2024 Library Symposium

Session Description:

The conference aims to demystify differences in our society and in our daily lives. Through her story and journey, Barbada highlights the events in her life that led her into the drag universe. She presents and explains the art of drag, in order to demystify this often misunderstood art form. Barbada explains the path that led her from competitions to the small screen. She sheds light on the obstacles overcome to have her differences accepted and brilliantly demonstrates that being different can be an asset.

Presenter Bio:

Barbada

• Dynamic, funny, and endearing, Barbada is a drag artist who has been performing throughout Quebec since 2005. In addition to delivering performances with flavors of disco, pop, and dance, the drag queen, also a DJ, expertly hosts many events, notably for Cirque du Soleil, several weddings, and numerous corporate events, always knowing how to adapt her approach to any occasion. After several years of stage experience, Barbada became known to a wider audience by participating in a variety of projects. In 2016, she started her storytime project where she travels around to read stories to children aged 3 to 8, aiming to promote openness, acceptance, and self-esteem. In 2022, she became the first Quebecois drag queen to host a children’s show with the series “Barbada,” presented on ICI TOU.TV, where she invites artists to participate in her colorful universe to introduce children to local music. With her humor, candor, and values, Barbada is everyone's drag queen!

Session Description:

Join Michelle Arbuckle, Executive Director of the Ontario Library Association, Michael Nyby, Chair of CFLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee and Anita Brooks Kirkland, a leading advocate for literacy and intellectual freedom, in a dynamic conversation about the state of freedom of expression in Canada. From the significance of Freedom to Read Week to the pivotal role libraries play in safeguarding the right to read and freedom of expression, Michelle, Michael and Anita will delve into the challenges and opportunities facing libraries today. They will explore how school libraries are pivotal in shaping young minds and fostering a culture of intellectual curiosity and critical thinking. Get ready to engage in a thought-provoking discussion about the power of books, the importance of access to information, and the vital role libraries play in promoting a democratic society where diverse voices are celebrated and respected.

Presenter Bios:

Michelle Arbuckle

• Meet Michelle Arbuckle, the driving force behind the Ontario Library Association (OLA) as its Executive Director. With a passion for championing literacy and defending freedom of expression, Michelle is a dedicated advocate in the library sector. When she’s not busy leading initiatives (or maybe brainstorming new ideas), Michelle is leading the charge to ensure that libraries remain vibrant hubs of intellectual freedom. She has a strong commitment to fostering open dialogue and diverse perspectives. With her sharp wit, unwavering dedication and drive to keep learning, Michelle Arbuckle is not your typical nonprofit director – she’s a trailblazer fighting for your right to explore, learn, and laugh along the way!

Anita Brooks Kirkland

• Anita is the chair of Canadian School Libraries (CSL), where she also co-edits its online publication, CSL Journal. She is a past president of both the Ontario School Library Association and the Ontario Library Association. Recent CSL projects include development of the Collection Diversity Toolkit and the Teaching Through Books project, and development of the new guideline document, Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success. Anita has also been an outspoken advocate for the freedom to read and the role of school libraries in the current climate of censorship. Anita draws on her extensive previous experience as an instructor in teacher-librarianship for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, and as the Consultant for K-12 Libraries at the Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontario.

Michael Nyby

• Michael Nyby is the librarian at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind and chair of the CFLA-FCAB Intellectual Freedom Committee. His research interests include intellectual freedom, politics, and library accessibility. His research on censorship in Canadian libraries has appeared in Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research and Public Library Quarterly. Michael’s reviews of accessible-format books frequently appear in Canadian Children’s Book News. His non-research interests include long-distance bike touring and adapting Dungeons and Dragons materials for visually-impaired players.

(Session will be partially in both languages)

Session Description:

Reader’s Advisory Divas and Dudes (RADD)

Join the Readers’ Advisory Divas and Dudes as they highlight books worth fighting for – titles that reflect the conference theme and promote equity, diversity, and truth. This part of the session will be in English.

Pouce Carré

Pour pouvoir réussir à penser librement, les élèves doivent parvenir à développer leur esprit critique. Pour ce faire, plusieurs oeuvres littéraires permettent aux élèves d’exercer leur jugement critique, que ce soit en présentant des points de vue variés ou des occasions d’échanges ou de débat en classe. Anne-Marie Fortin, consultante spécialisée en littérature jeunesse francophone et fondatrice de Pouce carré, vous invite à découvrir ses coups de coeur littéraires en français ouvrant la porte à la discussion ou à l’exercice du jugement critique. Cette section de la session sera en français.

Presenter Bios:

Janet Murie

• The Readers’ Advisory Divas and Dudes (formerly known as the Dewey Divas and Dudes) are a group of Canadian publishers’ reps- all passionate readers. For over twenty years we have been giving presentations to librarians and school teachers that highlight our favourite reads of the season, with a particular focus on hidden gems, sleepers, diverse titles, Canadian content, and new writers to watch for.

Anne-Marie Fortin

• Cumulant 20 ans d’expérience dans le monde du livre, Anne-Marie Fortin a fondé la compagnie Pouce carré en 2022.
Elle détient un baccalauréat et une maîtrise en littérature. Après un début de carrière en librairie et en édition, elle a développé, depuis plus de 10 ans, une expertise en littérature auprès des communautés pédagogiques francophones et d’immersion au Canada.
En plus de ses fonctions chez Pouce Carré, Anne-Marie est directrice littéraire de la collection Pigeon voyageur, aux édition David, en Ontario.
Anne-Marie est également l’autrice de l’album Mon beau potager (Isatis).

Session Description:

Interested in developing counter-narratives to the texts we read regularly? In Reading Against the Grain, a teaching strategy developed by Learning For Justice, we learn to ‘analyze the dominant reading of a text and engage in alternative or “resistant” readings’. Resistant readings scrutinize the beliefs and attitudes that typically go unexamined in a text, drawing attention to the gaps, silences and contradictions.’ We will explore this practice using picture books while sharing space in community.

Presenter Bios:

Patricia Blackett

• Patricia Blackett B.Ed., M.Ed. is the EDDI Anti-Racist Pedagogical Consultant for the Lester B. Pearson School Board. She has taught for over twenty years with the LBPSB. Her area of focus includes researching race and racism and anti-Black racism, developing anti racist educators, curating literary diversity and working with students at the elementary school level on developing their understanding of what it means to become anti-racist.

Angela Lionetti

• Angela Lionetti B.Ed. is the EDDI Anti-Racist Pedagogical Collaborator for the Lester B. Pearson School Board. She has also taught for over twenty years at the LBPSB. Her support on the dossier allows for continued growth, commitment to anti-racism and is a demonstration of what is entailed in being a co-conspirator.

Session Description:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been getting more and more powerful, accessible, and of course getting increasing coverage in the media. There’s been a great deal of hype and anxiety around the rapid development of AI in just the last year and a half, but what is it really? How could it affect our schools? Can we use these new technologies to improve our libraries? Increase our productivity to help us save time? Enhance our creative process? Will it threaten our jobs or reduce student learning? Join us as we explore and demystify the world of Artificial Intelligence so that you can better understand this emerging technology.

Presenter Bios:

Caroline Dupuis

• Caroline is the local RÉCIT education consultant at the English Montreal School Board. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Master’s of Arts in Educational Technology. She accompanies the schools’ Technology Integration Facilitator Teachers and provides ongoing support to both teachers and consultants on all matters related to the development of their digital competency. Throughout the years, she coordinated professional development for teachers and collaboratively implemented cross-curricular initiatives to support student learning while engaging in many other interesting related projects. Besides working at the EMSB, she also spent five years on loan of service at the Ministère de l’Éducation on projects that addressed digital citizenship and information literacy, as well as language and technology.

Julian Taylor

• Julian is a board-level librarian at the English Montreal School Board. In that capacity, he works with Educational Consultants, Administrators, Teachers, and school-based library personnel with issues related to information literacy, digital citizenship, library learning commons initiatives, and online resources. He has also worked at the Quebec Ministry of Education as the liaison between the ministry and school libraries in the English sector of Quebec, and as an English teacher in South Korea. BA MLIS

Session Description:

Helping to populate the landscape of a child or young adult’s imagination is a true pleasure and an awesome responsibility, one made both easier and more complicated by the explosion of books featuring characters we rarely or never saw until recently. But are all these books created equal? What makes one more impactful, more appealing, or more welcoming to young readers? Writer and publisher S. Bear Bergman shares his thoughts and suggests some answers based on what he’s learned in 20 years of work on equity and justice of the imagination.

Presenter Bio:

S. Bear Bergman

• S. Bear Bergman is an author, storyteller, educator and the founder and publisher of children’s book press Flamingo Rampant, which makes feminist, culturally-diverse children’s picture books celebrating LGBT2Q+ kids and families. He writes creative non-fiction for grown ups, fiction for children, the advice column Asking Bear, and was the co-editor (along with Kate Bornstein) of Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation. These days he spends most of his time making trans cultural competency interventions any way he can and trying to avoid stepping on Lego. His forthcoming book is SPECIAL TOPICS IN BEING A PARENT, from Arsenal Pulp in July 2024