Sandra Singh
No shushing, please. Or sensible shoes. Sandra is VPL’s chief librarian, a voracious reader and a believer in libraries filled with energy, engagement and excitement – even (gasp!) noise, along with the traditional quiet spaces. She has been a cataloguer, a reference librarian, a cybrarian, a library IT director, and most recently the head of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia.
At Vancouver Public Library, Sandra leads the third-largest public library system in Canada: 22 locations, roughly 750 staff and nearly 10 million items circulated a year. When she joined VPL as CEO in 2010, the iPad had just been introduced. Then: she couldn’t envision reading books on the thing. Now: hers is filled with ebooks, and her reading enthusiastically embraces both traditional and digital formats.
It’s a time of unprecedented change at VPL, and Sandra is leading the library to re-imagine its services, expand the system and enhance access. Public libraries matter more than ever, she says, as places for exploration, understanding and community connections. “Libraries represent the best in people and society – the willingness to share and contribute to a greater
good.”
Sandra completed her Masters of Information Studies at the University of British Columbia in 1997. She has worked as a librarian at Calgary Public Library, Abilene Public Library, Suite101.com, the University of British Columbia, and Vancouver Public Library.
At Vancouver Public Library, Sandra leads the third-largest public library system in Canada: 22 locations, roughly 750 staff and nearly 10 million items circulated a year. When she joined VPL as CEO in 2010, the iPad had just been introduced. Then: she couldn’t envision reading books on the thing. Now: hers is filled with ebooks, and her reading enthusiastically embraces both traditional and digital formats.
It’s a time of unprecedented change at VPL, and Sandra is leading the library to re-imagine its services, expand the system and enhance access. Public libraries matter more than ever, she says, as places for exploration, understanding and community connections. “Libraries represent the best in people and society – the willingness to share and contribute to a greater
good.”
Sandra completed her Masters of Information Studies at the University of British Columbia in 1997. She has worked as a librarian at Calgary Public Library, Abilene Public Library, Suite101.com, the University of British Columbia, and Vancouver Public Library.