellness issues. Divided into two main sections, Staying Healthy and When You Need Help, the guide lists a sample of CBRL’s current holdings on topics ranging from Volunteering, Travel, and Gardening, to Arthritis, Diabetes, and Medications. The section on Staying Healthy covers general health information, staying active (with sections on getting out and about, exercising body and mind, and keeping your brain active), staying connected, and eating well. In the When You Need Help section, resources on most health disorders that people might be challenged with are covered. There is a final section on good health websites for those who are comfortable with computers. Each section is accompanied by an informative (and sometimes witty) introduction by David Newman. The booklet’s beautiful design is by recent NSCC graduate Robin M. Bradley.

Individual citations are becoming popular requests, but just as important is the ability for patrons to find resources on a desired topic by using the call numbers listed. This is especially useful for patrons who are not comfortable with the on-line catalogue and who may be shy to ask a librarian for help. Copies of the Guide are available free at CBRL branches, or by contacting Chris at cthomson@nssc.library.ns.ca.

KnitFit Community Knit-a-thon Take Two

CBRL is repeating it’s hugely successful fundraising/charity event, the KnitFit Knitathon. Last February two dozen knitters braved a snowstorm to come to the library to knit and crochet warm accessories for needy families. With donations of yarn, needles, and finished goods from patrons, we ended up with 250 hats, scarves, mitts etc to donate to the Every Women’s Centre. Pledges also raise much-needed funds to support children’s programs at CBRL.

This year we will donate our work to the Clothe-a-Family program of the Salvation Army and again raise funds for CBRL children’s programs. The event will take place at the McConnell Library, and this year also at the Baddeck Library, from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday February 21st. We are hoping for better weather and a big turnout!

Eastern Counties Regional Library
http://ecrl.library.ns.ca/
 

The library’s Share a Book-Build a Community campaign, sponsored by EnCana Corporation, raised a total of $13,658 which will go towards the purchase of books, audio books and materials for the library. The annual 6-week campaign received an initial donation of $4,000 from EnCana, who then matched the community donations of $4,849. The matching program has been well received by library supporters with an increase this year in the number of individual donations. In addition to community support, 101.5 The Hawk radio station donated daily air time to the value of $1500 and three weekly community newspapers, The Inverness Oran, The Guysborough Journal, and the Strait Area Reporter contributed space for ads which ran throughout the campaign.  

Eastern Counties Regional Library Board met in December 4 for the first time since the Municipal elections were held in the fall. The Board is comprised of councillors or community members representing the 7 municipalities served by ECRL and 2 provincial appointees. There are 4 new representatives joining the Board including Cllr. Elaine Durling, Town of Mulgrave; Cllr. Susan Mallette, Inverness County; Deputy Warden Gail Johnson, Municipality of Richmond County; and Mayor Frank Fraser, Town of Canso. Returning members include Shirley McNamara, Provincial Appointee, Cllr. Myles MacPherson, Municipality of the District of Guysborough; Cllr. James Harpell, District of St. Mary’s; Ally MacKenzie, community representative, Town of Port Hawkesbury; and Lester Wood, Provincial Appointee. Elected to the Executive were Chair Shirley McNamara, Vice-Chair Myles MacPherson, and Treasurer Elaine Durling. Secretary to the Board is Chief Librarian/CEO Petra Mauerhoff.

The EnCana Energy Collection for Families, launched in the Fall at the Cyril Ward Memorial Library in Guysborough, continues to move from branch to branch for a 3-week period showcasing the books and materials purchased for children and their families through an EnCana donation of $4,000. Over 170 titles have been added to this collection on topics that foster an interest in science and technology including the oil and gas industry. The display has traveled from Guysborough to the Drs. Coady and Tompkins Memorial Library in Margaree Forks, the Port Hawkesbury Library, and is currently at the Petit de Grat Library. 

Eastern Counties Regional Library hosted a mini-staff day at Library Headquarters in Mulgrave in December. Staff representing all the Branches in the region joined with Headquarters staff for a 1-day workshop. The morning session included updates from Chief Librarian Petra Mauerhoff and managers Mary Landry and Trish McCormick, while Garfield Moffatt of MacLellan and Moffat Financial, was on hand in the afternoon providing information about the ECRL pension plan.

Halifax Public Libraries
http://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/index.php
 

Halifax Public Libraries project wins Ontario Library Association’s President’s award  

The Working Together project of Halifax Public Libraries has won the prestigious Ontario Library Association’s Presidents’ Award for Exceptional Achievement. The award is given to an action or project that has enhanced or furthered librarianship in a major or unique way. Since 1990, it has been awarded 9 times.

The goal of the Working Together: Library-Community Connections project was to connect and work with socially excluded working-age community members, such as those living in poverty, the homeless and transient, visible minorities, recent immigrants and those with lower literacy. It was a four-year project operating in four urban public library systems: Halifax, Toronto, Regina and Vancouver.

In Halifax, the Working Together project engaged residents of an isolated public housing development. Project and branch staff at the Captain William Spry Library went door-to-door to connect with residents and engage them in discussions about library services. Staff worked with residents to help them get a library card. Many residents were unfamiliar with the library’s collection and didn’t realize the library offered free computer and literacy classes.

 “The Working Together project gave Halifax Public Libraries the opportunity to engage non-traditional library users. By talking with them, we heard their stories and learned their needs. Working together with community members, the library provided services in their community and in the library,” said Tracey Jones, Literacy, ESL and Diversity Services manager of Halifax Public Libraries, who will go to Toronto to accept the award on the library’s behalf January 31.

Staff learned many of these community members weren’t able to make full use of the library due to a number of barriers such as transportation and library fines. As a result of the library’s outreach and relationship building, residents are now more likely to approach staff with their needs. The library responds by creating programs and services to meet the needs of those community members. One example is the book drop housed in the community so residents with limited mobility and transportation options can return library books closer to home.

 “The library is an inclusive environment for everyone. The Working Together project is an example of how we achieve that every day at Halifax Public Libraries,” said Jones.

Halifax Public Libraries celebrates 25 years of African Heritage Month

Halifax Public Libraries is recognizing 25 years of African Heritage Month (AHM) at the library. Halifax Public Libraries, a founding member of the Black History Month Association, is proud to recognize this important milestone. AHM has grown from its beginnings as Black History Week in 1984 to a month-long celebration of African culture and history.

The first Black History Week was declared by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in February, 1926. Dr. Woodson was one of the first African-Americans to receive a PhD. He chose the month of February because the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass both occurred in February.

Halifax Public Libraries has more than 24 programs planned to celebrate this year’s milestone of 25 years of AHM, including African drumming, dance, film presentations, musical guests and puppet shows.

Project Home

This spring, Halifax Public Libraries is featuring a series of programs focused on building or enhancing your living spaces to create or imagine the home you desire. The series, called Project Home, is offering programs on a variety of home-related topics, such as green living, old home restoration, decorating small spaces and more. The series is a complement to the many home improvement materials found on the shelves in the libraries.
 

Western Counties Regional Library
http://www.westerncounties.ca/
 

Corporate support helps ensure Library Card Month success

On Oct. 31, 2008, Western Counties Regional Library concluded a solid Library Card Month campaign that focused on attracting new patrons. The library welcomed 526 new members during Library Card Month, 26 patrons more than our goal of 500 new members.

The library maximized its publicity with blanket distribution of a special news insert in the Trading Post, weekly editorial and advertising coverage in newspapers and on radio, a strong Web presence and a series of special events. The library exceeded its goal of registering 500 new library cardholders and maintained its profile at regional elementary schools. As of Oct. 30, the library’s membership stood at 19,904 or 33 per cent of residents of Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.

Transcontinental Media provided the grand prize of a laptop computer and three secondary prizes of six-month subscriptions to regional newspapers, Digby Courier, Shelburne Coast Guard and Yarmouth Vanguard.

This year, the library continued to reach beyond our elementary schools, setting up a one-day blitz at Wal-Mart in Yarmouth. It teamed up with the Yarmouth Mariners Junior A hockey team. The entire coaching staff and team arrived at the library to sign up for library cards on Oct. 2 to kick off the campaign. The month solidified partnerships between the two organizations throughout the hockey season. Public response was positive in large part due to the provision of a grand prize of a laptop computer. Scholastic Library Publishing provided the library with two large boxes of books, one French and one English, as prizes for the two schools that had the highest percentage of library card holders among students and staff by the end of the month. These books become part of the winning school’s library.

Library staff works hard to promote the library and increase library card registrations during Library Card Month, but the sponsorship provided by Transcontinental Media in the form of printed materials was vital to get that message out to the public. Transcontinental Media provides the Library Card Month insert in its Trading Post weekend publication delivered to every home, a Web banner ad on NovaNewsNow.com, contest prizes and advertising support. This support is complemented by radio public service announcements and weekly air time provided by CJLS and Tusket Sales and Service which helps drive the message home.

Working with the materials provided by Transcontinental Media, library clerks and library coordinators continue to go into the schools during Library Card Month to encourage reading and library card use among elementary students. The goal is to attain 100 per cent registration of staff and students and this was assisted by providing bookmarks (provided by Transcontinental) for students as rewards. We had 100 per cent registration in three schools.

Regional library celebrating 40 years

Western Counties Regional Library is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2009 with displays, a contest and other events. One of the youngest regional library systems in Nova Scotia, the formation of the regional library in 1969 brought library services to an area that had never had it outside of communities such as Yarmouth, Digby and Shelburne. “There wasn’t a strong tradition of public libraries in the region,” says Trudy Amirault, the library’s regional director who has been with the library for 34 years. “Forty years ago, we started from scratch.”  

To mark the anniversary, displays containing old newspaper articles chronicling the struggles to bring the regional library into existence and its eventual launch, and a variety of photographs are on display at all 10 branches. The library has set up a contest to find the oldest regional library card. People are asked to dig through their shoe boxes under the bed or other storage areas to see if they can come up with the oldest card. Initially the cards were paper stock and listed the branch along with a two or three digit card number – the lower the number, the older the card.

 “I’m looking forward to seeing some of the old cards,” says Amirault, adding there have been at least four or five versions of the card over the past 40 years.
Every branch will mark the official launch anniversary of Oct. 29, 1969 on Oct. 29 by serving cake, offering tours of the branches.

The staff at the Shelburne branch of Western Counties Regional Library has set up this clever display of old newspaper articles and photographs to mark the regional library’s 40th anniversary.

Regional library needs help naming newest librarian

Western Counties Regional Library needs help naming its newest librarian. The newest staff member is a puppet who will be introducing programs and making appearances at the library’s 10 branches.

The library is inviting children under 12 years of age to submit a name at any of the library’s branches in Lockeport, Shelburne, Barrington, Clark’s Harbour, Pubnico, Yarmouth, Meteghan, Weymouth, Digby or Westport. The child whose name is selected for the newest librarian will receive a special honour. Participants are asked to include their name, phone number and library card number when submitting their librarian name suggestion. Entries will be judged and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 3.

Christmas Cheer at the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library

Members of the Yarmouth Community Chorale brought a little Christmas cheer to the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library on Wednesday, Dec. 10. The singers performed Christmas carols as part of the last Mid-Week Break before the New Year.

ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

Acadia University
http://library.acadiau.ca/

In July 2008, Acadia's Vaughan Memorial Library welcomed Mike Beazley as their new librarian to the School of Business. Mike completed his MLIS at the University of Western Ontario. Mike hails from Cole Harbour, NS and is happy to be back in the Atlantic region.  
 

The Vaughan also welcomes Katharine Hall, a student currently enrolled in the Library and Information Science program at the University of Western Ontario. Katharine will be spending four months at Acadia on a co-op work term before returning to Ontario to graduate in August. She is currently assisting librarians with a variety of projects and services, from digitization of the Acadia Alumni Bulletin to reference. 

From November 3 - 14, 2008, the Vaughan Memorial Library partnered with the Acadia University Art Gallery to present the exhibition 'Living with Landmines' by Toronto-based artist V. Tony Hauser. The exhibit, displayed throughout the main floor of the library, included 16 life-size portraits and personal stories of Cambodian children who have been affected by landmines. For more information about the artist and this moving exhibit please visit: http://www.vtonyhauser.com. 
 

Dalhousie University
Sexton Design & Technology Library
http://www.library.dal.ca/Sexton

New Initiatives for Sexton Library

The recent transfer of Sexton Design & Technology Library technical services operations to the Killam Library has provided an opportunity for the Sexton Library to broaden their public services. Consequently, two of the Sexton librarians are expanding their public services roles.
 

Allison Fulford is adding digital initiatives to her responsibilities, with a number of projects planned. First up is digitizing, indexing, and providing free online access to the Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. The Sexton Library was approached by Steve Mannell from the School of Architecture, on behalf of the Society, to take on this digitization project. Sexton staff will carry out the digital imaging, create the metadata, and be responsible for the completion and for the long-term management of the project. Other digitization projects being planned include creating a digital collection of architect Andrew Randall Cobb’s architectural postcards of Europe; digitizing 4th year Mechanical Engineering student design projects; and collaborating with Dalhousie’s School of Architecture to provide a digital home, as well as a collaborative editing environment, for architectural ‘green sheets’—student research into green and sustainable building materials and systems.
 

Sarah Jane Dooley is adding library promotion and outreach to her portfolio, with plans to expand the Sexton’s web presence, improve library signage, develop displays and partner with the Architecture, Planning and Engineering Schools to promote the library’s unique collections and services. 
 

These initiatives represent another critical development in the Libraries’ Strategic Direction #2, which is to optimize access to our collections and research materials for both the Dalhousie community and the general public.

Mount Saint Vincent University
http://www.msvu.ca/library/

Avatars on the MSVU Library Website

Two talking avatars -- Sarah and Suzie SitePal -- were recently added to the MSVU Library website. By adding the avatars to the site, the Library hopes to make the site more interactive and fun for new and returning students. The avatars are used to welcome students to the Library, to highlight Library resources and services, and to relay information about Library events. The SitePal software was installed by Denyse Rodrigues, and the avatars were designed and scripted by Hilary Skov-Nielsen, the Library’s new term librarian responsible for public services.

To highlight the launch of the avatars the Library hosted a contest for MSVU students to draw attention to Sarah and Suzie’s presence on the website. Students were asked to find Suzie SitePal on the MSVU Library website and listen to what she has to say, fill out an online ballot, and enter to win a prize. Go to www.msvu.ca/library to check out the new MSVU Library avatars.

LIBRARY PARTNERSHIPS

Nova Scotia Library / Libraries Nova Scotia November 2008 Update

In early October, the Nova Scotia Library Steering Committee planned and delivered a pre-conference session in Wolfville at NSLA 2008. The purpose of the session was to inform the library community about the emerging Nova Scotia Library initiatives and to involve participants in shaping projects and plans for the future. Similar initiatives have bolstered the infrastructure of library systems in other provinces and substantially enhanced province-wide library service delivery, and now this opportunity is developing in Nova Scotia. For those who were unable to attend, the report on discussions from the session as well as a copy of the PowerPoint presentation will soon be found on the Novanet website at www.novanet.ns.ca and on the NS Provincial Library web site http://www.library.ns.ca/. This session was generously sponsored by Gale Cengage and the committee would like to thank Salvy Trojman in particular for this support.

The afternoon’s activities included opening remarks from Dr. William Barker, President of the University of Kings College, and Wayne Doggett, Senior Executive Director of Higher Education, with the Department of Education. This was followed by an overview of the initiative to date by NSL Steering Committee co-chairs Marie DeYoung and Jennifer Evans. The final activity of the day was a lively ‘thought builder’ exercise ably facilitated by Denise Parrott, exploring six potential initiatives for NSL. The group also voted on for the new name for the NSL (which was a working title) from five finalists and the winner is Libraries Nova Scotia (LNS).

Based on the feedback from the pre-conference session and the excellent work done by the One Card Committee this past year, the Steering Committee has begun the process of implementing the One Card project. The Steering Committee is recommending that two pilots be conducted to determine the impact on our library operations before rolling out province wide. Regions identified for the two pilots are Halifax Regional Municipality and the combined Pictou/Antigonish and Eastern Counties regions. Members of the One Card Policy Development Committee are Judith Hare (HRL), Bill Maes (Dal), Ken Clare (SMU), Eric Stackhouse (Pictou/Antigonish), Petra Mauerhoff (Eastern Counties) and Lynne Murphy (St. FX). Members of the One Card Technical Implementation Committee are Denise Parrott (NSPL), Beth Gerstenberger (AST), Bill Slauenwhite (Novanet) and several others to be named. The One Card Communications Committee will include Jennifer Evans, Marie DeYoung, Ken Clare (SMU) and one or two others.  

The mission of Libraries Nova Scotia (LNS) is to contribute to the development of sustainable communities in Nova Scotia through providing all Nova Scotians with seamless, barrier-free access to the world’s information sources. 

LNS will result in benefits such as: province-wide access to full-text digital journal and book collections; the coordinated creation of digitized materials important to Nova Scotians; seamless linking to full-text content across libraries; management of a province-wide authentication system and one-card service; improved inter-library loan services; coordinated information literacy programs; expanded virtual reference services.