Academic Librarianship: A Crisis or Opportunity?

UPDATE (2 Jan 2012): An article (PDF | HTML) about the conference has been published in Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research.

This post reproduces the notes taken by Harriet Sonne de Torrens, as well as some slides shown, at "Academic Librarianship: A Crisis or Opportunity?" held at University of Toronto on 18 November 2011. If you're wondering why this conference was convened, take a look at "McMastergate in chronological order, or, Do libraries need librarians?" and "UWO Librarian Strike Ends As Both Sides Ratify New Agreement." A pdf file showing most of the tweets (#futurelibs) posted during the event in chronological order may be downloaded here. A few photos are available here, and here.

Below are the notes for the first three sessions, slides, and links to a blog and statements that were posted after the conference. If you can't see the Scribd documents after clicking on "Read More...," click here.

The first session was on "Faculty Associations and National Labour Associations in Defense of Academic Librarianship," with Constance Adamson (OCUFA / Queen's University) and Francesca Holyoke (CAUT Librarians’ Committee / University of New Brunswick) as speakers, and Diane Granfield (Ryerson University) as moderator.

1st Session


The second session was on "Current Trends in Library Education and Curriculum," with Gale Moore (University of Toronto), Seamus Ross (University of Toronto), Siobhan Stevenson (University of Toronto), and Sam Trosow (University of Western Ontario) as speakers, and Harriet Sonne de Torrens (University of Toronto) as moderator.

2nd Session

2nd Gale Moore


The third session was on "The Roles of Professional Associations & Professional Accreditation," with Karen Adams (CLA / University of Manitoba), Robert Johnston (Progressive Librarians Guild London Ontario Chapter / University of Western Ontario), Janice Mutz (OCULA / Lakehead University), and Michael Ridley (University of Guelph) as speakers, and Mary Kandiuk (York University) as moderator.

3rd Session


The fourth session was on "Academic Librarians on the Front Lines," with Kristin Hoffmann (University of Western Ontario), Marc Richard (McGill University), and Nick Ruest (McMaster University) as speakers, and Diane Granfield (Ryerson University) as moderator. Due to the nature of the discussion, no notes were taken, but Marc Richard's statement is here (doc), and Nick Ruest's statement is here.