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[with apologies for cross-posting] Ottawa, Ontario, June 26, 2002 -- The Canadian Library Association (CLA) recently established a Task Force to respond to the Government of Canada's (GOC) ongoing consultation with Canadians on its Innovation Strategy. A GOC discussion paper, released this spring, presents an opportunity for the library community to effectively communicate to key stakeholders and decision makers the significant contribution that libraries make to the government's vision of " a truly national effort to achieve excellence in all we do: to be the best and nothing less." The two-part report at http://www.innovationstrategy.gc.ca addresses key components of the Innovation Strategy that are highly relevant to the activities of libraries: Achieving Excellence: Investing in People, Knowledge and Opportunity and Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians. The consultation process is designed to stimulate and encourage the public sector at every level, the private sector, the not-for-profit sector, educational communities and groups of Canadians to consider how they can contribute to ensuring the continued growth and development of our economy in the 21st century. The members of the Task Force reflect the strengths and diversity of CLA's personal and institutional membership from libraries across Canada. They are: Claude Bonnelly (Directeur, Bibliothèque, Université Laval); Greg Buss (Chief Librarian, Richmond Public Library); Sandy Cameron (Library Director, Regina Public Library); Ray Doiron (Past President of the Canadian School Library Association and Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of PEI); Sara Lochhead (University Librarian, Mount Allison University Library); Carrol Lunau, (Resource Sharing Officer, National Library of Canada); Mark Leggott (University Librarian, University of Winnipeg); Stan Squires (Public Libraries Network Specialist, Heritage and Libraries Branch, Ministry of Culture of Ontario); Edel Toner-Rogala, Chair of the Task Force (Chief Librarian, Prince George Public Library). Wendy Newman, President Elect, serves as an ex officio member of the group, and Gwynneth Evans provides office support and advice. The Task Force began its work during the week of May 6 and, in innovative fashion, has met through e-mail and teleconference to collaborate on the creation of a comprehensive brief that uses concrete illustrations from libraries across Canada to make the points that underline the contribution of libraries to a knowledge-based society. The contributions of libraries are both broad and deep: from reading, literacy learning and practice, through the support and development of information and media literacies, to their role as heritage/cultural centres to stimulate creativity and imagination, to their pivotal role in training, in narrowing the Digital Divide and supporting local social and economic development, through their role in online delivery of government information and transactions, their unique significance in supporting scholarly research and communications and the increasing role in the infrastructure of technologies and services for the smart community. The federal government is holding regional meetings on this strategy during the spring and summer and will complete its consultation with a summit in the fall of 2002. The CLA Executive Council has set a goal of obtaining representation at the regional meetings and particularly the national summit. The CLA brief will be used by individuals and groups to address the role and contribution of libraries to the issues raised in the Innovation Strategy. The Task Force builds on and extends CLA's Campaign for Canada's Libraries. The brief will be delivered to officials of Industry Canada and Human Resources Development Canada, and will be posted on the CLA website by the end of June. For more information, write Gwynneth Evans, Interim Executive Director of CLA, at [log in to unmask] Media Contact: Peter Wilson Communications Coordinator (ext. 320) [log in to unmask] Canadian Library Association 328 Frank Street Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K2P 0X8 (613) 232-9625; Fax: (613) 563-9895 http://www.cla.ca