November Wrap up!

The end of term was very eventful, and we definitely slacked a bit to write a blog update... BUT, we're back!

This is what we did in November:

November was full of the events we spent October planning.

Our "Care package" fundraiser paid back the costs, but we didn't make any extra money. However, we still have a lot of supplies left so we'll be able to reuse them for another!

Our event with Sarah McCabe was very successful. We had a great turn out. Sarah shared her insight on the MLIS program, on finding a job (and keeping it!!). Her dedication to continuing education and enthusiasm about the Ontario Historical Society really showed. It was a delight to listen to her and learn from her experience.
Thank you Sarah! We hope to see you again soon. 

We also elected our new executive! Check out our exec page to see who's taking over for the Winter!

Cheers
SLA Exe

October Wrap Up

October is now over! Here is an update on what we did this month, and some upcoming events.

Toronto Tour

October was a lot of planning, as we needed to organize our Toronto Tour. We decided to visit the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library, the Legislative Library and the CBC News Archives.
Here are some of the highlights of our tours:

Thomas Fisher Library
The Thomas Fisher Library is always a delight to visit. Our tour guide always finds great new items to show us. This time they included some of Leonard Cohen's notebooks, an example of cross-hitching, a book that was re-bound with beautiful materials and designs, as well as a 1000 year old bible!
Here are some pictures that we took on our tour:

 

Legislative Assembly

Visiting the Legislative Assembly was fascinating - their stacks were not all that impressive, but their job was very different from a traditional librarian. The legislative library is almost a library for librarians, as the patrons request reports that the librarians put together. In fact, the patrons very rarely use the stacks, and the librarians are the ones to look for the information. 

Some of the fun facts we learned that day: neutrality is very important to work at the Legislative Library which means that the librarians cannot have been affiliated with a political party before working there. Other fun facts include the newspaper clippings that librarians pass out to the member of the legislature in paper format (!!), and the fact that the library has suffered multiple fires before finding its place in the current building. 

We didn't take many pictures of the holdings, but we had a cool name pass that I took a picture of: 

CBC News Archives

CBC Archives is like a futuristic dream - their digitization process is on such a large scale that it is difficult to grasp. The coolest thing is the storage robot that pulls tapes as they are requested in the news room. 

We also visited the news room, their studios, and the film archives. Their building is as large as multiple football fields which is very impressive. 

Archive Space Robot

Archive Space Robot #2

Film studios

What's next? 

We are planning a fundraiser here on campus for the first full week of November (see the poster below).

Coming up, we also have guest speaker Sarah McCabe coming to talk to us about her work at the Ontario Historical Society at the end of November (Nov. 23). 

 Stay tuned for more details, coming soon. 

Don't hesitate to let us know if you want more details about what we're up to! You can contact us by email or simply come to our meetings.

Stay tuned to this page for updates!

thanks
SLA exec

September Wrap up

As September is wrapping up, here is a brief summary of what we're up to.

This term, we started out by electing officers for the exec positions that were still vacant. Check the executive team page to see our new exec team! It's been exciting to see what a great turn out we've had so far.

This month we have been focusing on planning events for this term. Our major event is the Toronto Library Tour, which will take place at the end of October during Reading week. Stay tuned for details!
We are also planning to invite a couple of guest speakers to talk to students on campus about special libraries. Nothing is set in stone yet, so we will let you know once everything is confirmed.

We resolved our on-going banking issue this month, which was a huge relief. We are now in good shape to face this term head on!

Don't hesitate to let us know if you want more details about what we're up to! You can contact us by email or simply come to our meetings.
Stay tuned to this page for updates!

thanks
SLA exec

Web Talk with Kim Dority

On Tuesday, November 24th, we met with Kim Dority, an accomplished LIS professional. She began her career in research and publishing with Libraries Unlimited. Now, as an LIS Career Expert, working with the Special Libraries Association, she has a lot of great advice for students in the field looking to start their careers. As I listened to her explain not only the importance of information professionals, but also the versatility of our skills I was struck by the realization that a wide range of opportunities were available to me.

One of the first big ideas she put in my head was the notion of building your professional equity. Your professional equity, she insists, is made up of what you know, who you know, and who knows what about you. This is the fundamentals of of successful networking, a notion we've all heard before, but perhaps haven't been taking too seriously. But Dority is right, in order to succeed you must build your network and build your visibility. You start this by building a base of contacts, or to put it simply, making relationships with your fellow LIS students and colleagues. Dority goes on to recommend that you keep your mind open and say to new opportunities. Her message here is to remind us not to let fear keep us from taking on a a new challenge. Chanel a spirit, she says, to convince yourself you can do this. She reminds us to let go of the need to be perfect and just be fearless.

"I haven't mastered that yet." 

When you approach a task, don't shy away from the unfamiliar. Promote your skill set and get that information out into the universe. Don't be afraid to use your network of colleagues to help expand your skill set. These are the key ideas Dority is pushing. As you build your professional equity you expand your capabilities to help other people. 

Next, Dority opened up the floor for questions and we instantly wanted to know if networking was so valuable how could sites like LinkedIn be used to help us. 

Her response:

It's something we all know, yet don't like to think about. Employer's upon receiving our applications, will be searching our online profiles to uncover our digital identities. Getting behind your online presence early is the best thing you can do. Not only that, but LinkedIn also provides the opportunity for people to reach out to you and vice versa. When you engage with the site you are able to follow the profession in groups and find out who the though leaders are. 

Dority's take on Twitter:

In addition to LinkedIn, we asked about her opinion of twitter as a tool. She promotes its ability to establish high speed connections and discussion. However, you do need to maintain a constant presence in order to stay relevant. She notes that Twitter isn't for everyone, but it can have great benefits when used properly.

 Organizing your Information Interview

 This is the perfect opportunity to build upon your professional equity. She starts by explaining how to get an interview. Sending emails to professionals over calling allows the interviewee to review your request and makes it easier for them to understand what they are saying yes to, or to reschedule a time that works on their schedule. She emphasizes that this is important, allowing the interviewee the flexibility of choosing when to do the interview. Afterwards, Dority stresses it is important to follow up with a written thank you note and use the chance to confirm you have remembered their advice. Next she recommends getting in contact again once you have implemented their advice and letting them know you appreciate their words and time. At this stage it is also appropriate to send a LinkedIn invitation. If you want to maintain that connection, start by giving back and treating them as peer.

Marketing Skills and the Jobs Search

Dority is very clear that you should always avoid the "j-word" when you are networking, it tends to scare people away. In addition to networking, it is important to volunteer both in your field and outside of it. When marketing your skills to outsiders use the most ambitious title for yourself, always make endorsements for your skills. The key is to get visible, get out there and think of new ways your skills can be transferred to outsiders. 

I am very thankful for the opportunity to talk with Kim Dority and get her view on what it takes to get your foot in the door to the LIS field. I am also eager to begin building my personal equity and implementing the advice she has given us.

- written by Amanda Wheatley (Fall 2015 co-chair)

Overview: SLA at UWO Toronto Tour!

Written by Cassandra Lopes (cross-posted to the The Courier: Toronto SLA)

On February 18th, 2015, the SLA Student Chapter from the University of Western Ontario visited three special libraries in Toronto and then had dinner at the Loose Moose with several SLA members and executives. We visited the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, the Legislative Library at Queen’s Park, and the library in the Toronto International Film Festival Theatre (TIFF). It was very exciting to see these very different libraries and talk to the librarians about their work and their career paths.

Our first stop was the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. The Outreach Librarian, John Shoesmith, led the tour and showed us the facilities and collections. It was an amazing atmosphere, and as library students, we all felt a sense of awe and excitement especially when we were permitted to touch the old and rare books that John had brought out to show us. We also got to see Margaret Atwood’s notes and correspondences that she donated to the library. It was very interesting to learn about the donations and accession policies for a Rare Book Library, and about all the different Librarians and positions that are staffed there. Many of the students talked one on one with John and he answered our personal questions about the profession and tips on what we could do if we wanted a career like his.

Next we walked to the Parliament Building at Queen’s Park where we visited the Legislative Library. We meet with the Manager of Library Clients Services, Eileen Lewis. As she led us up the grand staircase and through the marble entrance way to the library, she told us of the history of the library, including the fire that destroyed the collection. Now the collections are housed in steel stacks that are resistant to fire. The stacks are closed and only the Librarians can access them to get materials that the Members of Parliament may need. Eileen also told us about other services the library provides to the Members of Parliament; they have staff that comes in at 5 a.m. to create a compilation of articles from the front pages of the important newspapers in Toronto and Canada. There is also a collection of leisure reading materials for the members to read between sessions. Many of the students with political science backgrounds were interested in talking with Eileen and learning various job hunting tips. It was also interesting to learn that the library was non-partisan and so the librarians had to be as well, at least while on the job.

The last library we visited was the one in the TIFF theatre. The space was small and the group had to be divided into two tour groups. While one group was touring the library the other got to browse their magazine collection and speak with the reference librarian about the collection and the job. The tour was led by Michelle Lovegrove Thomson and she was very friendly and knowledgeable about the collection. They were able to house a lot of materials in the small space with the use of compact shelving. They also house props that have been donated, including the bear-proof suit from the movie Project Grizzly. We learned about the various services they offer free to the public, including a room in which you can watch a movie from their collection.

We ended the day with a dinner at the Loose Moose with several members of the SLA Toronto Chapter. It was a fantastic opportunity for the group to network and get job hunting tips from professionals currently in the field. The students on the trip really enjoyed the tours and the chance to speak with so many librarians and information professionals. We learned that it is important to create connections with the community and that SLA is a fantastic way to do that. The student membership for SLA is offered at a discounted price and I think that many of us will want to take advantage of it, especially after all we learned on the tour.

Two great opportunities!

Presentation Submission...

SLA Toronto West will be hosting our first Student Presentation Showcase on Wednesday 22ndin the Frank Rose Room of the Central Branch of the Burlington Public Library (see contact info below)

If you are interested in doing a short presentation on your interests, research or current projects in the library world and connect with a local professional organization, please submit a proposal by no later than Friday April 3rd outlining what you would like to discuss. Individual and team presentations are encouraged.

Other points:

• Presentations cannot exceed 10 minutes (this may be altered based on the number of participants)
• A laptop and projector will be provided. Please bring your presentation materials on a flash drive as access to WiFi is not guaranteed.
• We will need a minimum of 3 or 4 presentations to proceed with this event.
• Participants must arrange their own transportation to the venue.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal or have any other questions please contact Brian Rooney (brooney83@gmail.com) or Pam Casey (pcasey@bell.net).

Volunteer Opportunity...

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph has a volunteer opportunity for a few students. The convent is a very lovely place for students to try out their library skills. The Sisters need help in weeding their collection.

More information here.

The convent also offers an archives bursary which can be viewed on their website.

Updates and Upcoming Events

Our first fundraiser will be held next week, February 2-6, from 12-1:30pm in front of the GRC. We will be selling Valentine's Candy Grams to be delivered to student mailboxes the following week! Tell your friends :D Everyone loves candy after all!

Also coming soon, the Herbarium Tour has been ocnfirmed for Monday February 9th from 12-1pm. We will be meeting at the stairs in NCB and walking over together. Please show up around 11:45 so we can get there on time. Hope to see you all there! It will be a great learning opportunity!

We will also be having our SLA Speaker Series sometime after Reading Week, so if you'd like to speak or just come out and listen to some interesting stories from your fellow students related to special libraries, keep an eye out for updates!

And speaking of Reading Week, we can't forget the exciting Toronto Tour! We are still working on confirming locations, but for now, except the trip to happen on Wednesday, February 18th!

Lastly, for the remainder of the term, we will not be meeting in the originally planned room. We will be meeting in the Staging Building room 250. This is located next door to the NCB in the direction of University Ave.

Welcome Winter 2015!

Hello and welcome to all new and returning students!

We hope you all had an enjoyable holiday break, but it's time again to hit the books for another term, and we here at SLA are excited about the things to come!

Weekly meetings will begin next week on Tuesday from 12-1pm in the Grad Lounge on the 4th floor. However, starting in February, we will be meeting in room 266 going forward.

On the agenda for this Winter, we hope to schedule more speaker series with professionals currently employed at special libraries and organize tours of local special libraries - and that is just the beginning!

SLA is always in need of volunteers to help run events, and suggestions are always welcome! So if you are interested in getting more involved, don't hesitate to speak up at a meeting or send us an e-mail at slaatuwo@gmail.com.

Lastly, this year is SLA Toronto chapter's 75th anniversary so expect some updates regarding our parent chapter and special or networking events.

MLIS Alumni Interview - Yasmeen Awadh!

Western received a special visit yesterday from a MLIS alumni, Yasmeen Awadh!  She was in London for the day, and returned to Toronto the same evening, and then back to Vancouver for a week before heading to Calgary.  Despite her busy schedule, she took some time out for this interview! 

Yasmeen completed both her Master of Library and Information Science and undergrad in Media, Information and Technoculture at Western and currently works at the Centre for Digital Media.

Magdalen:   Please tell us a bit more about yourself and your work at Centre for Digital Media. 

Yasmeen:   I graduated from Western's MLIS program in 2004.  What appealed to me about the MLIS program was the information aspect.  I was interested in how people exchanged information, information-seeking and the different channels to access information.  MLIS students could be found in a lot of non-librarian environments.  My boss also has a MLIS degree (from University of Alberta), and she was working at CBC prior to the Centre for Digital Media (CDM).

CDM specifically offers one program:  the Master of Digital Media (MDM) which draws a variety of students from various backgrounds in information architecture, UX design, industrial design, computer programming, software engineer, visual arts, media arts, architecture, etc.  All students’ works are project-based and as they work with industry clients, they develop their project management, leadership and team collaboration skills specifically for the digital media environment.  MDM was modelled after the program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, except the US program cost $100,000!  MDM was created by industry professionals and is a collaboration of UBC, SFU, BCIT, and ECU. 

As CDM’s admissions and recruitment officer, I liaise with all the different departments, work with the faculty, stay well-informed of the changing curriculum as the industry evolves so rapidly, meet with the marketing team, create webinars, develop recruitment strategies, conduct search engine analysis, interview candidates, evaluate admissions credentials... are some of the things I do.

M:  How are information needs of people changing?

Y:  People are more tech savvy, so as they are more connected through social media, they rely more on the learning experiences of others.  Access to people is access to information.

M:  In your present job, what did you find most useful from what you learned in the MLIS program?

Y:  Reference interviews, asking the right questions and customizing information in order to see which candidates were a good fit for the MDM program.   It is important to determine if the student will do well and being able to provide the right information to them.  Digital media has different meanings to different people with different backgrounds.  A gamer perceives digital media differently from a photographer or a compositor, but digital media consists of multi-skilled teams to carry on a project.  Our projects are very team-collaborative, as it is in this industry.

M:  CDM has worked with some pretty big industry partners such as Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Relic, Microsoft, and Mozilla, how can special librarians and information specialists best market their skills when looking for work?

Y:   Students need to be problem solvers and know how information flows, such as in content management systems.  Ask companies the right questions, like what problems do the companies have and companies would want to know that you can help them solve their problems.  MDM students solve problems that clients didn’t even know they had.

M:  In our Information Visualization course, there is a lot of emphasis on being able to identify the problem in the info space, or else any mental activity is meaningless, so I can see how problem solving could top the list of desirable skills.  Besides being good problem solvers, what other important skills should special librarians have?

Y:  Good information literacy skills and be able to determine the relevance of the information.  Take initiative, strong critical thinking skills, be able to work with different types of personalities… soft skills, positive attitude.

M:  What do you see in the future of special librarians?

Y:  Be adaptable, have the ability to be adaptable, pick up skills quickly and adapt to the changing demands of the market.  They will have to have good tech skills.

M:  We have a few SLA members who will be completing the MLIS program this term, any words of wisdom for those venturing out?

Y:  Be open to opportunities and all avenues.  The path to your dream job may not be straight and narrow, but have many twists and turns.  The best opportunities come in strange packages!

Thank you Yasmeen for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with us. You can find out more about the Centre for Digital Media at http://thecdm.ca.


magdalen lau is currently completing the MLIS program with a concentration in information science and global information.  She is from the Pacific Northwest and uses multimedia as a tool for visual storytelling.

Welcome everyone!

Welcome all new MLIS students and those returning from Co-op!  

SLA had its first meeting yesterday (meetings will be held every Thurs @ 4:30pm, NCB Room 266) and we discussed our upcoming activities and tours planned for the fall.  

It was great to meet some of the new members and we have two new executives on board!  Thank you both to Anita, new Special Events Coordinator, and Brittany, First-Term Representative, for taking on the roles!  We’re looking forward to seeing more new faces at the next meeting, hearing more about your interests and what you would like to learn about in special libraries...

Gilmore Music Library, Yale

Childreach Toy Library and Resource Centre Tour - August 6, 2014

We had our final tour of the term at the Childreach Toy Library and Resource Centre this past Wednesday, where we were joined by some members of the SLACYS student group in our program.

The Teach and Play Toy Library, a toy and resource lending library for children with special needs

The Childreach Resource Centre, a library of curriculum and activity kits, puppets, and a craft room for Childreach members.

Please read below for Allison's great post on our experience!

Today, Wednesday August 6, both the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and Student Librarians Association for Children and Youth Services (SLACYS) were lucky enough to have the opportunity to see a wonderful library that offers a unique service, lending toys. Community Living London, offers three wonderful programs that offer parents, educators and children the opportunity to borrow toys, books, and teaching materials all for just $35 a year. 

Walking into the building it’s obviously a place that’s meant for children with beautiful colors and murals painted inside and a big playroom filled with toys that any child would love to play with. All 

three programs offer the opportunity to lend out materials for different reasons. Some of these toys are geared towards children who have special needs while others are there for parents to take out for their children to help them learn by playing. It’s amazing to see not only how many toys there are but what skills they toys help develop such as cognitive, emotional, physical skills and many more. 

However, as a professional, my favorite part was the upstairs library that’s available for educators. Within this part of the library there are rows and row of boxes filled with books, toys, games, songs, and even puppets and felt board characters. Needless to say, I was in children’s librarian heaven! 

I could have spent an entire day there looking at all the different programs, games, toys and ideas available and all ready to go home with me in a box! What a great idea and great resource for school support workers, teachers, and even librarians etc... who for various reasons may not have the resources to purchase these materials and the craft room, well as a scrap booker, don’t even get me started on that.

Within this craft room there were so many different options available but the coolest was this machine called a die cutter that allows people to make different shapes on many different materials. Using this machine you can cut out shapes for felt board characters, or event use it to cut out shapes for crafts on practically any material. For example, this machine was used to cut out shapes for a mobile from pop cans ... talk about a great resource, it’s creative, fun and even environmentally friendly. 

They even had puppets and felt board stories for sale complete with not only the felt board characters but also the song. Before you ask, yes I did buy some of the felt board stories, how could I not? They were adorable and practical professionally speaking! For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to go and see what this toy lending library is all about, I strongly recommend it but must warn you, visiting there may leave you wanting to A) either start you own toy lending library or B) lead to excessive toy, book and crafts purchases after you see all the great ideas that you’re missing from your own collection!

Thanks for reading,

Allison Gibbard 

SLACYS President, Summer 2014

Allison is in her final term of the MLIS program and is an aspiring children's librarian. She is President of SLACYS at Western University for the Summer 2014 term. Read more about Alli's musings on her blog!

Herbology for Librarians: UWO’s SLA Herbarium Tour

Herbology for Librarians: UWO’s SLA Herbarium Tour

Harry Potter references aside (and there were many), herbology is not something I know much about. So I was excited to attend SLA Student Chapter’s tour of Western University’s Herbarium.

Sandra Mackin guided us through a brief introduction to her job and the role of a Herbarium. What is a Herbarium, you ask? Basically it is part museum and part library with its own classification system based on plant taxonomy. The information in this library is in the form of dried plants, or specimens, which have been pressed and glued (with special glue) to archival paper for posterity. These specimens are used for plant identification and study, mostly by biologists.

Here’s a sample of the flower Passion Everlasting, also known as Helichrysumsanguineum.

If you like binomial nomenclature,then this will interest you! I have a background in Latin so I was very interested in the classification system they use. Like most people who work in herbaria, Sandra has a background in biology and she can tell you the Latin name for a specimen just by looking at it. Now that is a party trick that I would like to have!

The Herbarium receives donations of specimens from private collectors, other herbariums, and academics. They also collect some of the specimens themselves. One of the most unusual—and fun! — roles of herbaria staff is that you may need to go hunting for specimens or spend time in your work day picking local plants to add to the collection.

They also do public outreach, especially having students of all ages come to experience biodiversity. Their specimens can also be used in teaching to illustrate plant taxonomies or species evolution.

For us library students, their historic collection of plant and specimen ephemera was of most interest. Their oldest specimen is from 1840 and personal donations have included many original drawings, illustrations, and lithographs of different plant and flower species in Ontario and beyond.

This is their oldest specimen; It was pressed in 1840!

Since the Herbarium is so unique and is a relatively small operation, they face many challenges. Chief among them is ensuring the safety of their collection from damage; hard to do in an older building. They are also working to begin digitizing their collection, which is made more difficult since many of their items are 3-dimensional and fragile.

Ultimately, their work is invaluable in recording local and international plant and fungal species for the future and interest in the affects of global warming and concern for biodiversity have been increasing interest in this field. Herbaria are definitely unique collections with library and archives crossover appeal.

Thanks to Megan Siu and Sandra for this opportunity! Volunteer opportunities at the Herbarium for MLIS students will be available this fall, check back for more opportunities in September.

Christine Pinkney is originally from Calgary, Alberta, and started the MLIS program through online courses via the University of Alberta's School of Library and Information Studies. She is now working to finish off her degree at the University of Western Ontario as an aspiring information professional in many different types of librarianship.

Skype Interview: Theatre Alberta Library

On Wednesday, June 25^th, the UWO SLA student group was joined by Becca Barrington, one of the librarians at the Theatre Alberta Library in Edmonton, Alberta over Skype.

Our promotional poster created by UWO SLA Communications Coordinator, Sarah Calder.

Theatre Alberta Library is the largest, independent fully-circulating theatre library in Canada, boasting over 19,000 playscripts, periodicals, and other materials in its collection.

One particularly interesting feature of Theatre Alberta Library is their eScripts collection. The Theatre Alberta Library eScripts collection is comprised of unpublished plays written by local playwrights who are members of Theatre Alberta, which have been produced in Alberta. The website provides an option to submit playscripts to the library by uploading them for approval, and if added are searchable on the online catalogue.

I, along with a number of other members in our student group, am in the process of applying for jobs in the library field. As a result, whenever possible, we have the slight tendency to ask our guest speakers how they ended up working where they are.

A piece of advice that Becca told us was that it was important to be active in professional organizations, and this is something that has been repeatedly noted by information professionals I have come across. As well, while informational professionals in other special libraries have indicated that most of the specific subject content may be learned on the job, Theatre Alberta Library demonstrates that having expertise in the subject focus of the library definitely does provide some edge. I guess that what we can learn from this is that even if our academic backgrounds are not in a related content area, gaining any experience will do that much more for us.

One of my favourite questions to ask a librarian (especially for one who maintains a special library of some sort) is what the most obscure title in the collection is. Becca entertained us by enthusiastically pulling out what was very dated playscript of Richard II, which she mentioned is kept hidden unless specifically requested for.

I am currently enrolled in the Special Libraries course in the program, in which we learned that special libraries tend to encounter the following challenges:

1. Limited physical space
2. Decreasing in-person visits from clients
3. Maintaining cohesiveness and value within the larger organization
4. Small staff size

However, despite being a special library, Theatre Alberta Library doesn’t seem to have as much difficulty as others.

1. Yes, the physical space of the Theatre Alberta Library is limited - composed of 3 main stacks, along with the desks for the librarians, and a few other cabinets – however, because playscripts are thankfully thin and therefore, it is easy to store many more of them in a smaller amount of physical space. To assist even more, the playscripts are also in the process of being digitized.
2. Yes, the in-person visits are generally limited to those in the Edmonton area who don’t have so much of an issue commuting to the library, many of the transactions between the library and clients who are elsewhere in Alberta are conducted through interlibrary loans.
3. Yes, Theatre Alberta Library exists within the larger organization of Theatre Alberta, however, the two are very much intertwined! The library caters to Theatre Alberta’s members including anyone from actors and actresses to stage managers to academics. There seems to be a very positive relationship between Theatre Alberta and the University of Alberta and MacEwan University’s drama programs. As well, the library assists in promoting community events, auditions, and festivals to and on the behalf of Theatre Alberta members; the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, Improvaganza, and the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival just to name a few. The Theatre Alberta Communications and Marketing Coordinator has even created a YouTube video that shows viewers how to find the library within the building! It really seems as if the Theatre Alberta Library is here to stay for quite a while.
4. Yes, there are only 2 librarians running the show, but given the limited physical space, it might be better that way. As well, Becca’s background from the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Arts Drama program combined with her colleague, Solveig’s background from Grant MacEwan’s Information Management and Library Technology program overlap well enough to cover all the bases needed to operate the library!

All in all, by the end of the interview, we were all quite convinced that Becca and Solveig have our dream jobs, but it always fosters hope by hearing about such wonderful experiences working in libraries.

A great, big thank you to Becca Barrington for enlightening us on the ins and outs of the Theatre Alberta Library!

To learn more about Theatre Alberta Library, visit their website or follow them on their blog!

Megan Siu is in her third and final term of the MLIS program at Western University. She is the current Event Coordinator for the UWO SLA student group in addition to her involvement in various other groups. Megan is very excited to return to Edmonton in less than a month, in search of opportunities in special libraries and/or non-traditional library environments!