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Manitoba Library Association Posts

September 3, 2019
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2019 Award Winners!

Posted in Scholarships & Awards

The Scholarships & Awards Committee of the Manitoba Library Association is pleased to announce the 2019 Award Winners.

Congratulations to Andrew Robert, winner of the 2019 Trustee of Distinction Award.

Andrew volunteered as a citizen representative on the South Interlake Regional Library Board from 2008 to 2017. During that time, the South Interlake Regional Library faced many challenges, including a funding crisis. Ever the voice of reason, Andrew’s calm and thoughtful approach contributed to a resolution and helped the parties involved find a suitable way forward. Andrew was the first trustee on the South Interlake Regional Library Board to attend sessions at library conference, thereby encouraging other trustees to follow suit. In 2015, Andrew began volunteering with MLTA, where he served as Member at Large. He continues playing an active part in association work and today sits on the MLA Board as the Trustees Division Chair.

Congratulations to Bev (Beverly) Dumach-Barnes, winner of the 2019 Library Support Worker of the Year Award.

Bev Demach-Barnes is Circulation Clerk at the Red River College Notre Dame Campus Library. Bev began her role six years ago knowing very little about libraries, but with a great attitude towards customer service and a willingness to learn. Bev has since grown to be the heart of the library in the evenings and her outgoing personality and remarkable commitment to customer service make her an exceptional employee.  She also has a unique ability to connect with International Students. She greets each student when they enter the library and wishes them a good night when they leave, often in their home language. Many of these students are away from their families and support systems for the first time. Bev provides a welcoming face, a listening ear and an environment where they feel as though they belong.   manages to do this while remaining professional and providing excellent service to all students and staff at Red River College.

Congratulations to Shauna Weiss, winner of the 2019 Red River College Library & Information Technology Award.

Each year MLA presents an Award to a full-time graduating Library and Information Technology student who has demonstrated academic excellence and career promise. This year’s Award winner is Shauna Weiss. Shauna graduated from Red River College’s Library and Information Technology Program in spring 2019. She highly enjoyed the program and has always loved libraries and books. Shauna is happy to have found employment in an elementary school library this fall. In her spare time, Shauna enjoys cooking, gardening, taking her kids to the park and camping.

August 17, 2019
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MLA is beginning to plan for the next Conference and we want you!

Posted in Conference

The Manitoba Library Association is seeking volunteers to work on the 2020 Manitoba Libraries Conference (MLC).  This will be an especially exciting conference, as MLC will be held in conjunction with the 2nd CFLA-FCAB  2020 Forum.  It’s also Manitoba’s 150th birthday.   It’s sure to be a memorable event that will draw library professionals from across Canada!

Possible positions for the conference include:

Conference Chair/Co-Chair
Registration Coordinator
Volunteers Coordinator
Hospitality & Events Coordinator
Communications Coordinator
Website Coordinator
Programming Chair
Programming Committee Members

Important information for interested individuals:

Don’t have time to commit to a full position but want to contribute?  Reach out and contact us!  All help is welcome and it takes many hands to pull off an excellent conference.

MLC operates by forwarding content, tips and tricks, and information from one year to the next.  What does this mean for you?  You don’t need to start from scratch!  Over the years, much work has been done in terms of building templates and documenting what works best – this makes things easier for future planning committee members.

Please send an email to president@mla.mb.ca by September 20, 2019, if interested in contributing to MLC 2020 or if you would like additional information.

May 16, 2019
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MLA Webinar: A Flux Capacitor is not a Planning Tool: How to Plan for Technology with Janet Ayles

Posted in Professional Development

Original date: Monday, May 13th, 2019, from 3-4 pm

Description: Although it is entirely possible for things to get better with age, this does not apply to the computers and other technology in your library. Library budgets are often very tight and we all try to squeeze “just one more year” out of our tech, hoping that we can make those limited dollars go as far as possible. However, this does nothing for the patrons using those aging computer or library staff who have to troubleshoot them as they fail. Creating a technology plan builds a schedule where you can plan the replacement of computers and other technology in your library before they fail and cause problems and panic. Having a replacement schedule will also give you a roadmap of how to spend your budget dollars. This session will give you a guideline and tips on how to create a technology plan of your own.