Saskatchewan Library Association

The Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA) is a provincial, volunteer, non-profit organization designed to further the development of library service in Saskatchewan and, through libraries, the culture of the province. SLA includes as members: individuals, institutions, and organizations who share a common interest in library service and cultural activities.

Vision, Mission, and Values

SLA provides information, advocacy, awareness, education, membership benefits and cultural opportunities for library workers and the public at large through its general operations and programs.

Vision: To build an engaged library and information community that is an active force in Saskatchewan’s social, economic and cultural development.

Mission: To be the voice of and support for Saskatchewan’s library communities.

Values:

• Communication: The SLA defines communication as openness, transparency, and engagement with its stakeholders and members
• Lifelong Learning: Lifelong learning, a key tenet of libraries in general, speaks to the fact that learning is not limited to formal education. The concept informs the programming, culture, and materials of libraries.
• Culture, Economic and Social Opportunities: An element of the work of SLA is to support libraries in their efforts to provide cultural, economic and social opportunities.
• Diversity, Inclusivity and Equity: The SLA is committed to ensuring that its programs and services meet the needs of diverse populations.
• Reconciliation: The SLA has committed to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, not only in response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but also as a way of operating and engaging with its members and stakeholders in perpetuity.

SLA Embraces Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

In 2015 the Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA) was one of SaskCulture’s first eligible organizations to draft a diversity plan.  Many aspects of the document are embedded in the association’s strategic plan and both are reviewed regularly by SLA’s Board of Directors. SLA embraces diversity that includes Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis) peoples, newcomers, individuals with disabilities, and people of all sexual orientations. The association’s diversity plan is embedded in its strategic plan, and it supports SLA’s vision to build and engage a library and information community that is an active force in Saskatchewan’s social, economic and cultural development. SLA drafted a diversity progress report for 2019 that is available here.

Statement of Values on Diversity

SLA’s statement of values on diversity is to demonstrate and promote diversity, inclusivity, and equity throughout the organization, programs, and services.

In order to reflect the changing diversity of the population in Saskatchewan, and provide services and programs that are relevant to the interests and needs of the province, through our membership, we will address diversity in the organization, in libraries, and in the communities that libraries serve.

SLA will endeavour to:

1. Incorporate the diversity plan into our strategic and operational plans;
2. Demonstrate its diversity goals in our governance documents;
3. Provide programs and services that implement the diversity plan;
4. Focus on initiatives that will support inclusivity and accessibility to SLA programs and services for newcomers and Indigenous peoples.

Click here to read SLA’s Diversity Plan.

Decolonization

SLA recognizes that it is on Treaty 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 territory and traditional lands of the Metis, an important part of our past and a crucial part of our future.  At SLA’s Annual General Meeting in May 2017, members endorsed the Canadian Federation of Library Associations – Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB) Truth and Reconciliation Report and Recommendations.  SLA’s official endorsement statement along with the CFLA-FCAB report and recommendations are available here.