This year, I was the lucky recipient of Andornot's Professional Development Grant. The Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA) conference was being held in St. John's, Newfoundland, which is located in the region where I live. I have never attended their conference before, so I was determined to get there. As a relatively new health sciences librarian, I expected that the experience would instill in me a sense of what's happening in the broader landscape of health sciences libraries beyond my organization and across the country. It did not disappoint.

The opening keynote speech was a fascinating account of Newfoundland history, and how the genetic disorders brought over by the first European settlers still impact the health of the people who live there today. It demonstrated the importance of ongoing medical research and the difference it makes in the lives of so many people. It is so rewarding to know that the work I do supports initiatives like these. I took in many informative sessions on searching and collaborating which were relevant to me. As there were a very limited number of sessions about health sciences library collections and metadata, I see a great opportunity for future conferences to focus on those themes. I am confident that I will apply to present at future conferences on at least one of these topics.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to network with colleagues based in the Maritimes and across Canada, as well as throughout the United States and even Sweden. By chatting with my fellow delegates between sessions and during receptions, I was able to get a much broader view of the current climate of health sciences libraries than I had initially expected. I even reconnected with a friend I met at the Canadian Libraries Association conference in Winnipeg a few years ago when we were both MLIS students. I was not aware that she had also pursued health sciences libraries, so it was quite a surprise to run into her across the country at a completely different conference! 

One of the highlights of my conference experience was meeting Jonathan Jacobsen. For the past 3.5 years, I have been working closely with him to develop, launch, and maintain our library catalogue. After countless e-mail exchanges with him which resulted in the successful completion of a major project, it was particularly satisfying to finally shake his hand and put a face to a name. Similarly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the vendor representatives in attendance were familiar to me. During my short time in the health sciences so far, I have become much more connected within the field than I had realized.

I would like to thank Andornot, for choosing me as the 2018 recipient of their Professional Development Grant. In addition, I extend my thanks to them for their commitment to supporting the professional development of library professionals which is so vital. I would also like to thank Nova Scotia Health Authority for their contribution to my attendance.

Gayle and Jonathan at the CHLA Conference.

We are very pleased to announce a recipient for the Andornot Professional Development Grant for 2018: Gayle Graham of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

Gayle is relatively new to health sciences librarianship, and has never attended a conference specifically about health libraries. She will use the grant to attend the Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA) Conference in St. John’s this June. Gayle notes that “as a new organization, we would really benefit from an update on what's happening in the wider community of health sciences libraries.”

Andornot strongly believes in the value of attending conferences to foster professional development. We attend events across Canada and the United States all year long to learn about new trends and technologies, meet with clients, and share our expertise with like-minded folks.

We inaugurated this grant last year, awarding it to Mark Goodwin of the BC Cancer Agency. We were delighted to be able to offer this grant again this year, and only wish we could send everyone who applied to the conference of their choice. 

We hope that everyone who applied, and all of you, will also be able to attend a conference this year. Check out the list of ones we’ll be at and drop by to say hi if you can.

Andornot is delighted to be once again sponsoring the SLA Western Canada Chapter Year End Event, on November 27, 2017.

This year's guest speaker is is CBC Vancouver’s on-air meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe. As a prominent woman in STEM and a podcaster for CBC's Fault Lines and 2050: Degrees of Change, Johanna will be addressing her experiences communicating specialized information and research to non-specialist audiences.

Catered snacks and a beer or wine is included with your ticket and will be available from 6:15pm. A cash bar will also be available.

When: Monday, November 27th, 2017. Doors at 6:15pm, keynote address at 7:15pm.

Where: The Post @ 750, an event space located at 110-750 Hamilton Street in downtown Vancouver (on Hamilton, between Robson and Georgia).

Tickets: Purchase your tickets online today and your name will be added to the guest list at the door. Students and SLA members receive a discount but all information professionals and interested students are welcome to attend. Should you wish to sponsor a ticket for a student, you may purchase that option at the link above and event organizers will contact you with further details.

We look forward to seeing you there!

I had the privilege of being selected as the recipient of Andornot's 2017 Professional Development Grant in order to fund my attendance at the Canadian Health Library Association (CHLA) conference in Edmonton, Alberta. Having recently started a position as a Reference Librarian at the BC Cancer Agency, the conference offered an opportunity to grow as a new health information professional - and mine exhibitors for free swag (thanks Andornot!).

As a first time attendee, I made it a priority to take advantage of every networking opportunity available. I acted as a CHLA Social Media Ambassador and attended social events like the First Timer's Reception. All of this provided excellent avenues for forging connections with colleagues in BC and across Canada. Free cocktails are always a plus, too.

One of my conference highlights was University of Alberta Professor Tim Caulfield's keynote on celebrity culture and its (spoiler: mostly negative) influence on public health, which left me feeling inspired to be more involved socially as a champion for evidence-based information. The discussion continued during an interactive session around the prevalence of fake news and pseudoscience. One of my main takeaways from all this? The power of personal stories. Health professionals often combat bad information with a 'just the facts' approach. A more effective technique is to focus on personal narratives, and then use facts and evidence to reinforce the message.

I also discovered a number of health information resources that will be extremely useful to my work in a practical sense. Sessions and courses covered everything from research data management tools to health app reviews. You know you're in the right continuing education course when your instructor has the Twitter handle @Grampa_Data!

I love being a health librarian because it allows me to help others - and my experience at this conference will help me succeed in doing that. Mission accomplished in the swag department as well - I have enough tote bags and water bottles to last me at least a year.

My deepest thanks go out to Andornot. I wouldn't have been able to attend this event without their generous support!

Twitter: @MarkJWGoodwin

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markjwgoodwin

Our Awards Banquet table featured librarians from coast to coast. Photo by @katmil2020

BC Health Librarians busy 'networking.' Photo by @Librownian

Me with Tim Caulfield, author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash