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

We are very pleased to announce a recipient for the Andornot Professional Development Grant for 2017: Mark Goodwin of the BC Cancer Agency. 

Mark is a recent graduate of the iSchool at the University of British Columbia and a new professional in the health information field. Mark knows how important attending conferences is to making connections in our field, and will use the grant to attend the Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA) Conference in Edmonton this May. 

Mark notes that "the conference includes a continuing education workshop on health research data management, which directly relates to a project our library team will be initiating with BC cancer researchers. At the conference, I plan on taking advantage of the association's mentorship opportunities for new professionals and first-time conference attendees."

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 were delighted to be able to offer this grant for the first time this year, and only wish we could send everyone who applied to the conference of their choice. We plan to offer the grant again next year, so watch our Twitter feed, emailed newsletters and blog for details towards the end of the year.

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 here and drop by to say hi if you can.

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 are delighted to be introducing a new, annual grant to help you attend a conference or event that Andornot also exhibits at or attends, as part of your ongoing professional development activities.

One grant of up to $1,000 is available next year, with an application deadline of January 31st, 2017. The funds can be used for registration or travel related expenses. We hope that this grant will provide an opportunity for someone without access to funds from their organization to network and enrich their knowledge.

Read more and apply online here.

Be sure to check out our list of all the conferences and events we’re planning to attend in 2017 as well as our new list of other grants and funding options that could help you with project to improve your collections.

Library and Archives Canada has announced the launch of the 2017–2018 funding cycle for the third year of the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP).

The deadline for applications is January 27th, 2017.  Check out the lists of previous recipientsfor a guide to the type of projects that qualified.  Andornot clients were successful in getting funded in both previous rounds.

This program is a great opportunity for archives, museums, historical societies and other cultural institutions to digitize their collections, develop search engines and virtual exhibits, and other activities that preserve and promote their valuable resources.

The objectives of the program are to:

• Increase access to, and awareness of Canada's local documentary institutions and their holdings; and
• Increase the capacity of local documentary heritage institutions to better sustain and preserve Canada's documentary heritage.

The program is aimed at non-governmental organizations specifically, including:

• Archives;
• Privately funded libraries;
• Historical societies;             
• Genealogical organizations/societies; 
• Professional Associations; and
• Museums with an archival component.

As before,businesses, government and government institution (including municipal governments and Crown Corporations), museums without archives, and universities and colleges are not eligible.

Types of projects which would be considered for funding include:

• Conversion and digitization for access purposes;
• Conservation and preservation treatment;
• The development (research, design and production) of virtual and physical exhibitions, including travelling exhibits;
• Conversion and digitization for preservation purposes;
• Increased digital preservation capacity (excluding digital infrastructure related to day-to-day activities);
• Training and workshops that improve competencies and build capacity; and
• Development of standards, performance and other measurement activities.
• Collection, cataloguing and access based management; and
• Commemorative projects.

Two categories of funding available:

• small projects under $15,000; and
• large projects up to $100,000.

Further program details, requirements  and application procedures are available at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/documentary-heritage-communities-program/Pages/dhcp-portal.aspx

How can Andornot help?

Andornot has worked with many clients on the types of projects which would qualify for this grant. Some examples are detailed in these blog posts:

• Société historique de Saint-Boniface Upgrades Archives Search Interface
• Bulkley Valley Museum Collection Now Online
• Ottawa Jewish Archives Collections Now Searchable Through CJHN.ca
• Collections of the United Farmers Historical Society now online
• New website for the Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre
• College of Registered Nurses of BC Offers Digitized Archives
• Canadian Jewish Heritage Network Launches Enhanced Search and Mobile Interface
• St. Andrew's College Photographs, Yearbooks and Alumni Magazines Online

We have extensive experience with digitizing documents, books and audio and video materials, and developing systems to manage those collections and make them searchable or presented in virtual exhibits.

Contact us to discuss collections you have and ideas for proposals. We'll do our best to help you obtain funding from the DHCP program!