2016 Canadian Library Association Forum

November 13, 2015

Dear colleagues,

Over the past couple of months Executive Council (EC) has been discussing the future of a national conference and in particular, how to approach the upcoming conference scheduled to take place June 1 – 3 in Ottawa. In recent weeks, EC has made some decisions regarding the 2016 conference structure that we would like to share with you. These decisions were made taking into account many factors including both formal and informal feedback from delegates and the community at large, opportunities provided through a national gathering, and finances.

The CLA 2016 will be a national policy summit and convention as opposed to a general conference and it will be called the 2016 Canadian Library Association Forum.

To give you a sense of the significant structural changes, additional decisions regarding CLA 2016 include:

1. There will be two days of content over three days (Wed afternoon, Thurs, and Friday morning) and within that there will be 3 – 4 streams of sessions per day each lasting approximately half a day. Sessions will focus on creating and encouraging dialogue around the issue or topic area.
2. Content for CLA 2016 will focus on policy, will be curated and there will be no open call for content. Content, policy, and topic areas have been identified and will be curated by Executive Council who may choose to seek proposals for certain sessions or delegate the task of curation to a member external to Executive Council. Where there is subject alignment, Networks and Committees may be asked to assist with the development of CLA Forum sessions.
3. The opening will feature a keynote speaker and the closing session will bring delegates together to share highlights and/or actions resulting from the dialogue in each topic area. Consideration may also be given to having a closing keynote speaker in addition to this sharing of the results of the dialogue.
4. Consideration is being given to live streaming the opening general session dependent on cost.
5. Networks and Committees will be invited to hold business meetings on Wednesday June 1 in the morning. Networks looking to offer professional development will be redirected to The Partnership and the Education Institute for discussion and potential development of programming through the Institute thereby providing the Network or Committee with the support needed to offer the education that they wish to offer.
6. There will be one all delegate social on Wednesday, the opening night, providing the opportunity on Thursday evening for delegates and corporate partners to meet with friends and colleagues further enhancing their opportunity to network and share in ways that best meet their needs. This event will also present an opportunity for CLA to publically recognize the many volunteers who contributed to CLA’s work over the years.
7. The CLA Awards and Book Awards will be presented throughout the CLA Forum.
8. The trade show will be reduced in size and will consist of table top displays only. New ways for involvement by CLA’s corporate partners will be developed in consultation with them.
9. CLA will create/provide ways in which its corporate partners can be involved in the program and discussions as well as creative ways for networking for both delegates and corporate partners.
10. The Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday June 2, 2016 from 3 – 5 pm.

The forum streams agreed to along with one keynote topic (these may change or evolve as we advance the process of curating speakers) are:

• LAC/National Digitization Strategy
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission Recommendations
• Copyright/Intellectual Property
• Digital Marketplace
• Intellectual Freedom in the 21st Century
• Competitive Landscapes – Value of Libraries/ROI/why libraries/why librarians? – unique value proposition
• Convergence in the heritage sector (“LAM” – could run more than once)
• National Digital Strategy (as a nation how approach)
• Unconference: Emerging Policy Issues
• National Metrics Program
• Libraries and Citizenship – Keynote -however the name needs to be changed

Executive Council is excited about the opportunity that this new format and approach provides and looks forward to seeing you in Ottawa in June. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact CLA’s Executive Director, Valoree McKay at vmckay@cla.ca.

Sincerely,

Valoree McKay, CAE
Executive Director

Christina Hwang
Chair, 2016 CLA Forum