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News from the Department of Information Science (formerly SIM)

Category: Events

You’re Invited to an MI Open House (Nov 5th)

We hope you can join us, and/or share with anyone you think may be interested!

SIM is more than a school; it’s a community. Our small class sizes, accessible professors, and location in one of the world’s friendliest cities ensure you have all the support you need to succeed. Learn more about us, and how our Master of Information (MI) degree can broaden your career options by joining us for our next MI Open House, taking place virtually Thursday, November 5th, 2020 from 1:00-2:30pm (Atlantic Standard Time) on Microsoft Teams.

NS LGBT Seniors Archive Launches October 15th

Submitted by Lydia Hunsberger (MLIS ’20 and Research Assistant, NS LGBT Archives Project):

The Nova Scotia LGBT Seniors Archive is a community archive initiative led by Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan and funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Seniors Age-Friendly Communities Grant and Dalhousie University Libraries. The purpose of this archive is to build connections among older LGBT adults and the broader community and aims to raise awareness and appreciation of the various social, economic, and artistic contributions from members of our older LGBT communities across Nova Scotia.

The official launch is scheduled for October 15, 4 – 5 pm. You can find the link to our virtual launch event here. Please contact jgahagan@dal.ca for more details.

This province-wide project will provide a platform to both increase social interaction and community involvement among older populations and will also create a living legacy through the collaborative development of a publicly accessible and searchable archive for use by community members, seniors, older and younger generations of LGBT populations, researchers and students, among others. The Nova Scotia LGBT Seniors Archives works in conjunction with a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), comprised of community members and stakeholders that work with the archives team as volunteers to provide recommendations and vision for the project, connect the archives team with new donors, and assist with collection of materials and oral histories.

The Nova Scotia LGBT Seniors Archive houses a variety of materials from organizations such as Lesbian and Gay Rights Nova Scotia, Gay and Lesbian Association of Nova Scotia, Mister Atlantic Canada Leather, Safe Harbour Church, and Church Members Assembled to Respond to AIDS, among many more.

October: A celebration of Canadian libraries + Mi’kmaq history

Happy October! There are lots of reasons to celebrate this month:

October is Canadian Library Month: Launched in 2006 by the Canadian Library Association (CLA), Canadian Library Month (CLM) provides “an opportunity for Canadians not familiar with their local library to come down and experience all the services available to them.”1 CLM serves as a way to establish new relationships between the libraries and local communities while at the same time developing existing relationships. The 2020 theme is “One card, one million possibilities.” Click here to learn more.

 

 

Source: https://twitter.com/DalhousieU/status/1311418299910152193/photo/1

October is Mi’kmaq History Month: In 1993, Premier John Savage and Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy

declared October as the official month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture and heritage. This time of year, known as Wikewiku’s among the Mi’kmaq, offers all of us an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the historic presence of the Mi’kmaq, the L’nuk, whose unceded territory we live on and who have lived here for over 14,000 years. At Dalhousie, we work, study and live on traditional and unceded Mi’kmaq territory. Click here to learn more.

 

You’re Invited to the 2020 SIMAA Welcome Event

Open to all SIM alumni, students and faculty:

The School of Information Management Associated Alumni’s upcoming Welcome Event will take place via Microsoft Teams on September 29 from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm. Click this link to join the event.

A panel of alumni and returning students will be sharing with you what they wish they knew when they started out, how their careers have developed, and what they’ve learned along the way, among other topics!

Our panelists include:

* Marc Harper, Bibliothecaire de reference, Bibliotheque Champlain, Universite de Moncton

* Ali McLaughlin, MI Candidate 2020

* Tamanna Moharana, MI Candidate 2021

* Margaret Vail, Academic Librarian, Angus L. Macdonald Library, St. Francis Xavier University

* Suzanne van den Hoogen, University Librarian, Patrick Power Library, St. Mary’s University

* Kelli Woo Shoo, Manager Client Services, Nova Scotia Provincial Library

* Ellie Bernard-Wesson, moderator, alumni 2020

We encourage you to ask questions of our panelists at the end. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with other members of the SIM family — experienced alumni, new professionals, and students alike. Everyone is welcome and we hope to have you there!

While it is not necessary to RSVP, please do so if you can to Katherine Luber, SIMAA Vice Chair, by the evening of Monday, September 28. Her email is kluber@dal.ca. This is strictly to get an idea of numbers — no one will be turned away if you can’t confirm ahead of time.

– SIMAA Executive

IM Public Lecture: Vulnerabilities exposed and the opportunity to respond: Reflections on public libraries in the time of COVID-19 (Åsa Kachan)

The Information Management Public Lectures give attention to exciting advances in research and professional practice. The topics are diverse reflecting the importance and global extent of Information Management in today’s society. The lectures are free of charge and open to all, unless otherwise stated.

All 2020-2021 lectures will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the full schedule. Lecture will be recorded and posted on our YouTube channel.

Vulnerabilities exposed and the opportunity to respond: Reflections on public libraries in the time of COVID-19

Åsa Kachan
Halifax Public Libraries

Lecture Details
Tuesday, October 6th, 2020
5:30pm (AST)
Microsoft Teams (click link at above date/time to join)

Abstract: When COVID-19 necessitated the sudden closure of public libraries in March, libraries were faced with an unprecedented challenge. After years of bringing growing numbers of people together within our spaces to learn, share, laugh and even dance, gathering had suddenly become dangerous. From her own experience, and with stories from across the county, Åsa Kachan will share the remarkable ways public libraries have responded to our communities’ urgent need for accurate information, entertainment, technology and connection in a time of COVID.

Bio: Åsa Kachan is the CEO & Chief Librarian for Halifax Public Libraries where she oversees 420 staff working across the 14-branch library system. Halifax Public Libraries recently received international acclaim with the opening of Halifax’s new Central Library in 2014. Halifax Public Libraries is very highly regarded for its services, programs and welcoming spaces that reach diverse populations with equality and respect.

Prior to her role with Halifax Public Libraries, Åsa spent 16 years in senior administrative roles within universities, most recently serving as the Assistant Vice-President Enrolment Management & Registrar for Dalhousie University between 2004 and 2014. During Åsa’s time at Dalhousie, she undertook critical transformations to improve the student experience, including revamping undergraduate scholarships and bursaries, modernizing admission and recruitment practices, and improving front-line student service.

Åsa has volunteered her time with a number of community organizations, including Halifax Dance, the Halifax Grammar School, and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. She is currently serving as Chair of the Governance Committee of the United Way of Halifax and sits on the Advisory Board for the Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University. In 2018 Åsa was appointed to the Governing Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for a three-year term.

ICKM2020 to be Online

ICKM2020 to Be Online

Sharing knowledge and research could not be more significant during these challenging times in 2020.The 16th annual International Conference on Knowledge Management (ICKM2020) will provide an ideal platform for you to submit research and to share ideas.

ICKM2020 will be held December 3-5 as a virtual meeting, broadcasting from Durham, NC, “the City of Medicine”. The conference theme is “Knowledge Commons” and the institutional analysis of data and the development of knowledge. There will be a panel of journal editors and keynote speakers discussing the “knowledge commons” as well as knowledge cafés and digital booths with exhibitors.

You are invited to submit completed research, on-going scholarship, or product development in the form of a paper, an in-progress report, or a poster for an interactive, digital presentation. Please see attached for the call for papers and presentations.

Recognizing how funding for travel and professional development is being frozen or reduced during the Covid-19 crisis, you may apply for sponsored scholarships.

For detailed information, go to:  www.ICKM.net

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Submission Deadlines

Full Papers, Workshops, and Posters Submission: July 31, 2020

Practitioners and Work in Progress Presentations (Abstracts Submission): August 15, 2020

Notification of Acceptance: September 30, 2020

Final Camera-Ready Full Paper Submissions and (optional) videos: October 20, 2020

SIM Research Day (April 3rd) *cancelled*

Please join us for SIM Research Day to hear about the exciting research projects our graduate students and colleagues are working on.

 Participants Welcome: Do you have research to present? Please contact sim@dal.ca. Open to any MI, MIM, IDPhD students + information management professionals.

 Spectators Welcome: This is a free event open to all. No RSVP’s required.

Learn more about SIM research initiatives here.

IM Public Lecture: i-Crimes and Misdemeanours: [Presti]Digit[iz]ation, Analogue Photographs, and their Digital Surrogates (Joan M. Schwartz)

The Information Management Public Lectures give attention to exciting advances in research and professional practice. The topics are diverse reflecting the importance and global extent of Information Management in today’s society. The lectures are open to all members of the Dalhousie campus and surrounding community. Click here for the full schedule.

We encourage you to attend in person, but if that is not possible you can access a recording on our YouTube channel following the lecture. Live streaming is not currently available. 

i-Crimes and Misdemeanours: [Presti]Digit[iz]ation, Analogue Photographs, and their Digital Surrogates (Joan M. Schwartz)

Joan M. Schwartz
Queen’s University

Lecture Details
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
5:30pm
Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Ave

Abstract: Institutions, under pressure from administrators, from funding sources, and from the user-public, make photographs available online as searchable single items. In the process, meaningful information about the physical and intellectual contexts of creation, circulation, and viewing is sacrificed at the altar of speed, quantity, convenience, and the almighty dollar. In this lecture, I am concerned with troubling changes, subtle and otherwise, brought about by “[presti]digit[iz]ation” —  scanning for ease of access, whereby materiality, context, and meaning are lost. Drawing on professional experience as a photo-archivist and scholarly interests as a photographic historian, I critique examples of digitization and description initiatives, with a view to highlighting those instances for which institutions can justly be accused of “iCrimes and Misdemeanours” and encouraging best practices grounded in a deeper understanding of the nature and power of photographs as a form of visual communication, and in a broader appreciation of the critical differences between search and research, content and meaning underpinning access to and use of online images.

Bio: A former specialist in photography acquisition and research at the National Archives of Canada, Ottawa (1977-2003), Joan M. Schwartz is Professor, Art History and Art Conservation (cross-appointed to Geography) at Queen’s University, Kingston. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the Society of American Archivists, she is co-editor of Picturing Place (with James R. Ryan) and of Archives, Records, and Power (with the late Terry Cook), and has published widely on photography and the geographical imagination, and on archives as spaces of power.  Her current SSHRCC-funded research, entitled “Picturing ‘Canada’: Photographic Images and Geographical Imaginings in British North America, 1839-1889”, focuses on the role of photography in the making of early modern Canada.  She will be delivering the McKay Lecture in the Department of History on March 5th, 2020 based on her research into the life and legacy of pioneer British Columbia photographer, Frederick Dally.

IM Public Lecture: Value and California’s Public Libraries (Cheryl Stenström)

The Information Management Public Lectures give attention to exciting advances in research and professional practice. The topics are diverse reflecting the importance and global extent of Information Management in today’s society. The lectures are open to all members of the Dalhousie campus and surrounding community. Click here for the full schedule.

We encourage you to attend in person, but if that is not possible you can access a recording on our YouTube channel following the lecture. Live streaming is not currently available. 

Value and California’s Public Libraries (Cheryl Stenström)

Cheryl Stenström
Dalhousie University

Lecture Details
Tuesday, February 25th, 2020
5:30pm
Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Ave

Abstract: Dr. Stenström will be speaking about the unique value framework offered by public libraries. Working in conjunction with the California State Library, her most recent project brings together existing research and recent work in California and the UK that relate empirical findings to a proposed value framework. She’ll conclude by looking how public libraries in Nova Scotia have been engaged in this work over the past several years.

Bio: Cheryl Stenström began her career in public libraries in 1993, and has since worked as a reference librarian in a large urban library, a talking book producer, a public library consultant and public library CEO. After graduating from Queensland University of Technology’s PhD program in 2012, she began teaching full time at San Jose State University’s iSchool. She also continues to work as a Library Consultant, primarily in the area of organizational management, working with organizations such as the University of British Columbia, the Saskatoon Public Library, the Downey Unified School District, and the Surry Public Library. Dr. Stenström’s research interests are focused on social influence and decision making in the political arena, particularly as it affects funding for libraries. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s iSchool and lives in Mahone Bay, NS.

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