Author: Technology Coordinator
Nova Scotia’s schools are warning parents of a potential strike by support staff later this month that could significantly impact some students.
The province’s regional centres for education and the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial have been in contract negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees for several months.
The union represents 5,500 workers including early childhood educators in the pre-primary program, educational program assistants and teaching assistants, bus drivers, librarians, janitors, cafeteria workers, African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw student support workers, and others.
Continue reading “Nova Scotia: N.S. schools warn parents of potential support staff strike”
In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., back in February, when many businesses closed their doors, Paula Coutts, the head librarian of the Tumbler Ridge Public Library, kept the library open.
“We’re very much treated as a community hub,” Coutts told CBC Radio’s As It Happens. “We have a lot of people who are alone, and we’re often their adult social contact.”
Continue reading “The Creation of the Canadian Public Library System”
“The Cost of Knowledge” is the theme for this year’s International Open Access Week (October 19-25).
We create and share knowledge in order to advance human understanding and the common good. We recognize that accessing and sharing knowledge is a human right. Yet, the costs to access and share knowledge continue to increase, often dramatically. Why? Who benefits?
Increasing consolidation and commercial control over all aspects of knowledge comes at a cost. This year’s theme challenges us to consider the financial, human, and environmental costs of creating, sharing, and sustaining knowledge—particularly when these costs are driven by private rather than public interests. Last year’s theme of “Who owns our knowledge?” reflected on the reality of commercial ownership of knowledge. This year’s theme will reckon with the costs of that reality and avenues for reclaiming control of these systems meant to serve the public interest.
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« Le coût de la connaissance » est le thème de la Semaine internationale du libre accès de cette année (du 19 au 25 octobre).
Nous créons et partageons la connaissance afin de faire progresser la compréhension humaine et le bien commun. Nous reconnaissons que l’accès à la connaissance et son partage constituent un droit humain. Pourtant, les coûts liés à l’accès et au partage de la connaissance ne cessent d’augmenter, souvent de manière spectaculaire. Pourquoi ? À qui cela profite-t-il ?
La consolidation croissante et le contrôle commercial exercé sur tous les aspects de la connaissance ont un coût. Le thème de cette année nous invite à réfléchir aux coûts financiers, humains et environnementaux liés à la création, au partage et à la pérennisation de la connaissance, en particulier lorsque ces coûts sont dictés par des intérêts privés plutôt que publics. Le thème de l’année dernière, « À qui appartient notre connaissance? », portait sur la réalité de la propriété commerciale de la connaissance. Le thème de cette année abordera les coûts de cette réalité et les moyens de reprendre le contrôle de ces systèmes censés servir l’intérêt public.
The fourth edition of CBC Kids Reads, a literary celebration for young readers, has announced this year’s five shortlisted titles.
From a fish with a passion for fashion, to a little girl with a passion for cars and helping her father in the garage, the five shortlisted books are sure to make you crack a smile or two.
Continue reading “5 Canadian picture books in the running for CBC Kids Reads 2026”
Kings Theatre is finding a creative way to fundraise for their local library.
They’re hosting a showing of Shrek, with a live donkey in attendance.
“The community is very excited and it doesn’t hurt that we’re having a live donkey on site,” said Kings Theatre Executive Director Janet Larkman.
Save the Date – CALL/ACBD 2027!
Mark your calendars now for the next Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference, taking place May 16–19, 2027, in the City of Bridges — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Our conference theme, Bridging Perspectives: Expanding our Views, reflects our commitment to exploring new ideas, fostering collaboration, and strengthening connections across the law library and legal information community.
Now is also a great time to start thinking about a session proposal. Watch for the Call for Proposals, which will be distributed early this fall. We hope you’ll consider sharing your expertise, experiences, and innovative ideas with your colleagues.
We look forward to welcoming you to Saskatoon in May 2027!
Dates à retenir pour le Congrès 2027 de la CALL/ACBD !
Inscrivez sans tarder les dates du prochain Congrès de la CALL/ACBD à votre agenda : le 16 au 19 mai 2027 à Saskatoon, en Saskatchewan, connue sous le nom de « ville des ponts ».
Notre thème « Rapprocher les points de vue : élargir nos horizons » reflète notre engagement à explorer de nouvelles idées, favoriser la collaboration et renforcer les liens au sein de la communauté des bibliothèques de droit et de l’information juridique.
C’est également une bonne période pour commencer à réfléchir à une proposition de séance. Surveillez l’appel de propositions que nous publierons au début de l’automne. Nous espérons que vous envisagerez de partager votre expertise, vos expériences et vos idées novatrices avec vos collègues.
Au plaisir de vous accueillir à Saskatoon en mai 2027 !
Nearly 12,000 bans took place in American public schools over the past year, according to a new study from PEN America.
This is the highest total since the free expression organization began tracking removals five years ago.
The report arrives during the international Banned Books Week, which runs from Oct. 4 to Oct. 10. This year’s theme is “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read”, during which events at U.S.-based schools and libraries and other locations call attention to censorship efforts.
Geoff Ball’s arrest video is shocking. From a small crowd of protesters, the eighty-year-old is grabbed by two young Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers. Struggling to walk—Ball is blind in one eye and suffers from the effects of two heart attacks—he’s taken to a wall and slammed face first into the brick before being handcuffed. Shortly afterward, according to Ball, he’s dumped roughly into the back of a police car and sent to the station to be reprimanded. Everything happens in the space of a few minutes, turning an ordinary act of civic participation into a hellish ordeal.
Ball lives outside Canning, a tight-knit community in Nova Scotia’s lush Annapolis Valley. The largely agricultural landscape has recently become ground zero in the fight against cuts to Nova Scotia’s cultural sector. Persistent provincial underfunding forced the Annapolis Valley Regional Library system to announce plans earlier this year to permanently close five of its eleven libraries, including the busy Port Williams branch close to Ball’s home. (The Village of Lawrencetown’s library withdrew from the system prior to the closures.)
Continue reading “Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia Shut Down Libraries. Then Things Got Ugly”