Ontario Library Association

For other uses, see Ola (disambiguation).
Ontario Library Association
Established1900; 124 years ago (1900)
TypeLibrary association
Location
President
Andrea Cecchett
Vice President
Sabrina Saunders
Websiteaccessola.com

The Ontario Library Association (OLA) was established in 1900 and is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada.[1] With over 4,000 members, OLA is also the largest library association in Canada[2] and among the 10 largest library associations in North America.[1]

The stated purpose of the OLA is to "give profile to the librarians, library workers and trustees in the school, college, university, public and special libraries of Ontario and to foster provincial programs that will improve library services in the institutions and communities our members serve and that will ensure equitable access to information for all citizens of the province."[1]

History

Founded in 1900, the OLA was formed after a meeting of the American Library Association held that same year in Montreal, where it was decided that a Canadian association was not currently practical.[3] Between 2006 and 2013, the OLA's office was at 50 Wellington Street, Toronto, Ontario.[4] In 2013, the OLA moved to 2 Toronto Street,[4] then to Danforth Avenue in 2021,[5] and to 192 Spadina Avenue in 2023.[6]

Structure and leadership

The OLA has seven divisions:[7]

  • Association des bibliothèques de l’Ontario-Franco (ABO-Franco)
  • Ontario College and University Library Association (OCULA)
  • Ontario Health Library and Information Association (OHLIA)
  • Ontario Library Boards’ Association (OLBA)
  • Ontario Library and Information Technology Association (OLITA)
  • Ontario Public Library Association (OPLA)
  • Ontario School Library Association (OSLA)

Each division is headed by a president and elected council, and past division presidents serve on the OLA board of directors. The board of directors also includes the Executive Director and the executive committee, composed of the president, vice -president, past president, and treasurer.[2]

Affiliates

The OLA is affiliated with:

Events and programs

The OLA runs several programs, services, and events. Three of its most prominent are the Forest of Reading program, the Library Marketplace, and the OLA Super Conference.

Forest of Reading

OLA's Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, which has grown to ten reading programs since the early 1990s.[11][12] More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public libraries.[12] The Forest award winners are chosen by votes cast by readers in the target age ranges for each of the specific book categories. Award winners are announced annually at the Forest of Reading Festival in Toronto.[13]

The stated goals of the Forest of Reading are:

  • fostering a love of reading
  • encouraging academic and social success in children through reading
  • emphasizing the importance of libraries
  • supporting Canadian books, publishers, authors, and illustrators.[12]

The ten awards offered under the Forest of Reading umbrella are:

  • Blue Spruce Award - ages 4–7 (junior kindergarten–grade 2), English, picture books
  • Silver Birch Express Award - ages 8–10 (grades 3–4), English, fiction/non-fiction
  • Silver Birch Fiction Award - ages 8–12 (grades 3–6 ), English, fiction
  • Yellow Cedar Award - ages 9–14 (grades 4–8), English, non-fiction
  • Red Maple Award - ages 12–14 (grades 7–8), English, fiction
  • White Pine Award - high school (grades 9–12), English, fiction
  • Le prix Peuplier - ages vary, French, picture books
  • Le prix Mélèze (formerly Le prix Tamarac Express) - ages vary, short chapter books or advanced picture books, French, fiction/nonfiction
  • Le prix Tamarac - ages vary, chapter books, French, fiction/nonfiction
  • Evergreen Award - adult, fiction/non-fiction[12][11]

Library Marketplace/OLA Press

The Library Marketplace is the official store of the OLA[14] and supports the OLA's position as the Canadian agent for twelve major professional library publishers and the International Literacy Association.[1] The OLA also operates the OLA Press, which publishes books, reports, and governance information for the OLA.[15]

OLA Super Conference

Begun in 1902 as the OLA's annual conference,[16] the event was rebranded in 1995 as the Super Conference.[17][4] Super Conference is the largest continuing education event in librarianship. The Super Conference also includes within it Canada's largest library trade show.[18] The event is held annually in Toronto, Ontario.

OLA Presidents

Past and Present OLA Presidents By Year[19]
Year(s) of Service Name Affiliation
2023 Melanie Mills University of Western Ontario
2022 Sabrina Saunders Blue Mountains Public Library
2020-2021 Andrea Cecchetto Markham Public Library
2019 Richard Reid Durham District School Board
2018 Kerry Badgley North Grenville Public Library Board
2017 Leslie Weir University of Ottawa
2016 Todd Kyle Newmarket Public Library
2015 Jane Hilton Whitby Public Library Board
2014 Anita Brooks Kirkland Waterloo Region District School Board
2013 Susanna Hubbard Krimmer London Public Library
2012 Karen McGrath Niagara College
2011 Tanis Fink Seneca College
2010 Mary Ann Mavrinac University of Toronto
2009 Peggy Thomas Toronto District School Board
2008 Sam Coghlan Stratford Public Library
2007 Esther Rosenfeld
2006 Janet Kaufman University of Guelph
2005 Cynthia Archer York University Library
2004 Ken Roberts Hamilton Public Library
2003 Liz Kerr Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
2002 Stephen Abram IHS MicroMedia
2001 Michael Ridley University of Guelph
2000 Elizabeth Hoffman Ryerson Polytechnic University
1999 June-Elaine Wilson Ministry of Transportation Library
1998 Brian Bell Oakville Public Library
1997 Greg Hayton Cambridge Public Library
1996 John Black University of Guelph
1995 Jane Horrocks Richmond Hill Public Library
1993-1994 Janice Hayes CNIB Library for the Blind
1992-1993 Allison Craig West Carleton Secondary School
1991-1992 Paula de Ronde Toronto Public Library
1990-1991 Stan Skrzeszewski Southern Ontario Library Service
1989-1990 Wil Vanderelst Government of Ontario Cabinet Office, Toronto Public Library, Canadian National Institute for the Blind Library Board
1988-1989 Peter Rogers Cardinal Newman High School
1987-1988 Gerry Meek Thunder Bay Public Library
1986-1987 Gerda Molson Niagara-on-the-Lake Library
1985-1986 Penny McKee Aurora Public Library
1984-1985 Alan Pepper
1983-1984 Elizabeth Cummings Lincoln Public Library
1982-1983 Beth Miller University of Western Ontario
1981-1982 Barbara Smith Peel Board of Education
1980-1981 Jean Orpwood North York Public Library
1979-1980 Kenneth Frost North York Public Library
1978-1979 Madge Allwood South Central Regional Library
1977-1978 Karen Smith Sir Adam Beck Secondary School
1976-1977 Andrew Gregorovich Erindale College Library
1975-1976 Lawrence A. Moore Queen’s University
1974-1975 Peter K. Mutchler Thunder Bay Public Library
1973-1974 James J. Brown Waterloo Public Library
1972-1973 Peter Hallsworth Sudbury Public Library
1971 Fred Israel Windsor Public Library
1970-1971 Irma McDonough Toronto Government Library
1969-1970 John Dutton North York Public Library
1968-19689 Erich R.W. Schultz Waterloo University Library
1967-1968 Margaret Whiteman Etobicoke Public Library
1966-1967 Albert W. Bowron Scarborough Public Library
1965-1966 Leonard Freiser Toronto School Library
1964-1965 Grace Crooks Orillia Public Library
1963-1964 Hilda M. Brooke Essex Public Library
1962-1963 Erik Spicer Federal Government Library
1961-1962 Louise Schryver Chatham Public Library
1960-1961 Betty D. Hardie Etobicoke Public Library
1959-1960 C. Deane Kent London Public Library
1958-1959 John D. Snell Guelph Public Library
1957-1958 C.P. Crowley Windsor Public Library
1956-1957 Mary Silverthorn University of Toronto Library School
1955-1956 William L. Graff North York Public Library
1954-1955 Dorothy Shoemaker Kitchener Public Library
1953-1954 Isabel McLean Sudbury Public Library
1952-1953 Robert Kennedy
1951-1952 Gladys Shepley Windsor Public Library
1949-1951 Lachlan Farquhar MacRae Fort William Public Library
1948-1949 Mildred A. Clow Kingston Public Library
1947-1948 Ruby Wallace Niagara Falls Public Library
1946-1947 Margaret S. Gill Ottawa Regional Library
1945-1946 James J. Talman London University Library
1943-1945 Florence L. Cameron St. Thomas Public Library
1942-1943 Wm. Stewart Wallace University of Toronto Library
1941-1942 Freda F. Waldon Hamilton Public Library
1940-1941 Anne I. Hume Windsor Public Library
1938-1940 Kathleen Elliott Galt Public Library
1937-1938 Edgar Urwin Dickenson Wallaceburg Trustee
1936-1937 Dorothy Carlisle Sarnia Public Library
1935-1936 Marjorie Jarvis Toronto Public Library
1933-1935 Lurene McDonald Hamilton Public Library
1932-1933 T. Bart Howard Lambton County Trustee
1931-1932 Richard E. Crough London Public Library
1930-1931 Aimee Kennedy Kingston Public Library
1929 James Steele Stratford Trustee
1928-1929 Lillian H. Smith Toronto Public Library
1926-1928 Fred Landon London University Library
1925-1926 E.A. Hardy Toronto Trustee
1924-1925 G.W. Rudlen Arnprior Public Library
1923-1924 W. Briden St. Thomas Public Library
1922-1923 W.H. Murch St. Thomas Public Library
1921-1922 W.J. Sykes Ottawa Public Library
1920-1921 B. Mabel Dunham Kitchener Public Library
1919-1920 D.M. Grant Sarnia Public Library
1918-1919 F.P. Gavin Windsor Public Library
1917-1918 Mary J. L. Black[20] Fort William Public Library
1916-1917 George H. Locke Toronto Public Library
1915-1916 David Williams Collingwood Public Library
1914-1915 W.O. Carson London Public Library
1913-1914 W.F. Moore Dundas Public Library
1912-1913 C.R. Charteris Chatham Public Library
1911-1912 L.J. Burpee Ottawa Public Library
1910-1911 A.W. Cameron Woodstock Public Library
1909-1910 Judge Hardy Brantford Public Library
1908-1909 W.A. Bradley Kitchener Public Library
1906-1908 Norman S. Gurd Sarnia Public Library
1905-1906 W.J. Robertson St. Catharines Public Library
1904-1905 W. Tyler Guelph Public Library
1902-1904 Hugh H. Langton[21] University of Toronto
1900-1902 James Bain[4] Toronto Public Library

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Ontario Library Association". The BPC. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  2. ^ a b "About OLA". Ontario Library Association. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  3. ^ "Ontario Library Association". Archives of Ontario. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  4. ^ a b c d "Our History" (PDF). OLA. 2020.
  5. ^ "Farewell 3rd Floor, 2... - Ontario Library Association". Facebook. 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  6. ^ "Home". Ontario Library Association. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  7. ^ "Divisions". Ontario Library Association. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  8. ^ "Members". Canadian Federation of Library Associations. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  9. ^ "Ex Libris Association Membership". EX LIBRIS ASSOCIATION. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  10. ^ a b c "Affiliates". Ontario Library Association. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  11. ^ a b "Nominated Lists". Forest of Reading. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  12. ^ a b c d "About the Forest". Forest of Reading. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  13. ^ "About the Festival". Forest of Reading. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  14. ^ "The Library Marketplace". The Library Marketplace. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  15. ^ "About OLA Press". The Library Marketplace. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  16. ^ "We've got a job to do! 90th annual conference program 1992". OLA Archives. 1992-11-19. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  17. ^ "OLA Super Conference 1995: Navigating the Third Millennium: The Future of Librarianship". OLA Archives. 1995-01-13. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  18. ^ "About". OLA Super Conference. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  19. ^ "OLA Presidents". Ontario Library Association. 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  20. ^ "Mary Johanna Louisa Black". Ex Libris Association. 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  21. ^ "Libraries Today: Ontario's Libraries in the Twentieth Century". www.uoguelph.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2017-01-31.