SLA Frances Morrison Award

Frances Morrison joined the staff of the Saskatoon Public Library in 1943 and was the Chief Librarian from 1961 to 1980.During her tenure she was responsible for a major library expansion, the construction of a new main library, a local history room, programming services, and audio-visual and fine arts departments. Morrison played a prominent role in provincial and national library associations and in the establishment of the regional library system in Saskatchewan. When she retired in 1980, the city named the main library in her honour.

In 1981 she was awarded the Canadian Library Association’s Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award. In 1999 she received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit for her contributions to library services in Saskatchewan. In 1982, Frances Morrison joined with the Saskatchewan Library Association in creating this award.

Morrison was involved in a wide range of other activities, including the Meewasin Valley Authority, member and chair of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Saskatoon Business and Professional Women’s Club, the YWCA, the Saskatoon Heritage Society, the United Church and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. She received the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, the Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award of the Canadian Library Association in 1981, a YWCA Woman of the Year Award in 1989, and the Canada 125 Medal in 1993.

In 1999, Morrison received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit for her contributions to library services in Saskatchewan.

Frances Morrison passed away on Sunday August 14, 2011 at the age of 92.