Last week may have been a short week, but it was definitely a full one! We had a flurry of meetings — our Health, Library Boards, Public Library, and Francophone Councils all gathered to move their fall projects forward. I’m so grateful to our council volunteers for the time and ideas they bring to OLA — these meetings always leave me inspired about where the association is headed.
Midweek, I joined the Ontario Nonprofit Network’s State of the Sector event, which shared the latest findings and “six megatrends” from their provincial nonprofit survey. OLA is a proud ONN member, and it’s encouraging to see how data like this helps shape advocacy for stronger, more sustainable organizations — including ours.
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the new Queensville Branch of East Gwillimbury Public Library (and wow — what a space!). The team has created something truly special in this multi-use facility. If you go, don’t miss the featured reading wall — it’s one of those library design touches that makes your heart happy. Congratulations to the entire EGPL team!
Last week also brought some exciting news for book lovers everywhere: the Forest of Reading nominees were announced! Congratulations to all of the talented authors and illustrators featured on this year’s lists — your stories will soon be in the hands of tens of thousands of young readers across the country.
This week is Ontario Public Library Week! And I am heading out on a road trip with my colleague Dina Stevens from the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries. Together we’ll be travelling to public libraries across the province and attending events that spotlight their work. I’ll provide more details and photos in next week’s post!
And behind the scenes, our operations team has been busy preparing for OLA’s annual audit next week (glamorous, I know). A big thanks to Sabrina and the team for keeping everything running smoothly.
See you next Tuesday!
Meet the Author
Michelle Arbuckle
Executive Director, OLA
Michelle Arbuckle is OLA’s Executive Director. Reporting to the OLA Board of Directors, Michelle’s key responsibilities are government relations, advocacy, partnership development, the implementation of the strategic plan and supporting the exceptional OLA staff team. She is an avid lifelong learner, a tea sommelier, and wants to know your astrological sign.
