By the CSL Awards & Grants Committee
Canadian School Libraries is very pleased to announce two new initiatives, both named in honour of Donald Hamilton, and made possible by the generous donations from colleagues, friends, and family in memory of this great advocate for school library programs in Canada.
Canadian School Libraries has used the generous donations made in Don’s memory to establish the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Fund. The fund provides grants to groups or organizations who plan to develop strategies, events, programs, or other projects which will promote school libraries and school library programs, as well as supporting the new Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award.
Donald Hamilton, School Library Advocate
Donald Hamilton was a leader in the field of school libraries and teacher-librarianship for over three decades. In his role as Adjunct Professor in the Curriculum Laboratory at the University of Victoria he organized and taught in the University of Victoria’s Diploma Program for School Librarianship, organized summer institutes for practicing teacher-librarians and delivered workshops for teacher-librarians in every province in Canada. He also collaborated with the Ministry of Education in B.C. and school administrators on providing access to appropriate learning resources for school libraries and in developing curriculum that included the importance of the role of school libraries and teacher-librarians.
Don was President of the Canadian School Library Association for eight years and was Managing Editor of its journal, School Libraries in Canada, which was offered free to every school in Canada and had a circulation of up to 12,000 copies. His support for libraries went beyond those in schools and universities. He was on the Public Library Board for Greater Victoria and was a B.C. Public Library Trustee.
Don wrote numerous articles for a variety of journals and was best known for his sometimes-controversial opinions on accepted practices. His regular column in the journal School Libraries in Canada, “On the Other Hand” gave sometimes humorous, but always practical suggestion for improving school library programs and best practices. Don was also notable for his many letters to the editor that advocated for societal recognition and financial support for public libraries, school libraries and teacher-librarians. These many articles and letters and all of Don’s presentations were presented in a professional, humorous and common-sense manner.
Donald Hamilton was not only a leader in the field of school librarianship but a mentor to many of those who attended his courses and workshops. He is well deserving of this award which is intended to continue Don’s legacy of promoting and supporting school libraries in Canada through both advocacy and financial support.
Honouring Donald’s Memory
Donald’s friend and colleague, John Caldwell, tells the story of the genesis of the Donald Hamilton Fund.
Saddened by the passing of Donald Hamilton in August, 2023, a small group of Don’s friends and colleagues met to discuss what they could do to honour his memory. Don’s contributions to both school and public libraries in the Victoria area was vast and it seemed fitting to create some kind of memorial that would acknowledge this. The group of friends and colleagues consisted of retired and active teacher-librarians, library coordinators and school administrators including John Caldwell, Lillian Carefoot, Karin Paul, Lindsay Ross, and Barbara Strachan.
Although Don had most recently served on the local public library board, we agreed that his passion, and most of his career had been in the area of school libraries. Even in Don’s role as Head of the Curriculum Library at University of Victoria Don admittedly spent much of his time promoting school libraries and instructing the students enrolled in Education on the importance of the school library and the teacher-librarian. So, very quickly our group determined (partly because of our own biases) that any “legacy” created in Don’s name should be focused on school libraries.
Our first meeting was over a luncheon and was very successful in that we managed to both mourn Don’s loss and honour his memory by telling our individual stories of Don and the great impact he had on all of us, both personally and professionally. As well, we shared ideas about ways in which we could set up an award or fund to recognize how important Don was to the school library community. The latter was to be the topic for our second get-together.
In September we contacted Don’s family for their thoughts about having our group establish some kind of an annual award or grant in his name. Although we were unsure of the specific details and what the “legacy” might involve, Don’s family were very supportive. One of our concerns was whether we should be introducing the award/fund at Don’s Celebration of Life which was planned for October, 2023. This was obviously meant to be a solemn occasion, but again, the family thought that it was not only a good idea, but that Don himself would have been “honoured but embarrassed” by the notion. Receiving both permission and motivation from the family we felt some pressure to have a concrete statement about an award/fund, in Donald Hamilton’s name, for his Celebration of Life.
In our second meeting, with agenda in hand, everyone in the group had done some good follow-up work on several questions that arose during our first meeting. We reported back on possible connections and support for Don’s legacy. These included collaborating with organizations such as University of Victoria, the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association (BCTLA), Canadian School Libraries (CSL), the Victoria area teacher-librarians’ associations etc. We had also looked into the legalities surrounding setting up a charity or foundation on our own and the tax implications of establishing a “Charity”. This, in itself, was a huge task. Also, our plans for Don’s legacy were getting much bigger. After our research on Don’s background and a discussion about what Don had contributed to the larger school library community, there was general agreement that Don’s influence on school libraries stretched far beyond our local area. In fact, his influence was Canada-wide. Don had written numerous articles on the importance of school libraries, edited School Libraries in Canada a national journal, and had given workshops and presentations across Canada. He had received national awards for these efforts and for three decades he was definitely a leader in the field of school libraries. We very quickly had gone from a small, more manageable, legacy in Don’s name to something much larger; and thankfully, this is where our direct contact with Canadian School Libraries began.
The active teacher-librarians in our planning group were very enthusiastic about a possible collaboration with the Canadian School Libraries organization. We were impressed by CSL’s website, its recent publications, and on-line presentations. And, fortunately, when we approached CSL about sponsoring a legacy in Donald Hamilton’s name they were very agreeable and were willing to prepare some of the promotional material we wanted for Don’s Celebration of life. They also were able to provide the receipts that made any financial donations tax deductible. Thanks to Anita Brooks Kirkland, Chair and Treasurer of Canadian School Libraries, information about Don’s legacy award and fund was added to their website very quickly and we were able to provide a link for donations and some very professional handouts that we could use at Don’s Celebration of Life.
Donald Hamilton’s Celebration of Life took place in October of 2023 and we set up a table announcing the award and fund that had been established in Don’s name. We tried to be as unobtrusive as possible and our table also had lots of memorabilia about Don and his important role in the area of school libraries. We had the information provided by Canadian School Libraries and the link to donating on their website. We also had a cash box for anyone who wanted to make a cash donation. Although we had concerns about whether this was somewhat tactless considering the occasion, it was very well-received. This initial fund-raising effort was very successful and thanks to generous donations from Donald Hamilton’s family and friends, and the wonderful assistance and suggestions from Anita and Canadian School Libraries, the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award and the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Grant have been established. They are now available to advocates of school libraries across Canada. Donald Hamilton may have been embarrassed by this honour, but there is no question that it is well-deserved.
Donald Hamilton’s Enduring Legacy
The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Grant
Groups or organizations who plan to develop strategies, events, programs, or other projects which will promote school libraries and school library programs may apply for a CSL Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Grant. Project proposals must be aligned with the vision of the school library learning commons captured in CSL’s Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada, and Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success.
Grants may range from $250 to $1,000 depending on the scope of the proposal, and there may be one or more grants awarded each year. Connect to the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Grant page on the CSL website to find out more about how to qualify for a grant, and the application process.
The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award
Canadian School Libraries is very pleased to announce a third award to celebrate excellence in school libraries, joining our existing Angela Thacker Memorial Award and Leading Learning Implementation Award.
The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award will be presented bi-annually to an individual, group, or organization who have publicly and successfully promoted school libraries and/or teacher-librarians, in a significant way, through the media, organized events, presentations, or other forms of public advocacy. This advocacy may have involved a single major accomplishment or a long-term contribution to supporting school libraries and/or teacher-librarians. Advocacy goals must be aligned with the vision of the school library learning commons captured in CSL’s Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada, and Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success. Connect to the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award page on the CSL website to find out more about the award, and the nomination process.
Donald Hamilton was a tireless advocate for school library programs. Canadian School Libraries is very pleased to help honour his legacy through these initiatives.
Would you like to donate to the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Fund?Canadian School Libraries is a non-profit, charitable organization. Your donation will support advocacy initiatives, and you will receive a charitable donation tax receipt. Donate here.