Author: Technology Coordinator

Dolly Parton will be remembered for many reasons, one of which is her immense impact on literacy in Prince Edward Island.

The country music icon and philanthropist died at 80 on Aug. 25 following a brief battle with cancer. Her legacy includes 11 Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a 1999 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But for Jinny Greaves, executive director of the P.E.I. Literacy Alliance, it’s her contributions to children’s literacy that made the biggest difference.

Continue reading “PEI: Dolly Parton leaves a ‘very powerful’ legacy of children’s literacy on P.E.I., says alliance” →

APLA is seeking enthusiastic and committed volunteers to join the Mentorship Program Committee.

The Mentorship Program will play an important role in supporting professional growth, building connections, and strengthening our library community across Atlantic Canada. We are looking for members who are interested in helping guide and enhance this program.

Committee members may contribute to:

  • Program planning and development
  • Recruitment and support of mentors and mentees
  • Promotion and outreach
  • Assessment and continuous improvement of the program
  • Creating meaningful opportunities for professional engagement

Whether you are an experienced professional, an emerging leader, or someone passionate about mentorship and community building, we welcome your interest.

The committee will meet approximately bi-weekly until we’re up and running, and then as needed, and members should be prepared to contribute between meetings as required.

To express interest or to learn more, please contact Terri Winchcombe (past-president@apla.ca) by September 18, 2026.

We encourage members from ALL library sectors, ALL library workers, and ALL career stages to consider joining us.

Thank you for helping support the next generation of library professionals and leaders.

 

Artificial intelligence is not only changing the world as we know it, but it’s destroying parts of our world along the way. The latest casualty? Books.

Anthropic, to train its Claude AI model, has been buying physical books in order to scan them and ingest their contents. To do this as efficiently – and legally – as possible, special machinery cuts the pages from their bindings and scans them. The books’ remnants are then discarded. According to reports citing court documents, Anthropic has purchased – and destroyed – millions of physical books in the process.

By acquiring physical books, the company owns them – and thus does not have to worry about copyright infringement the way it would by downloading pirated libraries, also known as shadow libraries.

Continue reading “AI companies are destroying books. What will they come for next?” →

The eLearning in Libraries Symposium is currently seeking proposals for 15-minute eLearning Lightning Talks and 60-minute Full Sessions/Workshops. This year’s symposium will take place online, via Zoom, on Wednesday, December 2nd & Thursday, December 3rd, 2026.

Tell us (and others!) the ways in which eLearning is helping your library remain a vibrant source of knowledge in a dynamic digital world. Libraries have long been centres of innovation and adaptation, and as new challenges have emerged, so have opportunities to flex our creative muscles in developing enriched learning experiences.

Suggested themes: eLearning in Libraries and…

  • Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning
  • Hybrid learning
  • Sustainability, scalability
  • Open Education Resources
  • (Inter)Active learning
  • Instructional Design
  • Digital Pedagogy
  • Assessment
  • Current Issues/Top Trends in eLearning
  • Innovation and collaboration in the eLearning space
  • Digital Literacy
  • Gamification and game-based learning

15-Minute eLearning Lightning Talks

These rapid fire presentations showcase specific eLearning projects, initiatives, highlights, and fail stories. We encourage you to submit proposals that highlight some of the great work you have undertaken this year.

60-Minute Sessions and/or Interactive Workshops

These sessions typically focus on a specific aspect of eLearning and can take the form of an interactive workshop, panel, lecture, etc. We encourage you to submit proposals that highlight how you have used eLearning and other techniques to meet the challenges presented by the current learning environment and your future plans. Topics could include:

  • Hands-on software demonstrations (e.g., H5P, Videoscribe, Voice over Powerpoint)
  • Best practices in hybrid, synchronous or asynchronous online instruction
  • Open educational resource creation, adoption by faculty, training programs & more
  • eLearning instructional design techniques
  • Expert perspectives on hot topics in eLearning (accessibility, hybrid, virtual / augmented reality, etc.)
  • And anything else you can dream up!

We encourage proposals from a diverse range of perspectives. Proposals will be evaluated based on the following three categories:

  1. Timeliness/originality
  2. Relevance to eLearning
  3. Proposal clarity

Submit your proposals here: https://forms.gle/927xeCZtWgaAGTyo6

Proposals close on Monday, September 14, 2026.

Successful proposals will be notified by Tuesday, October 14th, 2026.

 

Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid has donated $300,000 to the Annapolis Valley Regional Library after hearing five branches were set to permanently shutter.

“I had to do it because I don’t know what the point is of being a successful author in Nova Scotia if you’re not going to use it for good,” Reid told CBC News in an interview Monday.

Continue reading “Nova Scotia: Heated Rivalry author donates $300K to 5 rural libraries facing closure” →

A  reminder of the upcoming NSLA Conference – Making Connections, September 18-20, 2026 – in Pictou, Nova Scotia, at our new library on the waterfront in the deCoste Culture Hub (99 Water Street, Pictou, NS).

An amazing conference is planned for NSLA, and organizers are looking forward to seeing you soon! From keynotes, to workshops, sessions to receptions, panel discussions – a cardigan exchange, awards banquet, trivia night, lunch music with Symphony Nova Scotia, and evenings with local entertainers, Sunday morning gentle yoga… and lots of great food, conversations & community. (And of course – conference swag bags and door prizes!).

Full details may be found on the updated conference website HERE.

Many thanks to those who have already registered, … and space is still available.

Members of the Lawrencetown village commission realize it’s an ambitious project, but the community has the volunteers and talent needed to operate an independent library.

Vice-chairperson Jane Baskwill said that when commissioners first saw a report from the Annapolis Valley Regional Library (AVRL) board in January requesting increased funding from municipalities to avoid potential closures, they noted the Dr. Frank W. Morse Memorial Library in Lawrencetown had the lowest circulation rate of the 11 regional library branches.

Baskwill said they realized if this metric were to be used to determine which branches would remain open, they would have a difficult time increasing circulation given their hours of operation as a regional library branch and a general lack of programming being offered.

Continue reading “Nova Scotia: Lawrencetown prepares to build collection, operate independent library” →

An organization that supports the library in Charlottetown’s downtown is working on a new goal.

The Charlottetown Library Learning Centre Foundation recently completed its first major project, buying a set of 20 portable Wi-Fi hotspots for the library system.

Now, the volunteers are fundraising for another big tech purchase. The plan is a kiosk that users can operate with their library card to take out laptops, iPads or other tablets to use in the library.

Continue reading “PEI: Portable tech kiosk next fundraising project for Charlottetown library foundation” →

A quest to find a new home for a west end St. John’s library has hit a snag but one advocate hopes a spot will be found soon.

Two months ago the Michael Donovan Public Library closed its doors at the Waterford Valley Mall on Topsail Road after its rental agreement ended.

Continue reading “NL: ‘Back to the drawing board’ after no bids for new St. John’s library home, says advocate” →

Registration is now open for the 2026 NeuroGLAM Conference, taking place August 21, 1:00-5:00 p.m. ADT. This is an annual free, virtual conference by and for neurodivergent (identified or suspected/questioning) workers in Canadian galleries, libraries, archives and museums.

This year’s conference theme is “Hopepunk.” The schedule is being confirmed and will be shared soon.

Register here: NeuroGLAM 2026 Conference