Dryden Public Library Chief Librarian honoured at provincial convention

Dryden Public Library’s Chief Librarian Caroline Goulding is the newest recipient of the Larry Moore Distinguished Service Award, presented by the Ontario Library Association at their annual super conference in Toronto last week.

Goulding is being recognized for her contributions to library development and service.

“Through everything I was doing with the OLA, I found it incredibly rewarding to feel like I was doing something in the face of these society-wide challenges or sector challenges,” Goulding said. “I was contributing to the collective actions of the sector.”

Goulding was a prominent advocate for a number of different library initiatives, including the Save Our School Libraries campaign and the First Nations Public Library Operating Grant. She also shared webinars and online resources during the pandemic.

“(Libraries) are vital community institutions,” Goulding said. “We’re one of the last remaining third spaces in a community, somewhere you can go and be that is not your home or work and where you don’t have to pay.”

“Get out and visit your public library. Especially in the cold weather. Check out a book, get a DVD, curl up inside. It’ll be wonderful.”