Menu

The LibVine

What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Agriculture

Agricultural Campus Open House: A fun day for all

Yesterday, approximately 35 members of the Dal Libraries staff from the Halifax campuses joined our colleagues in Truro at the Agricultural Campus for their annual Open House event.

The Agricultural Campus staff created a welcoming, fun, and interesting environment for everyone to explore. Faculty, staff, and students were on hand to explain various research projects and offer samples of local produce and delicacies. There were also games for the kids, contests for young and old, adorable animals, and beautiful gardens to take in, as well as a barbecue, ice cream, and cake. The new Seed Lending Library was featured in the MacRae Library, offering free samples of seeds such as lettuce and parsley.  A full list of all the activities from yesterday can be viewed here.

Our Communications Coordinator Marlo MacKay tries her hand at soap felting, a process where you add layers of wool to a bar of soap to make your loofah-type product,

Our Communications Coordinator Marlo MacKay tries her hand at soap felting, a process involving adding layers of wool to a bar of soap to make a loofah-type product. (photo by Stephen Murray of the Sir James Dunn Law Library)

Thank you to our new President, Dr. Florizone, for providing the Dal Tiger bus that many of the library staff and other Dal staff took to the event.  Thanks also to the staff at the MacRae Library on the Agricultural Campus, Elaine MacInnis, Verna Mingo, Sherree Miller (who came in on her vacation), Jolene Reid, Jennifer MacIsaac, Erin MacPherson, and Linda Cormier, the MacRae Library’s SIM intern, for being such gracious hosts. We can’t wait to go again next year!

A scene of the beautiful rock garden on the Agricultural Campus. (photo by Stephen Murray of the Sir James Dunn Law Library)

A scene of the beautiful rock garden on the Agricultural Campus. (photo by Stephen Murray of the Sir James Dunn Law Library)

 

Cake served by the staff at the MacRae Library.

Cake served by the staff at the MacRae Library. (This and all following photos courtesy of Debbie Bangay of the Killam Library.)

Nellie and Susan (KIllam Library) on the bus en route to the Open House event.

Nellie and Susan (Killam Library) on the bus en route to the Open House event.

 

Janet, Susan and Nellie of the Killam Library enjoying the beautiful grounds of the Agricultural Campus.

Janet, Susan and Nellie of the Killam Library enjoying the beautiful grounds of the Agricultural Campus.

 

Four little sheep all in a row. They were being herded as part of a demonstration with a Shetland sheepdog.

Four little sheep all in a row. They were being herded as part of a demonstration with a Shetland sheepdog.

This man is a professional falconer, bringing his hawk to the Agricultural Campus to rid the crops of unwanted pests such as sparrows.

This man is a professional falconer, bringing his hawk to the Agricultural Campus to rid the crops of unwanted pests such as sparrows.

 

Chicks, always cute!

Chicks, always cute!

Sheep shearing

Sheep shearing

 

A new role for Lindsay McNiff, Reference Librarian

Lindsay McNiff

Last summer, we welcomed Lindsay McNiff to the Dalhousie Libraries. Lindsay came to us from Toronto, initially for a ten-month term, spending five months at the Killam Library followed by five months at the Kellogg Library. Her term was  recently extended, and instead of splitting her time in chunks at each library, she’ll now have concurrent responsibilities at the Killam and Kellogg Libraries.

At the Kellogg Library,  she’ll be providing research support and instruction for the Faculty of Dentistry. At the Killam Library, she’ll be providing the same for the Faculty of Management and the Department of Economics. Lindsay will continue to manage the Dal Libraries’ collection of online tutorials, and will also serve on the Dal Libraries’ Information Literacy and User Experience & Assessment Committees.

This fall, Lindsay will be working closely with the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS) as part of their First Year Seminar Pilot Project. This pilot project entails offering small seminar sections on a variety of intriguing topics to first year students with the goal of fostering engagement and academic socialization. Lindsay and three other Dalhousie librarians, Oriel MacLennan, Dominic Silvio, and Karen Smith, will work with the professors and students to weave 21st century fluencies into the course content.

Lindsay is also involved with the Association of College and Research Libraries-supported Assessment in Action Project, designed to support and demonstrate library impact on student success.

 

 

Introducing Creighton Barrett, the new Digital Archivist

creighton

Creighton Barrett is the brand-new Digital Archivist for Dalhousie University. A new position at Dal, Creighton will be responsible for:

  • Developing programs to acquire and provide access to born-digital archival material
  • Overseeing the adoption of digital preservation standards and best practices
  • Increasing capacity to digitize historical records held in the University Archives
  • Contributing to activities of new Digital Scholarship Centre

Creighton is not a new face in the Dalhousie Archives, though. Previously, he held the position of Archives Specialist. In that role he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the archives, processing archival material, and supervising student and contract workers, as well as working with the Dal Libraries’ website committee, which he will continue in his new role.

“I’m really excited to help contribute to digital archives initiatives and programs here at Dalhousie.  The world of archives is rapidly changing and I am looking forward to joining a growing community of people tackling the technical, organizational, and resource challenges involved with digital preservation and stewardship,” says Creighton.

“We are thrilled to welcome Creighton into his new position as Digital Archivist in the Dalhousie University Archives and the Dalhousie Libraries’ Centre for Digital Scholarship. Creighton will play an important role in the development of services and infrastructure that will allow the University Archives to begin the transition from a primary paper and analogue based repository to one whose future holdings will be received almost exclusively in digital form. Creighton will also work closely with members of the Centre for Digital Scholarship to ensure that the work created through the Centre is preserved and available for research use for generations to come,” says Michael Moosberger, Dalhousie’s Archivist.

Congratulations Creighton!

Geoff Brown, the new Digital Scholarship Librarian

Geoff Brown

Geoff Brown has worked for the Dalhousie Libraries since 1995. In his most-recent position, Geoff was the Head of Technical Services at the Killam Library, a role which included some system-wide responsibilities as well.

Geoff is now the Digital Scholarship Librarian, a new position for the Dal Libraries. This position complements the new Digital Scholarship Initiative of the Dalhousie Libraries. Geoff will be the point person for the Libraries’ online journal publishing and hosting (OJS) service, eTextbook hosting, digital collections metadata development and related initiatives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Geoff into his new position as Digital Scholarship Librarian for the Dalhousie Libraries” Centre for Digital Scholarship. Geoff will provide leadership and expertise in a number of key areas as the Centre develops a suite of services and initiatives; all of which will promote a collaborative approach to research at Dalhousie and beyond by making more and more materials publicly available in digital form,” says Michael Moosberger, the Dalhousie University Archivist.

 

Heather MacFadyen, the new Scholarly Communications & Collections Librarian

macfadyen_libvine_01

Heather MacFadyen started working as the Management and Economics Librarian at the Killam Library in September 2012. Since January 2013, she’s been working as the Scholarly Communication, Economics, and Information Management Librarian. And her newest role, beginning in July, will be as the Scholarly Communication and Collections Librarian.

“I am delighted to be working with Heather in her new role as Collections Librarian. Her skills and fresh perspective are already proving crucial to our re-imagining and re-organizing resource management at the Dalhousie Libraries,” says Patrick Ellis, Associate University Librarian, Resources.

In this position Heather will support system-wide collection activities by providing analysis, consultation and planning services. Her work in Scholarly Communications includes leading the Faculty Research Profiles program in DalSpace, supporting the Dal Libraries OJS journal hosting service, and other digital scholarship initiatives.

 

Sandy Dwyer, the new Dalhousie Libraries Human Resources Advisor

sandy

Sandy has been working at the Dalhousie Libraries since 1990, when she was hired as a student. Until recently, she was the Head of Circulation for the Killam Library and also served part-time to support Human Resources initiatives for the Dal Libraries.

In her new full-time role as Human Resources Advisor, Sandy provides human resources advice to all library staff and the managers of the five Dalhousie Libraries. This includes provision of operational and strategic direction for human resource planning, and recruitment and development for both faculty and staff within the Dalhousie Libraries.

She also develops policies, does human resources training, provides support and advice to recruitment or selection committees and supervisors, offers job related employee coaching and counselling services, and more.

“The Dal Libraries strive to create a healthy, stimulating, comfortable workplace where staff members are engaged and able to do their best on behalf of our users. Providing fulsome HR advice and training, and supporting activities to promote employee health and wellness contribute to employee satisfaction and the provision of excellent service to patrons. Working with the University HR department and the Dal Libraries managers, Sandy adds tremendous capacity in these important areas. Along with the other members of the Dal Libraries Senior Management Team, I look forward to working closely with her,” says Donna Bourne-Tyson, University Librarian.

This new position in the Dal Libraries is a senior position with a major role in directing the human resource functions of the Dalhousie Libraries.

 

A Better Service Model: the New Organizational Structure of the Dalhousie Libraries

AULs announcement

To keep up with the changing needs of students and faculty, the Dalhousie Libraries are ensuring their attention is focused on the services they offer, how these services are offered, and what services they might offer in the future.

A new organizational structure has been formed by creating five new Associate University Librarian (AUL) roles. Each AUL role is combined with a current head librarian position. This structure was created after reviewing the recommendations of last summer’s operational review of the Dal Libraries and consulting with the Dalhousie Libraries’ Library Council.

Each AUL role comes with a portfolio of services they are responsible for coordinating. The AULs will ensure there is system-wide consistency and collaboration in the services offered, and they will be responsible for developing new system-wide services.

The titles and areas of responsibility of the new AULs are:

1. Elaine MacInnis, Associate University Librarian, Access Services and Head of the MacRae Library
Access services includes: reference services, Document Delivery, circulation, copyright, and user experience & assessment

2. Anne Matthewman, Associate University Librarian, Learning & Curriculum Support and Head of the Sir James Dunn Law Library
Learning and curriculum support includes: information literacy and instruction

3. Joyline Makani, Associate University Librarian, Research and Head of the Killam Memorial Library
Research includes: research data management services, liaison services, and internal data analysis

4. Patrick Ellis, Associate University Librarian, Resources and Head of the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library
Resources includes: collections, technical services (acquisitions, cataloguing, metadata production), and the off-site regional repository

5. Allison Fulford, Associate University Librarian, Discovery and Head of the Sexton Design & Technology Library Discovery includes: link resolver (SFX), Integrated Library System (Aleph), discovery layers (WorldCat, Novanet), and the Dal Libraries’ website

Services not covered by the AULs but provided by other members of the Dal Libraries’ Senior Management Team include: Library Information Technology Services (LITS), Archives & Digital Scholarship, Human Resources, Communications, and Budget and Finance Administration.

Graduate Student Seminar

grad seminars1

The Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students (DAGS) is proud to present the second Dalhousie-wide Grad Student Seminar. This monthly event will include 10 student presentations from graduate students from all across Dalhousie. Refreshments will be available. A social event will follow at the Grad House.

Students from all faculties are invited to attend and/or present. If you would like to give a 10 minute presentation on your research (either your thesis or a research project), please send an email to vpacademic@dags.ca.

When: Thursday, June 20/12:30-3:30 p.m.

Where: Killam Library, LINC Room (second floor)

Cost: Free

Contact: vpacademic@dags.ca   

The Dalhousie Libraries and the Faculty of Graduate Studies are proud to partner with the DAGS on this event.

Libraries Seek Your Input on New Strategic Plan

strat plan image for blog

This winter, the Dalhousie University Libraries created a new strategic alignment plan, Vision 2015. Developed by a task force of librarians from each of the five Dalhousie libraries, Vision 2015 aligns the libraries’ goals with Dalhousie University’s strategic plan, while also addressing the major trends in libraries today.

In addition to the task force, all 134 members of the Dalhousie Libraries’ staff participated in discussions that contributed content to the plan, making Vision 2015 a true feat of collaboration.

Now, we’d like you, the Dalhousie community, to give us your thoughts on the plan while it is in draft form. The Dalhousie Libraries serve students, faculty and staff, and all members of the Dalhousie community are important stakeholders in the future direction of the Libraries. By contributing feedback, you are ensuring that the goals of the Libraries reflect the needs of the Dalhousie community. This plan will take the Dalhousie Libraries into 2015, informing all we will do. Your comments will also inform our planning in a year or two when we begin to create a new plan to align with the new strategic plan for Dalhousie University.

Please review the draft of the plan and provide us with comments by June 30. We appreciate your participation in this process to guide your Dalhousie Libraries.  Please send comments to the University Librarian at donna.bourne-tyson@dal.ca or call 494-4089 if you would like to discuss anything in the plan further.  Thank you!

TOP