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Category: Alumni

SIM Launches Gallery Honouring Louis Vagianos & His Namesake Medal

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We are pleased to announce the launch of the Louis Vagianos Medal gallery on the SIM website. This Medal, named for the first Director of the School (1969-70), is presented annually to the graduating student who “combines the capacity for blending originality with practical thinking and the courage to seek solutions to professional problems outside the mainstream”. Louis Vagianos emulated these characteristics in all his endeavours.

The gallery features profiles of award winners from 1990 to present. We encourage you to explore these profiles, as they contain some fantastic advice and insights, as well as illustrate the breadth of opportunities available to graduates of the MLIS program.

The purpose of this gallery is to celebrate Vagianos’ legacy (more on that below), and the accomplishments of the medal winners, who not only were successful as students but have gone on to forge strong paths in the profession after graduation.

In fact, the first winner was none other than Dalhousie University Librarian, Donna Bourne-Tyson. She says: “I didn’t know Louis personally, but I am in awe of his many accomplishments and talents, and also his generosity in creating this award. It is interesting to be serving as University Librarian, a post he also held, and working in the Killam Library, a building that he helped to design and build. When I was informed that I was to receive the Medal, it was very affirming for me to know that out-of-the-box thinking was valued in the profession. I am honoured to be a Vagianos Medal recipient.”

During his career at Dalhousie, Dr. Louis Vagianos 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. He was instrumental in establishing the innovative vision of the Master of Library Service (now Master of Library and Information Studies), which emphasized systems thinking and the broad relevance of professional information work across organizational types. Forty years on, his vision also 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. Unfortunately, Louis Vagianos passed away in 2014 (you can read the full obituary here), but the School continues to be indebted to his vision for the fields of information management and librarianship .

In Memoriam: Lawrence J. (Lou) Duggan

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Lou Duggan_collage

From Dr. Sandra Toze (SIM Director): The School of Information Management (SIM) joins others within our community mourning the loss of Lawrence J. (Lou) Duggan (MLIS 2000). Since his arrival at SIM, Lou became one of our most active and accomplished members. His impact has been tremendous. Lou was an outstanding student, receiving the Research Award, and was awarded a position as Associate Fellow at the National Library of Medicine, Washington, DC. As an alumni, Lou was an ever-present contributor to our School, and our students. He guest lectured in classes, pushing students to think in new ways, actively participated in our committees, was a professional partner, researched with faculty, and was Chair of our SIM Associated Alumni. When he was not supporting SIM, Lou was actively involved in APLA, and other key organizations across Canada. Lou’s dedication to research as a vehicle for moving our profession forward was constant throughout his life. Lou was awarded the SIM Associated Alumni Award in 2014, recognizing his leadership within the School, the region, and across the country.

I have been fortunate to work with Lou in his many different roles, and was much enriched by the experience. Dr. Bertrum MacDonald, who collaborated with Lou on several research projects, speaks for all of us when he says, ” I have considered it a distinct privilege to have been his research colleague and friend.”

Lou – we will miss your intelligence, your passion, your creativity and your music. You have left us far too soon.

Lou’s obituary can be found here. There will be a celebration of his life at the Halifax Central Library, Paul O’Regan Hall, Friday June 30 at 7 pm. I am sure we will see many of you there.

Council of NS Archives “Community Albums” Project Launches June 27th

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By Michelle Boychuk (MLIS ’16)

I moved Halifax 3 years ago—I braved the 4 day drive from Edmonton to Halifax to pursue a Master of Information and Library Studies at Dalhousie University. I succeeded in that regard, and stayed in Halifax to work on a project for the Council of Nova Scotia Archives titled “Community Albums.” The project launches on June 27th. Please keep an eye on the Council of Nova Scotia Archives Facebook for the link!

The project takes advantage of the digital medium to provide anyone with an internet connection a glimpse into a variety of communities across Nova Scotia through their archives. Using a virtual exhibit format, readers can delve into albums to see the stories and images that archives have curated to tell the story of their communities since 1867. Although many communities already have their rich histories up for display through their museums, their archives are often left unexplored by those who are not enthusiasts or researchers. Giving archives a chance to shine on their own was one of the things that originally drew me to this project. Readers will be able to search for names, places, industries, or anything they can imagine in a specific album, or even across all albums at once, allowing readers to see connections between seemingly disparate communities.

1 Map of Current Participants

1 Map of Current Participants

The beginning of this project was a whirlwind lesson on Nova Scotian history and geography. I visited over 20 archives who had responded to a call for applications in 2015 and early 2016. These trips took me to every edge of Nova Scotia, from Bridgewater to Church Point to Port Greville, and from Antigonish to Lake Ainsley to Isle Madame and back. I was welcomed into each archives and told stories about each community; I gave them the tools to share those stories through this project. One of my fondest memories from this part of the project was being invited for tea after consulting with Cathy Maclean for Lake Ainsley Historical Society and being told the latest goings-on of the area.

2 Submission from the Girl Guides of Canada

2 Submission from the Girl Guides of Canada

Putting the project together has been mostly a combination of data entry, discussion, and scanning. After the initial consult, I left each participant to run wild in their archives, limited to choosing only 50-60 items out of their extensive collections that they felt could encapsulate their communities over the last 150 years. To foster a replication of the uniqueness I saw in the communities I visited I did not place many limits on how the albums were created. Standard metadata elements, archival scope, and a set time period provides a conceptual structure that allows the project to have one cohesive purpose, but the standards are loose enough to allow for the natural differences between each community to be displayed. The organizational structure, temporal focus, item types, and topics covered all come together to create a vast array of combinations which serve to delineate each community, while the structural and thematic similarities between albums will serve to bring them together as part of a provincial whole.

Donna Bourne-Tyson Named President of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL)

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Congrats Donna (MLIS ’90), from everyone at SIM! We look forward to following your initiatives over the next two years.

From the Dalhousie Libraries Blog: The Canadian Association of Research Libraries has elected Donna Bourne-Tyson, Dalhousie’s University Librarian, as CARL President for a two year-term, 2017–2019. “It’s a great honour to serve the research library community in Canada in this capacity,” said Donna. “Academic research libraries are at the vanguard of technology as the sharing and dissemination of information shifts to digital environments. It’s a time of rapid change and growth for libraries.”

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Donna has recently commenced her second term as the University Librarian at Dalhousie and has been in the role since 2011, previously having served as the University Librarian at Mount Saint Vincent University. Currently, she oversees a team of 120 librarians and staff and ensures Dal Libraries meet the needs of the Dalhousie community through supporting initiatives such as open access, scholarly communications, research data preservation and learning communities.

As President of CARL, Donna will work collaboratively with 29 of Canada’s largest university libraries plus Library and Archives Canada and Canada’s National Science Library. CARL supports Canada’s research community by providing improved access to research services, promoting effective and sustainable scholarly communication and advocating public policies that enable broad access to scholarly information. CARL member libraries spend over $335 million annually on information resources to support learning, teaching and research and act as a foundation for Canadian-led innovation by providing access to knowledge, as well as preserving vital information required to support Canada’s research community.

As CARL’s president, Donna will be joining an impressive group of university leaders who have served in this role, including: Tom Hickerson, Vice-Provost for Libraries and Cultural Resources at the University of Calgary; Gerald Beasley, Vice-Provost and Chief Librarian at the University of Alberta, soon to become the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian for Cornell University; and most recently Martha Whitehead, Vice-Provost Libraries & Digital Planning at Queen’s University.

 

MLIS Alumna to Present at 2017 CALL Conference

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SIM alumna, Hannah Steeves (MLIS ’16) will be presenting at the 2017 CALL (Canadian Association of Law Libraries) Conference in Ottawa, May 6-11th.

Her lightning talk, Lawyers, Gymnasts, and Researchers: Using a Flipped Classroom to Teach LRW, discusses the current landscape of how legal research is taught to law students across Canada and how a flipped classroom approach can add value to their education and simultaneously improve soft skills. From Hannah: “The poster below, Canadian Legal Information Professionals’ Information Activities: What do they do and how to they tweet?, outlines a research paper completed during my time at SIM as a student on a topic that continues to interest me today. I am grateful for the opportunity to present these items and thank those at SIM for getting me started.”

SteevesH_Poster

SIM Professor Emeritus, Mary Dykstra Lynch, Added to Marquis Who’s Who

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Read the full press release here:

Mary Elizabeth Dykstra Lynch has been included in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

As a professor emeritus of the School of Information Management, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Dr. Lynch has proven her commitment to the principles of higher education and learning throughout her distinguished career.

Before starting in the field as head cataloguer for Dalhousie University Library, she earned a BA from Calvin College in Michigan and a Master of Library Service degree from Dalhousie University. Shortly after receiving her master’s degree she was appointed as an assistant professor at Dalhousie’s School of Library Service, later called the School of Library and Information Studies. She was an associate professor there from 1978-1982. The following year she left to become senior audiovisual librarian at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal, returning to the Dalhousie University school in 1983. In 1986 she became director of the same institution, at the same time graduating with her Ph.D. from Sheffield University, England. From 1987 she served as a professor at Dalhousie for ten years, seven of those years continuing as director.

Throughout the course of her notable and lengthy career, Dr. Dykstra Lynch has had the opportunity to parlay her knowledge into marketable works such as “Access to Film Information” and “PRECIS: a primer” (published as the textbook of its indexing system by the British Library, London). She has served on various boards and as consultant to several libraries and other institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Additionally she has been featured in Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in Science and Engineering.

MLIS alumna guest expert on upcoming Twitter chat (March 30th) on ethics and health literacy

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Killian-Coletti

Lara Killian (MLIS 2010) and co-author Margo Coletti of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston published an article on medical jargon and the importance of clear patient-provider communication in the March 2017 issue of AMA Journal of Ethics <http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2017/03/pfor1-1703.html>.

To keep the conversation going online, Lara and Margo will take part as guest experts for a dedicated health literacy and shared decision making chat on Twitter using the hashtag #EthicsChat and moderated by the Journal editorial staff. The tweet chat will be held on Thursday March 30 from 3-4 pm Atlantic time.

Lara manages the patient education pamphlets collection for the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and has partnered with Nova Scotia Public Libraries as well as Halifax Public Libraries to index the pamphlets in all public library catalogues throughout the province. Check out the collection <http://library.nshealth.ca/PatientGuides> of patient education resources she manages in Libguides to find health-related apps, podcasts, videos (not to mention hundreds of patient pamphlets) and increase your own health literacy!

Our article

Killian L, Coletti M. The Role of Universal Health Literacy Precautions in Minimizing “Medspeak” and Promoting Shared Decision MakingAMA Journal of Ethics. March 2017, Volume 19, Number 3: 296-303. doi: 10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.03.pfor1-1703.  http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2017/03/pfor1-1703.html

MLIS/MPA Alumnus Defends PhD

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Public Lecture 03_15_Ryan Deschamps PhotoRyan Deschamps (MLIS/MPA ’05) has successfully defended his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) thesis at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (University of Saskatchewan), in the field of social media and policy agenda setting. The thesis title is: “Policy Agenda Setting and Twitter: Three Cases from Canada.” Former SIM Professor, Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd (now of Ryerson University) was the External Examiner. Ryan was the first graduate of the combined MLIS/MPA (Master of Library & Information Studies/Master of Public Administration) program.

Congrats Ryan, from everyone at SIM!

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