BC Library Conference 2017

Scott Hargrove is the Chief Executive Officer of Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) in BC. He assumed the role in January 2015, having served in a series of executive positions at FVRL, starting in 2006 as the Senior Manager of Information Technology. From 2001 to 2006, he was the Manager of Information Technology at the Burlington Public Library, in Burlington, Ontario.

His current professional focus includes the rapidly changing role of public libraries in their communities, new library business models, and the natural intersection between libraries and technology. He frequently speaks on these topics at conferences and to special interest groups.

Scott has served as a Board Director for the BC Libraries Cooperative, chaired a provincial committee on software licensing, and is a current member of the Library Leadership Development Council.

Scott holds a B.Ed from the University of Victoria, an MSc in Computer Science from the University of York, England, and the Executive MLIS from San Jose State University.

An award-winning librarian, Maureen Sawa is the CEO of the Greater Victoria Public Library. Maureen joined GVPL from Hamilton, Ontario, where she developed Hamilton Public Library’s spectacular Central Library renovation project, an innovative partnership with the Hamilton Farmers’ Market. A firm believer in the power of ‘"doing more with more," Maureen is known for her collaborative approach to library service and community development.

A former children’s librarian, Maureen is the author of two critically acclaimed children’s books, "The Library Book" and "Car Smarts" (co-authored with Phil Edmonston, the creator of the iconic Lemonaid Car Guides) and has extensive experience in public relations. She has spoken at numerous library conferences across Canada and is particularly known for her popular "12 Habits of Highly Successful Librarians" presentation.

Sandra joined Vancouver Public Library as its Chief Librarian in December 2010. She joined VPL after serving as the Director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia. Prior to that, she worked at the Vancouver Public Library, first as the Director of Branches East/South and Outreach Services, followed by Director of Systems and Special Projects.

While at VPL as a Senior Director, Sandra served as the National Director of the HRSDC-funded national demonstration project Working Together, which sought to evolve new ways of working with socially-excluded community members, led the VPL website redesign process, and initiated and ran the province-wide Beyond Words program which captured the social impacts of public library service in BC.

Prior to VPL, Sandra served as Port Moody Public Library's Manager of Library Services, as a Cybrarian at Vancouver's online learning community Suite101.com, as a reference librarian and cataloguer in Abilene (TX), and as a cataloguer at Calgary Public Library.

In the past, Sandra served as the President of the Canadian Library Association, on the British Columbia Library Association Board, and as co-editor of the PNLA Quarterly. She also led the establishment of and was a founding Board member of the national not-for-profit Centre for Equitable Library Access. Sandra is currently a Commissioner on Canada Council for the Arts’ Public Lending Right Commission and is the Chair of Library and Archives Canada’s National Heritage Digitization Strategy Steering Committee.