Welcome to our Spring issue, Chapter members and extended readership.

The Chapter year is proceeding at such an unbelievable pace that I have had to ‘put on the brakes’ in order to stand back and take stock of our accomplishments year-to-date, and to bring you up-to-speed about our plans for the next couple of months. In my opinion, the Chapter is well on its way to providing the variety of events that members expect of us every year, as well as some that seem particularly appropriate for this particular year. I am also on the way to meeting the personal goals that I set out for myself as President. I have had a great deal of support in getting our year off to such a successful start.

All of the Chapter volunteers on the 2009 Executive and Advisory Boards have been putting in incredible amounts of time and effort. Some of them are just getting comfortable in volunteer roles that are new to them, others among them are adjusting to working with new SLA colleagues, and all are striving to balance the contributions they make to SLA Toronto Chapter with their primary jobs and their personal lives. I am enjoying working with everyone in this amazing group, and I am enriched by getting to know them better. Thank you, Team, for your extraordinary dedication!

The overall goal is for the Chapter to be there, front and centre, for you, the members, and to provide services that are of value in the current environment. So let’s see how we’re doing.

Chapter Events, Year-to-Date

• The Solos group met twice in noon-hour sessions (Winter and Spring) to discuss topics that came to the top of the list in a recent interest survey of their members. Solos group Chair, Amra Porobic, is expanding the Solos’ Best Practices documents housed on the wiki, to benefit the group in the future.

• A first SLA (Toronto Chapter) Networking Night took place on a rainy night in February. It was well attended, and the group interaction was superb. We held a second Spring Networking Night in mid-April. Again, attendance indicated that our members place a high value on having ‘dedicated’ and unhurried time together.
• The Career Development series of five events got underway in March, and the first two topics have now been delivered. The sessions were developed for the Chapter by Ulla de Stricker, a Chapter Past President who is now Career Guidance Chair. The first session on resumes drew a capacity crowd, and was relocated to a larger room available that evening at the Faculty Club. On the opening night for ‘Where do you “fit”‘ in April, a room ‘upgrade’ was not possible, so event organizer Pam Casey arranged to accommodate wait-listed registrants at a repeat session in May.

• Although Ulla modestly says ‘this is what I do’, it is clear that we have something very special going on here. The remaining three topics will be presented in the autumn months, so watch the web site Events Page for the opening of registration. If you are not local to the Toronto area, you can visit Ulla’s blog and read her insightful analysis of our event topics, and many more professional issues – www.destrickerblog.com.

• At the end of March, the Chapter extended an SLA welcome to Dean Seamus Ross, whose term as dean at the Faculty of Information began in January 2009. Members who attended the Reception spoke with him individually about the jobs they perform for employers or as information consultants. In turn, we heard about his far-reaching plans for the Faculty and the iSchool, including: extending the scope of information studies at the undergraduate level; seeking more research opportunities; opening visiting speaker sessions to the local community; and enhancing the current physical facility that adjoins Robarts Library.

What’s up next on the calendar?

• During May 13 to 15, the Chapter will host an official Presidential visit from SLA President, Gloria Zamora. Our Executive Board has collaborated to arrange a variety of activities for her that will showcase our dynamic Chapter, and also enable her to bring the international association perspective into sharper focus for us. We will provide you, the members, with as many opportunities as possible to meet and interact with Gloria during her stay in our city.
• On May 14, during the visit, we will hold the premier event of our celebratory year, Toronto Chapter’s Gala Centennial Dinner. Plan to join us for this unique looking-back occasion. Attendees will hear Gloria speak, meet and/or re-connect with Toronto Chapter Past Presidents, and enjoy great food and a celebratory atmosphere in the historic setting of Hart House. Surprises (dug up from the Chapter’s Archives) will be on display at the Gala!

• Registration is now open for two Click U Live hosted sessions that will take place on the afternoons of May 7 and May 20. Members attend free of charge, but registration by Webform on the Chapter Events Page is still required. Non-members will continue to be charged for these sessions at the 2008 registration fee rate.

• Very soon after, it will be time for the annual conference we’ve all been waiting for, the 2009 SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in Washington DC, June 14-17. I probably don’t have to tell you how special this one promises to be within the context of the year-long 2009 SLA Centennial Celebration. We urge you to come to Washington if you’re at all considering it, and help the Chapter to match or exceed our great turn-out last year in Seattle. When you register, remember to purchase a ticket for the Canadian Reception to be held on Monday, June 15 at 5:30 pm. It is hosted this year by Western Canada Chapter, and sponsored by CEDROM-Sni.

• There will be time for one more Chapter event after Conference, before we pull back on activities as is customary for July-August, so watch for details about a Best of the Web event. Members loved the format in 2007, so we’re bringing it back. Come out to learn from fellow members as they take you on a tour of the web sites that serve them best in their unique job settings.

SLA Toronto’s Partners

The Chapter is greatly helped in its role to provide services to members by generous contributions from our corporate Partners. This year, our returning Partners are Fpinfomart, CEDROM-Sni and XPI.

Fpinfomart is co-sponsoring (along with our Chapter) the 2009 Fpinfomart Student-to-Conference Awards.

CEDROM-Sni is the exclusive sponsor for the SLA President’s visit and the Gala Centennial Dinner.

Both CEDROM-Sni and XPI will lend their names to additional Chapter events that they sponsor or co-sponsor throughout our year.

Grey House Publishing Canada is our new Chapter Partner this year, and they are sponsoring the Career Development series of events described above. We welcome them and look forward to seeing their information on our Partner Page (web site).

Please be supportive of our Partners’ business by thinking of them when you evaluate services in your institutions. You can learn more about Partner product lines at these web addresses:

Don’t miss Partner advertorials that appear in the issues of this newsletter.

Fpinfomart Student-to-Conference Award Winners

Two winning applicants were selected in early April by the Executive Board on the strength of their résumés, and the statements they submitted on what they expected to gain from conference attendance. Join me in extending sincere congratulations to student winners, Kate MacDonald and Bruce Harpham. We look forward to getting to know them better, in DC and beyond.

Kate MacDonald graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in History. She is currently a candidate for the Master of Information Studies (MISt) degree at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto.

Bruce Harpham graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in History and Political Science. He subsequently earned a Master of Arts in History degree from the University of Western Ontario. He is now a candidate for a Master of Information Studies (MISt) degree at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto.

Congratulations

On behalf of the Chapter, I send congratulations to the following members who won recognition since our last issue was published:

• Stephen Abram was awarded the Roger Summit Award by the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) at the Annual Conference in Albuquerque New Mexico, March 26-29.

• Ulla de Stricker was awarded the Sue Rugge Memorial Award by the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) at the Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 26-29.

• Julia Brewster and Meghan Ecclestone were among five iSchool students at the University of Toronto who received a Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award on March 31, 2009, in recognition of their “outstanding extra-curricular contributions.”

I’d also like to recognize the superb work done by Heather Postill and Gillian Horwood in producing our Chapter newsletter. We received extremely positive feedback for the previous issue from the SLA Leadership List to which it was distributed.

Watch your email for the forthcoming survey of Toronto Chapter membership. Doing surveys on a periodic basis gives us demographic information about you, our members, and feedback about the services that you value or would like to see added. Please take the time to respond, and help shape the Chapter’s future. Questions about the forthcoming survey can be directed to Jennifer Burns, Membership Chair.

Our Roster of Chapter Volunteers

The chapter is fortunate that all positions are now filled on the Executive and Advisory Boards. To the Advisory Board, we welcome Laura Knapp as Partner Relations Chair for the second year, and Juanita Richardson who has assumed the role of Awards Chair.

Chapter History

I have taken on a little sideline project this year that I would like to share with you. As a unit activity for SLA’s one hundredth anniversary, I have been working on a time-line of Toronto Chapter history between 1940, when the Chapter was formed, to the present sixty-ninth operational year. Reading through the newsletters that have been published continuously throughout that history, under names that changed from Bulletin (to 1960), to News or Newsletter (to 1972), to Courier (to present), has been a fascinating and inspiring activity.

I stand in awe of the sheer numbers of dedicated members who left their footprints through this time period. I marvel at the breadth and scope of the expertise shared by guest speakers at programming events. I admire the involvement of Chapter members with activities and issues at the international (SLA) level. I am captivated by the progress from ‘Methods Meetings’ (where the emergence of new technologies like Photoreproduction and Machine Searching were examined in the 1950s), to our current popular sessions on Library 2.0. Wow!

I know that many information professionals have history backgrounds, and I am more than willing to share this historical information-gathering process with anyone who wants to volunteer to work with me. I have already read through material covering four of the Chapter’s seven decades, and I return to the Archives location again and again to sign out more newsletters.

We Want You!

In closing, our willingness to embrace new volunteers bears repeating yet again. There is much work to be done to run successful Chapter years, and we encourage members to get value for their membership by coming out to events, and by volunteering and getting more involved. The greater the involvement, the more rewarding the SLA experience becomes.

Joy Shanfield, MLIS
President, SLA Toronto Chapter

Our last issue of the Courier mentioned snow piling up outside – this time we can finally celebrate spring!

In addition to our regular features, in this issue Jennifer Burns’ reminisces about her experience at the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute, and copyright guru Lesley Ellen Harris gives us a valuable primer on foreign copyright.

As part of our ongoing “From the Archives” feature, we bring you some historical highlights from the eighties (no, these don’t include big hair and bigger shoulder pads!). We’d also like to congratulate Bruce Harpham and Kate MacDonald, this year’s winners of the FPInformart Student-to-Conference Awards; their application statements are reprinted in this issue.

As always, we welcome your great ideas, comments, thoughts and news that contribute to this newsletter. Contact us directly for more information.

Enjoy!!

Gillian Horwood
gillian.horwood@utoronto.ca

Heather Postill
hpostill@sympatico.ca

World Digital Library to be Launched by UNESCO, Library of Congress, and Partners

On 21 April 2009, UNESCO, Library of Congress, and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library (WDL), a Web site featuring unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world.

Read more

Winners Announced: “Information Professional of the Future” Video Contest

The SLA Centennial Commission is pleased to announce the winners of the Information Professional of the Future Centennial Video Contest!

Read more

President’s Video Part II: The SLA Alignment Project- What’s in it for Me?

This week’s installment from 2009 President Gloria Zamora and President-elect Anne Caputo takes a look at the SLA Alignment Project. This alignment project will not only help refine SLA’s current positioning in the marketplace, it will also provide us with a framework for discussing the value that you bring to your employers in a clear, compelling and cohesive voice.

Read more

The Whole Wide World (of Information) In Your Hands

If you haven’t seen this TED talk that’s making its way around, you MUST take the next 8 minutes to watch it! This wearable device looks like it will change everything about how we get information about our surroundings.

Read more

Guest Video Message: What Will 2009 Bring for SLA

We recently caught up with your 2009 SLA President Gloria Zamora and President-elect Anne Caputo and asked them to tell us about the upcoming year, the SLA Centennial Celebration, leadership, Align in ’09 and more.

Watch the video

Shine in ’09

The latest Alignment Project research confirms what we have all known for some time: continuous learning is a highly valued attribute for the information professional. And there is no time like the present for developing new skills and gaining new knowledge. In a play on SLA President Gloria Zamora’s theme, “Align in ’09,” I would like to propose a rhyming theme: let’s shine in ’09.

No training budget? No excuse. SLA now offers free online courses as an exclusive benefit to SLA members.

Read more

Inside the Box: Final Post

About this time last year, SLA made the switch from a monthly e-newsletter to the new, now weekly, blog-driven format of SLA Connections.

As we start our second year using this format, SLA will be consolidating two of our blogs. Starting next week I will stop posting SLA news and announcements on Inside the Box and the SLA Blog will become the primary source for all SLA news and announcements.

Read more

Tuition Discount: Kent State Online Master’s in KM

SLA members are now eligible to receive a 10 percent discount on tuition for Kent State University online master’s programs through the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS).

“Organizations around the globe recognize that success in today’s sagging economy requires hiring smart and savvy professionals to provide actionable information as a cornerstone of their business strategy,” said SLA CEO Janice R. Lachance. “I am extremely pleased that Kent State is making an advanced degree in this important information field more affordable for SLA members.”

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Call for Nominations: 2009 SLA Rising Star Award

Do you know someone who is new to the information profession and shows exceptional promise for leadership, innovation and success? Please consider nominating that SLA member for the new SLA Rising Star Award.

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White House Agenda released by Obama Administration

The Obama Administration has released its agenda and much of it affects members of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the work they do, whether in the U.S. or around the world. Below is a summary and analysis of a most relevant section, describing the Administration’s views on copyright and technology, which has been prepared by SLA Chief Policy Officer Doug Newcomb.

Read more

San Jose and SLA Form Members-Only Cohort for Executive MLIS Program
Executive MLIS Degree Program Focuses on Business and Management Skills

A unique learning cohort is now available for information professionals who want to earn a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) with a focus on business skills and executive-level training. This cohort is the result of a partnership between SLA and San Jose State University (SJSU) School of Library and Information Science. SJSU’s Executive MLIS program is designed for library or information science professionals with at least three years of experience who do not already hold an MLIS. The SLA cohort is scheduled to start in June 2009.

Read more

Discount to Information Today’s Buying & Selling eContent Conference

As a Learning Partner for Information Today’s tenth annual Buying & Selling eContent conference, SLA has negotiated an exclusive member discount of US $600 off the standard registration rate!

Read more

SLA Announces 2010 Board of Directors Candidates

SLA has nominated eight candidates to run for election to the 2010 SLA Board of Directors. The candidates were identified by the SLA Nominating Committee, which annually solicits names of potential candidates from the membership, and is responsible for putting together a slate of candidates that has exceptional talent, is professionally diverse, and provides regionally balanced representation.

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LinkedIn and Facebook SLA Groups

Most SLA Units (chapters and divisions) have created special groups online. SLA HQ has also created association-level groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, so that you can expand your network beyond your chapter or division!

Read more

Face of SLA Leadership Summit “Headshots” now available for download

If you were kind enough to allow the SLA PR Team to take your photo in front of the “blue screen” at the SLA Leadership Summit in Savannah, the images are up and ready for viewing and download.

Read more

AIIP Honors SLA Past-President Abram with Summit Award

The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) will honor SLA Past President Stephen Abram with AIIP’s Roger Summit Award for 2009. The award will be presented to Abram at AIIP’s 23rd Annual Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 28.

Read more

Please join me in welcoming the following new members who joined our Chapter between January and February 2009.

I look forward to meeting you all at an upcoming SLA Toronto event!

Jennifer Burns
SLA Toronto Chapter Membership Chair

Here are some of the upcoming events presented by SLA Toronto Chapter. See the Toronto chapter website for details. (http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/).

Where do you “fit”? Understanding your “career type” to find work that makes you proud and happy

Gala Centennial Dinner

We would also like to acknowledge our partner and event sponsor, CEDROM-SNi.

SLA is 100 years young! Come and enjoy music, fine company and sparkling conversation as we celebrate SLA’s Centennial. The chapter is holding a Gala Centennial Dinner in the Music Room at Hart House to honour this important milestone. We hope you will join us for what promises to be the most exciting event of the year!

Please note: This special event is NOT FREE to students (cost for students is $35.00) and the member rate ($45.00) is extended to the chapter’s Past-Presidents.

SLA Annual Conference

Self promotion, no cringe: Gaining visibility through giving

Spring is in the air and the NIP group is ready to kick off our new year.

First of all, I would like to wish a much deserved congratulations to the new graduates in Toronto! With such an exciting future ahead of you, and so many different paths to take, it may interest you to join the NIP group and meet some new information professionals and chat about everything happening in our field.

To celebrate the warmer weather and the arrival of more NIPs to Toronto, we are having a much needed social this spring. New students and non-SLA members are more than welcome to attend. Date and venue to be announced and will be posted on the SLA-Toronto listserv and Facebook pages.

Laura Warner is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s MLIS/MPA program and is a Reference Librarian for the CBC.

In April, Erika Steffer joined Egon Zehnder International as a Senior Researcher. She was previously with Russell Reynolds Associates in Toronto. Her direct number is 416-364-0222 and her email is erika.steffer@ezi.net.

recently joined the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management as Data Librarian. The MPI is the world’s leading think-tank on the role of sub-national factors – location, place and city-regions – in global economic prosperity. Kim has specialized in managing digital media for over ten years, and previously was principal of her own digital media consulting firm, BrightSail. Her new email address is kimberly.silk@martinprosperity.org

Kimberly Silk

People on the Move will be a regular column highlighting the achievements of our members and help keep us all in touch. Please share your career changes, retirements, life changes, volunteer work.

Submit your news to Frances Wong at FWong@blgcanada.com.

There is a raven living in the trees outside the main lodge at Emerald Lake. I saw him every morning as I walked along the snowy path that led from my cabin to the lodge, where I and twenty-five librarians from across Canada gathered every day for five days of intensive leadership training. Ravens are magnificent birds and this one was no exception. He sat proudly in a massive snow-covered pine tree, surveying the landscape, silent except for an occasional “Ha! Ha!” that rang out over the lake as he flew among the trees.

I found it quite fitting that there was a raven on the grounds of the lodge, for a couple of reasons. One is that I can never think about British Columbia without thinking of Vancouver, and Vancouver always reminds me of my grandfather, who lived there, and the stories he used to tell me. I guess most of us who love books have stories that are touchstones, and the Haida legend known as “How the Raven Stole the Sun” is one of mine. My grandfather recorded this story on an audio tape, one of many he sent to me while I was growing up thousands of miles away in Montreal, and it has stayed with me all of my life.

Before I left for Northern Exposure, I revisited this story, and did some research into the significance of the raven in First Nations and other cultures – you know, the usual preparations a librarian makes before going on a trip. “How the Raven Stole the Sun” is the tale of selfish Seagull, who wanted to keep the sun all to himself in a box in his house, and clever Raven, who thought up a plan to get the sun away from Seagull and bring light to the world. Not only was Raven successful in executing his cunning plan, but in doing so, he laughed triumphantly – “Ha! Ha!” – while to this day, Seagull cries piteously “Ow! Ow!” over the loss of the sun.

This story shows the trickster Raven, the Raven who lives by his wits, an innovative thinker who nimbly extricates himself from sticky situations. In the Haida tradition, Raven not only brought light to the world, he populated it with human beings he liberated from a seashell. In some traditions, Raven is a shape-shifter, capable of radical transformation. Raven is associated with birth and death, with change, with wisdom, with self-knowledge and with the ability to see things from the perspective of others. He sees into the past as well as into the future, and he mediates between humans and the divine. Non-mythological ravens are recognized for their exceptionally high intelligence, their ability to learn, to use tools and to plan ahead.

I thought about all of this as I participated in the Institute, and the raven in the trees near the Main Lodge reminded me, every day. Maybe it was the spirit of the place, maybe it was the pensive, reflective mood I was in, or maybe it was just the lack of sleep, but I felt that I had something to learn from this raven.

One of the things that struck me about the setting of Emerald Lake was how sheltered it was, how still: there wasn’t even a breeze. Right now, our profession is feeling the full force of the winds of change. We could all use a sheltered place to stop and think. Many of us are wondering if we will still have jobs when this economic crisis is over, if our skills are still needed or wanted. Special librarians might even be in the process of justifying their existence to non-librarian decision-makers in their organizations, because all those decision-makers can see is how much a librarian costs, and not the value a librarian adds. We might be feeling discouraged, hopeless, worried about the future and our place as librarians in it. Maybe we are even questioning why we chose the profession.

The raven reminded me. He reminded me of who I am, where I come from, and what I need to do. In some sense, everything I learned about leadership in our profession is represented in the Raven, that clever trickster who sees the past but lives for the future, who is not quite what he seems, who is capable of outsmarting those who would destroy him but, more importantly, can understand where they’re coming from, and create something new from that understanding. The wise, laughing Raven who brings the light of knowledge into the darkness of the world.

Jennifer Burns is the SLA Toronto Chapter Membership Chair.

Bruce Harpham

I am writing to apply for the SLA student stipend to attend the annual SLA conference in Washington D.C. in June 2009. I can see several benefits from attending the conference: the benefits that I would receive from participation as a new professional and the contributions that I seek to make. The personal and social advantages of conference activity are interwoven, which is one of the reasons that participation in such events is so worthwhile – both the individual and the community benefit. My attached resume provides further information about my academic achievements and work experience.

Organizationally, there are several ways that I can contribute to the SLA. Although I only joined last year, I am an active member of the SLA Research and Development Committee. By attending the conference, it will be possible for me to make a better contribution to this committee by participating in its business meeting. The role of this committee – to award financial support to those researching the role of information services and information professionals – is vital to the long term future of the profession. Further, I am also registered as a student volunteer for a SLA course entitled “Click University – Understanding Copyright in Web 2.0 World.”

In terms of future contributions to the SLA, there are several avenues that I intend to explore. I have written for various professional publications and I would be happy to contribute further in that regard by writing a report on my activities for a SLA publication such as the Courier or Information Today. Building on this history of involvement, I am also willing and very much interested to serve on the Executive Board of the Toronto Chapter of the SLA in 2010.

Personally, I see many benefits from participating in this conference. Of all the professional organizations that I belong to, I view SLA as the most innovative and best positioned to serve its members. Therefore, I plan to take part in several sessions that explore how social technology can be used in the workplace (such as wikis and social networking). I use these tools personally (e.g. see resume), but I am keen to learn more about their application in an organizational context. I am also interested in expanding my knowledge to other areas of practice such as knowledge management. Further, I also welcome the opportunity to continue to meet other professionals as they will educate me further on the breadth of opportunities available in the field. I also expect to make the most of my time in the District of Columbia by visiting important organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. Thank you for your attention and I hope to be funded so that I can continue to make contributions to the SLA and improve my skills.

Kate MacDonald

I recently found out that second?year students of the Faculty of Information are eligible to apply for the FPinfomart conference grant for this year’s SLA Conference in Washington. As I am completing my degree requirements this month, I believe that attending the conference would be an excellent opportunity, and I would like to submit my application for your consideration.

One of the primary reasons why I would like to attend is to extend my network of information professionals in the collegial atmosphere that the conference provides. Having a range of business contacts is important for success; as a new information professional, networking is key to discovering opportunities that will shape the direction of my career, both in terms of finding meaningful employment prospects, but also in developing collaborative partnerships with other information professionals.

The second main reason I would really like to attend is because I believe that SLA’s emphasis on continual professional development and innovation in libraries is a fundamental approach to adopt for career success. Attending the conference sessions would enable me to learn a great deal in a condensed time frame about emerging technologies and leadership practices in special libraries that would enhance my knowledge and abilities.

I intend to stay in Toronto upon completion of my studies, and I would welcome the opportunity to become an active contributor of the SLA Toronto Chapter Executive or Advisory Board if chosen as the recipient of one of these grants.

I thank you in advance for your consideration of my application.

The following article is reprinted from The Courier, Volume 27, No. 5, 1990

The 1980s began with the election of one of Toronto’s Chapter members to the Board of Directors of the Special Libraries Association. We were very proud to have Jane Dysart assume the position of Chapter Cabinet Chairman Elect.

A well-attended joint meeting of the Toronto and Michigan Chapters was held in London, Ontario in April 1980. The topic of discussion was networking. Members stayed the night in London and the following morning were given a tour of several of the libraries at the University of Western Ontario and Labatts.

Headquarters in New York started the monthly newsletter SpeciaList in the Fall of 1980 to create more effective communications within the membership. Special Libraries continued to be the official publication, with scholarly articles. In the Fall of that same year the Toronto President instituted a revision of the Procedures Manual, in the hope that it would help improve communications and consistency. Operating guidelines for the Courier were also prepared.

As of June 30, 1980, there were 431 paid members. The executive approved the publication of a new Directory, if financially feasible. We read that a new Directory was in progress in March 1981 and presume that even though there were still 90 copies of the 8th edition available the costs had been recovered, making it feasible to print a new edition.

A new Toronto Member of the Year Award was announced in November 1980, to be presented at the Annual General meeting the following year. The purpose was to recognize a local colleague’s outstanding contribution or major achievement in the fields of librarianship or information science.

In April 1981 a Special Committee on Long Range Planning was struck. The intention was to examine financial and other issues in detail, under the chairmanship of the Past President.

The Chapter ended the year in a better financial position than anticipated. Expenses were less and income was more than budgeted. All priced programmes made a profit, which almost covered the costs of free meetings. The Fall Continuing Education workshop was also a financial success.

Up to this date it appears that the cost of producing the Courier was absorbed by corporate sponsors who were generally the employers of the Courier editor. As it was becoming increasingly difficult to find corporate sponsors much discussion took place on having the bulletin printed commercially. The projected cost at this time was $250.00 per issue, based on a run of five hundred copies of twelve pages, in reduced format.

The now familiar SLA Toronto letterhead paper was printed in 1981 when the new SLA logo first appeared. It was printed for the Chapter by Kilborn at no charge.

Jane Dysart was voted the 1980-81 Chapter Member of the Year. This was the first time the award had been presented. Jane was given a plaque at the annual dinner in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the library community.

The Kathleen Reeves Memorial Award was also made at the annual meeting. It would be interesting to track the careers of the recipients of this award, which is given to the student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Library Science who ranks highest in the elective course in Special Libraries. How many are still special librarians? How many have served the Chapter in some way? What types of positions do they hold in their organizations? Perhaps this is an article for a future Courier!

Discussion took place in the Fall of 1981 re the formation of a Western Canadian Chapter of SLA. At that time the geographical boundaries of the Toronto Chapter extended from west of Ottawa to the Alberta-British Columbia border, excluding the Windsor-Sarnia area. The Executive were well aware of the difficulties of trying to serve a membership which was so wide spread. The President of the Toronto Chapter was very keen to see a new Canadian Chapter formed.

Author unknown.

This article continues in the subsequent issue, volume 27, no. 6, May/June 1990. It purports to cover the time period from 1981 forward. We have been unable to locate a copy – if anyone can supply it please contact the editors or Joy Shanfield.