Deadline Extended for New Name Suggestions

Thank you for all the new name suggestions submitted so far for Librarians Without Borders. The deadline for new name submissions has been extended to Wednesday, March 19th. Please send your suggestions to info@lwb-online.org.

New Name Suggestions for Librarians Without Borders

Last summer we were asked to discontinue using our "Librarians Without Borders" name by Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders. Since that time, the Board has been working hard to gather information and to seek out the help we needed to evaluate our options.

At our Annual General Meeting last November our members passed a resolution to change the organization's name. Early in the new year as the Board began identifying the steps associated with the process, we received some new information. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International approved in principle the creation of co-existence agreements and is drafting an agreement for use with a number of "without borders" groups.

While the Board takes the name change resolution passed by our members seriously, this new piece of information needed to be taken under serious consideration as well. The Board believes that the best way forward is to continue with the name change process as we explore the option for an advantageous co-existence agreement. This dual approach gives us the greatest flexibility to select the most appropriate course when we have all the information in hand.

Once we have the top suggestions for new names, we will need to incur costs for name and trademark searches. By considering possible new names at the same time we are investigating the co-existence option, we will be making the best use of time and conserving our financial resources.

So, the first step in changing our name is to solicit ideas from you. Keeping in mind LWB's mission and values, please send your suggestions to the board via e-mail (board@lwb-online.org) by February 21st. All submissions will be reviewed and considered. For further information, keep an eye out for the upcoming Compass newsletter.

We want to hear from you! But don't forget, the deadline to submit is February 21st, 2008.

Annual General Meeting 2007

Thank you to those who were able to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and to those who were able to vote by proxy. The AGM was very successful and productive.

The most exciting news is that at the AGM our members supported a name change for the organization - the discussion is outlined in the AGM minutes. To move forward with this mandate, our Executive Officers and Board of Directors are currently researching the process that this will entail. Once we have additional information we will communicate the process of changing the organization's name to our members. We will send this information out in the New Year. In January, we will also ask members to submit suggestions for the organization's new name.

Please feel free to contact membership@lwb-online.org or info@lwb-online.org with any questions or concerns.

Annual General Meeting at the Toronto Reference Library

It's that time of year again. Our Annual General Meeting will be taking place Saturday, November 17th at the Toronto Reference Library, Toronto, Ontario from 1:30p.m. to 4:30p.m. We look forward to seeing you. For more information please contact membership@lwb-online.org.

Call for Treasurer Candidates and Re-Election of Executive Officers

At the upcoming Annual General Meeting on November 17th, we will be re-electing the executive officers of LWB - Co-Executive Directors, Treasurer, Secretary and Membership Coordinator. We are grateful that most of our current executive officers have put their name forth as candidates to continue for another term. However, there are currently no candidates for the position of Treasurer.

Call for Treasurer Candidates

If any member of Librarians Without Borders would like to stand as a candidate for any of the executive positions: Co-executive Director, Membership Coordinator, Secretary and especially Treasurer, please email membership@lwb-online.com for more information.

For more information on the Treasurer position please see the Treasurer Job Description.

All candidates interested must be an LWB member and submit a statement of interest by October 26.

New Volunteer Opportunities - LWB Recruiting Legal Advisor and Auditor

Come and join the LWB Team for a rewarding experience! We are currently recruiting for voluntary legal advisor and auditor positions. To learn more about the positions and what would be required including time commitments, see the Auditor and Legal Advisor Descriptions. Inquiries regarding these positions can be directed to our Board of Directors at board@lwb-online.org.

CASLIS Ottawa Hosts a Talk on Libraries in Africa and South America

The Canadian Association of Special Libraries and Information Services (CASLIS) Ottawa Chapter hosted an evening about libraries and library services in Africa and South America on April 26, 2007.

The evening began with the documentary "Remote Access: Distant Libraries of the World", a story about libraries in parts of Kenya and Peru. This was followed by a presentation by Rebecca Jansen, co-executive director of Librarians Without Borders.

LWB Introduces Two Student Pilot Committees

Librarians Without Borders is proud to present two student committees: one at UWO and one at McGill. The foundation of the student committees will be to provide outreach, education and fundraising in support of the vision, mission and values of LWB. Our two pilot committees are currently playing an integral role in the development of a sustainable committee structure for LWB.

Canadian Library Association (CLA) Conference 2006

Librarians Without Borders was very busy at the CLA Conference in Ottawa this past June. We had the wonderful opportunity to meet with some of our existing members and supporters, and to connect with new people from all across Canada as well. We were truly overwhelmed by everyone’s enthusiasm for the organization and what we are trying to do.

To see highlights of the conference, visit our conferences page.

LWB Speaks at Ottawa Public Library

On March 16, 2006, a talk hosted by CASLIS, a division of the Canadian Library Association, gave LWB the opportunity to speak about our mission and endeavours. Much enthusiasm was shared as well as a lot of support and helpful comments were received from audience members. LWB thanks all of those who came to the talk and gave such a positive response. A special thank you is extended  to Cabot Yu of Citizenship and Immigration Canada for arranging this event. To read more about this talk, please visit the CASLIS blog.

LWB Visit to Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) at the University of Toronto

At the invitation of FIS, LWB gave a talk to faculty, library staff, and students on February 15, 2006. We spoke to 30-40 people about our challenges and successes and discussed how we are executing our first library development project in Angola. We also introduced our upcoming "Sponsor-A-Book" campaign, about which we're very excited to have the participation of our remote members and supporters. Attendees gave wonderful feedback and suggestions to LWB and we're looking forward to working with them more closely in the future.

Making Connections with Development Workshop 

In January 2006, LWB’s executive committee was very fortunate to meet with Maribel Gonzales of Development Workshop (DW) in Guelph, Ontario.  Maribel is a Canadian representative of DW, a highly respected and long-established NGO in Angola.  This visit strengthened our understanding of the various needs of Angolan residents and increased our knowledge of how LWB can work with the Angolan community. 

A Book for Every Child®

LWB joined forces with the Western student chapter of the Special Library Association in supporting London Public Library’s annual A Book for Every Child® initiative. 

A Book for Every Child® gathers donations of books for children and youth during the months of November and December; these books are then distributed through local service organizations. Last year over 6000 books were collected through the library and other businesses providing book-drops.

This year we joined the effort by providing additional book drops in 9 different library and resource centres across campus. Through the generosity of students and staff we were able to collect over 170 books. We look forward to continuing to participate in this in the years ahead.

Librarians Without Borders Launch!

On September 23, 2005 , we held a launch party to kick-off our project in Angola. The launch was held at the London Public Library, in London, ON. It was a great success and we thank all guests and donors!

Newsletter and Press Releases

For more information on what’s been happening, you can read our Newsletter, The Compass. And to hear what is being said about us in the media, visit Press