Vancouver Public Library Welcomes 2007 Board of Trustees

For Immediate Release, January 26, 2007

(Vancouver, British Columbia) --
Vancouver Public Library is very pleased to welcome Ann Cowan and Edward Soorany to the Vancouver Public Library Board.

An active promoter of books and reading throughout her esteemed career, Ms. Cowan has had a longstanding interest in the role of public libraries in both education and civil society. She is the founder of Simon Fraser University's Writing and Publishing program and a co-founder of the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing. In 1998, she was recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA Vancouver in the field of education. Currently, she is the Executive Director of Simon Fraser University's Harbour Centre campus.

Deeply involved in the community, Mr. Soorany is the founder of Telacquire Marketing Group Inc. He has served on numerous boards and committees in Vancouver and feels a strong connection to libraries and learning. He is a past President of the West End Community Centre Association and has served as a President of the Entrepreneur Assistance Society of East Vancouver. In 2003, he was nominated for the Inspiration Entrepreneur of The Year Awards.

At the 2007 inaugural VPL Board of Trustees meeting held January 24, Joan Andersen was re-elected as Chair, and John Buckberrough and Crissy George were elected as Vice Chairs.

Ms. Andersen, who first served as a trustee on the Board more than 20 years ago, is the Regional Director of Radio for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in British Columbia and is a member of Literacy BC's Board of Directors.

Other returning members are: City Councillor Elizabeth Ball; Michael Feder; Shannon Daub; School Board Trustee Clarence Hansen; Parks Board Commissioner Heather Holden; Erfan Kazemi; Larry Kuehn; and Tommy Tao.

"We achieved a great deal in the past 12 months, and we are looking forward to another exciting and challenging year at Vancouver Public Library," said Andersen. "On behalf of the VPL Board and staff, I would like to thank outgoing Board members Dermot Foley and Anita Zaenker for their leadership and commitment to improving library services for the citizens of Vancouver, and welcome our newest members, Ann Cowan and Edward Soorany, to the Board."

Founded in 1869, the Vancouver Public Library is one of Canada's largest library systems, dedicated to meeting the lifelong learning, reading, recreation, and information needs of the people of Vancouver. Each year, the Library's 22 branches serve over 370,000 patrons, offer over 2.5 million items and countless online resources to the public, and answer more than one million reference questions. In 2006, a record 10 million items were circulated.