Two venerable Edmonton institutions, almost as old as the city they serve, are deepening their century-old alliance with a five-year memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting community learning and research innovation.
In a signing ceremony held at the Stanley A. Milner Library, Pilar Martinez, CEO of the Edmonton Public Library (EPL), and Bill Flanagan, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta, formalized a framework between their respective institutions designed to expand experiential learning for students, ignite joint research and bring university expertise more directly into public spaces.
“This partnership aims to bring together the university’s academic and research expertise with the library’s deep community roots. Our students get real experience in a public setting, and Edmontonians get more direct access to what’s happening at the university,” says Flanagan.
“It will help ensure the work happening at the university doesn’t stay confined to campus. EPL gives us a way to do that at scale, and we're glad to make that commitment formal.”
This new chapter in an ongoing tale of city-building will scale up joint efforts to better blend services. This includes the popular “L-Pass” system, which grants U of A students and staff seamless access to the library’s vast public collections.
Pilar Martinez, CEO of EPL, says the two organizations share a commitment to lifelong learning, knowledge sharing and community engagement.
“This MOU builds on a longstanding relationship and creates new opportunities to learn from one another and collaborate,” says Martinez. “We look forward to expanding our collaboration through work-integrated learning placements, research opportunities, creative projects and other initiatives.”
The new framework aims to rapidly scale up existing collaborations. Notably, the U of A Museums portfolio recently transformed its Echoes of Thunder exhibition into a massive digital experience tailored for the two-storey interactive digital wall at the Stanley A. Milner Library. The university has supported interactive programming for this digital installation on topics ranging from astrophysics to mountains, which are also the subject of online on-demand courses via the U of A.
In 2017, the Faculty of Native Studies partnered with the Edmonton Public Library to expand the reach of the Indigenous Canada online course by connecting learners with public events, resources and support across Edmonton.
Other current initiatives under the umbrella include cross-organizational knowledge sharing and the highly popular community speaker series, such as Cancer Unmasked and Conversations With the Department of Neuroscience.
Looking forward, the agreement places significant emphasis on work-integrated learning, giving students across all faculties access to new internships, capstone projects and volunteer opportunities within the library network.
The partnership will explore the potential of further programming utilizing EPL’s modern facilities, including the community Makerspace, recording studios and “the kitchen” at the Milner branch, where U of A nutrition experts host food preparation demonstrations.
The agreement also outlines plans to explore an EPL holds shelf directly on the university campus, making it easier than ever for the U of A community to access public library materials.