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The Teaching Librarian 20.1 15 Elizabeth Gordon Other Associations If you are interested in connecting with other school library staff across Canada, asking questions and contributing ideas, you may want to consider joining the "Voices for School Libraries Network"( http://caslnetwork.ning.com/), moderated by Linda Shantz-Keresztes and Cindy Matthews. Also, Anita Brooks- Kirkland has developed a very informative website for The Association of Library Consultants and Coordinators of Ontario (TALCO). You can check it out at: http://www.talcoontario.ca/. She includes several important links to websites and blogs to help keep you informed and involved. Supporting Ministry Initiatives An important leadership role school library staffs can take is to help teachers embed Ministry initiatives into their regular curriculum. Refer to the Ministry website under "curriculum" for links to resources already created to help you with this. Also, check out "Major Programs & Initiatives," on the home page http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/. Recently, OSLA received funding to complete a Financial Literacy Resource for students and teachers grades 7-12. The result of this project, created by Roger Nevin (Past President, OSLA) can be found at: chirpy.ca. When we hear about cuts to school library programs, it often comes to light that the people making these decisions really haven't a solid understanding of what school library staffs do to contribute to student learning and success in achievement and overall well-being. I believe the contributions you are making in the lives of students are indispensable. I challenge you to make it obvious to others every day, keeping in mind that "hope is not a strategy!" z Photo by Liz Kerr Following the CLA conference was Treasure Mountain, a weekend dedicated to developing standards for school libraries in Ontario. TingL_20.1-draft3.indd 15 12-08-20 3:12 PM http://caslnetwork.ning.com/ http://www.talcoontario.ca/ http://chirpy.ca