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Co-op past chair awarded BCLA Lifetime Achievement Award

May 31, 2013

The following is excerpted from a BC Library Association Press Release issued 30.05.2013. Our thanks to Edel and to the BCLA!

Edel Toner-Rogala, Chief Librarian at the Burnaby Public Library, was presented with the BC Library Association’s Achievement in Library Service Award at the 2013 BC Library Conference. The award was presented by BCLA President June Stockdale during the Conference Awards Lunch on May 11th at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel.

The Achievement in Library Service Award is given irregularly and only when a nomination for an outstanding individual is received. The award recognizes an individual who has made a substantial contribution to librarianship in British Columbia and who has moved library service forward in the province. The recipient must have planned or implemented an exemplary library program, have actively promoted libraries and librarianship, and have served the profession and the community in a distinguished manner. Edel Toner-Rogala meets and exceeds the expectations of this award.

Toner-Rogala’s contributions to the library profession at the local, provincial and national level demonstrate commitment to her work, to public libraries, and to the communities that public libraries serve. Toner-Rogala has been the Chair of the Canadian Urban Library Council, Chair of the BC Libraries Cooperative, and Chair of the Interlink Administrator’s Advisory Group, to name only three examples from an extensive list of significant organizations that Toner-Rogala has either led or in which she has been a member.

At the same time, Toner-Rogala continues to be the quintessential “embedded librarian” – always engaged and active in her community. Toner-Rogala is involved with the South Burnaby Neighbourhood Housing Society, Burnaby Learning Network, Burnaby Interagency Council, Burnaby Child and Family Council, Burnaby Board of Trade, and Literacy Now Burnaby.

Toner-Rogala was also nominated for her leadership during the formative years of the BC Libraries Cooperative. Guided by Toner-Rogala’s passion and grassroots philosophy, the BC Libraries Cooperative grew from a spark of an idea into a multi-faceted operational entity – the first Cooperative of its kind in Canada – and now a nationally respected model for collaborative service provision.

“Edel continues to make an indisputable contribution to librarianship in British Columbia.” says June Stockdale, “It was a highlight of my presidency to present this award to Edel and to thank her for the 35 years of library service that she has given…so far!!”