Menu

The LibVine

What's going on at the Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Agriculture

Dalhousie Libraries Welcomes New Dean of Libraries Michael Vandenburg

Leave a Comment

Michael VandenburgOn August 15, Michael Vandenburg will begin his five-year appointment as Dean of Libraries at Dalhousie University. Current Dean of Libraries Donna Bourne-Tyson will be retiring after eleven years of extraordinary leadership.

Since May of 2021, Michael has been the Interim Executive Director of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). OCUL is the consortium of Ontario’s 21 university libraries, committed to maximizing collective expertise and resources through collaborative efforts. While at OCUL, Michael provided leadership for current initiatives and services, and actively engaged with member library directors to review the consortium’s governance and develop new strategic directions.

Before that, Michael spent twelve years at Queen’s University Library, most recently serving in Acting and Interim Vice-Provost & University Librarian (VPUL) roles. Michael provided leadership for the library and the university through a period of significant change, including navigating the countless operational shifts required due to the pandemic. He also led the allocation and management of library resources in support of university goals and played a key role in developing and supporting the library’s Information Resources Strategy, Digital Asset Management Strategy, and Action Plan to Support Anti-Racism, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenous Cultures. Representing Queen’s, he worked with OCUL to implement a shared library services platform for 13 Ontario libraries, improving access to library resources for the Queen’s community.

Prior to arriving at Queen’s, Michael worked in public and government libraries in Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, and Ontario in roles focusing on the digital transformation of library systems and services. As a proud Dal alum (BA’88, MLIS’94), Michael is thrilled to be returning to Nova Scotia and Dalhousie as the Dean of Libraries.

Welcome, Michael!

Love Data Week

Leave a Comment

by Gwen MacNairn, Erin MacPherson, Lachlan MacLeod, James Boxall, and Julie Marcoux

Do you love data? Or do you want to know more about data before going to the next step? Whether you have lots of experience with data or are just starting to dip your toes in to the data pool, then International Love Data Week is for you. As this year’s theme of International Love Data Week is “Data is for everyone”, the Dalhousie Libraries will be hosting a series of presentations on data that will introduce you to the many different aspects of data, whether you are new or experienced. Taking place from February 14–18, these 30-minute presentations will cover things like:

  • A hands-on introduction to the basics of data
  • Tips for managing your research data
  • GIS and geospatial data
  • Where to find data

To register for these sessions and other Dal Libraries sessions, check out the Libraries Events calendar: https://dal.libcal.com/calendar/events

 

 

Reduced Hours and Early Holiday Closures at the Dalhousie Libraries (UPDATED DEC 21)

Leave a Comment

Out of an abundance of caution in response to rising COVID cases in the province and on campuses, the Dalhousie Libraries are reducing our hours, and in some locations, closing earlier for the holidays. Here is the revised schedule:

MacRae Library
Friday, December 17: Closing at 4 p.m. Reopening January 4.

Wallace McCain Learning Commons
Sunday, December 19: Closing at 4 p.m. Reopening January 4.

W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library (Tupper)
Sunday, December 19: Closing at 4 p.m. Reopening January 4.

Sexton Design & Technology Library
Sunday, December 19: Closing at 11 p.m. Reopening January 4.

Killam Memorial Library
Monday, December 20–Thursday, December 23: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
—–>Friday, December 24: CLOSED. Reopening January 4<—– UPDATED DECEMBER 21

Kellogg Library Learning Commons (CHEB)
Monday, December 20 –Thursday, December 23: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
—–>Friday, December 24: CLOSED. Reopening January 4.<—– UPDATED DECEMBER 21

Sir James Dunn Law Library
Wednesday, December 22: 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Reopening January 4.

Congratulations to the 2022 CAUL-CBUA Collaborative Research Grant Recipients

Leave a Comment

Nicole Carter

Nicole Carter

Lindsay McNiff

Lindsay McNiff

The Dal Libraries’ own Learning & Instruction Librarian Lindsay McNiff along with her colleague Nicole Carter, the Reference & Research Librarian at Saint Mary’s University, have been awarded $1,000 to help support their project, Investigating the experiences of academic librarians on temporary contracts in Canada before and during COVID-19. Congratulations!

From CAUL/CBUA:
In their proposal, Lindsay and Nicole propose to investigate the demographics of those academic librarians engaged in precarious work in Canada (including age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, years since graduation), in what postsecondary environments they have been employed precariously (college, university, size of institution), the nature of these contracts (reason, duration), and some key questions about their experience in these positions, including those raised in prior literature around training, socialization, and supervision. This is the first Canada-wide survey to investigate these questions with a focus on academic librarians with temporary contracts. The study will also zero in on how COVID-19 has affected the working life of librarians holding temporary contracts in academic libraries.

The CAUL-CBUA Collaborative Research Grant is intended to encourage collaborative research by librarians and staff working in academic libraries in the region through projects which involve structured, evidence-based research. We are pleased to continue offering support to researchers in the region and look forward to the results of Lindsay and Nicole’s study.

 

The Dalhousie Libraries Are Here for You! Top 5 Tips To Stay Connected

Leave a Comment

by Sarah Jane Dooley, Louise Gillis, & Melissa Helwig

Did you know many of our services are available online, like access to thousands of e-journals and e-books? Start your search here: https://libraries.dal.ca. There you will also find the most up-to-date information on our services and spaces.

To make this as easy as possible for you, we created a Top 5 Tips to stay connected with us whether you are working on campus or at home.


Tip #1: Ask a Librarian

Did you know you have a personal librarian?  Each program and faculty at Dalhousie has a subject librarian. You are welcome to email them directly at any stage of your research process. Your librarian is ready to help you and is accessible by email or by research appointment.

Start with the Subject Guides to search for your librarian by name or by subject area.

Or go to Ask Us to contact your local library.

We also provide LiveHelp (a chat-based reference service ideal for quick questions; find the link at the bottom of the Libraries’ homepage) as well as Brightspace support for faculty (intech@dal.ca) and IT HelpDesk assistance (support@dal.ca).


Tip #2: Start with Our Subject Guides

Overwhelmed or unsure where to start with electronic resources? Try a Subject Guide. These curated collections of subject-specific resources are an excellent starting point for your research. They highlight relevant databases, useful journals, e-books and more. Still stuck? Your librarian’s contact details are listed too!

Tip #3: Register Your DalCard

Why should you register your DalCard with the library? It allows you to access Document Delivery (see below for more important details). It also allows you to look at your library account info online and check due dates. See the online registration form here: https://libraries.dal.ca/borrow/library-cards.html


Tip #4: Document Delivery

How do I access journal articles and books that Dal Libraries doesn’t have?

Document Delivery (aka Interlibrary Loan) is a free service that delivers books in print, as well as journal articles and book chapters electronically.

You can use the patron request (aka order form) from the Document Delivery page or check our YouTube tutorial on using Get it@Dal to access Document Delivery. To log in you need to have your DalCard registered at the library (see above). Your login is the barcode on your DalCard and your username is the last four digits of the phone number associated with your library account.


Tip #5: Study Space

Are you looking for the perfect place to study?

Computer workstations, group meeting rooms or that little nook at the end of an aisle: everyone can find a great space to work in our libraries.  For details and to book, click here: https://libraries.dal.ca/services/book-a-study-room-or-computer–new–.html

 

A Convocation Message from the Dalhousie Libraries

Leave a Comment

On behalf of the Dalhousie Libraries, I’m offering heart-felt congratulations to you all. We know the hard work and sacrifice it took for you to get to this day and we are very proud of you!

This year ended on a particularly challenging note, but even through these unusual circumstances, it has been our honour and our pleasure to support your academic needs, most recently providing access to e-books, e-journals, LiveHelp reference support and assistance in Brightspace for students and professors, and before that with the full range of services in our beautiful library spaces.

Regardless of your faculty, we in the Dal Libraries consider all Dalhousie grads to be our graduates. We hope that as you become alumni, your relationship with the Dalhousie Libraries continues. We look forward to supporting your life-long learning journey and that you consider getting an alumni benefits card. I invite you to keep in touch and let us know how the Dal Libraries can support you.

Donna Bourne-Tyson
Dean of Libraries
donna.bourne-tyson@dal.ca

All Dal Libraries Locations Closing at 5 p.m tonight (Monday, March 16)

Leave a Comment

The Dalhousie Libraries are closing Monday, March 16 at 5 p.m. and will reopen from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.

This reduction in hours is due to precautions we are taking as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

More information about our hours will be forthcoming. Thank you for understanding.

Dalhousie University Libraries Joins Scholars Portal Dataverse

Leave a Comment

Dalhousie University, along with a number of members of the Council of Atlantic University Libraries (CAUL) and other universities across Canada, has entered in to a Service Agreement with the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) to host an institutional Dataverse on the Scholars Portal Dataverse. Dataverse is an open-source web application used to deposit, share and cite research data. It was developed by the Institution for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University.

Why deposit data in Dataverse?

There are many benefits for a researcher to depositing data in the Dataverse repository. Research Data Management Librarian Erin MacPherson suggests that Dataverse can help you to effectively manage your data and save time. “There are useful features such as the ability to assign roles and permissions and licenses. Publishing your data in a data repository helps to meet emerging grant and funding requirements. Finally, publishing your data can help increase research visibility,” observes MacPherson.

Benefits of an Institutional Repository for Dalhousie University on Scholars Portal Dataverse

Dean of Libraries Donna Bourne-Tyson notes, “One of the biggest benefits with having an Institutional Dataverse on the SP Dataverse is that we are contributing to the effort for a robust national data repository. We already have a strong collective effort to develop research data management tools and resources through the Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Portage Network, and this will further assist these endeavors.”

Some of the other benefits include:

  • Institutional Dataverses (Dalhousie has its own Institutional Dataverse on the site).
  • Canadian data hosting
  • Powerful visualization tools
  • Persistent identifiers (DataCite Canada DOI minting)
  • Open discovery on the web (Google SHARE and FRDR harvesting)
  • Bilingual Interface (English and French)

What happens to the Dalhousie’s existing Dataverse?

The Dalhousie Libraries currently hosts a local instance of Dataverse; however, from this point onwards, all new datasets and users will be directed to use Dalhousie’s institutional Dataverse hosted on the Scholars Portal Dataverse site. Over the coming year, the data management team will be in touch with existing users about migrating their data to the Dalhousie Institutional repository hosted on Scholars Portal Dataverse site. A decision will be made about maintaining a locally hosted instance at the end of the year.

Want to learn more?

If you are interested in using Dataverse to publish your data or would like a demonstration, please contact data.management@dal.ca and have a look at some of our training materials:

Holiday Hours

2 Comments

Most of our locations are now running on holiday hours. We will close at noon on December 24 and reopen on January 2, except for the Killam Library, which will be open for reduced hours on December 28 and 29. Please check the hours widget on libraries.dal.ca for exact hours before heading to any of our locations this week. Happy holidays from all of us at the Dalhousie Libraries! Happy Holidays ecard instagram

GIS Centre’s Lunchless Learn Series Fall 2019

Leave a Comment

GIS lunchless learnsWhat is a “Lunchless Learn”? It’s a hands-on tutorial, held around lunchtime, open to all on campus — without the food.

A GIS, or Geographic Information System, is “a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analyzing and displaying data relating to positions on earth’s surface.” In other words, it’s a way at looking at the world differently.

This is a series to give people a taste of what GIS is and how it can be used. To accommodate more people we are offering the same session at different locations. These sessions are meant to be self contained. After the intro session, take only the topics that are important or of interest to you.

Due to the high level of interest in this series, we ask you to sign up for session(s). To sign up, contact gis@dal.ca

Intro – First Encounters of the GIS Kind
Wed., Sept. 18/1–2:30 p.m. | Killam Library, Room G70 (Studley Campus)
Mon., Sept. 23/1–2:30 p.m. | C Building, Room C300 (Sexton Campus)             
Tues., Sept. 24/1–2:30 p.m. | Killam Library, Room G70 (Studley Campus)

Data: so you want to make a map – where and how to find data
Mon., Sept. 30/1–3 p.m. | C Building, Room C300 (Studley Campus)
Tues., Oct. 1/1–3 p.m. | Killam Library, Room G70 (Studley Campus)

Raster: how to become a raster master
Mon., Oct. 7/1–2:30 p.m. | C Building, Room C300 (Sexton Campus)
Tues., Oct. 8/1–2:30 p.m. | Killam Library, Room G70 (Studley Campus)

Carto: maps — the good, the bad, and the ugly
Tues., Oct. 15/1–2:30 p.m. | Killam Library, Room G70 (Studley Campus)
Mon., Oct. 21/1–2:30 p.m. | C Building, Room C300 (Sexton Campus)

ArcGIS Online – GIS that’s in the cloud(s)
Mon., Oct. 28/1–2:30 p.m. | C Building, Room C300 (Sexton Campus)
Tues., Oct. 29/1–2:30 p.m. | Killam Library, Room G70 (Studley Campus)

TOP