Friends Remember Maureen Woods

Wendy Newman

"It is very difficult for me to write about Maureen, a professional colleague who became a close personal friend.  Her contributions as a library leader have been many and lasting – locally, where she served local and regional systems in Saskatchewan; provincially, as a leader of ground-breaking provincial planning and implementation in SK, AB, and BC; and nationally, as a leader of PTLDC at a time of national collaborative visioning.  Always she showed the same strengths in her approach – identify and listen to the stakeholders, do the research, build community, work collaboratively, understand the priorities of the decision-makers and reflect them back, avoid narrowness and partisanship, and above all, think big.   She was the best “translator” of government to libraries and libraries to government that I ever worked with.  It is so evident in the BC strategic plan, which takes the premier’s focus on literacy and crafts an action plan to make things happen through libraries, and in the planning work of SILS, to lever the existing achievement and soar to the next level.  As a guest lecturer in my course, she took a personal interest in the aspirations of each student and she shared her principles of working with government with great generosity and enthusiasm.  She was intentionally inclusive and fiercely loyal, and she never forgot a friend.   She had great personal style, passion, and charisma.    Having created an enduring personal and professional legacy, she will remain with us."  

"the same Moe inside - courageous, spirited, loyal, and good-hearted" 

Stan Squires 

"Her enthusiasm and genuine passion for libraries is what I will always remember. She was always the life of the old PTLDC."

 

David Ryland - Victoria BC 

"As Maureen’s administrative assistant while she was Director of the Public Library Services Branch in British Columbia, I was privy to a lot in my time with her. My first recollection was those red, round-rimmed plastic glasses she sported – that and fact she drove a two-seater RAV4. This made me a bit wary. What has HR done to me! But I soon came to see those were simply Maureen’s way of letting anyone know that this is what you are getting – it’s unfiltered and I own it and if you don’t like it – tough. Oh, and those who expect the workplace to be an expletive-free zone should seek cover immediately.
 

But Maureen’s tireless, no-bull work style was a constant companion to an honest, generous, and caring personal manner that I witnessed more times than I can count. She helped others with abandon, and on more than one occasion showed the kind of compassion to me and my family one rarely would expect to see from a co-worker, let alone a boss. 

We are very sad in our household right now, but it is tempered by how grateful we are to have had Maureen in our lives for the time we did."

Irene Geng, FVRL 

"Threats to the provincial government's public library funding were a major concern because of the economic downturn that turned the world upside down in 2008-2009. Maureen was a key influencer in helping BC's libraries dialogue with the Province about the value of provincial funding...and maintaining provincial funding.

As part of a farewell gift to Maureen, we compiled a  list for her titled "My Legacy of Moe-isms" and included 10 of Maureen's most commonly-used phrases. Perhaps you'll recognize some of them...and remember the twinkle in her eye when she said them.

• Cheeky monkey
• The C place (Coquitlam)
• Say words
• Ya think?
• Did I say that out loud?
• I just sit at my desk and eat bonbons
• Let's go into my office and be important
• Protect our phoney baloney jobs
• Not so much
• We live with hope

Maureen was our CEO only from November 12, 2008 to September 15, 2009. Even so, she led FVRL with distinction, made wise decisions, motivated action, implemented change, and lived life with passion. We count ourselves privileged to have known and worked with her.  

Remembering her with fondness."

Shawn Tetford

So sorry to hear of her passing.   I had only been working with the library system here a few months when she called, as chair of PTPLC, to chat and offer her assistance if I needed it.  She was an articulate, passionate individual whose contribution to public libraries will not be forgotten

 

 

Julie Ourum

"Personally this came as a shock as I have known Maureen for many years and valued her as a friend and colleague.  She always impressed me with her strong commitment to libraries and her enthusiasm for making sure that we continue to be relevant and part of the picture, whether through technology or other areas.   She was inspirational, always willing to share and encourage, and of course, she was just plain fun to be around. 

We brought her up to the Yukon some years back to talk about multi-type library systems (the Saskatchewan model).  Alas that never got off the ground here, but hopefully sowed some seeds for future collaborations.  I remember taking her to Skagway (in Alaska) for a day trip and having to change a flat tire on a government vehicle on a back road so we could get back to Whitehorse in time for her flight out.  She took it with good humour, and I have the photos to prove it."

Silvana Harwood

"Maureen Woods was our Library Director for about two years and she came as a strong wind that blew away many of the cobwebs that existed here.  I will always remember her for her wonderful laugh, her tee hee giggle, and the way she would come to my office, carrying a head of romaine lettuce, munching away and just wanting to shoot the breeze.  I took it as a great compliment that she would come to let loose in my office.  

Maureen had an amazing sense of style and personally, I think her talents were wasted as a librarian - she would have been a marvellous designer or architect!  Just a little of that sense rubbed off on me and she would be happy to know that I now own many purses, not all of them black!  

She gave me opportunities that I might never have had and I will always appreciate that she saw something in me.  Bless you dear Maureen."

[Moe influenced many to add colour to their lives in more ways than one! PJ]

Punch Jackson
Moe loved pens!! I think she had pens for every occasion and probably for every person she knew. She had pens for illustrating with & yes they were in the colours of the rainbow....


Moe was obsessed with her office organization....binders and file folders all had to be colour coordinated and labelled.

I was never really clear if she embraced technology or was the great pretender. It didn't matter if she embraced it herself but she knew what it could do for libraries.

Plotting the Minister's Conference was a big deal for Moe. The first meeting, ever, of Ministers responsible for public libraries. We heard more excuses why this Minister or that couldn't attend. Hundreds of hours to prepare briefing books, organize hotels and link to the official opening of the 2005 CLA Conference in Calgary. It was a big deal for us as well because it was Alberta's Centennial.

At the last minute the Minister's EA wanted to call it off because only two other Ministers were coming. Gary Mar understood the significance and said we were moving ahead. He did a masterful job getting through the agenda with the Francophone Ontario Minister on his left and the Francophone New Brunswick Minister on his right. All the other provinces had their "officials" there. Moe couldn't stop smiling....what an accomplishment.

Moe was a community developer, true to her Saskatchewan roots!! She used the word cooperatives in meetings just to see the Albertans cringe.

Whenever things got testy during the rollout of APLEN and there was a fork in the road Moe would always say..."LISTEN TO THE FOLKS" .
Those words will live with me forever and will be my fondest memory of Maureen.

 

Dean Frey 

It would be nice if you could link to the TWIL video where you and Maureen & I talk with Erik at Jasper. This is Maureen in her prime!

My memories of Maureen are of her getting things done, but she always had the big picture - the important issues - in her brain as well. I always enjoyed her calls from APLEN or TAL, since I knew there would always be a strategic element to our discussion. Best of all was brainstorming for Netspeed or the Library Futures conference. We ended up with some great speakers, and were really close to getting some others, like Cory Doctorow and Douglas Coupland. She was great at vision, and she knew the great places that Alberta's libraries were going.  New technologies make things that were really hard in the early days (like last mile connectivity and engaging people online) relatively easy nowadays. But none of today's results could have happened without people like Maureen and Penny McKee and Pat Jobb and Alan McDonald. I miss them all.

"It was for a good cause"

 

 

 



If you have a comment, a memory or a "Moeism" post it in the comment section below these photos.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Remembering Maureen Woods

On April 12, 2013 Maureen was presented with the Saskatchewan Library Association's
Francis Morrison Award which recognizes the exceptional contributions to library services and the library community . The nomination letter submitted by Jeff Barber, Director and CEO of the Regina Public Library highlights Maureen's contributions to the Canadian library community.

Maureen Shelagh Woods
On April 13, 2013 Maureen passed in Regina, Saskatchewan after a five month struggle with cancer. Daughter of Mervyn and Agnes Scott Woods (predeceased), cherished youngest sibling of Mervyn Scott Woods (Bernadette), Laurie Burgess (Spence) and Will Woods (Margaret), loving aunt to Rhett, Bree, Megan and Caley and their partners and great-aunt extraordinaire to Kiki and Sam, great librarian, community activist and community development worker. Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on February 3, 1953, and died on April 13, 2013. Maureen graduated Campbell Collegiate and then the University of Regina with a Bachelor of Arts before attending the University of Alberta to gain a Bachelor of Library Science. Maureen began her career with the Regina Public Library in 1976, transforming both Connaught and Albert libraries into viable, vibrant, effective institutions in North Central Regina. She became a member of the Northern Library Council and moved to La Ronge following her goal of ensuring that every child in Saskatchewan had equal access to library services. In 1993, during the trying times of the information explosion she became the Saskatchewan Provincial Librarian. Her life path took her to Alberta where she was the head of the Alberta Library Electronic Network after which she moved to British Columbia in 2002 becoming the Director of Public Library Services for British Columbia. There she helped develop a comprehensive library plan that has since been referenced all over North America. In 2010, Maureen returned to her beloved Regina and as Director of Saskatchewan Information and Library Services she helped to achieve her dream of equal, universal access to library services. In an event of cosmic timing she was nominated for the Francis Morrison Saskatchewan Library Award and received said honour on April 3, 2013, in the company of family good friends and good friends who were also colleagues. As well as an accomplished library administrator Maureen was a beloved family member, friend and colleague as evidenced by her many nicknames: Moe, Schmoe, Moie (Maureen Shoelace Woods to her father when she was a child) are just a few. She demonstrated an intelligent, empathetic love for those she came in touch with. Her strong sense of feminism and sisterhood bonded her in a sorority of many, strong, loving women that in no way excluded her male friends who both as extra-familial sisters and brothers, celebrated her achievements and supported her in her struggles both professional and personal. They were with her in her last few days, often flying great distances to be with her, a great comfort. She was a loving, thoughtful, caring sister who could offer, if asked, sage, humanist advice or just an ear or a shoulder. She was the doting aunt who made the best Halloween costumes possible, who encouraged nieces and nephews to be strong and fair. Her passing leaves a void that will not be filled. Maureen did not want a service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Maureen's name to: Read Together Regina (attention: Books for Babies), Regina Public Library Director's Office, Box 2311, Regina, SK, S4P 3Z5 or contributions to an award in Maureen's name at the University of Alberta Library School may be made via www.slis.ualberta.ca/ choose "Make a Gift" and then designate the gift "in memory of Maureen Woods."

Published in The Regina Leader-Post on April 17, 2013

 

Nomination of Maureen Woods for the Francis Morrison Award

March 30,2013

To Whom It May Concern: 

 

 It is a great privilege for me to nominate Maureen Woods for the Francis Morrison Award . The criteria for this award recognizes the exceptional contributions to library services and the library community - I cannot imagine anyone more deserving of this honour than Maureen Woods. For more than 35 years, it has been Maureen's pleasure to serve libraries and library communities in Saskatchewan and across Western Canada. I am humbled by the opportunity to nominate Maureen for this award.

Maureen Woods was born in Saskatoon and grew up in Regina. After graduating the University of Regina with her Bachelor of Arts in 1974, she moved to Alberta to continue her education in Library Sciences. Two years later, she returned to Saskatchewan to embark on a career that would span more than three decades.

Maureen was hired by Regina Public Library (RPL) in 1976 to work in Community Relations from the Connaught Branch, at a time when community use of the branch was falling. Rising to the challenge, Maureen worked closely with staff and community representatives to transform the Connaught Branch into a viable branch that is still serving its community today . At the same time, and for the same reasons, the Albert Branch was in need of similar attention, and Maureen was ideally suited for the challenge.

A few years later, Maureen was named Head of the Albert Branch of RPL and became closely involved with the north central community to find a way forward for that community, similar to the success achieved at Connaught . She was instrumental in advising the Board and executive of RPL in the language of the formal agreement between the community and library. Maureen continued to sit on the Library Advisory Committee, determined to bring the cultural needs of the largely Aboriginal
community to the attention of the branch staff, and help define the services the library provided.

In the latter half of the 1980s, Maureen turned her attention to serving the library community at the provincial level and as a member of the Northern Library Services Section of the Saskatchewan Provincial Library, she moved to La Ronge to prepare for a new northern library system. To enable the formulation of the new system, Maureen contributed to re-working existing provincial legislation. In 1990 the first northern board meeting was held, and less than a year later, the name of the board was officially changed to Pahkisimon Nuye7ah Library System.

Maureen's determination for making educational resources available to every corner of the province had become her passion. One story about Maureen tells of her desire to bring all the library directors of the province together at the first northern Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA) conference in La Ronge and build relationships and the spirit of cooperation that would ensure the sustainability of a northern library system and extend the vision of Saskatchewan's public library founders . She not only designed the brilliantly colored banner that welcomed participants as they arrived at the conference but, in fact, she hand stitched it in her spare time! The flag still exists, as do the memories of that poignant celebration in La Ronge.

Around the same time, plans for the development of province-wide cooperation among all types of libraries were renewed at the Echo Valley Library Forum in 1988.

Representatives from each library sector, including Maureen, as well as stakeholder groups came together to discuss the future of all types of libraries in Saskatchewan. By now, Maureen was one of the most influential voices and leading authorities in the province's library system. She was named Chair of the Multitype Library Development Advisory Committee, and was instrumental in the creation of one of the most significant documents in the history of Saskatchewan libraries, Independent But Together: A Vision for a Province-wide Multitype Library System, published in 1992.

In 1993,Maureen was named Provincial librarian of Saskatchewan. As Provincial librarian, Maureen's list of accomplishments and successes for the province are impressive and they include new public library legislation as well as The Libraries Co-operation Act, building the multi-type philosophy into the province's vision for libraries. Before leaving her role in 1999, in concert with the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan library Association, with Maureen at the helm of the Provincial Library, the province witnessed the launch of Every Library Connected, an ambitious initiative that enabled the distribution of 300 computers to rural and urban libraries throughout the province and the establishment of a connectivity agenda that later would connect all libraries in Saskatchewan through the Internet. 

 

The Alberta library was Maureen's next stop, and moving into the 21^st Century, libraries across Alberta faced a number of challenges and opportunities, including the information explosion, the development of new technologies, the emergence of the Internet and a changing government philosophy . As Head of the Alberta Public library Electronic Network (APLEN), Maureen was part of the initiative linking the seven library systems, their resource libraries and the other large public libraries to form the 16 nodes of the provincial library network .  She oversaw the establishment of the provincial network and gathered the evidence on impacts of connectivity that leveraged a continuing federal investment. She was also responsible for bringing together the provincial Ministers who initiated the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT} agenda for public libraries in Canada.  

In 2003 Maureen accepted the position of Director of Public Library Services with the BC Government which was to prove a most fortuitous event for BC Public libraries. Immediately prior to Maureen's arrival, BC had witnessed a major budget retrenchment across the public sector and public libraries were clearly not "on the radar ." Undeterred, Maureen focused her boundless energy and optimism on crafting a strategic vision for public libraries in BC, traveling throughout the province listening, collecting success stories, and encouraging her colleagues. Her efforts blossomed in October 2004 with the unveiling of a new, comprehensive strategic plan for public libraries- Libraries Without Walls: The World Within Reach. This was the first system wide plan created in BC in over a decade and has since been referenced by other public library systems across North America. Maureen wasn't satisfied with just a new strategic plan: she leveraged the momentum generated to convince Treasury Board to almost double provincial funding to public libraries .

The BC strategic plan helped transform library service, establishing a new provincial context for public libraries. The plan specified that access to core library services should be free and equitable. It challenged library leaders to think regionally and provincially to ensure that small libraries could benefit from emerging technology, and stressed the need for collaboration for the benefit of all. 

It was Maureen's energy, vision and community building approach that led to the development and success of the plan for BC libraries. In 2008, she organized the Libraries in Dialogue with Government event that established roles and responsibilities, relationship building principles, and enabled public libraries to develop greater synergies between local libraries and government . In a keynote address, Maureen described the Dialogue as the culmination of a consultation to assess the key issues facing communities and the key areas of development for the government . The result was a $15 million fund for public libraries to support equitable access to information for all citizens of BC and make effective use of provincial dollars. One of Maureen's most interesting points from the Dialogue was that the library enjoyed a 96% approval rating from the Canadian public and how valuable that might be to government. 

Finally, in 2010 Maureen returned to Saskatchewan to help develop and launch the province-wide library system infrastructure as Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Information & Library Services (SILS} Consortium. Today, every public library in the province is connected, regardless of location, to offer the same access to information and services. Maureen has made a major contribution to SILS as a public service and as an organization.

While Executive Director is descriptive of the job, it is not descriptive of the essence of Maureen's role in the SILS Consortium. SILS brought together Saskatchewan's public library systems and Provincial Library into a partnership that would change the way public library technology is provided for the province's residents. Under Maureen's leadership, the Consortium has thrived, grown new partnerships, and attracted national and international attention. Executive Director of SILS has been the ideal synthesis of Maureen's vision, talents, and experience as a library leader in Canada the Consortium and the province's library users, are very lucky to have her! 

I am proud to nominate Maureen Woods for the Frances Morrison Award. I first met Maureen when I was a newly minted librarian entering my first professional position in Saskatchewan' s amazing public library system . She has been a role model and a mentor from whom I have learned much and to whom I owe a great deal. I do not know a more worthy awardee for the Frances Morrison Award. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Jeff Barber

Library Director & CEO

Regina Public Library