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News from the Department of Information Science (formerly SIM)

Archives for Louise Spiteri

Accreditation celebration pot luck

SIM will be holding a pot luck on Tuesday, April 9, from 12:00-1:30 pm in Rowe 2068 to celebrate the successful continuing accreditation of the MLIS program.  All faculty, staff, students, and SIM friends are invited to join us for this celebration.  Since it’s a pot luck, we would very much appreciate a contribution of food.  This is a good opportunity to try some of the recipes from the 641.5 cookbook on sale from SIMSA. We would very much appreciate labels to designate any special aspects of your dish, such as if it is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, if it contains nuts, and so forth, to help those of us with food sensitivities or restrictions.

I am looking forward to seeing you at this event:  We have much to celebrate and for which to be grateful.

Louise Spiteri

SIM student wins SSHRC storytellers challenge

Congratulations to SIM student Catherine McGoveran for being among 15 finalists of the SSHRC  Research for a Better Life: The Storytellers challenge.  Catherine will be awarded a prize valued at $3,000 CAN; registration (provided by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences ) and two nights’ accommodation at the 2013 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Victoria, BC; an invitation to participate in a special two-day communications workshop (June 2 and 3) at Congress; and a slot in the Storytellers Showcase, where they will compete for the chance to deliver a featured presentation at the World Social Science Forum in Montreal this October. For further details, please visit the SSHRC website.

New publication from SIM alumnus Ken Williment

As recently written on Ken Haycock’s blog:

Everyone working in libraries, and members of the public, know that something is amiss in libraries… Our brand has traditionally been books, and with the e-book revolution everyone is scrambling to find the next trend in libraries to ensure our continued legitimacy and relevancy – to ourselves, funders and members of the public.  Library staff and senior management are presenting various exciting approaches, visions and directions that libraries can take to address rapid changes and perceptions of the role of the library.

Library staff in various library contexts are proactively responding to this challenge.  However, as identified and addressed through Open to All (1999) and Working Together (2008) – a major challenge which still exists in most libraries is moving beyond insular librarian based discussion about need and refocusing the profession on developing skills that will allow librarians to collaboratively identify and respond to the needs of community members – many of whom are considered underserved and under-represented by library services.  By making library services more inclusive and accessible we improve library services for all community members.

In response we (John and Ken) have written a new book Developing Community-Led Public Libraries: Evidence from the UK and Canada (2013).  A recent review of the book by Liz McGettigan, Head of Libraries and Information Services – The City of Edinburgh Council (found at http://www.referplus.org.uk/) summarizes some of the key points:

This book could easily have been subtitled ”Leadership in Public Libraries” as it calls for “public libraries to demonstrate their worth to policy makers, funders and the general public”. The thinking fills a clear gap on the future of public libraries and the role staff, library schools and politicians must play… It is unusual and very refreshing that ICT and the role of new technology in tackling social exclusion is discussed but not seen as the only key to our public library future. Challenging on all aspects of service delivery yet at the same time offering clear guide to placing community needs at the heart of public library strategy, structures, systems and organisational culture.

Well-written by respected practitioners, clear and sound evidence based with excellent bibliographic references it is a must read for those floundering with an elevator pitch or strategy for the future of their library services. It should open a dialogue with library schools and be compulsory reading for library students.

It must stimulate further dialogue and conferencing with new stakeholders outwith library service, public leaders and staff.  More importantly it must be used somehow to influence national politicians and library portfolio holding local politicians.

Our best.

John Pateman and Ken Williment

Dewey Decimal Classification Intern: Summer 2013

The OCLC Diversity and Inclusion Initiative offers internship opportunities designed to provide unique experiences for aspiring college students.  The majority of the Intern openings are targeted for members of underrepresented groups as defined in a manner consistent with the EEO-1 race/ethnicity reporting classifications.

The deadline for application is April 5, 2013, with an anticipated start date no later than June 17, 2013.  The OCLC Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program is open to candidates matriculating towards an academic degree (either undergraduate or graduate) at an accredited college or university.  All applicants must provide proof of enrollment during the application process and before the internship starts.

The overall focus of the internship will be to map high-interest personal name headings from the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) and upgrade selected mappings of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).  The work will be informed by data generated from bibliographic records in WorldCat plus a set of mappings in the DDC database drawn from work done by the Dewey editors and OCLC Research and first exposed in print and electronic form as PPT headings (PPT refers to People, places, & things:

A list of popular Library of Congress Subject Headings with Dewey numbers, published by OCLC in 2001).  This publication listed over 50,000 LC subject headings paired with one or more Dewey numbers–the most appropriate DDC numbers for works to which the LCSH might be assigned.  In the intervening 10+ years, there have been changes in the DDC (e.g., new numbers created, topics relocated from one number to another), such that some proportion of the original PPT mappings are no longer linked to the appropriate number.  The intern will analyze and upgrade the PPT mappings so they can be used reliably in a number of initiatives, and exposed as additional entry vocabulary in WebDewey 2.0.

The intern would be expected to contribute to this effort by working full-time during the period of the internship under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Green, Assistant Editor, DDC.  The intern’s work location would be the Dewey Editorial Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Length of assignment:  10-12 weeks, working full-time in summer of 2013.

Responsibilities:

  • Learn about policies governing the use of LC name authority and subject headings
  • Add new LCNAF and LCSH mappings to the Dewey database
  • Determine if PPT mappings are still appropriate; if not, propose appropriate mappings
  • Work within the DDC Editorial Support System (by adding/updating/ deleting MARC authority records) to upgrade the status of appropriate mappings and to revise less appropriate PPT mappings

Qualifications:

  • Familiarity with the Dewey Decimal Classification (coursework acceptable; work experience in a library using the DDC a plus)
  • Familiarity with the MARC format (coursework acceptable; work experience a plus)
  • Familiarity with Library of Congress Name Authority File and Library of Congress Subject Headings (coursework acceptable; work experience a plus)
  • Subject expertise in one or more areas, especially the following:  law, economics, medical sciences, U.S. and/or European history, political science, education.
  • Digital literacy (e.g., familiarity with web browsers, data 3ntry, Microsoft Office applications)
  • Attention to detail
  • Good reading and listening skills
  • Understanding of basic principles of knowledge organization

Apply for the internship online at: https://intranet-oclc.icims.com/jobs/2168/login

 

 

Miriam Braverman memorial prize

The MIRIAM BRAVERMAN MEMORIAL PRIZE, a presentation of the Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG), is awarded each year for the best paper about some aspect of the social responsibilities of librarians, libraries, or librarianship. Papers related to archivists, archives, and archival work are also eligible.  For further details, please see: connect.ala.org/files/MBCall13.pdf

Vivian Howard has been invited to join the National Reading Campaign

Over the past four years, hundreds of Canadians — readers, educators, librarians, publishers, parents, and writers from every part of the country — met at a series of three National Reading Summits to create a National Reading Plan. The National Reading Plan addresses ways to ensure that all Canadians — regardless of age, background, income level, level of education, or location — have access to reading of all kinds and in all platforms. The National Reading Campaign will begin the work of putting this exciting and challenging plan into place from coast to coast.  Vivian Howard has been invited to join the National Reading Campaign as Atlantic Canadian representative on the Campaign Outreach Committee.  The focus of the National Reading Campaign fits well with Dr. Howard’s research interests into the role of pleasure reading for diverse groups.  For more information on the National Reading Campaign, see http://nationalreadingcampaign.ca/

Temporary or part-time position: Graduate Student Analyst

The Centre for Learning and Teaching is seeking a graduate student to assess curriculum-mapping software currently in use at Dalhousie University by various departments and faculties.

The successful candidate will research the literature and analyze curriculum-mapping programs for costs and benefits. Information will be collated in qualitative and quantitative format in a report that will be created within the Centre and used to make decisions for the university.

The analyst will have experience in software testing, demonstration, and application to educational settings.  He/she will be able to work with various academic disciplines to test the use of the programs for curriculum mapping.  He/she will have skills in systematic information gathering, literature review, report writing and visual representation of data.

The analyst will work approximately 10-15 hours a week at $21.50 an hour, and will have set goal dates for production of the research and final report in collaboration with the Centre for Learning and Teaching.  The position will begin April 1, 2013 and last 20 weeks.

Applicants may send a letter of introduction and resume by March 20 to:

Dr. Carla DiGiorgio
Associate Director (Curriculum Planning)
Centre for Learning and Teaching
Dalhousie University
Carla.DiGiorgio@dal.ca

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