Think Tank Members

Think Tank Steering Committee

Mark Asberg, Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Public Library

Appointed to the CEO role in 2019, Mark first joined Calgary Public Library as Director of Service Delivery in August 2014. Prior to his work at the public library, Mark had taken on a series of leadership roles in provincial and regional library systems, including at Alberta Justice, Canada Revenue Agency, and Alberta Health Services. At Calgary Public Library, Mark has been at the forefront of any number of key projects and initiatives, including expanding library service to new communities, increasing participation in libraries through enhanced virtual and mobile services and sustained growth in programming and outreach, and developing strong partnerships with key government and community groups, including Calgary’s school boards.

Aspire. Engage. Innovate. Partner. Advance.

Lita Barrie, Chief Executive Officer, Burlington Public Library

Before joining Burlington Public Library in 2018 as their chief executive officer, Ms. Barrie held various senior level positions at Brantford and Hamilton public libraries and was the CEO of Grimsby Public Library. She holds a Master of Library & Information Studies from McGill University, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Art History) from Concordia University, and certificates in leadership from McMaster University, University of Toronto, and University of Victoria. Lita is active in the library profession as a frequent presenter at conferences and as a sessional lecturer at University of Toronto, Faculty of Information, where she also co-founded the Public Library Leaders Program in collaboration with CULC/CBUC. She has also served in many senior volunteer roles with the Ontario Library Association.

Christina de Castell, Chief Librarian, Vancouver Public Library

Christina is passionate about the role of libraries in building communities and exploring ideas, and is fascinated by the way technology is changing how we read, learn and connect through libraries. Over the past 20 years, Christina’s library roles have spanned collections, digital licensing, technology training, IT and web, project management, legal research and public service, in both public and special libraries. Christina is active in policy and advocacy both nationally and internationally in areas related to digital access, copyright and the role of libraries. She is currently vice-chair of the CFLA Copyright Committee, and a member of the IFLA Copyright and Other Legal Matters Advisory Committee and eLending working group. Christina holds a BA and an MLIS from the University of British Columbia.

Jefferson Gilbert, Executive Director, Canadian Urban Libraries Council / Conseil des Bibliothèques Urbaines du Canada

Jefferson was appointed the Executive Director of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council in 2008. He has served in a number of support roles for the Canadian library community for almost 30 years including work with the Ontario Library Association, Knowledge Ontario among others. He is the Principal of Gap. Point. Reach. Inc. a Canadian consultancy that works with organizations both in and outside of the library sector.

Organizer. Association. Partnership. Business. Efficient.

Teresa Johnson, Director of Research and Planning, New Brunswick Public Library Service

Teresa Johnson is the Director of Research and Planning for New Brunswick Public Library Service. She has 19 years experience in public library policy and strategic planning and oversees the research and planning of emerging services within the multi-branch system. Teresa is a founding member of the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) and current member of the CELA Board of Directors. Teresa lives in rural New Brunswick.

Inclusive. Accessible. Research-driven. Practical. Collaborative.

Åsa Kachan, Chief Librarian & Chief Executive Officer, Halifax Public Libraries – CULC/CBUC Exec Rep

Åsa Kachan is the CEO & Chief Librarian for Halifax Public Libraries where she oversees 420 staff working across the 14-branch library system. Prior to her role with Halifax Public Libraries, Åsa spent 16 years in senior administrative roles within universities, most recently serving as the Assistant Vice-President Enrolment Management & Registrar for Dalhousie University between 2004 and 2014. Åsa volunteers her time with a number of community organizations, including serving as Chair of the Governance Committee of the United Way of Halifax. She also sits on the Advisory Board for the Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University. In 2018 Åsa was appointed to the Governing Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for a three-year term.

Kitty Pope, Chief Executive Officer, Windsor Public Library

Kitty was born and raised in Windsor Ontario and graduated from Western with a Masters of Library and Information Science. She has been a teacher/librarian, museum curator, broadcaster, author, adjunct lecturer, blogger and best of all a CEO. Her career has taken her from the Canadian arctic to the United Arab Emirates, to Saskatchewan, Calgary, Peoria Illinois, Guelph and now home to Windsor as CEO of the mighty Windsor Public Library.

Courageous. Collaborative. Empowering. Transformative. Visionary.

Maureen Sawa, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Victoria Public Library

Maureen Sawa is the Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL). In her 9 years as CEO, Maureen has led GVPL through transformative change, including the establishment of GVPL’s innovative community-inspired librarianship portfolio service model. Before moving to Victoria, Maureen was the Director of Public Service for the Hamilton Public Library for eight years. Prior to that, she held a variety of leadership positions at the Kitchener Public Library. The author of two children’s books, Maureen holds a Masters of Information Studies from the University of Toronto. Throughout her career, Maureen has been recognized for her collaborative and non-traditional approach to library service and her pioneering work with cross-sector partnerships. She is a past Chair of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council and a founding member of the Ottawa Declaration Working Group. She continues to represent public library interests on a variety of provincial and national working and advisory groups.

Do more with more.

Leslie Weir, National Librarian – Library and Archives Canada Rep

Leslie Weir became the Librarian and Archivist of Canada on August 30, 2019. Before coming to Library and Archives Canada, Ms. Weir was the University librarian at the University of Ottawa from 2003 to 2018. During her tenure as University Librarian, she founded the School of Information Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ottawa, and was cross-appointed as a professor. Leslie has guided many transformative moments at the Canadian Research Knowledge Network and research libraries in Canada. She is one of the founding architects of Scholars Portal, the state-of-the-art research infrastructure in Ontario universities that brings together information resources and services in support of research and learning, and served as Chair of the Ontario Council of University Libraries from 2010 to 2012. Leslie served as President of Canadiana.org, where she oversaw the introduction of the Heritage Project, in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada, to digitize and make openly accessible some 60 million Heritage archival images. She also served as President of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries from 2007 to 2009 and the Ontario Library Association in 2017.

Community. Engage. Partner. Innovate.

Working Group Members

Assumptions & Templates

Mark Asberg, Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Public Library
Leslie Weir, National Librarian, Library and Archives Canada

Consultations

Christina de Castell, Chief Librarian, Vancouver Public Library
Jefferson Gilbert, Executive Director, CULC/CBUC
Darla Muzzerall, Manager, Research and Analysis, Halifax Public Libraries

Governance

Jeff Barber, Library Director & Chief Executive Officer, Regina Public Library
Vickery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library
Christina de Castell, Chief Librarian, Vancouver Public Library
Pilar Martinez, Chief Executive Officer, Edmonton Public Library
Paul Takala, Chief Librarian/Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton Public Library

Collections

Mary Cavanagh, School of Information Studies University of Ottawa
Michael Ciccone, Executive Officer, London Public Library
Sharon Day, Director, Branch Services and Collections, Edmonton Public Library
Teresa Johnson, Director, Research and Planning, New Brunswick Public Library Service
Edmund Salt, President, Whitehots Inc.
Chantal Saulnier, Public Services Development Librarian, New Brunswick Public Library Service

Marketing & Communications

Mary Kapusta, Director, Communications, Calgary Public Library
Carol Nelson, Director, Planning and Communications, Vancouver Public Library
Kitty Pope, Chief Executive Officer, Windsor Public Library
Daphne Wood, Director, Library Services, Planning and Engagement, Greater Victoria Public Library
Chris Woodrow, Director, Corporate Services, Windsor Public Library

Information Services

Lita Barrie, Chief Executive Officer, Burlington Public Library
Donna Bedry, Public Service Manager, Calgary Public Library
Carol Cooley, Chief Executive Officer, Saskatoon Public Library
Kent Raymond, Manager, Service OPL, Ottawa Public Library
Meg Uttangi Matsos, Branch Manager, Hamilton Public Library
Jennifer Wile, Manager, Information Services, Surrey Libraries

Programming

Evette Berry, Service Delivery Manager, Calgary Public Library
Karen Dahl, Senior Manager, Programming and Community Engagement, Halifax Public Libraries
Penny-Lynn Fielding, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Kitchener Public Library
Tracy Kendrick, Co-ordinator, Public Services, Greater Victoria Public Library
Carrie Kitchen, Service Design Lead, Calgary Public Library
Shauna May, Service Delivery Manager, Calgary Public Library
Jennifer Rowan, Co-ordinator, Public Services, Greater Victoria Public Library
Maureen Sawa, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Victoria Public Library
Lisa Radha Weaver, Director, Collections & Program Development, Hamilton Public Library

The Built Environment

Amanda Fullerton, Manager, Service Design, Halifax Public Libraries
Terry Gallagher, Senior Manager, Finance and Facilities, Halifax Public Libraries
Lisa Hardy, Facilities Design Lead, Calgary Public Library
Åsa Kachan, Chief Librarian & Chief Executive Officer, Halifax Public Libraries

Staffing

Mark Asberg, Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Public Library
Lita Barrie, Chief Executive Officer, Burlington Public Library
Andrea Cecchetto, Director, Service Excellence, Markham Public Library
Roberta Kuzyk-Burton, Learning and Development Specialist, Calgary Public Library
Mark Reinelt, System Circulation Co-ordinator, Okanagan Regional Library

French Language Support

Marie D. Martel, EBSI, Université de Montréal
Leslie Weir, National Librarian, Library and Archives Canada

Support & Administration

Jefferson Gilbert, Executive Director, CULC/CBUC
Jennifer Marriott, Associate, GPR Inc, and CULC/CBUC

Projects