Menu

The LibVine

What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Archives for Marlo MacKay

More Chairs on the Way

This time of year, the demand for seating at the Dal Libraries increases beyond capacity. That’s why, when we can, we develop new seating areas: like the four tables and twelve chairs we repurposed after the Killam atrium renovation that are now set up in the lobby of the Killam.

The newest seating area in the Killam is proving to be very popular.

And more good chair-related news: we are currently waiting on a number of chairs to arrive at the Sexton, Kellogg and Killam Libraries. We don’t know exactly when the chairs will arrive, but we’re expecting them soon.

 

Extended Weekend Hours at the Killam

In addition to Night Owls (the Killam Library stays open til 3 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays from late October until December 17), the Killam will also be offering extended hours on the weekends leading up to exams.

Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Beginning on Saturday, November 24, the Killam Library will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings (instead of opening at 10 a.m.).  The last day the Killam will open at 8 a.m. on the weekend for this exam season will be Sunday, December 16.

To review, these are the hours of the Killam leading up to exams (effective Nov. 24 and ending Dec. 17)

Sundays 8 a.m.-3 a.m.
Mondays 8 a.m.-3 a.m.
Tuesdays 8 a.m.-3 a.m.
Wednesdays 8 a.m.-3 a.m.
Thursdays 8 a.m.-3 a.m.
Fridays 8 a.m.-midnight
Saturdays 8 a.m.-midnight

Happy studying!

Trial Database: Oxford Handbooks Online

The Dalhousie Libraries have trial access to the newly relaunched Oxford Handbooks Online. This access will end on December 15.

The Oxford Handbook Series brings together leading scholars to compose review essays that evaluate the current thinking on a field or topic and make an original argument about the future direction of the debate. Articles review the key issues, reveal original arguments and concepts, and set the agenda for new research. The Oxford Handbooks always been one of the most frequently cited series within scholarly publishing, and for the first time the entire collection of work across 14 subject areas is available online. The new platform provides improved navigation, expanded search, integrated social media, and site tutorials and videos accessible from any page.

For the duration of this trial, access to Oxford Handbooks Online will be available on campus only.

What is Document Delivery?

 Ever noticed the

or the

or the

or the

and wondered what Document Delivery is?

No?  Well that’s a shame because the Dal Libraries’ Document Delivery service can often get material for you that you can’t find at Dalhousie but that you need for your research.  Document Delivery is affiliated with libraries worldwide and has especially close ties to the other Canadian Atlantic University Libraries (CAUL).  We even share the same document delivery management system which we also use to connect to other international document delivery systems like OCLC based in Ohio and RapidILL based in Colorado.

Document Delivery requests material from other libraries on your behalf – that means books get delivered to us for you to pick up at the Dalhousie library of your choice.  Articles from journals get delivered directly to your Dalhousie email as a PDF link.  Articles are normally delivered within 1-3 days as are books from the other CAUL libraries.  Books from libraries outside of the Atlantic region are normally delivered by mail so can take a week to several weeks to arrive depending on the location of the lending library.

Last year Document Delivery processed a total of 39,000 requests –  22,000 from Dalhousie patrons, of which 14,000 were for articles, and 17,000 from other libraries for their patrons.  And the best part – the service is free for Dalhousie students, faculty and staff.   So please keep us in mind when you need an article or a book for your research and you can’t find it at Dal.

For more information about this service, visit the Document Delivery web page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spatial Intelligence for Health

On November 13, forty-five health researchers attended the Dalhousie-Esri Canada Spatial Intelligence for Health Forum at the Lord Nelson Hotel. This was the second time Dalhousie co-hosted the event, and this year saw a series of presentations about policy, research, application development, and issues related to care, illness and the future of health care and wellness in Nova Scotia.

The talks included:

  • From Information to Outcomes: An overview of information processes and tools
  • supporting public health practice in the UK
  • Dr. Frank Atherton, Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness
  • Health Mapping in Primary Care: Using GIS to Achieve the Triple Aim
  • Dr. Ajantha Jayabarathan, District Department of Family Practice
  • Geomatics from a Social Perspective (Nova Scotia Department of Community Services)
  • Using ArcReader to Visualize a Population?Based Framework for Primary Health Care Planning (Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness)
  • Nova Scotia Community Counts
  • Estimating Arsenic Exposure in Nova Scotia Using Geospatial Analysis  (Atlantic Path Project)
  • Location Tracking and Applications in Health Research (Daniel Rainham, Dalhousie Health Geomatics Lab)
  • The Use of GIS by Public Health, CDHA, to Better Understand our Communities (Holly D’Angelo?Scott, Capital District Health Authority)
  • Nova Scotia Single Address Initiative (Joe McEvoy, Property Valuation Services Corporation)

The day ended with a panel discussion about  data, privacy, the  provincial geomatics strategy,  and academic research which included James Boxall talking about the larger questions and developments in academic efforts shaping the future of health research. James is the director of the Geographical Information Sciences Centre (GIS), which is located on the second floor of the Killam Library.

James Boxall, director of the GIS Centre, located on the second floor of the Killam Library.

Participants came away with both a greater appreciation of the spatial projects and research taking place as well as having a great many opportunities for networking and talking about collaborations and innovative solutions to the more complex problems of doing more research and application development within a policy framework where privacy is of the utmost concern.

 

LibQUAL+ Survey 2013

Beginning January 28, the Dalhousie Libraries are asking students, faculty and staff to participate in the LibQUAL+ survey.

The LibQUAL+ survey provides the Dal Libraries with valuable information about your library experience. It is essential for the libraries to receive this information so that we can strive to match your expectations with your experience in the Dalhousie Libraries.

The LibQUAL+ survey is used in over 17 different countries in a wide variety of library environments.

Below are two examples of data that we have gathered from the last time we did the LibQUAL+ survey, in 2010.

 

 

 

Survey Questions

 Affect of Service

AS-1       Employees who instill confidence in users

AS-2       Giving users individual attention

AS-3       Employees who are consistently courteous

AS-4       Readiness to respond to users’ questions

AS-5       Employees who have the knowledge to answer user questions

AS-6       Employees who deal with users in a caring fashion

AS-7       Employees who understand the needs of their users

AS-8       Willingness to help users

AS-9       Dependability in handling users’ service problems

Information Control

IC-1        Making electronic resources accessible from my home or office

IC-2        A library Web site enabling me to locate information on my own

IC-3        The printed library materials I need for my work

IC-4        The electronic information resources I need

IC-5        Modern equipment that lets me easily access needed information

IC-6        Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own

IC-7        Making information easily accessible for independent use

IC-8        Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my work

Library as Place

LP-1       Library space that inspires study and learning

LP-2       Quiet space for individual activities

LP-3       A comfortable and inviting location

LP-4       A getaway for study, learning, or research

LP-5       Community space for group learning and group study

Local Questions

LC-1       Access to Archives, special collections

LC-2       Browsing library materials in the stacks

LC-3       Making me aware of library resources and services

LC-4       Providing health information when and where I need it

LC-5       Timely document delivery/interlibrary loan

General Satisfaction

GS 1       In general, I am satisfied with the way in which I am treated at the library.

GS 2       In general, I am satisfied with library support for my learning, research and/or teaching needs.

GS 3       How would you rate the overall quality of the service provided by the library?

Information Literacy Outcomes

IL 1         The library helps me stay abreast of developments in my field(s) of work.

IL 2         The library aids my advancement in my academic discipline or work.

IL 3         The library enables me to be more efficient in my academic pursuits or work.

IL 4         The library helps me distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy information.

IL 5         The library provides me with the information skills I need in my work or study.

 

 

 

 

Welcome MacRae Library staff: Sherree Miller

Our series of profiles of staff at the MacRae Library on the Agricultural Campus continues today. 

 

Sherree Miller has worked at the MacRae Library since 1981. Since then, she’s seen many changes, including the library moving from one room in the Cox Institute to the two-level MacRae Library that exists today, the introduction of computers into the library and most recently, the merger between the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and Dalhousie University to form the new Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture.

Sherree Miller, based at the MacRae Library on the Agricultural Campus.

Sherree is the head of Access Services, which is a term that describes many of the day-to-day functions that keep the library operating, such as being a front line contact for everyone who uses the library, answering the phones and helping people find the information they need. She has always worked in Access Services, as well as helping out in Document Delivery, working with serials and doing some cataloguing.

Sherree is also responsible for course reserves, supervising the student assistants, payroll for staff and student assistants and ordering supplies.  In addition, she also represents the MacRae Library on the Access Services committee. In the past, Sherree was a member of the Novanet Systems Operations Committee, and has represented the MacRae Library on the occupational health & safety committee and the Agriculture Campus’ Open House committee.  Sherree also represents the MacRae Library on the Dalhousie Libraries’ social committee.

“I very much enjoy interaction with our students, faculty and staff,” says Sherree of her work at the MacRae Library.

Sherree, welcome to the Dalhousie Libraries team!

David Adams Richards at the Killam Library

David Adams Richards Public Reading
Thursday, November 29, 7:30 p.m.
Archives & Special Collections Reading Room, fifth floor, Killam Memorial Library.

Award-winning author David Adams Richards will be reading at the Killam Memorial Library on Thurs., Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. The reading will take place in the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room on the fifth floor. This is a public reading and all are welcome.

David Adams Richards

David Adams Richards’ writing has been called “enigmatic and moving” (The Globe and Mail), and “strong and passionate” (Quill & Quire). Critics have said he has integrity, wit and acuity, while his voice has been called “powerful and necessary,” by the Ottawa Citizen.

His novels are set in the Miramichi River Valley, giving them a strong sense of place, while exploring universal themes such as family conflict, morality, economic class and community. “I think in a non-standard way I would consider myself a moral writer. I think what I tend to focus on is the motivations of characters and why things are done, that’s what I’m trying to get at,” said David Adams Richards in a June 2000 interview with Ray Robertson for Quill & Quire. While the tone of David Adams Richards’ work is generally dark, he says there is humour and hope in his work, too[i].

David Adams Richards is the author of novels, short stories, memoirs, essays, poetry and plays. He has won a number of prestigious awards, including the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, the Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction, the Norma Epstein Prize, the Canada-Australia Prize, the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in English-Language Literary Arts, the CBA Libris Award and the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers Award. For his most recent book, Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul, he won the 2012 Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most accomplished and acclaimed writers in Canada read from his own work. This reading is sponsored by Special Collections, Killam Library.

 

Some books by David Adams Richards from the Killam Library's collection.

[i] Robertson, Ray. “The Outsider.” Quill & Quire (June 2000)

 

TOP