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Message from Ronald Cohen, President
This is the second newsletter of the Friends of our new "transformed"
institution, Library and Archives Canada. And it is the second opportunity
for me, as President of the Friends of LAC, to extend greetings
to all of you as we move forward in the program of this fine organization.
The greatest event of our year is undoubtedly the book sale, and
the 10th anniversary sale held in October 2004 certainly lived up
to the Friends' standard. I was delighted to join with Marianne,
Grete and Ian in cutting the cake!
I want to extend sincere thanks to all the volunteers who made this
sale possible. You spent countless hours sorting and pricing the
books, setting up the tables at Carlingwood, and then doing the
actual selling. Your contribution of your precious time is greatly
appreciated, and has enabled us to bring in an impressive sum of
money to aid Library and Archives Canada in purchasing special acquisitions.
Our most recent Antiquarian Book Auction (April 2005), like its
predecessors, was a great success. I want to express thanks also
to all the volunteers working on this. And to those Friends who
are not able to participate in either of these events, I thank you
for your membership and the financial support that this represents.
Finally, I would like to wish you all good health and happy times
in what is still a "new" year.
In This Issue
The Journey Continues
Book Sale - 2004
Annual General Meeting - 2004
Diefenbunker
An Evening with Margaret Dickenson
Volunteers Appreciation Tea
Farewell to Roch Carrier
Editor's Note
The Journey Continues
a message from Ian Wilson, Librarian
and Archivist of Canada
You may recall that in the Spring 2004 issue of A Note Among
Friends, Roch Carrier and I wrote about the "grand transformation
journey" on which the National Archives and the National Library
were embarking.
Much has happened since that time. On May 21, 2004, the Library
and Archives of Canada Act was proclaimed and we officially
became Library and Archives Canada (LAC). All of us greatly appreciated
the role of the Friends in helping organize the staff farewell event,
thanking Roch Carrier for his extensive contribution as National
Librarian from 1999 to 2004. Our new integrated organizational structure
was put in place on June 21, 2004, and in September, I was formally
appointed Librarian and Archivist of Canada.
These very visible milestones in our journey are important; of equal
importance, however, is all of the work that is currently taking
place at LAC as we give life to our new institution, with new ways
of doing things, new objectives, and a new vision so that we meet
the evolving information and learning needs of Canadians, wherever
they live.
Our transformation process is about potential - the potential of
LAC employees to become engaged, work creatively, and move forward
with confidence and a spirit of collaboration.
Our transformation process is also about possibility. We want to
continue to develop and work with library and archival communities
in Canada, and our other partners and stakeholders, to build a strong,
cohesive national documentary heritage collection, and to make it
known through collective actions. We also want to make LAC an important
learning destination, helping to foster a nation of learners by
making it easier for Canadians to better understand our country's
heritage, knowledge and culture.
These are exciting times for us as we continue our transformation
into a new kind of knowledge institution, and we are pleased to
have our Friends as partners on this journey.
Book Sale, 2004
Above Left: Opening of the Book Sale. From left to right: Francine
Levesque, chair of the sale; Ron Cohen, president of the Friends;
Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada; Marianne Scott, former
National Librarian of Canada.
Above Right: Past presidents Gail Baird (left) and Grete Hale make
everyone feel welcome.
The annual Used Book Sale of the Friends was held at Carlingwood
Shopping Centre, Ottawa, October 1 to 3, 2004. This was the tenth
sale, and the anniversary was marked with a brief ceremony and a
cake. Taking part in the festivities were the Librarian and Archivist
of Canada, Ian Wilson, Friends' president Ron Cohen, former National
Librarian Marianne Scott, and the Friends' first president, Grete
Hale.
As usual, the book sale occupied a large section of the shopping
centre. Organizing the event, sorting the huge numbers of books
beforehand, and selling at the event, 115 volunteers worked a total
of 2,100 hours. At the sale, volunteers sported new T-shirts, featuring
the new name of the institution-Library and Archives Canada. Hundreds
of purchasers, some devotees of the sale and some interested passersby,
delighted in searching through the many wonderful publications.
Total revenues from the sale were $33,798.00.
Plans for the 2005 book sale are already underway. We have a new
sorting and packing area located in the Personnel Records Centre,
18 Goldenrod Street, in Tunney's Pasture. The phone number is 946-8688.
Volunteer sorters are usually there on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to
2:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to drop off books during the week should
go to the loading dock located at the rear of the PRC building and
ring the buzzer. The commissioner will give directions to the drop-off
container.
Above Left: Granddaughters of two of our long-time volunteers,
Emily Eckford (left) and Jane Roberts, sell books at the Children's
Literature Section.
Above Right: Steffanie Eckford (left) and Bev Theros help a client.
Myra Clowes, a long-time volunteer, keeps her table stocked and
tidy.
Annual General Meeting, June 2004
The Melos Ensemble delights the Friends at the Annual General
Meeting. Players from left to right: Peter McLellan (bass viola-da-gamba),
David Briggs (tenor viola-da-gamba), Peggy Atherton (treble viola-da-gamba),
Jennifer Davis (tenor recorder)
Above Left: Ron Cohen, president of the Friends welcomes members
to the Annual General Meeting which was held June 22, 2004.
Above Right: Helen Gillespie, a member of the staff of LAC, volunteered
her free time throughout the book sale to help the Friends. Here Ron
Cohen presents Helen with a volunteer-ofthe-year award for her hard
work and dedication.
Diefenbunker
A visit to the Diefenbunker in Carp,
about 20 kilometres west of Ottawa, gave Friends a glimpse back
into the Cold War era. The bunker was built between 1959 and 1961
to house top officials of government and the military in the event
of nuclear attack. It consists of four stories underground, a total
of 100,000 square feet in extent. It was a highly secret government
facility for many years, but is now open to the public, as Canada's
Cold War Museum.
During their visit on April 17, 2004, Friends were able to tour
the entire site, including the Prime Minister's suite, War Cabinet
room, mini hospital, decontamination rooms, Bank of Canada vault,
and CBC Radio studio. The bunker was designed to house as many as
500 people for a month. Think of being huddled underground for a
month, seeing no daylight, and knowing that a terrible disaster
had happened just outside! We can all feel very glad this did not
happen. But it was very interesting to see this site and to be reminded
of this part of our history.
We then had a delicious lunch at The Swan in Carp. On the homeward
journey, we stopped at a maple-sugar house, where we were able to
purchase some tasty products. Altogether it was a very enjoyable
day. Many thanks to organizers Jay Atherton, Kathleen Shaw, and
other members of the Program Committee.
An Evening with Margaret Dickenson
by Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist
of Canada
It looked like a table from culinary heaven. A marvellous display
of hors d'oeuvres greeted Friends at an evening with Margaret Dickenson
on December 1, 2004.
Margaret Dickenson is a graduate in food and nutrition from the
University of Guelph, and has perfected her skills during 30 years
as a diplomatic wife. Her husband, Larry, who was with her at the
Friends' event, has been Canada's ambassador to a number of countries.
Margaret has done a TV series and has written a book, From the
Ambassador's Table, giving suggestions for elegant entertaining.
During her talk, Margaret offered tips on how to prepare attractive
and delicious canapes "without much work." For example, she demonstrated
the preparation of a salmon sachet, which consists of a small crêpe
filled with smoked salmon. The edges of the crepe are then tied
with a strand of thyme to make a little sachet. For a large party,
it would be necessary, of course, to make dozens of these. This
might be easy for Margaret Dickenson; most of us would need some
practice! 
But the results of her efforts were wonderful. Friends greatly enjoyed
sampling her attractive and tasty treats. Organizers Jay Atherton
and Asalyn and Donald Meakin served at the bar. Copies of Mrs. Dickenson's
book and video were available for sale. This was an evening we will
remember for a long time.
Volunteers Appreciation Tea
For several years, the president
of the Friends, Ron Cohen, and his wife, Wendy, have hosted an annual
Volunteers Appreciation Tea, to thank the many volunteers on whose
work the Friends depend. This year the event was held on December
12, 2004. The Cohens have a beautiful home in Manotick, and the
party was, as always, marvellous.
Guests of honour included the Librarian and Archivist of Canada,
Ian Wilson, and former National Librarian Marianne Scott.
The Friends extend sincere thanks to Ron and Wendy Cohen for a wonderful
party.
What a beautiful table! Volunteers, left to right: Daphne McCree,
Regina Forester and Eva Zadarnowski.
Ian Wilson (left), Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and Ron
Cohen, president of the Friends and host of the event, thank the volunteers
for their support throughout the year.
Farewell to Roch Carrier
Following the transformation of the National Library and the National
Archives into a single new institution, Roch Carrier retired from
his post as National Librarian of Canada. Mr. Carrier is probably
most famous for his classic work, The Hockey Sweater, a
representation of which appears on the Canadian five-dollar bill.
During his years as head of the National Library, he served this
institution very well, and we greatly regretted his departure. At
a ceremony on May 26, 2004, Friends' president Ron Cohen presented
him with a book, Élégies pour l'épouse en-allée: poèmes,
by Alfred Desrochers, a gift from National Library staff and the
Friends.
Editor's Note
by Grace Hyam
It is a pleasure and an honour for
me to serve as editor of the newsletter of our new organization,
the Friends of Library and Archives Canada. We hope this publication
will be a useful outreach vehicle and a way to keep all Friends
in touch with the organization. I would be pleased to receive letters
to the editor, comments and suggestions.
Contact FLAC
