Tag Archives: Canada

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Learning About Library Associations: The Canadian Association for Information Science

Library science is an enormous field, home to every interest you could imagine! This means that there are many organizations out there for you to join, in order to connect with other people who share your professional interests.

So even if you work alone in your library, there are other people out there doing work similar to yours! Each week we will highlight a different library association for you to learn more about, and depending on your work, potentially join! You can also check out our page dedicated to Library Associations.

Founded in 1970, the goal of the Canadian Association of Information Science (CAIS) is to “promote the advancement of information science in Canada, and encourage and facilitate the exchange of information relating to the use, access, retrieval, organization, management, and dissemination of information.” It’s a bilingual association with the French name L’Association canadienne des sciences de l’information (ACSI).

Some members of CAIS include “information scientists and archivists, librarians, computer scientists, economists, educators,  and others who support its objectives.”

CAIS has an annual conference which will be held May 30th – June 1st 2018 at the University of Regina. Their annual conferences are to provide members a chance to “discuss the access, retrieval, production, value, use, and management of information.” If you are interested in viewing materials from last year’s conference, click here.

CAIS is the publisher of the Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science which is published in print on a quarterly basis and also available online. For more information on submitting to the journal, or to subscribe, see their website page. 

To learn more about the benefits of joining CAIS and to find out how to join, visit their membership page.

Check this out:, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Services, Special

Libraries lending musical instruments

A photo by Roberta Sorge. unsplash.com/photos/PN_c3RKCVlA
Make some music with your library!

The days of libraries only checking out books have long passed. Libraries serve so many vital functions in their communities, and are open to learning from their patrons what types of services and programs would be most valuable. This has led to libraries checking out neck ties to job searchers (check out CMLE’s post on the subject) and now, to the Vancouver Public Library opening their Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library.

This article from Public Libraries Online describes some of the instruments available (they are mainly stringed instruments and hand drums) like acoustic guitars, ukuleles, and bongos. The library hopes to gain more instruments to share with the public during their instrument drive.

The way it works is that a person can borrow one instrument at a time for 21 days, and if no one else has made a request for the instrument, they are able to renew their instrument up to two times. However, that opportunity won’t come for awhile – the article shares how only three days after the Vancouver Public Library launched the Instrument Lending Library, every instrument was checked out, with a wait list of up to 70 patrons for some instruments! Hopefully the instrument drive is successful and the library will be able to acquire more instruments to share with the public.

Looking for more libraries that offer musical instruments? Take a look at the Toronto Public Library, Forbes Library in MA, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Ann Arbor District Library which loans out a variety of music-related tools.