It’s the last week of November! Here are all the things Team OLA got up to last week.  

My colleague Lily and I kicked things off by meeting with VIMLOC to talk about mentorship opportunities. They’re doing such thoughtful work in the sector, and I’m excited about how we might collaborate to support visible minority library workers. 

I was thrilled to be invited to the Ajax Public Library Board to present on OLA’s work and share some ways board members can get involved with us. It was a great group with great questions, and I always appreciate the chance to connect directly with local library leaders. Also – they had a delicious sheet cake.  

Gina (our Events Producer at OLA) led a group of members on a tour through the Muslims in Canada Archives. The collection is fascinating, the work is important, and the conversations that came out of that visit were so energizing. 

Our nominations committee also met last week to review all of the board nominations. I have to say: I am absolutely thrilled by the number of people who put their names forward. Seeing so much enthusiasm to volunteer with OLA is the best kind of energy boost as we head toward the new year. 

One of my highlights last week was meeting with an incredible group of library folks who are helping us build a programming package, educating kids and teens on the issue of censorship. This will be something libraries can easily adapt for Freedom to Read Week, and trust me, you’ll want to keep an eye out for more on this in the weeks ahead. 

Meanwhile, the OLA office was buzzing: the team has been working on new merchandise for Super Conference (wait until you see it), pulling together an upcoming newsletter on our School Libraries advocacy, editing this week’s podcast episode (it’s a great one!), and fielding a whole lot of customer service registration questions.  

See you next Tuesday!