Thank you for your interest in the Greater Edmonton Library Association! We welcome anyone who is interested in library activities in the city of Edmonton and surrounding area. GELA believes that the library community is only as strong as the people within it and that communication between them is vital. The association sponsors a number of continuing education and social events throughout the year to bring library individuals together and to help its members increase their knowledge in the field. We also support our community through our annual Professional Development grants and a variety of community outreach initiatives, including the Women’s Prison and Reintegration subcommittee and the GELA Community Bookshelf subcommittee.

GELA has an executive who are elected annually. We are always looking for volunteers if you are interested in participating.

• Increased opportunity to get out and meet your library colleagues. It is important to know what other organizations are doing - how are they meeting their challenges? are they hiring new staff? is there a possibility of collaboration? GELA members come from all types of libraries - public, academic and special and library consortia; joining GELA is an excellent way to get your name known in the library community.
• Continuing education programs. In the past, GELA has sponsored or co-sponsored a variety of events, including an intellectual freedom talk with Toni Samek, Project Management with Vincent Capri (co-hosted with NAHLA) and a panel discussion on “Interview Strategies: the Other Side of the Table” which were well attended and directly related to skills in demand in libraries today.
• Social events:
  • Annual Christmas Brunch in early December
  • Annual General Meeting in April
  • Annual Spring Banquet in May
  • Annual NetPub in October (Co-hosted with LISAA and FLA)
  • And more! Watch the jerome-l or AALT listserv or join our Facebook group to stay on top of GELA events. Library people need to get out and have a little fun too!

Please contact our executive if you have any questions about GELA and its upcoming activities. All members of the executive can be reached at gelaweb @ gela.ca