Yesterday, the Dal Libraries took part in the campuswide initiative Pink Day. Pink Day is when we wear pink to call attention to issues around bullying and respect. Here are some pictures of our library staff wearing their pink.
Problem accessing journals wirelessly
We are unable to access Science Direct journals or databases, McGraw Hill products (AccessMedicine, etc.) and EBL eBooks via wireless. These publishers, and any others reported to us, have been contacted with the new IP range now being used for wireless access.
Access will be enabled as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Update, Thurs., Sept. 26: Science Direct products are now accessible via wireless, and most of the McGraw Hill databases (but not yet AccessMedicine). The EBL eBooks are still not available via wireless.
Update, Tues., Oct. 1: Can now access AccessMedicine and EBL. Cannot access Eureka and still having problems accessing BMJ Best Practice from some devices. We are continuing to work on these problems.
Pink Day is Wednesday, Sept. 25
Don’t forget to wear pink this Wednesday in support of the university-wide initiative, Pink Day. Pink Day is celebrated annually at Dalhousie to promote respect and to raise awareness around bullying issues.
Here’s a little video about Pink Day at Dalhousie to get you in the mood. And don’t miss the events happening on your campus:
Studley
12-1 p.m. – barbecue on the upper quad
2:30-4:30 p.m. – Embracing Diversity: Developing Cultural Competence, to register: http://register-eod.dal.ca
Carleton
10-11 a.m. – free cake and apples in the Tupper link
2:30 p.m. – free ice cream in the Tupper quad
Sexton
10-11 a.m. – free cake and apples in the Alumni Lounge
Agricultural
10-11 a.m. – free cake and apples in the Amphitheatre
Summer Shine 2013
On September 16, the Dalhousie Libraries interns took part in a presentation opportunity called the Summer Shine Series. The series, introduced last year, was designed to give the interns an opportunity to present projects they have been working on during their summer internships. The faculty from the School of Information Management (SIM), the first-year SIM students, and all of the faculty and staff from the Dalhousie Libraries were invited to attend.
The interns’ presentations were varied and fascinating. The interns from the Killam Library–Nicole, Sam, and Keriann–talked about work they did with the data from the LibQUAL+ survey that we did this winter, the faculty profiles in DalSpace, and the process involved in getting more issues of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science (NSIS) on DalSpace.
James, the intern from the Sexton Library, talked about a weeding project that all the staff at the Sexton worked on together this summer. Linda, the intern from the MacRae Library, discussed the work she did preserving historical data about the wild blueberry industry in Nova Scotia.
Marc, from the Kellogg Library, talked about producing updated tutorials, while Maggie, also from the Kellogg, talked about translating search queries into multiple databases. Jannaya, the intern from the Dal Archives, talked about cleaning up the data in and moving the Archives’ electronic records, as well as how she created descriptions for many issues of the Dalhousie Gazette. Veronika, the intern from the Sir James Dunn Law Library, discussed a project she did that compared Dal’s Schulich School of Law against other law schools in Canada by looking at publication and citation rates of law faculty across Canada.
Thank you to all of the interns for your excellent work this summer.
A larger view, from l to r: Maggie, Keriann, Jannaya, James, Nicole, Linda, Samantha, Veronika, and Marc.
Student-published Journals at Dal
There are a number of student-published journals at Dalhousie, covering disciplines from Medicine, English, Law, French, History and more. Here is a list of the titles we know about (please contact us if you know of a title that’s not on this list):
Compendium 2 (a new scholarly journal on writing pedagogies, edited with the assistance of undergraduate and graduate students affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Dalhousie Writing Centre)
Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management (DJIM)
Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies
Fathom (English/King’s)
Initiales (French)
International Insights (produced by graduate students in the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies)
Just @ Dal, Journal of Undergrad Science Today at Dalhousie
Pangaea (History)
Pseudo-Dionysius (from Classics/King’s)
Verso, an undergrad journal of literary criticism
Some of these journals are hosted on a service called Dalhousie Open Journal Systems, ojs.library.dal.ca, such as the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management (DJIM). Please get in touch with geoffrey.brown@dal.ca if you have a student journal at Dal that you’d like to be hosted on the Dalhousie Open Journal System.
GIS Centre’s Lunchless Learn Series Returns
What 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 an easy and fun way to look at the world differently.
This series gives people a taste of what GIS is and how it can be used. We are offering the same session at different times and locations, so choose the one that fits your schedule best. These sessions are meant to be self contained; after the intro session–take only the topics that are of interest to you.
Due to the high level of interest in these sessions, we ask you to sign up for each session at http://gisdata.library.dal.ca/workshop/ If you encounter any problems signing up, or if have any other questions, contact gis@dal.ca
Intro – First Encounters of the GIS Kind
Wed., Sept. 18/12:30-2 p.m. Room G70, Killam Library
Mon., Sept. 23/12-1:30 p.m. Room C300, C Building, Sexton Campus
Wed., Oct. 2/1:30-3 p.m. Room G70, Killam Library
Data: So You Want to Make a Map – where and how to find data
Mon., Oct. 7/12-2 p.m. Room C300, C Building, Sexton Campus
Tues., Oct. 15/11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Room G70, Killam Library
Raster – How to Become a Raster Master
Mon., Oct. 21/12-1:30 p.m. Room C300, C Building, Sexton Campus
Wed., Oct. 30/1:30-3 p.m. Room G70, Killam Library
Carto: Maps – the good, the bad, and the ugly
Mon., Nov. 4/12-1:30 p.m. Room C300, C Building, Sexton Campus
Wed., Nov. 13/1:30-3 p.m. G70, Killam Library
And don’t forget that the GISciences Centre is located on the second floor of the Killam Library.
Goodbye & Good Luck Norma!
Norma Yorke is retiring after 39 years of working at Dalhousie. In 1974 she started at the Registrar’s Office, and spent time working in the Division of Community Dentistry and in the School of Recreation, Physical and Health Education before coming to work in the Killam Library. Norma has worked in the Killam for 16 years.
Her plans for retirement include expanding the home-based ornamental concrete business that she and her husband started seven years ago, Serenity Ornamental Concrete. “I enjoy the customers and the satisfaction of creating something that people enjoy,” says Norma.
“Norma has been a welcoming, friendly and helpful presence at the Killam Library’s main service point. She has developed strong friendships with many of her colleagues and built relationships with library patrons. She will be greatly missed by many! It has been a pleasure working with Norma and I wish her much happiness in her retirement years,” says Sandra Dwyer, who was the Head of Circulation at the Killam for a number of years.
Best wishes Norma, and we will miss you!
Some samples of Norma’s concrete work:
Dal Libraries are closed on Labour Day
Take a look at the fall hours for the academic term, starting soon at a library near you.
Intern profiles 2013: Maggie Neilson, Intern at the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library
Maggie checks out some of the medical equipment in one of the Kellogg Library’s group study rooms.
In Maggie Neilson’s family, libraries are in the genes. This soon-to-be third generation librarian has a grandmother who was a librarian in Montreal and a father who has worked as a librarian at Memorial, Lakehead, and UNB. With a family history like that, it’s no surprise that Maggie has just completed her first year of the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree at Dal and is spending her summer working at the Kellogg Library.
“I know I’m supposed to be a librarian,” says Maggie, who did her undergraduate degree in animal science at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (now known as Dalhousie’s Agricultural Campus). Even while she was pursuing her Bachelor of Science, Maggie spent two summers working in the MacRae Library as a summer student. “I was encouraged by the staff of the MacRae Library to pursue my MLIS degree,” says Maggie. “They could see that I really liked the role that libraries play in research.”
This summer, Maggie has been revamping the design of the Libguides, assisting with systematic reviews (large searches that involve upwards of 10,000 articles), and helping students and researchers with their searches. One major undertaking that she is especially excited about is a bibliometric project where she is counting citations in five different clinical pharmacy journals. (Bibliometrics is the statistical analysis of books, articles, or other publications.) Maggie is assisting with evaluating how often the journals cite other sources and how often other people cite them. This information will be used in a paper to help science libraries select the best journals, based on both popularity and prestige.
“A health sciences library is a great fit with my undergraduate degree and I’d heard that the Kellogg Library offers an extensive internship with boundless learning opportunities,” says Maggie. “Every day I have an opportunity to help someone. Working at the Kellogg Library allows me to contribute to the health of my community, and that’s very exciting to me.”
Academic Term Hours at the Dalhousie Libraries
Updated Tuesday, October 8
Sir James Dunn Law Library
Monday – Wednesday: 8 a.m.-10:45 p.m.
Thursday: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 12-6 p.m.
Sunday: 12-10:45 p.m.
Effective September 16
W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library
Monday-Thursday: 7:30 a.m.*-11 p.m.
Friday: 7:30 a.m.*-7 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
* Note: Circulation opens at 8 a.m. Mon.- Fri.
Effective September 6
Killam Memorial Library
Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-midnight
? Friday: 8 a.m.-midnight new!
? Saturday: 10 a.m.-midnight new!
Sunday: 10 a.m.-midnight
Effective September 5
Dalhousie University Archives & Special Collections Reading Room (located fifth floor, Killam Library)
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
GISciences Centre (located second floor, Killam Library)
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
MacRae Library
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday: 12 -5 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Effective September 5
Sexton Design & Technology Library
Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m.-12 a.m.
Friday: 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m.-12 a.m.
Effective September 3