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What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Architecture, Engineering & Planning

Ian Colford, Winner of an Alberta Book Publishing Award

Author and librarian Ian Colford.

Author and librarian Ian Colford.

Last month, Ian Colford learned he won an Alberta Book Publishing Award for his novel, The Crimes of Hector Tomás. The book was published by Freehand Books, a Calgary-based press, and won in the category of Trade Fiction Book Award.

This is Ian’s second book and first novel. His first book, a collection of short stories called Evidence, won the Margaret & John Savage First Book Award and was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, The Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize and the ReLit Award.

the crimes of hector tomas

 

The Crimes of Hector Tomás was launched in October. It has received glowing reviews:

“Reading this remarkable novel is an act of witnessing. Colford has accomplished the seemingly impossible.” — The Chronicle Herald

“Colford paints a vivid portrait of a once grand but decaying city and of the family that mirrors the same fate… the novel is both ambitious and successfuCl.” — Atlantic Books Today

“The Crimes of Hector Tomás brims over with confident momentum; not a word or a scene arguably feels out of place.” — National Post

Congratulations from all of the staff at the Dal Libraries, Ian!

Retirement of Helen Powell, Head of the Sexton Design and Technology Library

helen sized for blog

Yesterday, the Dalhousie Libraries staff bade a fond farewell to Helen Powell after a long and successful career at the Sexton Library. A gathering of colleagues in the Alumni Lounge on the Sexton campus, complete with delicious hors d’oeuvres, a beautiful lemon cake (Helen’s favourite) and greetings from colleagues in other provinces, made the afternoon complete.

A Dalhousie graduate, Helen started her career in school libraries. In 1987, she started working at the TUNS Library (the Technical University of Nova Scotia, which would become the Sexton Campus of Dalhousie University in 1997). She was Head of Technical Services. 

From 1993-1997, Helen served as the Head of Public Services for the TUNS Library. When the TUNS Library became the Sexton Library, she continued in this capacity for another ten years, adding Assistant Design & Technology Librarian to her public service duties. 

In 2008, Helen became the Head of the Sexton Library. In this capacity, Helen guided the Sexton Library staff through the transition from a full-service library to a primarily public-service library. In addition to her work at the Sexton Library, Helen had a number of other roles and tackled other related projects as well. She was a member of the Dalhousie Libraries’ Senior Management Team, she served as Chair of the Novanet Task Force on Document Delivery, she established the fee-based Technical Library Research service, she was the subject specialist for Architecture & Planning and Mechanical Engineering, she served as an elected senator for Dal and she was president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, to name just a few accomplishments.

Helen Powell retirment1

Helen brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to everything she did. She is well known and respected in both the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture & Planning. Donna Bourne-Tyson, the University Librarian of Dalhousie, said, “Helen will be missed. She always had a valuable perspective and upmost concern for staff. She was a great advocate for the Sexton Library and for the Dalhousie Libraries.”

Please join us in congratulating Helen on a successful career and wishing her the very best in her retirement.

Public Presentations by Digital Archivist Candidates

public pres
Candidates for the new role of Digital Archivist with the Dalhousie Libraries will be giving a series of public presentations this week. Join us for these presentations on the topic Establishing a Virtual Sixth Library. Candidates will share their vision for the Dalhousie Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Initiative.

The presentations will take place in the MacMechan Auditorium in the Killam Library. Each presentation, followed by a Q&A session, will be approximately one hour.

Wed., May 29/2:30 p.m. — Kirsta Stapelfeldt
Thurs., May 30/2:30 p.m. — Creighton Barrett
Fri., May 31/2:30 p.m. — Duncan Cowie

The Digital Archivist Search Committee hopes to see you there.

Dal Libraries welcomes new intern Chantel Van de Vrie

chantel

The Dalhousie Libraries welcomes NSCC public relations student intern, Chantel Van de Vrie. Chantel will be working with Marlo MacKay, Dalhousie Libraries communications coordinator, for all things communications related within the libraries.

The NSCC public relations program is a one year advanced diploma program at the Waterfront campus in Woodside. The program allows students to build a professional portfolio and gain experience through a six-week internship.

Chantel has a diploma in business and marketing from NSCC and has completed a prior internship at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in the communications and marketing department.

While at Dalhousie, Chantel will be assisting with various communications projects that include writing, web content and design work for the libraries.

Welcome Chantel!

Ian Colford nominated for an Alberta Book Publishing Award

Author and librarian Ian Colford.

Author and librarian Ian Colford.

Ian Colford, the collection development librarian for the Dalhousie Libraries, has been nominated for an Alberta Book Publishing Award for his novel, The Crimes of Hector Tomás. The book was published by Freehand Books, a Calgary-based press, and is nominated in the category of Trade Fiction Book Award.

The-Crimes-of-Hector-Tomas

This is Ian’s second book and first novel. His first book, a collection of short stories called Evidence, won the Margaret & John Savage First Book Award and was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, The Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize and the ReLit Award.

The Crimes of Hector Tomás was launched in October. A review of the book in the National Post called Ian “a gifted writer with an unusual, sometimes inspiring command of language.”

The winners will be announced at an event on May 25  hosted by novelist and colunmist Todd Babiak, with a keynote address by Shelagh Rogers. Best of luck Ian, we hope you win!

 

Catherine McGoveran: National Finalist

Catherine McGoveran, a student in the SIM program and intern at the Killam Library, has made the top 25 list for a national competition sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary-based research and training.

 

catherine low res 2

The competition, called Research for a Better Life: The Storytellers, challenged post-secondary students to show Canadians how social sciences and humanities research is affecting our lives, our world and our future prosperity.

Catherine’s entry was a three-minute video showcasing some of the research that’s happening at Dalhousie’s Social Media Lab.

“As our social interactions are increasingly online,  exploring the connections and communications within social media is becoming increasingly relevant. This is an area of great interest for me, but I was also excited by the opportunity of visually representing the Social Media Lab’s research and making it accessible to a broader audience,” says Catherine.

Congratulations on making the top 25 and good luck Catherine!

 

Job Posting: Digital Archivist

digital archivist

The Dalhousie University Libraries are seeking a creative, collaborative, enthusiastic Professional Librarian/Archivist  for the position of Digital Archivist.  The deadline for applications is April 12, 2013. For details, please visit  library job vacancies

Michael Groenendyk wins national business competition

(Photo: Bruce Bottomley)

(Photo: Bruce Bottomley)

Michael Groenendyk, the School of Information Management student who helped bring 3D printing to the Dalhousie Libraries, recently won the grand $5,000 prize at a national business competition.

Michael’s proposal was for a 3D design service called Final Frontiers 3-D Design, creating designs for science fiction and fantasy products such as custom-made rings and detailed home decorations.

Michael credits having worked at the Killam Library’s Help Desk with giving him an edge to win the competition. Over the past year, he has spent many hours at the Help Desk, assisting people using the 3D printer, giving him both a solid knowledge of the technology and seeing the ways in which people use the 3D printer.

Congratulations on this fantastic accomplishment Michael! Read more about Michael’s win in Dal News.

Touch a Piece of History: 3D Scanning

3D scan of a horseshoe crab.

3D scan of a horseshoe crab.

We’ve talked a lot about 3D printing on this blog, but we haven’t talked as much about 3D scanning. In addition to the 3D printer, we also have a 3D scanner, which can scan physical objects (historical artifacts, for example) and turn them into a digital file that you can examine from all angles on your computer. You can then take that one step further and print that digital file to make your own 3D model of the object.

University of King’s College journalism student Chris Putnam recently interviewed SIM student and Dalhousie Libraries’ employee, Michael Groenendyk, about the 3D scanning he’s done at Dalhousie and for the Nova Scotia Museum. Chris’s story in Unews.ca, along with a short video, show Michael scanning a red abalone shell. His story and video do a great job of illustrating how 3D scanning works. Chris also included a digital file of a scanned 3D object so you can interact with the finished product yourself.

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