Anita Brooks Kirkland

 		  

Consultant, K–12 Libraries, Waterloo Region District School Board

Anita is an instructional leader in the WRDSB, supporting the library program in 16 secondary and 102 elementary schools. She has been a volunteer for OLA since 2000 when she first presented at Super Conference, and stepped up her involvement in 2001 when she joined OSLA Council.

“Action is eloquence.” (Shakespeare, Coriolanus). That simple thought is what drives Anita’s involvement in professional life, and particularly in the OLA. As she put it in her acceptance speech for the Larry Moore Distinguished Service Award in 2009, “There are so many challenges in the school library world, and so it’s easy for people to become discouraged. I think you have to make a decision: you can either spend your life complaining about what could have been, or you can roll up your sleeves, step up to the table and get things done. This is an attitude that pervades the Ontario Library Association, which is why I feel so at home here.”

Anita comments that while volunteering implies giving, she feels she has received more from her involvement in the association than she has contributed. “The OLA is a learning organization. The people who are involved as volunteers and as staff are so positive, energetic and smart! There are so many who have influenced me. In the early years there were seasoned professionals who seemed to recognize my potential before I did and encouraged me to take leadership. As I have grown in the association, I try my best to do the same for others.”

Anita’s Volunteer Activities with OLA

  • OSLA Together for Learning Project Steering Committee and contributing writer, 2011 – present
  • OSLA / TALCO representative, Knowledge Ontario Board of Directors, 2008 – 2010
  • OSLA President, 2005
  • OLA Board of Directors, 2004 – 2005
  • Together for Learning Writing Team, 2007 – 2010
  • Acting Past President, OSLA, 2010
  • OSLA Website Editor, 2008 – 2009
  • Be the Change Writing Team, 2006 – 2008
  • Ontario Digital Library Business Plan Steering Committee, 2003 – 2004
  • OSLA Councillor for Central West Region, 2001 – 2004
  • Super Conference Presenter, 2000 – present
  • Contributing writer to The Teaching Librarian
  • Recipient of the Larry Moore Distinguished Service Award, 2009

Visit Anita’s website and blog: www.bythebrooks.ca

Follow Anita on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnitaBK