Session 2- From Overgrown to Outstanding: Weeding Essentials
Date: Thursday, Feburary 5, 2026 from 9:00 to 10:30 am
Location: Online Event
To maintain a current, relevant, and attractive collection, library staff must continuously review and evaluate materials. This process often includes the necessary practice of discarding books, also known as weeding or deselection. While the need to remove damaged items is clear, there are several other important reasons why books must be taken out of circulation. Join us for practical tips and strategies to take your library collection from overgrown to truly outstanding!
Chelsea Baker (CQSB)
Chelsea Baker is the librarian at the Central Quebec School Board. She has had many opportunities to weed book collections over her 20+ year career in public, academic, and school libraries. Chelsea is committed to helping schools in her board build and maintain engaging and relevant collections that support all learners. Her favourite book genres are historical fiction, picture books, and non-fiction. The most recent book she read (as of January 2026) was about marine archaeology targeted towards 10-14 year olds. She also loves sending and receiving postcards, cuddling with her cat, and being outside on a snowy day.
Laura Wulf (SWLSB)
Laura Wulf splits her time between working in the school board archives and as the board librarian for the Pedagogical Services Department, offering support and training for the board’s library staff. She is not only passionate about books and reading, but also about offering quality library services and making meaningful connections with staff and students. Laura previously worked for many years as a librarian in a private elementary school, and even spent a few years in the public library system before finding her way back to the world of education.
Session 1- AI in the Library: Tools & Tips for Library Personnel
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 from 9:00 to 10:30 am
Location: Online Event
This workshop is designed to provide library personnel with practical strategies for leveraging Artificial Intelligence. We will provide an overview of what AI is and key considerations for school staff, including legality, ethics, and pedagogical alignment. Through a mix of demonstrations and prompt experimentation, you will discover how AI tools like Copilot and Gemini can streamline tasks like generating Reader's Advisory booklists, weeding justifications, and designing information literacy activities. Time will be provided at the end for questions and discussion.
Stacy Allen (LEARN)
Stacy is a pedagogical consultant for the LEARN. Part of her dossier includes consulting for the RÉCIT Provincial Services for the Anglophone Community. Stacy previously worked as an elementary teacher and an educational consultant specializing in second languages, social sciences, and arts at the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq School Board. Her teaching career also includes experience in English as a Second Language (ESL) in both Nova Scotia, Canada, and Shanghai, China. Stacy holds a BA in English from Saint Francis Xavier University, as well as a B.Ed. and an M.Ed. in Curriculum Studies from Acadia University.
Julian Taylor (EMSB)
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 History and MLIS - McGill University