Dana McFarland Winner of 2018 COPPUL Outstanding Contribution Award

VANCOUVER April 19, 2018 —The Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) has recognized Dana McFarland of Vancouver Island University with its 2018 Outstanding Contribution Award. This award, which may be given annually to an individual or team working in a member library, recognizes exemplary contributions to the consortium. These contributions should enhance service in multiple COPPUL libraries and have an impact throughout the region.

An innovative thinker and skilled problem solver, Ms. McFarland has served COPPUL in a variety of capacities, particularly in the areas of digital preservation and Indigenous knowledge initiatives. She was a member of COPPUL’s Digital Preservation Network Management Committee, Digital Curation and Preservation Working Group, Indigenous Knowledge Task Group, as well as the planning group for a 2014 Indigenous Initiatives Workshop, for which she also served as moderator.

Ms. McFarland also contributed to COPPUL broadly in her previous role as a library director. Her work has helped realize new COPPUL initiatives and approaches that benefit all COPPUL members, while helping to build a COPPUL culture that is collaborative, creative, practical and ultimately successful. Ms. McFarland’s nominators spoke of her thoughtful, strategic, inclusive leadership style, which has served to inspire emergent leaders. She is known to be a strong believer in the importance of building community infrastructure in service of the knowledge sector, a value that is at the core of the COPPUL Digital Stewardship Network (previously the Digital Preservation Network) that she helped to envision and realize. Ms. McFarland is an important resource for COPPUL; her varied experience with other professional organizations and as a library director have proved invaluable. Ms. McFarland is committed to knowledge sharing and professional development and has published or presented on a number of COPPUL projects, often in collaboration with other COPPUL members or staff.

COPPUL’s Digital Preservation Coordinator Corey Davis stated, "Working with Dana on the COPPUL Digital Preservation Network Management Committee was one of the highlights of my first few years at COPPUL. Her enthusiasm and insight helped lead us to where we are today. In particular, she helped us build better services for all COPPUL members through community-led collaborations, such as that between BC ELN and COPPUL. A well-deserved award indeed!" Board Chair Mary-Jo Romaniuk added, “Through her thoughtful and generous contributions, as well as her collaborative, inclusive approach, Dana exemplifies many of the values that are at the heart of COPPUL’s mission. It is a real pleasure to be able to formally recognize her work with this award.”