From Bertrum MacDonald: With sadness, the School of Information Management shares news of the death Dr. Louis G. Vagianos, the founder and Director of the School (1969-1970).

During his career at Dalhousie University, Dr. Vagianos also held the senior positions of University Librarian and Vice-President (Administration). He returned to a leadership role in the School in 1994-1995 when he served as Interim Director between the directorship of Dr. Mary Dykstra Lynch and Dr. Bertrum MacDonald. Louis Vagianos was instrumental in establishing the innovative vision of the Master of Library Service (now Master of Library and Information Studies), which emphasized systems thinking along with the broad relevance of professional information work across organizational types. Forty years on, his breadth of vision influenced the design of the mid-career Master of Information Management program as a complement to the MLIS. He was an inspirational instructor who advocated and encouraged “outside the box” thinking. As a consequence, graduates left Dalhousie to make a mark in the field of information management in Canada and around the globe.

Perhaps the terms of the Vagianos Medal – which was established in 1990 in his honour and which terms he helped to write – best sums up his creative outlook on life. The medal is awarded each year at convocation to “a graduating student who combines the capacity for blending originality with practical thinking and the courage to seek solutions to professional problems outside of the mainstream.” Louis Vagianos emulated these characteristics in all his endeavours and the School of Information Management is indebted to his vision for the fields of information management and librarianship.

In addition to the memorial option noted in the obituary below, alumni and friends of the School may wish to honour Dr. Vagianos by making a donation to the School’s Memorial Fund here (under “Read more about the SIM Memorial Fund”).

OBITUARY:

VAGIANOS, Dr. Louis George –

(May 8, 1933 – July 24, 2014)

We celebrate the life of Louis George Vagianos, whose journey began in Weirton, West Virginia in 1933 and ended in Toronto on July 24, 2014.

His parents left Chios, Greece for the United States during the Depression in search of a better life. He always credited the extraordinary library and education programs in Cleveland in the 1940s and 50s with opening up his mind to what the world has to offer, and fostering a life-long love of music, theatre, books and art. In addition to his many professional accomplishments, he was a patron of the arts his whole life and made frequent trips to New York to enjoy its music and theatre scenes, Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera.

Louis was a man of many gifts and professions. His journey took him from Cleveland, where he grew up and went to college; to Providence, RI, where he was Assistant Librarian at Brown University; to Halifax, NS, where he was University Librarian at Dalhousie University, oversaw the building of the Killam Library, was instrumental in the founding of the School of Library Service, served as Vice-President, and then moved into the role of Executive Director of the Institute for Research on Public Policy; and to Montreal, QC where, as Consultant to the Rector, Vice-Rectors and a number of departmental directors at Concordia University, he advised on or managed a variety of university-wide projects. While in each of these positions, he taught, and accepted freelance projects that captured his interest, such as the design of several university libraries, public policy research and extensive political speech-writing. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Prince Edward Island.

Louis was an original who marched to the beat of his own drum. A gifted leader, administrator, but most important to him, mentor, he touched the lives of countless students and professionals over the course of his life and career. He was dedicated to the world of ideas, and the notion of living according to a set of shared values that he was always keen to discuss, define and redefine. An idealist, he led by example, and charged us all to leave the world a little better than we found it. He certainly did his part.

Louis’ inquisitive and generous spirit will continue to support and guide the people he touched, especially his wife Joey, daughter Andrea (Zis), granddaughter Antonia, brother Van (Karen), nephews and niece Tom (Patty), Michael (Laura) and Christina, and his many valued friends across Canada and the United States. We are grateful for the meaning he brought to our lives and will remember fondly the hours we spent enjoying his “philoso-phunculizing”.

Louis requested to be cremated and there will be a private family memorial service.

The family thanks Dr. Wells and everyone at the Odette Cancer Centre and Transfusion Clinic, Sunnybrook Hospital, for their extraordinary support, and invites donations in lieu of flowers to the Centre in Louis’ memory: www.sunnybrook.ca/foundation.

Attention MLIS grads:

Job description   https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/0000836518-01 (or see below)
To apply, applicants will need to visit https://jobs.astate.edu

Contact:
Sherry Eskridge, Outreach Librarian
322 University Loop West Circle
P.O. Box 2040
State University, AR 72467
870-972-3577

Deadline	August 08, 2014
Date Posted	June 24, 2014
Type	Administrative
Salary	Commensurate with experience
Employment Type	Full-time

Arkansas State University (Astate) is recruiting applicants for the position of Assistant Systems Librarian in the Dean B. Ellis Library. Astate, a federal contractor, is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.

The Dean B. Ellis Library is seeking an energetic and proactive Assistant Systems Librarian who enjoys a challenging, innovative and change-oriented environment. Reporting to the Systems Librarian, the Assistant Systems Librarian will be responsible for duties including keeping Library in-house and externally available resources current and functioning, troubleshooting and replacing defective hardware, resolving software problems, installing and upgrading new software and hardware as needed, recommending hardware and software for purchase, and developing custom scripts and applications to assist with workflows and the effective provision of library services.

Required qualifications include a master’s degree from an American Library Association accredited degree program or equivalent academic credentials; knowledge of library systems hardware, software, trends, and practices, through experience or coursework; excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills; the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, to balance priorities, and to set and meet deadlines; evidence of attention to detail; and strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Arkansas State University is a public, multi-campus higher education system with enrollment in excess of 22,000 students. The Jonesboro campus has a diverse student body with an on-campus enrollment eclipsing 14,000; through outreach via web-based instruction and the upcoming establishment of a campus in Querétaro, Mexico, the university is making a global impact. A-State educates leaders, enhances intellectual growth and enriches lives in Jonesboro, Ar. A regional metropolitan city with a population of more than 68,500, Jonesboro is located 70.8 miles northwest of Memphis, Tenn. Today, the institution has more than 70,000 alumni.

This position is located on the Jonesboro campus. Visit https://jobs.astate.edu for detailed information and to apply for position A00168.

Astate has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty, staff, and students. Astate is also committed to creating a productive workplace in which both persons and property are secure. To achieve that goal, background investigations are conducted on all final applicants recommended for employment.

– See more at: https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/0000836518-01#sthash.fdq6bffL.dpuf

The latest issue of SIM’s newsletter Inform is now available on our website here.This issue contains stories about what our students, faculty, alumni and partners have been up to since January. SIM has much to celebrate this year including new staff, new faculty, exciting research developments, and many other accomplishments and awards.

Inform is published twice per year and we are always interested in new content, so if you have any news updates or stories you would like to see in the next issue, email them to Kim at sim@dal.ca.

Valerie Collins, a returning MLIS student, is the recipient of the 2014 Stephanie Downs Memorial Award.

When Stephanie Downs returned to Canada from the UK to become a librarian, she chose to enter the MLIS program at Dalhousie for its sense of community, welcoming faculty and Maritime culture. Diagnosed with cervical cancer at the end of her last year at SIM, Stephanie graduated with her MLIS but lost her hard-fought battle to her illness on May 27th, 2007.

Remembered for her enthusiasm, Stephanie was a “doer” and very active in school life, serving as 2005-2006 Co-Chair of SIMSA and SIM Team Captain for the 2005 Halifax “Run for the Cure”. She was also awarded the Student-to-CLA travel award to attend the 2005 CLA Conference in Calgary. This award was established by Stephanie’s family and friends in her memory.

Valerie Collins was raised in Alaska, and studied at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she completed a double major in English and German. As part of her German degree, she studied abroad for a semester in Mannheim, Germany. This was her first extended experience abroad, and it was eye-opening, especially when she realized that the academic libraries in Mannheim were using an entirely different classification system than the Library of Congress. This discovery sparked her interest in cataloguing, and methods of classifying books and other media.

After returning from Germany and completing her degree in Alaska, she decided to combine her interest in academic librarianship into another international experience. She came to Dalhousie for her MLIS degree.

Valerie serves in a number of capacities in the MLIS program. She is an executive member of both the Special Libraries Association (SLA) student chapter at Dalhousie and the School of Information Management Student Association (SIMSA). She also represents her peers as a member of the MLIS Curriculum Committee.

Valerie will continue to deepen her understanding of academic libraries and some of the challenges they face in an increasingly digital environment by working as a reference intern at the Killam Library for the coming year. Valerie also looks forward to facilitating the international student experience in the School of Information Management (SIM) and in the Faculty of Management.

Congratulations Valerie! Find more information about SIM’s In-Program Awards and Scholarships here.