Access the recording on our resources page!
The Alberta Library hosted a symposium on April 29th, 2026 at 2pm. It was aimed at current library/library tech/archives/library-related students, new grads, or anyone interested in a library career. It ran for around 1.5 hours.
This event hosted a suite of panelists from a variety of library land positions. They answered questions about interviews, interview and early career skills, moving for jobs, career paths, etc. There was an open Q&A period.
Speaker Bios:
- Braden Cannon
- Braden Cannon is a Private Records Archivist at the Provincial Archives of Alberta, where he has been working since 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Studies from Carleton University and a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from Dalhousie University.
- Sean Holdner
- Sean Holdner graduated from MacEwan University’s Library and Information Technology diploma in 2025.He began his position as the Library Services Administrator at Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP during his final semester. Over the past year he has become actively involved in professional association work, serving as the inaugural chair of the Library Association of Alberta’s Law Division, co‑chair of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries’ New Professionals Group, and an incoming member of CALL’s executive board. Prior to entering law librarianship, Sean spent nearly a decade working in circulation for the public libraries of Vancouver and Edmonton.
- Jessie Morris
- Jessieis an experienced leader in library services and community development, with over 10 years of progressive leadership in public libraries. She began her career as a community librarian focusing on services to vulnerable populations and her passion has led to experiences in a wide variety of library service environments. As Manager of Member Library Services at Northern Lights Library System for the past 5 years, her work has focused on consistently improving service delivery, staff development, and interagency collaboration (all those group projects in library school are finally coming in handy!) Jessie is passionate about her role as a mentor in library land and is excited to share some of her experiences at the TAL Student Symposium.
- Jess Schauer
- Jess Schauer graduated from MacEwan University with a diploma from the Library and Information Technology program in 2023. She began working in data management in 2021 and the library and archives industry in 2022. She has held varying types of contracts in both libraries and archives. Currently, she is a library manager at a public charter school in Edmonton.
- Shaina Sola
- Shania Sola holds an MLIS from Western University (2024). She works as a Library Technician at Burman University (Lacombe, AB) and has been working in the field for 2 years. She has a passion for cataloguing, AI information literacy, and collection development for graphic novels, children’s and young adult literature. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, board games, reading the latest books, attending K-pop concerts, and taking care of her two cats.
Q&A Log
Please message cboychuk@thealbertalibrary.ab.ca if you have any questions.