Speakers

Raymond is currently working full-time at the East Gwillimbury Public Library as a Customer & Community Service Specialist. He runs library programs which cover topics like STEAM learning, tech help, and sewing and crafting for patrons of all ages. Raymond is also responsible for creating library marketing materials like posters and the monthly program guides. …

Rebecca Hurley has worked as a primary teacher for the past 15 years in Norfolk County and as a teacher-librarian for the past three. Her ideal lesson would challenge her students to think critically about the world they live in while inspiring a love of literature in her students. She uses literature and think, design, …

Rebecca McArthur is the supervisor of daily operations of the 2 largest District Branches of GSPL. As the only Librarian working outside of the Main Library, she and her staff have learned to expect the unexpected and welcome every new service experience, while striving to keep up with the ever changing expectations of our purpose, …

Rebecca is a legal research librarian, artist and lowbrow comix enthusiast. Her interests stem from promoting accessibility of library resources and learning about, and from, the ever changing information seeking behaviour of communities and researchers. She is based in Toronto.

Rebecca Hunt has been the Library CEO at Temiskaming Shores Public Library for the past 13 years. She has a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University and 19 years’ experience working in a variety of libraries. She is a Northern Caucus representative on the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries board of …

Rebecca Noone is an artist and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto engaged in a critical information studies of the everyday. She brings together art and the social sciences to consider how dominant forms of mediation, often related to visual information, orient mundane forms of sense-making. Her dissertation work focuses on …

Rhiannon Jones is the Master of Business Administration and Executive MBA liaison in the Business Library at the University of Calgary. She supports the needs of the professional students by delivering information and instruction in a high-service capacity. Her research interests include how relationship building can optimize student learning and how adults with ADHD utilize …

Rhonda has worked in the Recreation industry for over 24 years. She brings front line, supervisory and management experience from the Aquatic, Recreation Programs, Sport and the Community Events world. Most recently her team has been working with the East Gwillimbury Public Library to provide convenient and complementary health, social and community support programs to …

Robert Giorgini is a project manager with an extensive background in the Hospitality Industry. As the Coordinator, Wolf Performance Hall and Meetings & Events Services with the London Public Library, Robert is responsible for the operation of system-wide function spaces. Robert has held previous senior roles including Director of Communication, General Manager of Operations, and …

Robin Desmeules is a Cataloguing Librarian at McGill University, and works with rare and special materials. Her work focuses on critical approaches to knowledge organization, experimenting and implementing linked data for special collections, and community generated naming systems. She has been a member of the Joint Working Group on Classification and Subject Headings since 2018.

Robin Stevenson is the award-winning author of 25 books for kids and teens. Her book Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community was a Stonewall Honor book and was nominated for numerous other awards. In 2019, her board book Pride Colors was published to starred reviews, and she also launched her first picture book, Ghost’s Journey, which …

Robyn Medicine is Anishinaabe kwe originally from Manitou Rapids also known as Rainy River First Nation. She is a band member of Mitaanjigamiing First Nation located near Fort Frances, Ontario on Treaty 3 Territory. Robyn graduated with honours from the two year Aboriginal Community Advocacy diploma program at Confederation College. She is now the Indigenous …

Rosie is a Branch Supervisor at the Harriston Branch of the Wellington County Library, and before managing a branch enjoyed creating and running programming for all ages. Rosie has been with the County of Wellington since 2014, and loves getting to work with books and people while connecting with the surrounding community.

Rotem is an artist and librarian who grew up in the prairies. She strongly believes in equitable access to information and resources, as well as community spaces that can bring people together to exchange knowledge and share stories. She likes to tell stories through zines, illustrations, and comics.

Rouhi Fazelzad has a master degree in Information Studies and a BSc in Midwifery. She works as an Information Specialist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario. Rouhi has been working within a multidisciplinary academic-clinical framework, which includes oncology, pharmacy, nursing, allied health and research. She participates in weekly, multi-disciplinary tumour board rounds for …

Sally is the Web Services Librarian at Ryerson University where she manages the Library’s web presence. As part of the ongoing eCampus Ontario funded Infrastructure for Open Publishing of Curriculum Resources Project she works with the Technology Infrastructure/Metadata group and has led Pressbooks training workshops for open textbook creation, and OER outreach support. She received …

Salma Nakhuda is a Teacher-Librarian in Cornell Junior PS in the TDSB. This is her fourth year as a TL. She has been fortunate to have a collaboration program as part of her Library schedule. She collaborates with teachers from all grades K to 6, across the curriculum areas in the Library Makerspace. The Makerspace …

Sam Bird is Anishinaabe, Swiss-German, and a member of Peguis First Nation. She grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo, and completed schooling in Toronto and Regina, before moving to Thunder Bay. She was hired to lead the Thunder Bay Public Library in its decolonization process.

Samantha Mills, B.Ed., MLIS is Assistant Manager, Program Planning and Evaluation at Vancouver Public Library. She has worked at VPL for five years, in both Digital Services and Programming & Learning. She is passionate about supporting library staff, and about connecting library patrons with the learning opportunities they need to improve their lives. She loves …

Samantha is an avid reader of middle grade and young adult fiction. She is a co-chair for the Forest of Reading Red Maple Committee and an active member of OLA Best Bets. She has worked in youth services at Caledon Public Library for the past 5 years and has a special interest in connecting young …

Samhita is an educator who is interested in helping students develop the research and thinking skills required to build connections across disciplines.

Sandi Hall is a Grade 8 Teacher in Ajax. Loves books, STEM, empowering young leaders, and playing ultimate frisbee.

Sandra has served KTPL with an efficient diligence and passion since starting in 2001. She has witnessed a great deal of change which has only served to add to her breadth of knowledge with public libraries. She has touched all areas of operations for a Library Assistant including circulation, programming, interlibrary loan and technical services.

Sandy Hervieux is the Liaison Librarian for Political Science, Philosophy, and the School of Religious Studies at McGill University’s Humanities and Social Sciences Library in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She received her MLIS from McGill University in 2014. Her research interests include reference services, information literacy, and the impact of artificial intelligence on user services.

Sarah Shujah is a Liaison Librarian and Entrepreneurship Librarian at the University of Toronto Scarborough Library. She is also currently a SPARC Open Education Fellow. Her work focuses on information literacy, entrepreneurship literacy, open educational resources (OER), and advocacy. You can get in touch with her at sarah.shujah@utoronto.ca.

Sarah Guay is a liaison librarian for the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she works with students and faculty in the Departments of Psychology and Biological Sciences. She also serves as Web Librarian for the campus and is responsible for overseeing user experience research for the UTSC Library website.

Sarah Stacy is the manager of Bibliographic Description Section at Library and Archives Canada.

Sarah Harrison is a customer and community service specialist at the East Gwillimbury Public Library, a small, two-branch library system located about 45 minutes north of Toronto. She has a Masters in Library and Information Science and also one in Museum Studies, both from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. Her research interests include …

Sarah Clark has been part of the University of Manitoba Libraries since 2012. She is the Teaching Support Librarian and Liaison for the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management and Department of Women’s and Gender Studies. Her current research involves integrating scaffolded assignments at both the course and curriculum levels and exploring librarians’ roles in …

Sarah Ziolkowska is currently the Youth Librarian at Halifax North Memorial Public Library, where she has helped to implement the library’s FoodSmart Project. Before joining Halifax Public Libraries she was a School Librarian in the United States.

Sarah Bonato is a health science librarian at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, ON and is a graduate of the MIS program at the University of Toronto. At the CAMH Library her professional activities include research, systematic review/scoping review searching, instruction andshe has been listed as a co-author on many systematic …

Sarah Goodyear has worked as a Library Technician at the Ontario Legislative Library since 2016. She also currently serves as the Promotions Coordinator for the Legislative Library and Research Services. Prior to her role at the Legislative Assembly, Sarah worked in the Library Learning Commons at George Brown College. Sarah earned her Library Technician diploma …

Sarah is the manager of the Support for Organizations’ component of the Canada Book Fund. This program funds collective projects that contribute to the marketing and promotion of Canadian-authored books and that strengthen the infrastructure of the Canadian book industry. Sarah has worked at the federal Department of Canadian Heritage in various roles since 2003. …

Nathalie Blanchard est bibliothécaire à la succursale d’Alta Vista de la Bibliothèque publique d’Ottawa, où elle est responsable de la coordination et de la livraison de services de rayonnement et de sensibilisation aux groupes dans sa communauté. Nathalie est passionnée par le partenariat avec les organismes locaux afin de créer des liens significatifs et d’offrir …

Nicole has over 20 years of experience in both public libraries and genealogical research. She provided leadership during Oshawa Public Libraries’ Local History Room refurbishment, including collating and organizing the Library’s heritage materials into a cohesive collection. In 2019, Nicole assumed the Local History and Genealogy portfolio full-time and is working to make OPL’s Local …

Nitish Mandal has consulted with public and private sector companies on business and digital transformation, where he has led the definition and execution of transformation programs. He earned his MBA from Queens university, and a post grad diploma in Digital strategies and transformation.

Noreen Ma is the Branch Head of the Firehall Branch at the Vancouver Public Library. She is passionate about customer service and the role that libraries play in building communities. She has been part of VPL since 1998 with former roles including branch assistant manager, children’s librarian, and clerical supervisor. Noreen also serves on the …

Norene Erickson is a member of the Library Association of Alberta and Assistant Professor, Library & Information Technology, Department of Organizational Behaviour, Human Resources and Management at MacEwan University.

Olivia is a writer, journalist and book publishing professional. She has worked for the Ottawa Citizen and the Haliburton Echo. She was rabble’s 2019 Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellow where she wrote a longform series on the institution of the public library in Canada as the third place; a frontline for reconciliation, social work …

Pam Taylor is a teacher librarian at Aylesbury Public School in Brampton, Ontario. She is a creator, an innovator, and an advocate for play based and inquiry based learning for all students. She has been learning and working in the Peel District School Board for the past 20 years. Her Twitter handle is @TayloredInquiry.

Paul Takala is Chief Librarian/CEO, Hamilton Public Library. During his 25 years in libraries, Paul has focused on using technology innovation and collaborative leadership to increase the impact of public libraries in ways that are both sustainable and ethical. He held several technology leadership positions at the Hamilton Public Library before becoming Chief Librarian/CEO in …

Paulette is an LIS educator and researcher who studies reading, public libraries, and LIS education. She is part of a team at FIMS that is working on curriculum reform that recognizes and seeks to reconcile LIS education’s colonialist traditions and history.

Philip Wasley has served in his role with KTPL since August 2018 and has assisted greatly in much of the change that has occurred since then. After receiving his LIT diploma in 2011, he worked for nine years in school and academic libraries in Toronto and Kitchener. With a diverse career background that also includes …

Rabia Khokhar is an LTO (Long Term Occasional Teacher) with the Toronto District School Board and a Master’s of Education student at York University, studying social justice education and representation in children’s literature. Rabia is passionate about thinking critically about the types of stories we share with students so that there is diverse representation of …

When Rachel was a child, she planned to be a doctor, a lawyer and a magician all at the same time. Fortunately, she was too busy reading to ever do any of those things, and realized that a career in the book industry was more to her liking. In addition to her job as the …

Rachel is the Manager of CELA Member Services at CELA, the Centre for Equitable Library Access. She has worked in accessible library services for over 15 years, supporting libraries, people with print disabilities and educators to connect them to materials in accessible formats. She also participates on the National Committee for the TD Summer Reading …

Rachel Rogers is the Senior Librarian, Cataloguing and Digital Collections for Greater Victoria Public Library. Rachel recently returned to Victoria after 15 years as a music librarian in Toronto. She believes strongly in cataloguing as a customer service, and is happy to colour outside the lines if it means giving better access to her patrons.