Library Technician of the Year

Recipient: Teresa Armstrong, Brooklands and Stevenson School Libraries, St. James School Division
Nominated by: Kim Johnston-Rempel, Reading Recovery & Literacy Support Teacher, Brooklands School

Teresa is an integral part of the culture and life of the school. and contributes greatly to the lives of the students and staff members.  In 3 years, she has:

• Helped raise $5000 for the library
• Sat on school-based and divisional literacy committees
• Read hundreds of books and given dozens of book talks to K-5 classrooms
• Designed a new library space by researching, organising, moving, reassembling, painting, ordering, and rebranding our library “The Learning Commons” (LCL)
• Taught origami and knitting story time classes
• Planned yearly “I love to read” activities
• Facilitated a Grandparent Reading Circle
• Coached gymnastics and soccer in the school outside of work hours
• Held a month “Coffee and Collections” breakfast for teachers
• Created stunning bulletin board displays that include students’ work
• Ran a composting program
• Hosted baby showers for new moms in the building
• Started a monthly soup club for staff members

And much more!

Library Support Worker of the Year

Recipient: Bruce Locken, Media/Circulation Clerk, John and Bonnie Buhler Library,
Red River College
Nominated by: Howard R. Engel, Public Services Technician, John and Bonnie Buhler
Library, Red River College

Bruce, who completed 25 years’ service to Red River College last year, is both efficient
and effective, all with a ready smile and great sense of humour. He has a strong
customer-service oriented work ethic that serves patrons first, and a great way of
making work fun.

There are two special times of year that he goes way beyond the extra mile. The first is
the Daffodil Days fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society at the end of March. Each
year Bruce sells up to two hundred bunches of daffodils. He recruits volunteers, orders, picks up and wraps the daffodils in bunches of ten; books and decorates the display
space; distributes posters; decorates the library; and counts and returns proceeds and
leftover daffodils, as he has done each year for over a decade. The second is Christmas
time. He coordinates one or more of the RRC Library Christmas Cheer Board hampers
each year. It’s clear that “support worker” doesn’t adequately describe Bruce!

Rising Star

Recipient: Tara Watt, Marion School and Dr. D.W. Penner School Libraries, Louis Riel
School Division
Nominated by: Christine Lussier, Teacher Librarian; Ross Cathers, Principal of Marion
School; and Ken Bartel, Principal of Dr. D.W. Penner School

After graduating in 2009, Tara joined the Louis Riel School Division as a Library
Technician, dividing her time equally between two small elementary schools. Working in
one small school library would be daunting for any new grad, but Tara manages two, on
a limited budget and with few resources. Tara has shown leadership by rejuvenating the
physical space with imaginative displays and interactive events; introducing students
to new authors, digital storytelling, and fostered the development of new reading
communities within the school; organizing a high needs literacy grant that allowed 134
students in the school to purchase books for their home library; turning the library into
a bookstore for early years students; and coordinated a tour of McNally Robinson for
middle years students. Tara has also contributed data to grant applications from Marion
School to the Love of Reading Foundation over the past three years. She has shown
unwavering commitment and dedication to the students and staff she serves in both
schools.

More information on the award winners will be published in our Summer 2013
newsletter.

Please join us at the 2013 MALT AGM.

Date: Friday, May 10th

Time: 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Place: Buchwald Room, 2nd Floor, Millennium Library, 251 Donald Street, Winnipeg

Agenda:
5:00 – 5:30 Coffee, snacks and socializing

5:30 – 6:15 AGM

6:15 – 6:45 Presentation of awards

MALT is seeking nominations for our 2012/2013 Library Technician of the Year, Library Support Staff of the Year and Rising Star awards. The intent is to recognize those who have made a significant contribution to their library and/or the library field in Manitoba. Anyone can make a nomination and nominees do not need to be a member of MALT.

Library Technician of the Year Guidelines:
The individual must be a graduate of a recognized Library Technician program.

Library Support Staff of the Year Guidelines:
The individual must be currently working in a library without holding a Library Technician Diploma or Master’s Degree in Library Science.

Rising Star Award Guidelines:
This new award is presented biennially to a Library Technician who shows exceptional promise of leadership, and has made a contribution to their library or the profession.

The individual must be a Library Technician who has graduated from a recognized program within the last 6 years.

Nominations:
A nomination form must be submitted, with a short outline of the nominee’s specific achievements or contributions and a brief biographical sketch.

Deadlines:
All nominations must be received no later than April 12, 2013.

Submissions:
Please send the completed form (linked above) and any additional information to:

Manitoba Association of Library Technicians
P.O. Box 1872
Winnipeg, MB
R3C 3R1

Or email:  malt.mb.ca@gmail.com

Awards will be announced at the end of April and presented at our AGM in May.

All nominations and deliberations related to this award shall be considered confidential.

The Manitoba Association of Library Technicians is seeking committed and enthusiastic people from a variety of library settings to serve on our executive. MALT is made up of people just like you; passionate library technicians and support staff who want to make a difference in the Manitoba library community. If you’ve ever thought of serving the profession at the Association leadership level, now is the time to get involved!

The positions up for election are:

•     Vice President / President Elect
•     Secretary
•     Membership Coordinator
•     Treasurer
•     Newsletter Editor

Position description are linked below. Please contact us if you would like more information about the positions and serving on the executive.

Nominate yourself or one of your colleagues by sending an email to malt.mb.ca@gmail.com.

Please include:

•     Nominee’s name
•     Contact information
•     Position for which applying
•     Brief biography

Nominations must be received by April 5, 2013.

Ballots will be mailed to the membership after April 5 and must be returned before the MALT AGM (details to come). Final voting will take place at the AGM.

Position Descriptions:
Vice President / President Elect
Secretary
Membership Coordinator
Treasurer
Newsletter Editor

MALT will host a continuing education workshop in Brandon on Friday, March 15th. The morning session with focus on RDA, while the afternoon session will examine two digital technologies that are having a big impact on libraries. At lunch, Assiniboine Community College Library Technician Josh Seeland will take us on a tour of the new North Hill Campus, including the future library. The day will cap off with a reading and presentation by juvenile and teen author, Anita Daher. More details are provided in the Continuing Education Workshop Program. Hope to see you there!

We can accept payment by cash, cheque or Paypal. Please fill out a registration form regardless of your method of payment. Email questions or suggestions to malt.mb.ca@gmail.com.

Thank you to the Manitoba Library Association and Public Library Services Branch for providing additional funding so we are able to offer affordable pricing.

To pay for your workshop admission by Paypal, select the appropriate option from the dropdown menu, enter your email address, and click the Pay Now button.

MALT is happy to announce that we now have PayPal as an option for renewing your membership. Just go to the Membership page, select a payment amount and click on the PayPal button.

We will still need a membership form from you. Fill out the form electronically, save as a pdf and email to MALT. We don’t have an online form yet but we are exploring that possibility. Baby steps!

And of course, we still accept cheques.

We are pleased to announce that Mikaela Oldenkamp is our new Vice President / President Elect! Thank you to Mikaela for stepping forward. The Executive looks forward to working with her and we are confident that MALT will be in good hands under her leadership. Mikaela’s bio is on our website and will also appear in the winter newsletter.

MALT is seeking a new Vice President / President Elect for November 2012 to June
2014. This is a two-year commitment, serving one year in each position. The Vice
President / President Elect must hold a Library Technician certificate or diploma
and be a current member of MALT. They can be located anywhere in Manitoba
but need to be able to attend monthly meetings (in person or electronically) from
September to June, and must be present at the Annual General Meeting in May.

Duties include:

Vice President 2012/13

1. Assume the duties of the President in her/his absence or upon request
2. Responsible for chairing the planning committee for activities and
workshops. Planning has already started for the next workshop, to be in
March 2013. This job takes a few hours a month, with more time needed
immediately before the event. Other members of the Executive will assist as
needed.
3. Is in charge of nominations for the Executive during the Annual General
Meeting. This happens in March to May and takes between five and ten hours
of time over a three-month period. The Vice President and one Executive
member shall serve as the Election Committee. Duties of the Election
Committee are as follows: Send out the call for nominations; receiving the
nomination forms; creating and disseminating ballots if more than one
person is nominated for a position; receiving and counting ballots; notifying
the membership of the elections results.

President 2013/14

1. Preside at monthly meetings from September to June, as well as the Annual
General Meeting in May.
2. Prepare the grant application for Public Library Services Branch funding.
This occurs annually in November and takes six to ten hours of time over a
one-month period. The Treasurer and Membership Coordinator assist with
the application. Previous applications may be used as a template.
3. Is in charge of the biennial MALT survey. The next survey will be conducted
in October 2013. The President sets up the online survey using the previous
survey as a template, widely distributes the link to the survey, analyzes
survey results and prepares a report. This takes six to ten hours over a three-
month period.
4. Is in charge of nominations for the annual MALT Awards. This happens in
March to May and takes between five and ten hours of time over a three-
month period. The President shall send out a call for nominations, distribute
nominations to the Executive, inform nominees of the results and present the
awards to the winners at the AGM or joint library conference.
5. Acts as MALT’s representative on the Red River College Library Education
Advisory Committee. This committee meets once or twice a year.
6. When financially possible, the President represents MALT at the Canadian
Library Association Conference.

If you are interested, please send an email to malt.mb.ca@gmail.com