SLA Centennial 100th Anniversary: Celebrating the Western Canadian Chapter

Although the SLA’s Western Canada Chapter had formed in 1985, plans for the chapter’s had long been brewing in the background, and as Diana Broome, the 2nd president of the Western Chapter of SLA recalls in her article, “A new chapter is born: The founders of SLA’s Western Canada Chapter” the seeds for SLA WCC were sown in 1981 at a restaurant in Calgary where a group of corporate information professionals had already regularly met for lunch.

Innovators and Beginnings of SLA-WCC

This network of ambitious information professionals, including Diana Broome, Alberta Energy Company (now EnCana); Bev Bendell, Montreal Engineering (Moneco); Rodney Muir, Home Oil; Carl Harvey, Dome Petroleum; and Liz Johnson, Energy Resources Conversation Board — all recognized leaders in Calgary special libraries community had often congregated over lunches discussing issues of the day. It was during these conversations that the group realized there was no professional association representing their interests. With the petroleum industry in decline during that period, information professionals in Alberta very concerned about threatened layoffs and library closures.

At the same time, although there were two Canadian SLA chapters in Toronto and Eastern Canada, there was no representation for Western Canada. Not surprisingly, there were no local SLA programs in any of the Western Canadian cities.

During that time, BC information professionals had a stronger relationship with the U.S. Pacific Northwest Chapter of SLA – not only because of the forestry industry, but because SLA had chapters in Washington and Oregon states, a closer proximity than the Eastern-based SLA chapters. For this reason, most information professionals in BC had belonged to the PNW Chapter prior to the formation of the Western Chapter.

These early Calgary information professionals believed that western Canada sorely lacked representation in SLA. As Diana Broome recalls,

The annual SLA salary survey covered eastern Canadian information professionals but did not accurately reflect the salaries of their western Canadian counterparts. There was also no local programming at an appropriate professional level, with the exception of the annual PNW meeting in Vancouver.” (Broome, 2008).

With the formation of SLA-WCC, the group decided that the geographical focus would include British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the territories in its petition.

Tensions

The PNW Chapter strenuously objected to BC being included in the provisional chapter’s boundaries. It had advised the PNW chapter executive of this proposed change in 1982, but the information was not passed on to the next executive. The PNW chapter executive realized its membership base would be reduced if BC members belonged to the Western Canada Chapter rather than PNW. This would mean less funding from SLA as the annual chapter financial allotment, which is based upon the number of SLA members within a chapter's boundaries.

However, June 7, 1985 was a proud day. As provisional chapter president, Broome attended the SLA Board of Directors meeting in Winnipeg. The annual conference was in Canada, which was very fitting. The board voted in favour of granting the provisional chapter full chapter status. On that historic day, the Western Canada Chapter was officially born.

As part of this celebration of SLA 100, we interviewed a selection of SLA WCC members over three different decades-- those who first joined SLA WCC to those who joined more recently joined -- to learn about their highlights and memories of being in the WCC's membership.

Diana Broome - member since the beginning - Information Services Coordinator, BC Teachers’ Federation

*Since you joined SLA, what has been your most memorable experience?

June 7, 1985 was a proud, historic day! As provisional chapter president, I attended the SLA Board of Directors meeting in Winnipeg. The annual conference was in Canada which was very fitting. The board voted in favour of granting the Western Canada provisional chapter full chapter status. On this day, the Western Canada Chapter was officially born.

*What has been your favourite SLA conference and why?

Winnipeg in 1985 for obvious reasons (see above). The conferences I did attend over the years always offered excellent workshops, many opportunities for networking, especially at events planned by SLA divisions, and of course, the traditional Canadian chapter reception. One memorable conference was in Atlanta but not for the usual reasons. The conference hotel was evacuated due to a chlorine leak. At the time of the evacuation, we were taking a lunch break and playing tennis at a nearby facility. The temperature was 95 degrees and the humidity in the high 90s. Heat exhaustion or chlorine gas exposure...both highly undesirable! When returning to the hotel there was a flash rainstorm; we then understood why the gutters in Atlanta are much higher than those in Vancouver!

*What has been your perception of SLA and has it changed over the years?
If so, how?

SLA has changed considerably. The rebranding initiative a number of years ago to reaffirm the name of the organization and its image has moved the organization along a more innovative and visionary path. In the mid 1990s, members were very concerned about the staid “library” image of SLA, especially when information professionals were in non-traditional positions. Also, new professional development programs, like Click U, and the Innovation Lab, are better meeting the needs of a diverse membership.

*Is there any advice you would provide for new SLA members?
Get involved in your association, especially at your chapter level. It is a very rewarding experience as you are part of an invaluable professional network and community. The Western Canada Chapter has always been a leader, for example, the first chapter to publish its newsletter online.

Jane Cooney--member since 1970 - Books for Business

*Since you joined SLA, what has been your most memorable experience?

I guess my most memorable experience related to SLA was being recruited to a wonderful job in Chicago thanks to the contacts I had made through the Business and Finance Division and their recommendations to an employer who was looking for someone with my skills.

*What has been your favourite SLA conference and why?

The conference held in Honolulu in conjunction with the Japan SLA was my favourite. It was truly an international event where I happened to haveI organized and moderated one of the most successful and highly attended programs at the conference --simultaneous translation was a first for SLA. We met a lot of interesting people and had a lot of fun at the same time. This was way back in the late 70's.

*Is there any advice you would provide for new SLA members?

Membership in the association can lead to great things if you are open and active and make a contribution yourself.

Christina Andrews - member since 1990 - Alberta Government Library

*Since you joined SLA, what has been your most memorable experience?

My most memorable experiences have been the SLA conferences that I attended in Montreal and Seattle. The breadth and depth of the presentations and the engagement with other Special Librarians with both unique and common issues was enlightening and useful.

*What has been your favourite SLA conference and why?

Montreal was my first conference and like most firsts was a bit overwhelming; the second one I attended was in Seattle and since there were other local colleagues, we were able to share what sessions each of us attended as well as socialize in the off hours. This was a great learning experience as we 'doubled' up on what we learned. It was as if we had attended all the sessions, even when we hadn't.

*Advice to new SLA members: attend as many conferences as possible.

Use the lists and blogs of your special interest group to advantage; and serve SLA on the executive as you will make long term friends and it will benefit from your unique gifts.

Aaron Curtis--member since 2000 - Golder Associated Ltd

*Since you joined SLA, what has been your most memorable experience?

Going to SLA 2006 (Baltimore, MD). Never been to the "real" East Coast other than NYC before. For me personally, I'll never forget this experience.

*What has been your favourite SLA conference and why?

SLA 2008 (Seattle, WA). Everything from the hotel, city, exhibits, local scene, vendors, to my colleagues attending made it the best conference for me to date.

*Is there any advice you would provide for new SLA members?

Connect as much as possible through the various blogs and wiki's on division home pages. Do your best to go to the annual conferences, these are the best connection to the special library world you'll find, and in my opinion some of the best education you'll get in our industry. Also, look for a mentor! They'll do you a world of good.

100 Years of SLA Conferences

With the advent of easily accessible social media technologies, for those interested in learning more about SLA's conference locations over the years, SLA recently created an interactive Google map that maps the many cities that SLA has visited since 1909! As all markers indicate the cities that SLA conferences were held in, the blue markers indicate the annual conferences while the green markers indicate Leadership Summits or Winter Meetings. It's simply another way for SLA to bridge the past and the present using the power of open source technology.

References

Broome, Diana. “A new chapter is born: The founders of SLA’s Western Canada Chapter.” November 30, 2008.

Jennifer Kniesch is librarian for Dickinson College's Art & Art History Department.

Allan Cho is program services librarian at Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC Library.

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