One thing I’ve learned in this job? Being Executive Director means a lot of meetings. And honestly, I don’t mind. Each one connects OLA to different parts of the library and nonprofit world, and those conversations are what keep our work moving forward. So here’s a peek at where I’ve been this past week: 

I sat down with TALCO (The Association of Library Consultants & Coordinators of Ontario) to dig into school library issues and share an update on our school library advocacy efforts. These conversations are tough but important—we want to keep school libraries on the radar where it matters, and keep our members engaged as champions for the sector. 

I also got to meet with Moe Hosseini-Ara, the new City Librarian at Toronto Public Library (so exciting!) and later connected with AMPLO (Association of Medium Public Libraries of Ontario) to give them OLA updates—everything from Super Conference sneak peeks to what we’re doing on the public library advocacy front. 

Over in podcast-land, a new Library Land Loves episode dropped on “Never Not Working”. The conversations that came out of this one were fascinating—how do you love what you do and still learn to switch off at the end of your shift? Spoiler: both things can be true, and both are good for you. 

I also attended the Ontario Nonprofit Network AGM, which is always a good reminder that the challenges and wins we see in libraries are often echoed across the nonprofit world. Lots to learn and share there. 

And behind the scenes? We’ve been busy with final prep for this week’s OLA Town Hall. I’ll save the details for next week’s post, but let’s just say: you don’t want to miss it.