News and information from the Ex Libris Association. Toggle the headings to view (or hide) messages and statements.

The Ex Libris Association Board is pleased to report that the Indigenous Student Bursary, created in 2023, has been awarded to William Fayant, a student with an excellent GPA in his second year in the Library and Information Technician Program at RRC Polytechnic in WInnipeg, Manitoba.

William sent us the following thank you message:
“I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Ex Libris Association for their support in the 2023-24 academic year. As a Library and Information Technology student, and as a Cree/Metis man from Treaty 4 Territory, receiving this bursary has been a life-changing experience for me: I am now enrolled full-time in my studies, and can begin my path to a life-long career in the library field much sooner than I could have without the Ex Libris Association’s generous support. Thank you very much, ELA, for your kind investment towards my future!”
— William Fayant, Ex Libris Association Indigenous Student Bursary recipient (2023)

We are currently fundraising to ensure we can fund the 2024 award. We have a healthy start but welcome further donations. If you would like to donate to the bursary, please contact bob.exlibris@gmail.com.

More information on the bursary award is available at this link.

Congratulations to Innisfil ideaLAB & Library, winner of the 2023 W. Kaye Lamb Award for Innovative Services to Seniors !!!

The Ex Libris Association (ELA) and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations/Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB) are pleased to announce that the W. Kaye Lamb Award for Innovative Services to Seniors recipient for 2023 is the Innisfil ideaLAB & Library. ELA’s W.Kaye Lamb Award Committee was unanimous in selecting Innisfil ideaLAB & Library for their outstanding work for Kits and Community: Activity Kits for Older Adults. The award was presented by ELA’s chair of the Lamb Committtee, Christina Wilson (below on the right-hand side) at the OLA Super Conference. Accepting the award, from the left, Kathryn Schoutsen, Director, Community Development & Advocacy, Jocelyn Martin, Library Programmer, Programming & Outreach, and Erin Scuccimarri, CEO, Innisfil ideaLAB & Library.
The W. Kaye Lamb Award is named for Canada’s first National Librarian and is given biennially in recognition of library service specifically designed to meet the needs of seniors.

Please read our full official statement on the winner of this year’s W. Kaye Lamb award in both French and English.

On November 6th Dick Ellis made a presentation via Zoom on intellectual freedom for members attending the ELA annual general meeting.

His presentation outlined current issues and addressed problems libraries face with this issue: drag storytimes, controversial speakers in public libraries, and, of course, “offensive” books in school libraries. His presentation has been reworked at a PDF and can be accessed at this link.

Kayla Lar-son is the Indigenous Programs and Services Librarian for the Xwi7xwa Library at the University of British Columbia. Her webinar on the topic of Indigenous Data, Knowledge and Cultural Sovereignty and Libraries was arranged by the Ex Libris Association and presented to members on Monday, October 24, 2023. It is approximately fifty minutes in length with close captioning and an auto generated transcript. The session is viewable to the public on YouTube.

August 2023

ELA member Peter McNally attended the April 2023 launch of a new book on library and book history. Peter published a chapter, “Administrators and Scholars: Directors of Libraries at McGill University, 1964-2010,” chapter 12, pages 247–264, in Carol Couture et Ēric Leroux, eds., Le Livre et la bibliothèque: la quête des savoirs et de la culture: Mélanges offerts à Marcel Lajeunesse. Québec, Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2023.

The photo below shows Peter with Marcel Lajeunesse, who is professor emeritus at the Faculté des Arts et des sciences, Université de Montréal.

March 14, 2023

The Ex Libris Association (ELA) is excited to announce the launch of its Indigenous Student Bursary. ELA’s goal in offering the bursary is to encourage more Indigenous voices among staff in all types of libraries. ELA has partnered with Indspire to manage the bursary, and is also pleased to acknowledge a significant donation from Library Bound Inc. in the bursary’s inaugural year.

The $2,500 bursary will be awarded annually to an Indigenous student in the first year of library or archival studies – at the masters or technician level.

Donors can find more information about the bursary and ways to donate at https://www.exlibris.ca/doku.php?id=awards:indigenous-bursary.|

Applications will open in May. Students can find more information on the Indigenous Student Bursary and how to apply at https://indspire.ca/programs/students/bursaries-scholarships/

ELA is the national Canadian association of people who have spent an important part of their work life in libraries, archives, publishing houses, and adjunct fields, and who are now attracted to historical and current issues related to those institutions, as well as to issues concerning the personal welfare of their fellow members.

Having grown into one of the Top 10 Charities of Impact in Canada, Indspire is an Indigenous charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people for the long-term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and Canada. Since 1996, Indspire has provided over $190 million in financial support to more than 59,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis students.

Library Bound is Canada’s largest wholesaler solely dedicated to serving the needs of public libraries. For more than twenty-five years, its committed and experienced staff have been striving to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions for the changing needs of Canadian libraries.

March 2, 2022 — With thanks to CILIP: the library and information association of the UK for the borrowed words.

Members of the Ex Libris Association, representing retired librarians, archivists and information professionals in Canada, wish to extend our solidarity and support for our professional colleagues in Ukraine during the current military action by Russia.

We are gravely concerned at the threat posed by this action to the safety of the Ukrainian people, their heritage and identity, as well as to the security of our professional colleagues.

Ukraine is a nation with a rich literary heritage and tradition. Its libraries and archives are home to great collections of works of literature, history and research, documenting the development of Ukrainian culture, identity and language. It is of vital importance to ensure that this body of knowledge, research and creativity is protected for future generations.

The integrity of the public record as well as the safety and intellectual freedom of the civilian population are pre-requisites of any nation state that aspires to legitimacy or credibility within the international community.

Librarians, archivists and information professionals play a vital role in promoting reading, literacy and access to information for the citizens and communities they serve. It is essential that they are permitted to continue this work in safety and free from coercion or threat.

We encourage our political leaders in the Canadian government and international community to work together in order to restore peace and security for Ukraine as a member of the international community in good standing and subject to the international agreements and accords already set in place to guarantee this security, including compliance with the international obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, and its protocols.

The Ex Libris Association vows to work with our colleagues around the world to offer whatever support and solidarity we can to our professional colleagues in Ukraine.

CC: The Honourable Pedro Rodriguez, Minister of Heritage
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister
Lorisia MacLeod, Chair, CFLA-FCAB

Deb Thomas, President, Ex Libris Association

In November 2022, Richard Beaudry spoke to the Ex Libris Association annual meeting about the censorship of materials in Canadian libraries and current threats to intellectual freedom. His presentation is available on YouTube at this link.

By Deb Thomas

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer which some have called a public lynching, there have been protests and supportive statements around the world for an end of racism and to police brutality against people of colour. Some library associations have responded with statements to support those in Canada and elsewhere working toward a world where people are not discriminated against based on the colour of their skin. A list of Canadian library associations issuing such statements follows:

National Associations

o Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA)
o Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL)
o Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL)
o Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB) [requires Adobe PDF reader]
o Canadian Health Libraries Association
o Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC)

Provincial Associations (as of July 2020)

o British Columbia Library Association (BCLA)
o BCLA Academic Libraries Section (BCALS) [requires Adobe PDF reader]
o Library Association of Alberta (LAA)
o Nova Scotia Library Association (NSLA)
o Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) [requires Adobe PDF reader]
o Ontario Library Association (OLA)

It should be noted that provincial archival and library associations who have not issued statements in response to Black Lives Matter will often have statements in response to Truth and Reconciliation and/or committees responsible for inclusion and diversity.

School library associations do not have a national voice whose role it is to issue such statements. They may be represented by a provincial school library association that may or may not issue such statements and by, in various regions, a provincial teachers’ association who have issued statements.

See https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/school-library-associations/ for a full list of school library associations.
See https://www.ctf-fce.ca/ for a full list of teachers’ federations or associations.

The Librarianship.ca blog has a lengthier list of Canadian responses which includes American and international library, archives and museum statements.

Older ELA statements, conference presentations, and items of interest are archived at this link.