Dear members and subscribers, I hope that this newsletter finds you all well! First off, I want to thank you for your recent support as we navigated the security breach in mid-April. On behalf of the entire co-op, I extend our apologies for the leak, and we thank you for the measures taken on your… Read more »
On April 19 the Co-op was contacted by a “security researcher” (hacker) attempting to extort payment for data they had exfiltrated from our servers, and threatening to release that data publicly if we did not pay. Upon examination of the evidence offered, we realized that they had indeed accessed log file data from a new… Read more »
Since inception in 2009 the BC Libraries Cooperative has operated its own server farm, co-located at the Harbour Centre facility in downtown Vancouver. This initial choice was made for many reasons, one main reason being that there were no good Canadian-based cloud hosting options at the time of our formation. In compliance with FOIPPA, we… Read more »
Happy New Year! We have had a few inquiries recently from members regarding security topics, and so we thought we would take the opportunity to respond more broadly in case others had comparable questions. Phishing and Spearphishing While many of us use email systems that are getting better and better at automatically catching spam and… Read more »
As we have done for several years, we asked Co-op staff to nominate the projects from the wider open source community that they use and benefit from so that we can acknowledge and support those projects in our small way. This year we are pleased to announce the following recipients: Let’s Encrypt (used extensively around… Read more »
The BC Libraries Cooperative is pleased to announce that starting today it is accepting applications from BC public libraries to work with our Connectivity Consultant. This consultation is free of charge to libraries thanks to funds from the Ministry of Education, and is aimed at identifying current barriers to library connectivity and helping to develop… Read more »
As part of the Digital Initiatives Projects undertaken by the Co-op through a one-time grant from the Libraries Branch in 2020, we have created a new site where all the project are listed. You can find all the latest news on the news site there and learn about new fund opportunities, and events like the… Read more »
In March 2020 the BC Libraries Branch announced a one-time funding injection for public libraries, a portion of which has been directed to the Co-op for sector-wide work. Of this, some was earmarked to continue the work the Co-op has historically performed “to work with libraries on improving connectivity and bandwidth options locally and regionally,… Read more »
While libraries are having to shut their physical doors during the pandemic, they are still offering many services online and need to be reachable by phone and to be able to communicate among library staff in a real-time way. The Co-op, as a primarily work-from-home organization, has developed a number of methods of addressing similar… Read more »
After last year’s successful event on libraries and information technology (IT), we are partnering with the Fraser Valley Regional Library to sponsor a full-day pre-conference to dive deeper into topics and issues that interest you. The day will include a morning keynote and then many opportunities to collaborate and learn from colleagues through a number… Read more »
