Great news for the literary community in Nova Scotia this week. It has been reported by a number of news outlets that Finance Minister Diana Whalen has nixed the idea of implementing the provincial portion of the HST on printed books. You can read coverage on the Ministers comments via CBC , Library Journal , The News and Chronicle Herald . Thanks to everyone who took the time to write their MLA’s, sign the petition and raise awareness about this issue. On March 9th, 2015, NSLA President, Trecia Schell, along with representatives from Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association, Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia, Read-To-Me, Library Boards Association of Nova Scotia and the Council of Regional Librarians met with the Finance Minister to discuss this issue. You can view the joint presentation that was put together for that meeting here .

Well it seems winter is going to hang on for a little while longer in Nova Scotia. While you’re stuck in doors it’s a good time to catch up on some professional development opportunities to reinvigorate yourself and your libraries for spring. The Education Institute has some great webinars lined up throughout the rest of March and April. Just follow the EI button on the right of our page our check out their full winter 2015 brochure to find out more info.

Looking for something to do after work today and in the Halifax area? Check out the Information Management Public Lecture at 4pm, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue. Open Data and Open Governance in Canada: A Critical Examination of New Opportunities and Old Tensions with Dr. Jeffrey Roy School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University Lecture Details: Tuesday, March 10th, 2015 from 4:00pm-5:00pm Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue Abstract: As governments develop open data strategies, their efforts reflect the advent of the Internet, the digitization of government, and the emergence of meta-data as a wider socio-economic and societal transformational. This lecture will seek to both situate and examine the evolution and effectiveness of open data strategies in the public sector with a particular focus on municipal governments in Canada that have led this movement domestically. It will also delve more deeply into whether a

Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice & Research is seeking volunteers to fill 4 positions on the editorial team. These are unpaid, volunteer positions within one of Canada’s leading open access journals serving the library profession. The four positions available are: 1. Copyeditor 2. Proofreader 3. Layout Editor 4. rédacteur / rédactrice francophone For more info check out the online ad

It’s time to start work on the Winter/Spring 2015 issue of NSLA Newsletter! Has it been a busy winter at your library? Do you have exciting plans for spring? I’d love to hear all about it. Perhaps you’re not a writer, but you have photos or videos capturing life at your library. I’d love to see those, too! If you’ve got something you’d like to share, please send it to nslanewsletter@gmail.com by *March 15, 2015*. All the best, Kelli