CLA 2009 National Conference: Budget Impacts and Federal Focus
Lowered travel budgets mean decline in delegates
Norman Horrocks -- Library Journal, 06/24/2009
- Support for national science library
- Need for librarian presence in running national library
- New focus on international issues
The Canadian Library Association (CLA), which held its annual conference May 28–June 1 in Montreal, saw the effect of lowered library travel budgets for librarians and trustees: there were about 100 fewer delegates compared to last year’s meeting in Vancouver. However there was a 25 percent increase in the number of exhibitors to bring the overall total of attendees close to last year's 1000.
It was the first meeting since 1991 in Montreal. Many of the presentations are at the conference web site.
Still, while CLA’s 2008 financial results were somewhat better than expected, outgoing Treasurer Terri Tomchyshyn said that the organization’s Executive Council was bringing forward a deficit budget for the third consecutive year. "This is not good and cannot continue."
Federal funding
Kelly Moore, CLA's new Executive Director (she started in late 2008) said she and the Executive Council plan to focus on CLA’s position as a national association, supporting regional organizations while drawing strength from them on federal issues.
The only two substantive motions to be brought before the membership concerned federal libraries. One, supporting similar motions from the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, the Canadian Health Libraries Association ,and the Association of Research Libraries, asked the federal government to ensure that sufficient funds were made available to Canada's National Research Council (NRC).
NRC is responsible for CISTI (Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information), which functions as Canada's national science library and also for the NRC Research Press, a major publisher of scientific research.
Running Library and Archives Canada
The second motion was directed at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), established in 2004 by the merger of the National Library and National Archives. The first Librarian and Archivist, Ian Wilson (the former National Archivist), announced his retirement in April.
CLA then said that the position should be filled by a librarian or an archivist with recognized professional qualifications, but Daniel J. Caron, has degrees in economics and applied human services, was appointed to the post. Previously, he had been director general of the Corporate Management Branch of the National Archives.
CLA also expressed concern that the only professional librarian on the LAC Management Board (Ingrid Parent) was leaving LAC at the end of June and strongly urged LAC to add librarian and archivist professionals to the board as soon as possible.
International issues
Moore said she thought that CLA could have a stronger international role beyond its longstanding links with the United States. She was membership officer at IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) before joining CLA.
The recently announced IFLA election results may help, given that Parent (University Librarian at the University of British Columbia) will serve as IFLA president-elected from 2009–2011 and as president for two years after that. Also, Paul Whitney, City Librarian, Vancouver Public Library, was elected to IFLA's Governing Board for 2009-2011.
CLA awards and leadership
Barbara Clubb, City Librarian, Ottawa Public Library, received the CLA Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award, CLA's highest Award. Next month, she will receive the Allie Beth Martin Award from the Public Library Association at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago.
Incoming CLA President John Teskey, Director of Libraries, University of New Brunswick, recently received that University's Presidential Medal. He announced that the next CLA Conference will be held from June 2-5, 2010 in Edmonton, AB.
