Hi there! I'm Lauren Bourdages, one of the co-hosts of #LISprochat. I am a professional library & information technician living in Waterloo, ON Canada. Currently, I am happily employed as the Copyright and Reserves Supervisor at the Library at Wilfrid Laurier University. I got my Library & Information Technician Diploma and a Records and Information Management Certificate at Conestoga College and I also hold both a BA (in English/Religion & Culture) and a BEd from Wilfrid Laurier University. In late 2016 I completed a Certificate in Canadian Copyright Law.I'm a big advocate of #librarysupportstaff and taking the "library blinders", as I call them, off to look at the plethora of "non-traditional" options open to LIS professionals in the information side of the library and information industry. I have served in several roles on committees and networks for the former Canadian Library Association and also the American Library Association. I'm also really interested in the accessibility of information in all its forms and mediums, I currently sit on the Accessibility Committee at my library because of this interest. I'm also a proponent of online education, having completed my LIT diploma and RIM certificate 100% online, and open access/open education. I serve my union's Communications and Political Action Committee at work to help bring information about the union and it's work to the membership in an accessible and understandable manner. In late 2017 I became the Library Advocacy Researcher for the Harry Potter Alliance to blend my loves of fandom, libraries, and volunteering.
I am incredibly big into fandom and geek culture, my primary fandom (and obsession) is Harry Potter but there are lots of other shows, films, and books that I am a big fan of. My hobbies include text-based HP roleplaying with my best friend, reading, writing, watching movies and TV, playing video games, and the occasional bout of crafting (at the moment I have developed an interest in learning how to make my own frames and mats). In the continued pursuit to show off all of the things we love, my best friend and I started a blog together in 2016, 2 Birds, 1 Blog.
