2019 Library Symposium

Session Description:

In this era of unprecedented technological and social change, people’s perception of the library is shifting dramatically. A decade ago many questioned its very relevance. After all, who needed libraries when we had the Internet! But all along libraries have been reinventing themselves as hubs of creativity, collaboration and innovation, and realizing new purpose. Public libraries are active community hubs and university libraries are innovative learning centres. Where do school libraries fit into this picture? How do we capture the imagination of decision-makers and help them realize the potential of the school library? Leave this session feeling empowered to take action as we advocate for the unique value of the school library learning commons.

Presenter Bio:

Anita Brooks Kirkland, BMus, BEd, MM, MLIS, OCT

• As a writer, presenter and consultant, Anita Brooks Kirkland specializes in the areas of information and digital literacy and leadership for the school library learning commons. She draws on her extensive experience as a teacher educator, both as an instructor in teacher-librarianship for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, and in her previous role as the Consultant for K-12 Libraries at the Waterloo Region District School Board. Anita was a contributing writer to Together for Learning, Ontario’s guideline document for the school library learning commons. Anita is very active in professional organizations, currently serving as chair of Canadian School Libraries. She was the 2014 president of the Ontario Library Association, and has also served as president of the Ontario School Library Association (2005) and co-chaired The Association of Library Consultants and Coordinators of Ontario (2011-13). Anita shares an extensive collection of program resources, articles, and presentations on her website and blog, www.bythebrooks.ca.

Session Description:

We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to present our new digital library called Cantook Station dedicated for schools. This presentation will feature how to use the platform in the library or a classroom. Did you know that De Marque offers you the most complete catalogue of French-language ebooks as well as an extensive English-language and multilingual catalogue? It allows you to build a collection of ebooks and audiobooks from the most popular publishers: novels, youth albums, comic books, reference books, biographies and more! 

Presenter Bios:

Etienne Breault

• Director of business development at DeMarque. Prior to joining De Marque, Etienne spent eight years at Pearson-ERPI, including the last four as Sales Manager, overseeing a team of sales representatives based in Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland. He then turned to the hotel business as General Manager of the Alt Hotel Group Germain, to better return to publishing by joining our company.

Davina Michel

• Strategic business development manager for the scholar division at DeMarque and Ph.D. student in administration and education policies, Davina wants to participate in the “re-conceptualization” of the school of tomorrow. A determined woman of action, she won several entrepreneurial prizes, co-founded a technology company before going around the world. Davina has the energy and interpersonal skills to initiate change. She allows and stimulates discussion, the search for shared solutions, innovation and the exploration of new avenues.

Session Description:

The abbreviation LGBTQ, for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, keeps getting longer and longer: a sign of the proliferation of sexual and gender identities. Despite this, many of these terms are unknown or misunderstood, much to the chagrin of those who celebrate diversity and are only asking to be recognized and understood. This presentation is for you if you are an ally or even just curious and want to know more about these new words and labels that are increasingly visible in Quebec society.

Presenter Bio:

• Mona Greenbaum is the co-founder and executive director of the LGBT Family Coalition, an association that advocates for families with lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans parents. The organization received three Arc-en-ciel Awards in recognition of its social activism. The Coalition’s primary mission is to train people who work in schools, as well as social and health services.

To date, the Coalition has held more than 800 training sessions in 17 regions of the province of Québec, sensitizing more than 30,000 people about the need to intervene against homophobic and transphobic violence, heteronormativity and harassment based on gender expression.

In 2010, Mona received the Médaille de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec, in honour of her many years of activism within the LGBT community. In 2015, on the 40th anniversary of the Charter, the Québec Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights selected Mona as one of the 40 people having led exceptional careers in the defense or advocacy of the rights included in the Charter.

Mona is also a consultant and trainer for Quebec’s Institut national de santé publique.

Session Description:

Have you heard of Battle of the Books? Are you interested in implementing it in your school? Then this talk is for you! Alissa Rosellini (EMSB librarian) and Amelia Crerar (LBPSB consultant) will walk you through three different models of Battle of the Books (English and French versions). Whether you’d like to join the Montreal-wide battle or implement a mini-battle in your school, we’ll have something for you!

Speakers Bios:

Amelia Crerar

• Amelia has taught in elementary schools for the past 15 years, including one year abroad in Macau (South of China). She has taught every subject from grade 1 to grade 6. Her favourite level to teach has to be grade 4! This year, Amelia is working on a special project at Lester B. Pearson School Board, as a bilingual literacy consultant. Check out her Education blog at: ameliacrerar.weebly.com.

Alissa Rosellini

• Board level librarian at the English Montreal School Board (EMSB). She has worked in a variety of private and public school libraries in both the U.S. and Canada. She is in charge of EMSB’s Digital Library, a curated collection of online resources for teachers and students. As a passionate proponent of children’s and young adult literature, she is involved in planning both the Montreal YA Fest (a young adult literature festival) and the Montreal-wide Battle of the Books competition. She is also currently chair of the Awards Committee for the Quebec Library Association.

Session Description:

C’est avec plaisir que je vous présenterai toute une panoplie d’albums, de romans, de bandes-dessinées et de documentaires qui ont attiré mon attention au fil du temps. Du primaire au secondaire, pour le simple plaisir de lire ou pour mettre en situation une problématique, nous verrons ensemble comment attirer vos élèves vers la lecture. Je vous proposerai aussi quelques titres en lien avec la culture autochtone. Comme il est difficile de choisir parmi une si foisonnante littérature, je vous offrirai une liste avec les titres proposés et quelques autres que je n’aurai peut-être pas le temps d’évoquer.

Presenter Bio:

Chantal Fontaine

• Libraire à la Librairie Moderne depuis un peu plus de 20 ans. Elle s’implique à plusieurs niveaux dans le domaine du livre, particulièrement dans le domaine jeunesse. Elle a participé à divers comités de Communication-Jeunesse pendant quatre ans et depuis 2015, elle est membre du comité de sélection du Prix jeunesse des libraires du Québec. Depuis peu, elle rédige les suggestions de livres dans les revues Les Débrouillards et Curium sous la bannière des Libraires.

Session Description:

What if you could increase student engagement and support school-wide initiatives with content in your digital library? Join K-12 experts Tiffany Wincek and Sydney Kalnay as we share best practices for using Sora, the student reading app.

This session will take a fresh look at:

• Sora’s best features and why it’s great for all of your readers

• Employing best practices for classroom management and student privacy with Sora

• Strategies to increase student and community engagement with your digital library

• How you can customize content and collections specific to your building

Speakers Bios:

Tiffany Wincek 

• OverDrive Account Manager for all Canadian school partners. She previously spent 10 years teaching students in New York public schools and enjoys sharing her passion for education and reading through her current role. An Ithaca College graduate, she holds B.S. degrees in English and Education and an M.S.Ed. in Literacy.

Sydney Kalnay

• Training Specialist at OverDrive, is deeply engaged in technology and education as a creator, developer, and instructor. She has designed and delivered classroom training and e-learning experiences for diverse audiences since 2002. She holds Masters degrees in Screenwriting and in Education.

In their spare time, Tiffany and Sydney are avid readers and writers who enjoy podcasting and listening to nothing but Nothing But Thieves.

Session Description:

This presentation will provide a brief overview of the aims in Sexuality Education and will explore strategies that can be used to select pertinent and adequate resources. The workshop will conclude with a showcase of actions that librarians in schools have done to support their school-team.

During the presentation participants will :

• Understand the importance and the “why” of teaching sexuality education

• Become familiar with the learning content for Sexuality Education by the MEES;

• Learn about strategies, tools and resources to select and evaluate books and material for sexuality education (especially in the case of sensitive topics or topics of concerns)

• Learn how your colleagues in various schools have supported their school teams.

Speakers Bios:

Jamie Quinn, Elaine Dalbec, and Mylaine Cardin are three consultants working on the Sexuality Education dossier in their respective School Boards (English Montreal, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Lester B. Person School Boards). They are joining their expertise and experience for this presentation.

Jamie Quinn

• Pedagogical consultant who has been working with the English Montreal School Board since 2002. Before coming to Montreal, she started her teaching career in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she received her undergraduate degree at Saint Mary’s University and Liberal Studies degree at the University of Maine, USA. She taught at the Secondary level at LaurenHill Academy where she started teaching in Montreal. Jamie has always encouraged Sexuality Education in the classroom and continues to support all schools in the EMSB (Elementary and Secondary) with the implementation process. She has confidence in the partnerships, whom she will team up with, to encourage, maintain, and support teachers to create healthy school environments for students.

Elaine Dalbec 

• SWLSB Social Services Agent in Health Promotion and Drug Prevention since 2012, and also worked as a Special Education Technician at a SWLSB school in the Laurentians. She studied Leisure Studies at Concordia University, and while working in drug prevention in French and English schools, completed her certification in Drug Prevention – Intervention.   Acquired from the community organizations domain, this is where she inordinately developed her expertise in referring, collaborating and networking. She strongly believes that working with internal and external resources is fundamental in supporting schools for the development of the child.  Addiction, suicide and community resources and now sexuality education dossiers, all tie in naturally and logically with her beliefs … “Supporting the development of  a healthy network, interests and PASSIONS is crucial for a well-balanced lifestyle.”   Sex and Drugs can be Rock and Roll!

Mylaine Cardin, P.Dt.

• Pedagogical consultant working for the Lester B Pearson School Board over the past 20 years. She holds a degree in science (major in dietetics) from McGill University, a postgraduate certification in public health from Laval University and is currently following a postgraduate micro-program in pedagogical counselling from Sherbrooke University. One of her dossiers is Sexuality Education. She is a fervent advocate for healthy, safe and caring schools and strongly believes in collaborative approaches when supporting schools in carrying out their mission.

Session Description:

We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to present curio.ca, the CBC/Radio-Canada learning platform. This presentation will feature how to use the curio.ca platform in the library or a classroom. Did you know that curio.ca provides curriculum relevant resources for science, geography, history, Aboriginal studies, social justice, health, business and more? Come and join us! (All public school boards in Quebec have a subscription to curio.ca through MEES.)

Presenter Bios:

Veronica Barton

• Head of Educational Sales, curio.ca at CBC & Radio-Canada since 2011. With over 25 years experience in sales and resource development in the educational media distribution sector. Customer-focussed leader with a unique blend of experience in education, technology and media markets. Strategic mindset and a proven ability to grow sales. Detailed understanding of the Canadian K-12 education landscape.

Michaël Elbaz

• Media librarian at CBC/Radio-Canada. He’s been with curio.ca since 2014 and previously worked in the international human rights sector. He is responsible for general oversight of platform content. In addition to cataloguing English and French language content on curio.ca, Michaël is responsible for content development, client requests and support regarding MARC records. He holds a Master of Social Science degree from the University of Helsinki and a Master of Information Science degree from the Université de Montréal.

Session Description: 

Québec Reading Connection is pleased to present our online, curated collection of children’s and young adult literature selections for pedagogical use, to share information about some favourite books, and to provide guidance for using our website. Do you keep resources about “sensitive” topics in your library? Why or why not? Offering students access to sensitive topics is an important role for the school library to play.  QRC has suggestions for Sexuality Education, Residential schools and Truth and Reconciliation, Newcomer experiences, and other potentially sensitive topics. Bring one of your own recommendations to share as well!

Speaker Bios:

Shannon Babcock

• The coordinator of Quebec Reading Connection, and has been working with school libraries for 15 years, and with children’s and young adult books for 23 years.

Suzanne Nesbitt 

• Suzanne presently works for the Quebec Reading Connection and the Inclusive Schools Network. She has worked for and in school libraries for over 30 years as a librarian and educational consultant as well as having been a member of QSLiN.

Session description:

Do you want to share what you have learned from the Symposium with your colleagues and students? Are there other library resources or topics that you have been intending to present, but weren’t sure how to get started? In this session, you will learn how to plan and give an effective presentation. Whether you are getting ready to do a presentation for the first time, or you want to improve upon your presentation skills, find out how to make your presentation relevant to your audience and ensure that they leave with something useful. You will also discover tips for working with nervousness and learn tricks to take your presentation to the next level.

Presenter Bio:

Raphaella Dixon

• Raphaella is passionate about helping library professionals develop their skills and attain their potential. She is the board librarian at the Lester B. Pearson School Board, where she gives support and training on library procedures and standards, information literacy, and copyright. She headed the Quebec committee for CLA’s Leading Learning, and was a co-author of APSDS’s Foire aux questions sur le droit d’auteur en milieu scolaire du Québec. Raphaella represents the anglophone school boards on the MEES Comité de liaison pour les bibliothécaires scolaires, and sits on the SQTD Comité d’usagers. She is the children’s book review editor for the ABQLA Bulletin, and vice-president of the ABQLA school section.

Session Description:

Rethinking the role of the library learning commons in our schools is a popular and much debated topic in education today. Questioning the need for and debating the value of a modern school library are ongoing discussions on social media, in budget meetings and in a variety of professional writings. Advocates for school libraries at local, provincial, national and international levels are constantly sharing ideas and examples of how a well-funded school library can embrace the latest and greatest in educational practice and technological advancements.

The question that often remains is what this re-imagining might look like in the day to day operations of a school library learning commons. Frontline staff are encouraged to be at the forefront of new educational movements while, often, still maintaining existing initiatives and collections. Embracing these changes and additions is exhilarating and exciting! Yet the risk-taking mindset required to embrace them can leave some of us feeling trepidatious and overwhelmed. Keeping the students we serve at the centre of our decision-making is one of the keys to overcoming this feeling of doubt.

This keynote will offer ideas for the implementation of new initiatives and reflective questions to consider in our daily practice through the sharing of Jennifer’s own ongoing journey opening a new library learning commons during the past 4 years.

Jennifer Brown’s Google Slides Presentation

Presenter Bio:

Jennifer Brown

• A teacher librarian at a dynamic K-8 school in the Peel District School Board in Ontario. She is a fierce advocate for students and their families. Since beginning her teaching career in the late 1990s, she has always had a passion for & interest in social justice & equity in education. Her years as an ESL and special education teacher influence her belief in the power of a thriving library learning commons to foster inclusive and culturally responsive practices throughout a school community. Her work is currently focused on educating herself and others on the importance of recognizing intersectionality and amplifying the voices of others through social justice allyship.  Jennifer is active in the education community and volunteers as a member of the Peel Elementary Teachers Local Equity and Anti-Racism Committee, the Peel Elementary Teacher Librarian Association and is currently the President of the Ontario School Library Association. She has been at the forefront of the maker movement, free flow book exchange and more in school library learning commons in her district. She enjoys sharing her learning journey with other educators through personal relationships, Twitter PLN connections and as an active blogger, contributor to Open Shelf (The OLA online magazine) and OSLA’s Teaching Librarian Magazine. Jenn is the mother of four incredible daughters and spends much of her time helping them pursue their varied passions in athletics and the arts.