News

Note the Deadline for Submissions was extended from October 28th, 2024 to November 8th, 2024.

BC ELN is seeking a consultant or consultancy to lead its Removing Barriers Initiative. View the full Request for Proposals.

It’s Pride season, and this year BC ELN staff marked the occasion with a flag raising party! BC ELN’s new internal JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) collective purchased the progress pride and two spirit pride flags to show our office’s support and celebration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. The party kicked off with an online Pride trivia game so that folks working off campus could join in, then we raised the flags in our office, enjoyed some Pride-themed music, and – in true BC ELN fashion – ate some very tasty treats.

This Spring BC ELN and eHLbc welcomed two new student librarians: Sameena Sheriff and Casey Wagner. Both are current MLIS students at the UBC iSchool, and will be providing project and service area support until December 2024.

We are very pleased to share that BC ELN and BC Data Service have teamed up to grant BC ELN partner libraries access to four BC Assessment datasets unavailable on the open web, at no charge. To participate, partner libraries must have a librarian able to mediate access for users and sign a license between BC Data Service and their institution.

Learn about this new partnership and the process for participation on our BC ELN-BC Data Service Partnership webpage.

Reba Ouimet, BC ELN Licensing Coordinator, is grateful for the opportunity to take part in this year's LLEAD Program, made possible by a generous EBSCO Bursary. LLEAD stands out as the only leadership and management development program catering to individuals across academic, public, and enterprise libraries, as well as in information services. The EBSCO Bursary provides financial support for library staff members to engage in LLEAD.

Kyle Beres immediately embraced WriteAway nearly a decade ago when she first learned about the service, reminiscing, "I loved it. I wish it had been available when I was a student!" Fast forward to the present day, and Kyle has taken on the role of WriteAway Writing Services Coordinator, part of the BC ELN team. In this capacity, Kyle will play a pivotal role in the advancement, coordination, and assessment of WriteAway—an asynchronous writing support service spanning 20 institutions throughout British Columbia and extending into the Yukon.

On December 1st, directors and delegates from BC ELN partner libraries convened in Vancouver for the annual BC ELN All Partner Meeting, hosted at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. This full day event brings together leaders from post-secondary libraries and our Ministry representative to delve into topics that affect the BC ELN community.

In a stride towards fostering international collaboration and gaining a broader understanding of library consortia operations, BC ELN Executive Director Sunni Nishimura and Licensing Coordinator Reba Ouimet journeyed to Prague in October. Their destination: the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) European meeting. This annual event serves as a hub for professionals from library consortia worldwide, fostering knowledge exchange, networking, and collaboration.

Thanks to the generous support from the EBSCO Bursary, BC ELN’s Arca manager, Brandon Weigel, is participating in the LLEAD program this year. LLEAD is the only leadership and management development program for employees in all roles within academic, public and enterprise libraries and information services. The EBSCO Bursary supports staff employed in Canada's college, public, and university libraries to participate in LLEAD, and Brandon is honoured to receive support for his professional development.