Issue 1: The Social Issue

Note: This article was intended for publication on March 1 of 2018. Due to an error by the editor, it was delayed. “There’s all this research on topics that can help with front line practice, but if you don’t have access to it, then it’s useless. It doesn’t make sense...

Following the successful themed publications of 2017, BCLA Perspectives is proud to continue the trend with our first issue of 2018: The Social Issue. In it, we address some of the many social issues facing libraries and how institutions in British Columbia are...

When people asked what I wanted to do after library school, my favourite answer was: “I don’t want to be a children’s librarian and I don’t want to be a community librarian.” Facing a group of toddlers used to create uncomfortable self-awareness, but I don’t remember...

The Toronto Public Library (TPL) has recently instituted a controversial new Community and Event Space Rental Policy.  Under the new policy the library can deny or cancel a room booking based on an assessment that “the purpose of the booking is likely to promote, or...

An interview with Suzanne McBeath, Corporate Librarian, about how social issues impact the work of the Metro Vancouver Library. Tell us a bit about the Metro Vancouver Library The Metro Vancouver Library supports the work of Metro Vancouver by coordinating and...

There is most likely not a front line librarian or branch manager in North America – and doubtless other countries as well – who has not struggled with maintaining the fine balance of offering a welcoming and safe space for everyone in the communities they serve. And...

A patron at circulation asks a staff member to go out for a drink with him, coming back throughout the day to insist she share her phone number even after she politely declines. A much older man calls a library worker “beautiful,” then tells her that her “next husband...

NewToBC is a collaborative library settlement initiative that was born out of the desire of libraries throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to support newcomer immigrants and refugees and immigrant service providers in their communities, and to provide...

According to Welcome BC, “almost 30 percent of British Columbians immigrated to B.C. from another country. Just under one-quarter of the people in B.C. are a visible minority. Another five percent of the population is Indigenous.”[1] If we translate that quote into...

The Truth and Reconciliation Committee delivered its final report and recommendations at the 2017 Annual General Meeting which opened with traditional acknowledgement and smudge of the Mauri stone by Camille Callison, Jessie Loyer and Feather Maracle-Luke. The Mauri...