Speakers

Graeme Slaght is the Scholarly Communications & Copyright Outreach Librarian at the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL). In this role, he coordinates UTL’s course reserves and copyright outreach services. He supports copyright and scholarly communications literacy at the university by providing policy guidance, workshops, and educational materials to faculty, students and staff.

Greg is a Digital Design Technician at TPL for close to 20 years, offering support and assistance to the public in the library’s creative spaces. He has been teaching innovative and fun programming for almost 18 years to both the public and staff. He graduated from the Audio and Visual Multi-Media Production program at Seneca …

Harjinder is part of the User Services department at the University of Toronto’s Robarts Library. He directs the services delivered by staff in the Accessibility, Resource Sharing and Media Commons units.

Heather Buchansky is the Student Engagement Librarian at the University of Toronto Libraries. She coordinates large-scale initiatives related to library orientation, outreach, and information literacy, primarily for undergraduate students. Prior to entering librarianship, she worked as a teacher, and a sales consultant for a university press.

I am a recent graduate of the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University where I focused my MA research on the online teaching roles of Canadian academic librarians. At work, I support secondary students and teachers as part of the Library Support Services department at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. For fun, along …

Heather Pretty is a Cataloguing Librarian at Memorial University of Newfoundland where her primary responsibilities include catalogue maintenance and authorities. In addition, Heather is coordinator of the Atlantic Canada Funnel of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO), an At-Large Member of the PCC Policy Committee, and Chair of the Canadian …

Heather Martin is the Copyright Officer at the University of Guelph, and also Manager of the Library’s E-Learning and Reserves Services team. Her latest project is co-chairing the University of Guelph’s task force on Open and Affordable Course Content.

Heather’s research focuses on public libraries. She looks at accessibility in public libraries and also does research on library collections. She rides a 40 year old purple Peugeot bicycle. She refuses to pick one over the other so is an equal lover of both dogs and cats. In her spare time she is a voracious …

Heather Lavallee is a Branch Manager with the Huron County Library. She is passionate about providing responsive, engaging, and informed services to library users. She has a MLIS from the University of Western Ontario and is currently a member of the OPLA Research & Evaluation Committee.

Heather Wray is the Branch Supervisor for Sixteen Mile Branch at Oakville Public Library. She became interested in libraries at a young age after volunteering as a library helper in elementary school. Heather has a true passion for creating accessible and inclusive library spaces and has spent much of her career collaborating with organizations and …

Dr. Heidi Wendt joins the School of Religious Studies as an Assistant Professor of Religions of the Greco-Roman World, a joint appointment with the Department of History and Classical Studies. Dr. Wendt completed her PhD in Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean and an MA in Classics at Brown University in 2013, as well as an …

Helen Power has recently been appointed the Science and Engineering Librarian at the University of Saskatchewan. She started her career as an Information Services Librarian at the University of Windsor, where she chaired the PR Committee. While she has had no formal training in graphic design, she has sought out opportunities to learn these skills. …

Ian spends most of his time playing with Excel spreadsheets. When he’s not using Excel he dabbles in consortial circulation and acquisition policies.

Donald Taylor is the Copyright Officer at Simon Fraser University and also oversees interlibrary loans and the institutional repository. His recent study leave used interviews and sociological theory to try and explain the collapse of collective copyright licensing in post-secondaries outside of Quebec.

Donna Bourne-Tyson (BA, MA, MLIS) is the University Librarian at Dalhousie University. She leads the Dal Libraries team, responsible for five libraries, two learning commons, the University’s learning management system, copyright and records management programs, research repositories, and classroom technologies. Donna is a Past-President of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and Past-Chair of …

Donna Sevenpifer has been with Fanshawe College since 2009. She has worked as an Outreach Specialist, Data Specialist and, since 2013, a Research & Curriculum Librarian.Prior to joining the college, Donna worked as an ESL and EAP instructor, both abroad and in Canada. Her volunteer activities and work experiences with newcomers to Canada and international …

Douglas Davey is the Manager of Children’s and Youth Services at the Halton Hills Public Library, a medium-sized system in the northwest corner of the GTA. He has served as Chair the OPLA’s Child and Youth Committee, and is currently an OPLA Council Member. He is a frequent presenter on a variety of topics including …

A passionate and confident member of the Brock University Makerspace, Dylan endeavors to motivate his team to always strive towards achieving the ideal goal in an ever-changing landscape. Coming from a background in interactive media and game development he feels right at home working on and with project and learning experiences development, 3D printing, 3D …

Eamon Duffy is the liaison librarian for history, classical studies, and government information at McGill University, where he has worked for 13 years. He is interested in the use of digital methods in historical research.

Ekram Al Momani is a Settlement Worker at the County of Wellington and joined the rural Fergus team in 2017. Her role in Settlement is to assist newcomers adjust to life in rural Wellington in all daily aspects including housing, education, employment, health care and access to a vast network of social services supports. Her …

Elizabeth Glass is Director Planning, Policy and Performance Management at Toronto Public Library where her responsibilities include strategic planning, risk management and staff development. Her interest in leadership development is four-fold; building a diverse leadership team, succession management as a risk in the public library sector, engaging staff at all levels in the organization and …

Ellen Stroud is the Director of Service Design & Delivery at the Oshawa Public Libraries. She has over 35 years of library experience and has spearheaded projects resulting in recognition and awards for OPL, including library service to seniors, children and youth, and community partners. She believes in the public library’s power to level the …

Ellen earned a Master of Information (LIS) from the University of Toronto in 2015, has worked in academic, public, and special libraries, and is currently a Library Clerk with the Region of Waterloo Library. An enthusiastic jack-of-all-trades, Ellen cares deeply about inclusion and accessibility, designing really efficient processes, and keeping the office plants alive.

Emily Thompson is the Community-Led Librarian at Milton Public Library. Emily earned her Masters of Information with a specialization in Book History and Print Culture from the University of Toronto in 2012. Before she became the Community-Led Librarian in 2017, Emily worked in the circulation, information, and children’s departments at Milton Public Library.

Emily Greenstreet is a Librarian at Toronto Public Library (TPL). A graduate of CILIP’s librarian training program at the University of Cambridge and FIMS at Western, she has worked in academic, specialist and public libraries in the UK and Canada. Recent experience working frontline with marginalised community groups in government offices across the GTA has …

Emily Sedgwick is the Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Oakville Public Library. As an accredited communications professional with demonstrated public sector experience, Emily brings strategic thinking and tactical expertise to ensure communications efforts enhance organizational performance and deliver on business objectives.

Emily is a professional dietician and a trained chef with an immense passion for anything to do with food and nutrition. She also has a love for teaching these topics in community settings whenever and wherever possible.

Emma has worked for many years delivering children’s programs, first at Kitchener Public Library, and now at Idea Exchange in Cambridge. She is passionate about sustainability and zero-waste living, and loves having the opportunity to bring her interests to the families and individuals in the local community. At Idea Exchange, she has worked with her …

Emma Smith is the Recreation Services Coordinator at the Municipality of Meaford. She has worked in a variety of recreational settings, including her first job cleaning toilets a recreation facility; thankfully she pursued a post-secondary education in Recreation & Leisure Services at Conestoga College. Emma’s favourite part of her job, is of course working with …

Erica Smith has been a Research Librarian at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2015. She graduated from the MI program at the University of Toronto in 2011 and began her career at the Assembly in the same year as an Index and Reference Officer with Hansard Reporting & Interpretation. Erica last presented at the …

Eva Jurczyk is from the Collection Development Department at the University of Toronto Libraries and is involved in the acquisition, licensing, access management and analysis of the Libraries’ electronic resource collections.

As part of her overall role, Eva is the figurative voice of Brampton Library’s web and digital channels – and now literally the voice via a podcast! Eva holds a Master of Information, Knowledge Management, Library Science from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining BL, Eva was U of T Mississauga’s Social Media Librarian. …

Danica is a 2nd year PhD student in Library and Information Science. Her primary research interest is in how people relate to and understand AI, particularly the affective elements of that relation, such as trust, and how these affective stances towards AI influence their decision making and behaviour. Danica has also been involved with Indigenous …

Daniel currently works at Brock University in the position of Digital Scholarship Technical Support. He has a BA in Interactive Arts and Sciences from Brock University and is a certified Software Carpentry Instructor. He strongly believes that the best way to learn something is by making it fun and works to ensure that those who …

Daniella Levy-Pinto is the Coordinator for Accessibility Testing with NNELS. She has extensive experience with reading materials in alternate formats, and knowledge of assistive technologies. Daniella leads NNELS’ team of testers, who assess the accessibility of both EPUB files and mainstream reading library applications. Outside of the digital space, Daniella works to improve accessibility of …

Danika Bernard is the Manager, Program Development at Oakville Public Library. She takes a community-focused approach to program development and applies a customer experience perspective to her work. Danika brings strategic expertise from her experience in library systems across Canada, including front-line services, technology and leadership. She has a passion for staff engagement and community …

As Lead of Library Services at Scarborough Health Network (SHN) Daphne Horn is often asked what she does. Her most honest answer is everything! Building on a lifetime of experience as a librarian, insurance professional, and lifelong leaner she employs a multitude of skills to ensure that the libraries at SHN are well used and …

David Carson, Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives for Vancouver Island Regional Library, is an Ottawa-born communications professional who began working in libraries in January 2014 after working in corporate communications for various BC municipalities. Since arriving at the library, David has carried on with the organization’s commitment to excellence, and has been part of …

David Sprague is a Digital Content Lead in the Preservation and Digitization Department at Toronto Public Library. His current role involves finding ways to increase online access to the library’s special collections and exhibits, as well as redesigning web pages to make them easier to use. He completed his Master of Information in 2016 and …

David is the Web Services librarian at the University of Western Ontario. His primary responsibility is researching how users interact with the library’s website and other online services, and working to ensure that they are as productive as possible.

Dayna is the CEO Librarian at the Dryden Public Library, and an instructor at the Dryden campus of Confederation College. She has an MLIS from McGill University and is an active volunteer with the Dryden Area Young Professionals’ Network, the Dryden Area Anti-Racism Network, and is a founding race director for Dryden’s We Run This …

Deborah Hicks is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information at San Jose State University. She earned her PhD at the University of Alberta, her MLIS at Dalhousie University, and her MA at York University. The core concept that informs her research agenda is identity. Studies examining identity ultimately focus on two questions: “who …

Denise Cole has been an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion IRT in the SCDSB for the past 9 years. She is passionate about supporting educators in critically examining and re-designing school practices and environments toward greater equity to support student well-being and achievement.

Desiree Baron, Dipl (GERO), MLIS is a Branch Head at the Vancouver Public Library, and has worked in libraries for over 28 years. She believes in the transformative power of stories and the library as the third space. In her spare time, she is co-administrator for a fanfiction Facebook page for over 1,500 readers, writers …

Diana’s love of libraries began with Saturday trips with her family to the Mississauga Central Library to borrow audiocassettes. She had probably listened to every classic novel by the time she majored in English at the University of Toronto at Mississauga. Libraries are a place that supports the connection between human beings and it is …

Diana is the Chair of the NNELS Funders group and represents one of the network’s founding provinces. She is the Director of the Public Library Services Branch, Municipal Affairs, in the Province of Alberta (since 2010). She is the past chair of the Provincial Territorial Public Library Council. Davidson holds a PhD in Literature and …