Karen Lindsay Wins the CLA/ACB Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship

The BCTLA's Second Vice-President, Advocacy, Karen Lindsay, has been announced as the 2009 winner of the CLA/ACB Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship.

Named in honour of Ken Haycock, the award honours individuals who have significantly contributed to the, "public recognition and appreciation of librarianship". According to the award specifications, "recipients will have demonstrated exceptional success in enhancing the public recognition and appreciation of librarianship. This may have been accomplished through exceptional practice as a librarian; teaching the profession in formal and informal settings; writing; serving as a mentor or role model; or otherwise raising external appreciation of librarianship. It will not normally be granted to a practitioner for undertaking the usual awareness activity a professional is expected to do; it is intended to recognize exceptional achievement".

Karen has won a $1000 prize and a plaque and will be attending the CLA conference in Montreal on May 29-June 1st to receive her award. On behalf of BCTLA, thank you for your exceptional achievement, Karen, and congratulations!

New BCTLA Website Launched!

The BCTLA is pleased to announce the launch of the new BCTLA website! The new site has been in development for just under a year. It was launched quietly over the weekend and is designed to be a one-stop source and entry point to all of our blogs, wikis, resources, publications, contacts, events, and governance materials.

From BCTLA Publications Coordinator, Al Smith:

"I have been updating and uploading a new fresh BCTLA website. WE RELISH YOUR INPUT. Please feel free to give suggestions, errors, omissions. There is a lot I can get wrong. We want to make this site your portal to BCTLA news, events and support. We have plans to expand and solidify service points for all our great TL colleagues. Stay tuned. Please help us help you by sharing your ideas, good reads, questions, events and successes".

We are very serious about BCTLA members and any others providing us with feedback. Please let us know how we can add content and move items around on the new site to better meet your needs. Please contact Al Smith via email (or send him a Twitter) about anything related to the BCTLA website or the Virtual Bookmark!

Your School Library, Part 2

Continuing the momentum of the successful Transforming School Libraries Through Web 2.0 virtual conference in late February, James Henri and Sandra Lee of Your School Library will be holding a second virtual conference in June 2009. The theme of Your School Library, Part 2 will be "Information Literacy Through Web 2.0".

The virtual conference presenters will include former BCTLA President Pat Parungao. Pat will be presenting on the Cedar Cottage Walking Tour. The tour project was created through a collaboration between social studies teachers and teacher-librarians at Gladstone Secondary School in Vancouver with Special Collections at the Vancouver Public Library (view Credits). Gladstone's Grade 10 students do the tour and post projects on the site.

BCTLA would like to invite members to take advantage of the BCTLA members-only pricing for Your School Library, Part 2, "Information Literacy Through Web 2.0". BCTLA members-only pricing is available with currently active BCTLA membership (renew here!). Save 10% on your registration by registering for the virtual conference as a BCTLA member.

The Bookmark 50th Anniversary Issue Request

The October 2009 issue of The Bookmark will mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of BCTLA's journal! We are asking all BCTLA Chapters to submit something for the anniversary issue. From Angie MacRitichie, Senior Editor, The Bookmark:

"To make the 50th Anniversary Issue a great keepsake, we need each chapter to contribute something. Some ideas are:

• A story of major changes and developments in your district/Chapter
• Celebrations or big events that took place over the years
• Major hurdles (overcome or otherwise)
• The impact that technology has had on your programs, including circulation, Web 2.0, databases, etc.
• A story of a major player in your district, perhaps a teacher-librarian who was there for 30 years and retired in 1990; what changes they saw, etc.
• A feature of a school library in your district that you feel is an extraordinary model
• A unit of study using the latest technology and sources
• An interview with someone who has 'seen it all'
• A reflective piece

If you have an idea and you wish to run it by me, please send a brief description to amacritchie@telus.net and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Remember, it’s okay to delegate this task to a reliable colleague in your Chapter!

These submissions will need to be in by the end of June (please keep photos separate from the article as attachments) so that work can be done over the summer to edit, proofread, collate, etc. It is really important that we receive a submission from every Chapter".

WebJunction BC

The BC Teacher-Librarians' Association is pleased to announce the launch of WebJunction BC, an online professional development portal for BC library staff, trustees and volunteers.

In preparation for the launch of WebJunction BC, BCTLA worked with the BC Library Association (BCLA), the BC Library Trustees' Association (BCLTA), the Public Library Services Branch (PLSB), and WebJunction staff. We would like to thank in particular Alane Wilson (BCLA), Allie Douglas (BCLA), Errin Morrison (BCLTA), Ene Haabniit (PLSB), Kyle Armour (PLSB), and Trish Rosseel (formerly at PLSB). WebJunction BC is the first WebJunction community launched outside of the United States. Read more about the launch in the news release on the OCLC website.

WebJunction BC is a BCTLA members-only service, available with currently active BCTLA membership (renew here!). We would like to invite members of BCTLA to join WebJunction BC. Join us as well as members of BCLA, BCLTA, and BCTLA, and all B.C. public library staff and volunteers as we learn and explore together about everything library-related online.

WebJunction BC Includes:

• Personal profile: create your own profile and engage in dialogue with other B.C. and other North American teacher-librarians, librarians, trustees, and volunteers.
• Share resources and create groups: find and share resources under the themes of "Technology", "Library Services", and "Library Management". Create and join groups for focussed discussion on topics such as Follett's Destiny, and for fun! Drop in to see what is happening in libraries throughout North America on the WebJunction partner pages and join other state and provincial groups not requiring registration.
• Course Catalogue: engage in self-paced online courses on computer applications, library skills, library services and management, including some courses on school libraries. Additional courses and content for teacher-librarians will be added over time. Enrollment in courses is free, as per the guidelines on the Courses page.
• BC Libraries: view and add information to the BC School Libraries section which currently has links, a discussion list, and publications (issues of The Bookmark).
• Calendars of events: view calendars including one for BC events and one for WebJunction events.

Joining Instructions for BCTLA Members (help is available here):

• Create a WebJunction account
• Register as a BC affiliate (My Affiliations). Place a checkmark by British Columbia at the bottom of the screen and Save to send your affiliation request.

WebJunction Help:

• Go to WebJunction Getting Started, or
• Email webjbc@gmail.com.

Coming soon: BlogJunction BC, the WebJunction BC blog.

New BCTLA Chapter Grant Program

At the BCTLA AGM on April 18, 2009, a motion was carried to the effect, "That as of May 1, 2009, a Chapter Grant fund of no less than $4000 each year be created and made available through an application process to BCTLA Chapters for teacher-librarian initiatives and professional development that have the potential of positive impacts at the district level and that have the potential of enabling the BCTLA to meet our goals".

The BCTLA is pleased to present our new Chapter Grant Program and information and application form! An editable version is also available. We hope that eligible BCTLA Chapters will take advantage of this new grant program by proposing and requesting funding for new initiatives and professional development opportunities that will benefit BCTLA Chapter members and BC teacher-librarians as a whole. The BCTLA Executive looks forward to receiving completed application packages from our Chapters!

2008-09 BCTLA Annual Report

Each year for the BCTLA's Annual General Meeting, the BCTLA Executive produces an Annual Report of the activities of the Executive for the preceeding school year. The Annual Report includes reports from each of the Executive members as well as our financial statements for the year.

Check out the 2008-09 BCTLA Annual Report!

Ross Davidson Receives the 2009 Distinguished Service Award

The BC Teacher-Librarians' Association is pleased to announce that Ross Davidson is the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Service Award.

Ross is currently the principal of Scott Creek Middle School in Coquitlam. Prior to this, he was principal of Moody Middle School. It was at Moody that Ross founded in partnership with a team of principals and vice-principals the Hog Wild About Reading motorcycle ride campaign which for the past nine years has raised funds for school library collections in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Anmore. Since its inception, the Hog Wild About Reading campaign has raised over $113,000 for school library collections in these communities. Each year, Ross has coordinated the ride, seeking donations from companies and individuals. For his development and continual efforts towards Hog Wild About Reading, Ross has been previously honoured by the Coquitlam Teacher-Librarians' Association and has been featured in Connected magazine.

Ross also strongly supports his school's library program as principal of Scott Creek Middle School. He has supported literacy in the school by ensuring library program is well serviced. In the past five years, he has maintained a full-time teacher-librarian position, even with decreasing enrolment and increasing pressure. He consistently ensures that the library budget is ample and supports the teacher-librarians' literacy initiatives in the school, such as the Drop Everything and Read campaign, school‐wide silent reading sessions, and an annual Literacy Conference for students. In addition, Ross sponsors poetry and writing contests for students through library.

The BCTLA will be pleased recognize Ross Davidson, as the 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, in May in Coquitlam, B.C.