Speakers

Fletch is a fifth generation Torontonian who moved to the village of Codrington in 1993 with wife Dorothy to semi retire. His working career includes 24 years in the travel industry, 20 of those at Canadian Pacific Airlines , 4 at Fiesta Holidays in a variety of marketing and operational jobs leaving Fiesta as VP …

Dan Sich is the Teaching & Learning Librarian, E-Learning in Western Libraries at the University of Western Ontario. He has been involved in the creation of Information Literacy instructional videos and other online library tutorials since 2003.

Barb has been a Registered Social Worker for over 30 years in Haliburton County. She provides counselling to HHFHT patients who are living with a range of issues. She facilitates the Mindfulness-based Chronic Pain Management Program. As a lover of books, she often refers to relevant books for clients and encourages them to use the …

Barb is currently the Business Analyst at Calgary Public Library where her responsibilities include project management, change management, and stakeholder engagement. Her previous role was as Librarian at the Central Library.

Bart is a Web and Discovery Services Librarian at Scholars Portal. His work focuses on the development of library applications that connect students and faculty to the expansive digital collections created by Ontario university libraries. Part of his role involves supporting libraries in their own publishing efforts by helping manage the software and systems side …

Beckie has been an interviewer and interviewee more times than she can count! She brings a wealth of experience and advice from both sides of the table. She has predominantly worked in public libraries, however, has created great networking connections in all library types from across the country through committee work, conferences, and having worked …

Ben Smeets has worked at a number of urban libraries in Ontario and Alberta, and is currently the Branch Librarian at Brampton Library’s newest branch. His professional interests include makerspaces, digital literacy, 3d printing, life-long learning and how library services can inspire creativity. When he’s not at work, Ben’s either making something, or riding bikes …

Beth is passionate about helping children and adults find what they love to read and embracing their inquiry mindset. Asking questions, making mistakes and learning together are central to her role as a teacher-librarian. Whether through loose parts play, photography, art and other mediums, Beth loves to connect with the learners around her and share …

Beth has worked as the Cataloguing and Acquisitions Coordinator at Collingwood Public Library for two years. She absolutely loves this role, but began her time at CPL as a summer student in the Children’s department, which ignited her passion for working in libraries almost eight years ago. After completing her MLIS, Beth began working at …

Beth worked for a number of years as a teacher in various public schools, before transitioning to her current job as Youth Services Assistant at Idea Exchange in Cambridge. At Idea Exchange, she has worked with her colleague, Emma Campbell to implement and run a seed library, build community partnerships to source and offer eco-living …

Bruce Konick is the Planning and Development Officer at Hamilton Public Library. He leads data collection, analysis, and reporting at HPL,both internally to the Library Board and externally to library government agencies and partner organizations. From page to clerk to library data analyst, Bruce’s career at HPL spans more than 30 years. He draws on …

A Librarian at Western Libraries for approximately 13 years, I am the Head, User Experience & User Services. I work with a dynamic and engaged team to deliver the best experience for our user communities.

As the Children’s programmer for the past eight years at Gravenhurst Public Library, Carla has a passion for promoting Family Literacy. Through her visits to local classrooms and programs out in the community she has become known as “˜Miss Carla’! and her home is the busiest on the street Halloween night, as many families are …

Andrea Spender is Senior Advisor, Policy & Strategy, at Toronto Public Library. Andrea has cross-sectoral experience in private, public, and non-profit organizations including the National Council for Research on Women, Bard College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Bank of Montreal, and McKinsey & Company. She holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Policy from …

As an Electronic Resources and Metadata Technologies Intern, I work on e-resource maintenance and metadata clean-up projects at the University of Toronto Libraries. I also work at the Toronto Public Library and as a Virtual Reference Operator with the Ontario Council of University Libraries. I am in my second year at the University of Toronto’s …

Ani Orchanian-Cheff, B.A., M.I.St., works as an Information Specialist at the University Health Network (UHN), Toronto. She has over twenty years of experience both in health sciences librarianship and as the hospital’s Corporate Archivist. In her capacity as Information Specialist, Ani provides Clinical Librarian services, training on evidence-based literature searching, and expert searching for knowledge …

Ann McGowan is a Library Cataloguing Technician with the Toronto District School Board. She previously worked as an itinerant library technician at the York Catholic District School Board and as a reference librarian at the Ontario Ministry of Finance. She holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Toronto, and …

Anna Swanson is the Provincial Selections Coordinator for the Newfoundland & Labrador Public Libraries. She coordinates the team of the librarians who select materials for 94 libraries across the province, oversees digital collections for the provincial system, and works on various library collection initiatives. Before moving to St. John’s, she worked as a Children’s Librarian, …

With over 25 years of professional experience and having worked for three public library systems in two Canadian provinces, Anne has a unique perspective on community engagement and responding to community needs. She is passionate about building and growing strong staffing teams who are committed to enhancing library experiences and ensuring library spaces are accessible …

Anne Carr-Wiggin coordinates Indigenous initiatives at the University of Alberta Library, including the library’s Indigenous Internship and the First Nations Information Connection, a collaboration with First Nations colleges in Alberta. She serves on the CFLA-FCAB Indigenous Matters Committee. Anne thanks her Indigenous friends and colleagues who have generously enabled her to learn about their communities.

Annie Kakooza did her post graduate Library Studies at the University of Aberystwyth’s College of Librarianship in the U.K. Her experience is in various library settings in the GTA includes Public Libraries and various specialized libraries where she has worked mostly solo. Her enthusiasm for helping people and passion for empowering patrons has served her …

Ardis Proulx-Chedore is a Library Information Technician who is employed as the Program Coordinator & Archivist at the Cochrane Public Library, located in Northern Ontario. In 2019, her library’s 2018 TD Summer Reading Club earned the CNIB’s Program Accessibility Award. Ardis creates, facilitates and organizes programming for all ages. When she isn’t knee-deep in all …

Ariel Caldwell is a Teen Services Librarian at Vancouver Public Library, and coordinates the Connection to Kith and Kin program. As the Teen Librarian for northeast Vancouver, she’s worked closely with a strong, vibrant, urban Indigenous population for 6 years, and these relationships formed the basis for Connections to Kith and Kin. Ariel also teaches …

Ashley Farrell (MLIS, AHIP) is a graduate from the Masters of Library and Information Science program at Western University. She is currently working as an Information Specialist for the University Health Network and has previously worked as a medical librarian for Cancer Care Ontario and the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region. Ashley is the former president …

Ashley Directo is the Manager of Marketing & Communications at Milton Public Library. She oversees all marketing and communication initiatives across MPL’s three branches. Ashley has been the marketing field for over a decade in both the public and private sectors and loves being in a role that supports her local community.

Bailey is the librarian for Woodstock Hospital and the Regional Library Service. She accepted this role in November of 2018, however, she has worked in Health Libraries for almost her entire career. She has been an executive member of the Ontario Health Library Association, in the position of Conference Planner and Secretary, as well as …

Amanda French is the Supervisor of Program Development and Training for Mississauga Library; she and her team take care of programs from beginning to end, responding to customer needs, supporting staff, and managing third party content providers. Amanda has previously held other leadership positions as Manager of Information Services at the busy Mississauga Central Library …