Well, what a week! 

Last week, I hit the road for our Ontario Public Library Week Loud for Libraries Road Show, visiting libraries and meeting some pretty incredible people along the way. There is SO much to share, but I’m going to make you wait just a little longer. Next week, I’ll be wrapping up Canadian Library Month with a full recap of our adventures, the people we met and some of the wonderful things happening in libraries across Ontario. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait! 

In the meantime, there’s plenty happening at OLA. Our Super Conference planners have been hard at work reviewing almost 500 session proposals, and the selections have now been made! 

A huge congratulations to everyone whose session was selected. We’re already getting excited about the conversations, ideas and learning that will fill the conference this January. 

And to those whose proposals weren’t selected, please don’t take it personally. With so many fantastic submissions and only so many spaces in the program, there are always tough decisions to make. Keep sharing your ideas, keep putting yourself out there, and please know that you’re doing amazing work! 

On Saturday, we had the pleasure of meeting with the Honourable Zee Hamid, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, at Milton Public Library as part of our Ontario Public Library Week celebrations. 

We were also thrilled to hear the Minister’s announcement about the Digital Expenses Fund! I suspect many of you working in public libraries have already spent those dollars in your heads, and I don’t blame you. It’s exciting to see investment in the digital services and resources that help libraries meet the evolving needs of their communities. We’ll be meeting with Ministry staff in the coming weeks to get more details on the roll out of this funding.  

A brand-new episode of Library Land Loves dropped today, and this one’s a good one! I sat down with Moe Hosseini-Ara, City Librarian at Toronto Public Library, to talk about his first year on the job. What does it take to lead one of the busiest public library systems in the world? How do you work with an executive team, manage more than 100 branches and navigate the relationship with your Board? 

We talked about all of that, and also got into the more personal side of leadership, including managing stress, finding balance and what Moe might be doing if he weren’t working in libraries. It’s a great conversation about leadership, learning and what happens when you take on a pretty big job. Give it a listen! 

The Forest of Reading Evergreen Award winner has been announced! And the Evergreen Award goes to… The Tiger and the Cosmonaut by Eddy Boudel Tan. One of my favourite things about Evergreen is that it celebrates Canadian books chosen by adult readers. So, if you haven’t read this year’s winning title yet, consider this your friendly reminder to place that hold. I suspect the waitlists might be getting a little longer! 

That’s it from me this week. I’m still recovering from all that time on the road, but my camera roll is full, my heart is happy and I have plenty of stories to tell. 

More on that next week. Until then – if you STAY Loud for Libraries, you don’t have to GET Loud for Libraries.  

Adeus, until next week.