Navigating the field: Finding that first academic librarian position in Canada 

In partnership with the University of Toronto Libraries
Organizing Committee: Darlene Chow, Monique Flaccavento, Julie Hannaford, Natalie Iammatteo, Maha Kumaran and Mindy Thuna

Are you new to Canada and seeking a position in an academic library? Are you a recent graduate from a Faculty of Information/iSchool, looking for your first professional position? Would you like to learn strategies to prepare your cover letter and CV? Do you need help navigating the interview process? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be interested in attending this workshop series, which is a partnership between the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada Network (ViMLoC) and the University of Toronto Libraries. Each workshop will be an informative session, filled with tips, advice, additional resources, and with lots of opportunity to ask questions throughout.

Workshop #1: Preparing your CV and Cover Letters

Recording of Workshop #1
Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST 

Cover letters and CVs 

Educational Credential Assessment

The Comparative Education Service (CES) was established by the University of Toronto and is Canada’s only university-based academic credential assessment agency. 
https://learn.utoronto.ca/comparative-education-service/apply-now/new-applicants

Employment Resources

Workshop #2: How to Prepare for the Interview

Recording of Workshop #2
Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST 

Academic Librarian Postings in Canada

Interviews

Workshop #3: Transitions – The Many Roads to Academic Librarianship in Canada

Friday, November 12th, 2021 at 2:00 – 3:30pm EST

There are a multitude of ways that people join our profession. Please join us on November 12th to learn more about some of those paths. We will chat with librarians who have transitioned between sectors (public library to academic library, for example), between different staffing groups (technician to librarian, for example), between countries and those for whom librarianship is a second career in Canada. 

Panelists for this session are:

  • Ravit David, Distinctive Collections Librarian, Scholar’s Portal
  • Aditi Gupta, Engineering & Science Librarian, University of Victoria
  • Li Zhang, Sciences Librarian, University of Saskatchewan
  • Danielle Bitz, Indigenous Engagement Librarian, University of Winnipeg

The moderator for this session is:

  • Mai Lu, Head, Public Services and Outreach, University of Toronto Mississauga

Participant biographies:

Rahit H David

Ravit H David is the Distinctive Collections Librarian at Scholars Portal, Univ. of Toronto. In her current position, Ravit focuses on developing Gov. Info collections, Accessible Content, and Open Access monograph collections. Ravit holds a Ph.D. in British Modernism and she recently discovered paddleboarding.  

Aditi Gupta

Aditi Gupta is the Engineering & Science Librarian at the University of Victoria Libraries. She received her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of British Columbia in 2004 and has worked in libraries for over 16 years. Aditi’s research interests include diversity and inclusion in libraries, inclusive teaching practices, information literacy instruction, and information-seeking behaviours of visible minorities, international students and multicultural populations. Aditi is the past recipient of the ALA Diversity Grant (2015-2016), the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute’s Collaborative Research Grant (2018-2020), NSERC Science Communication Skills Grant (2021-2022) and the Learning & Teaching Support Innovation’s Anti-Racism Grants (2021-2023). 

Li Zhang

Li Zhang is a Science Librarian at the University of Saskatchewan Library. She has a background in physics and engineering, and has worked in various roles in the Library with a focus on science librarianship. Her research interest includes bibliometrics, altmetrics, and their applications in research assessment.

Danielle Marie Bitz

Currently situated in the city of Winnipeg, Danielle Marie Bitz lives, works, and plays on traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, and Dakota peoples, and in the homeland of her Métis ancestors. Danielle focuses their practice of librarianship on decolonizing library frameworks and spaces, and on making those spaces accessible to Indigenous ways of teaching, learning, and living. Born and raised in Calgary, Danielle has lived in all four of the Western provinces and has used that experience to cultivate an appreciation of localized and land-based knowledges and ways of being. After working as a Library Assistant at three different universities, Danielle returned to attending classes herself and completed her MLIS in the spring of 2020 through the University of Alberta.

Mai Lu

Mai Lu, Head of Public Services and Outreach at the University of Toronto Mississauga Library, is passionate about helping people and communities. Mai worked in public libraries for over 15 years prior to transitioning to academic libraries. Mai holds a Master of Information Studies from the University of Toronto and a Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University.