The Langara Library team is committed to customer service, continuous learning, effective communication, collaboration, and ongoing service evaluation. Strong leadership complements highly skilled and motivated employees working as teams.
"Thank you for all of your hard work on this tutorial. This should really help a lot of students."
"I just wanted to say a big 'THANK YOU!!' to you for the fabulous resources you created for my students."
"Thank you! Librarians ROCK "
"Thank you for all the work you do! Much appreciated."
"I really appreciate your time and generosity in sharing your knowledge with me."
"Before talking to you I didn't know anything about how to find valid resources for my report but the way you helped me boosted my confidence and has helped me learn about it very easily."
"As usual, thank you so much for making my life so much easier!"
"You guys really are the rock stars of the academic world."
"I wanted to say thank you again for your help on my last assignment; I scored a full mark on the draft and a huge part of it was the great resources that you helped me with; I really appreciate your efforts.”
"You are a research goddess!"
"The students are certainly fortunate to have someone like you who can guide them."
"You are a dream of a librarian to work with."
"Thank you so much for your help that goes even beyond what I have asked."
"I love Langara Library!!"
Source: Staff Monthly Highlights Reports
With the shift to working from home, the Library adapted its meeting schedule to increase employee engagement and interconnection. All Hands Meetings, typically a semi-annual event, are now held every two month and weekly staff check-ins allow staff members to stay up-to-date regarding their colleagues' ongoing initiatives.
The Library also maintained strong team bonds by hosting fun virtual meet-ups, including a Halloween party (pictured), a winter holiday whiskey hour, and recurring informal coffee breaks.
With Dan Slessor’s term as Reference Coordinator coming to an end in May 2020, Alli Sullivan was elected as the Library’s new Reference Coordinator. Joyce Wong was re-elected as the Coordinator of User Experience, Emma Lawson was re-elected as Coordinator of Collection Development, and Ryan Vernon was re-elected as Coordinator of Technical Services.
Media Librarian Annie Jensen welcomed a baby to her family in 2021 and started her parental leave. Mia Clarkson, the Library’s Media Librarian from 2019 to 2020, has returned to Langara to again cover Annie’s maternity leave position.
Science Librarian Jennifer Weldon has taken on a full-time position with CAPER-BC.
Congratulations to our employees who celebrated Langara service milestones this year: Sandy Ragan (40 years), Joyce Wong (20 years), and Patricia Cia (15 years).
In 2020/21, Patricia Cia served as the President for the Special Libraries Association - Canada. Lindsay Tripp and Alli Sullivan both served on the BC Library Association Board of Directors. Lindsay Tripp also commenced her one-year term as Chair of the BC Open Education Librarians group (BCOEL).
The pandemic shifted many professional development events online, allowing for easier access to learning opportunities for all library staff, who attended more than 60 online conferences or PD sessions throughout the year. In addition to sessions that honed or updated their skills for an online learning environment, library staff's PD attendance was heavily weighted to three categories: Indigenization, interculturalization, and mental health initiatives.
Library staff also organized and/or presented at numerous professional development events, including:
Library staff also work closely with future librarians and library professionals. This past year, librarians taught courses and delivered guest lectures at the UBC iSchool, participated in networking events with library students, and delivered workshops for students in the Langara Library Technician program.
As part of the Library's November 2018 all staff planning meeting, the team identified developing intercultural competencies among library staff as an organizational priority and an Intercultural Working Group was formed. Throughout 2020, the Intercultural Working Group continued their intercultural reading club initiative, during which staff members read and discussed Pulling Together: A Guide for Front-Line Staff, Student Services, and Advisors.