The Ontario Library Association (OLA) was established in 1900 and is the oldest continually operating

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

association in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. With 5,000 members, OLA is also the largest library association in Canada and among the 10 largest library associations in North America. The stated purpose of the OLA is to "give profile to the librarians, library workers and trustees in the

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

and

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

libraries of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and to foster provincial programs that will improve library services in the institutions and communities our members serve and that will ensure equitable access to information for all citizens of the province."

History

Founded in 1900, the OLA was formed after a meeting of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

held that same year in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, at which meeting it was decided that a Canadian association was not currently practical. Between 2006 and 2013, the OLA's office was at 50 Wellington Street, Toronto, Ontario. In 2013, the OLA moved to their current address at 2 Toronto Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario.

Structure and leadership

The OLA currently has seven divisions: * L’Association des bibliothèques de l’Ontario-Franco (ABO-Franco) *Ontario College and University Library Association (OCULA) *Ontario Health Library and Information Association (OHLIA) *Ontario Library Boards’ Association (OLBA) *Ontario Library and Information Technology Association (OLITA) * Ontario Public Library Association (OPLA) * Ontario School Library Association (OSLA) Each division is headed by a President and Vice-President, who also serve on the OLA Board of Directors. The Board of Directors also includes the Executive Director and the Executive committee, composed of the OLA President, OLA Vice President, OLA Past President, and OLA Treasurer.

Affiliates

The OLA is affiliated with: * Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB) * Ex Libris Association (Canadian national association interested in historical and current issues about libraries, archives, publishing houses, and related institutions and people) *

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

Stakeholder Group * Ontario Health Libraries Association (OHLA) * The Partnership (Canada’s national network of provincial and territorial library associations).

Events and programs

The OLA runs several programs, services, and events. Three of its most prominent are the

Forest of Reading The Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, featuring ten award programs and run by the Ontario Library Association (OLA). Programs are primarily geared towards French and English readers in kindergarten to grade twelve ...

program, the Library Marketplace, and the OLA Super Conference.

Forest of Reading

OLA's

is Canada's largest recreational reading program, which has grown to ten reading awards programs since the early 1990s. More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public libraries. The Forest award winners are chosen by votes cast by readers in the target age ranges for each of the specific book categories. Award winners are announced annually at the Forest of Reading Festival in Toronto. The stated goals of the Forest of Reading are: * fostering a love of reading * encouraging academic and social success in children through reading * emphasizes the importance of libraries * supports Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. The ten awards offered under the Forest of Reading umbrella are: * Blue Spruce Award™ - ages 4–7 (JK–Grade 2), English, picture books * Silver Birch Express Award® - ages 8–10 (Grades 3–4), English, fiction/non-fiction * Silver Birch Fiction Award® - ages 8–12 (Grades 3–6 ), English, fiction * Yellow Cedar Award - ages 9–14 (Grades 4–8), English, non-fiction *

Red Maple Award The Red Maple Award is an award in the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Forest of Reading Awards. The Red Maple Award celebrates fiction (since 1998) and non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in ...

™ - ages 12–14 (Grades 7–8), English, fiction *

White Pine Award The ''White Pine Award'' is one of the annual literature Forest of Reading awards sponsored by the Ontario Library Association (OLA). Every year, 10 books are nominated for the award and students vote their favourite book. The White Pine Nonfi ...

™ - high school (Grades 9–12), English, fiction * Le prix Peuplier - ages vary, simple stories that can be read aloud, French, picture books * Le prix Mélèze (formerly Le prix Tamarac Express) - ages vary, short chapter books, less than 100 pages, or advanced picture books, French, fiction/nonfiction * Le prix Tamarac - ages vary, chapter books, 100-250 pages, French, fiction/nonfiction * Evergreen Award™ - adult, fiction/non-fiction

Library Marketplace/OLA Press

The Library Marketplace is the official store of the OLA and supports the OLA's position as the Canadian agent for twelve major professional library publishers and the

International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...

. The OLA also operates its own OLA Press, which publishes books, reports, and governance information for the OLA.

OLA Super Conference

Begun in 1902 as the OLA's annual conference, the event was rebranded in 1995 as the Super Conference. Collectively, this history makes the Super Conference Canada’s largest continuing education event in librarianship. The Super Conference also includes within it Canada's largest library tradeshow. The event is held annually in Toronto, Ontario.

OLA Presidents

External links

Ontario Library Association website

References

{{Authority control Canadian library associations Professional associations based in Ontario Organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in Ontario