Menu

INFORM

News from the Department of Information Science (formerly SIM)

Category: Alumni

Recap: 2018 Horrocks Lecture, featuring Guy Berthiaume

Leave a Comment

DSC_0588

“Fast Times at Library and Archives Canada. Imagine Sisyphus Happy!”

The 2018 Dalhousie-Horrocks National Leadership Lecture and Award Presentation was held on February 27th in honour of Dr. Norman Horrocks and featured a lecture by Dr. Guy Berthiaume, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada. View a recording of the lecture here.

Dr. Berthiaume’s talk highlighted the number of exciting projects Library and Archives Canada (LAC) are currently working on, as well as many hopes and plans for the future. The 140 projects that are presently underway include Project Naming, which won a 2017 Innovation Award at the eighth Francophone libraries’ Livres Hebdo Grand Prize in Paris, France. Project Naming’s intent is to digitize and identify over 10,000 photographs taken in Nunavut. Since 2001, they have identified over 25,000 people and places and have expanded all over Canada. Furthermore, LAC has taken the lead in the National Heritage Digitization Strategy, an effort to make all digitized Canadian materials accessible through a single search instrument.

Sarah Horrocks & Becky Shaw

Sarah Horrocks & Becky Shaw

Additionally, Dr. Berthiaume is extremely passionate about the public programming LAC has to offer. Under his leadership, LAC has revived the public offerings tenfold, because, as he puts it, “preservation without access is just hoarding.” From 2016-2017, LAC held over 400 public events and have reopened many partnerships with museums to hold conjoined exhibits. Some of these include, “Hiding in Plain Sight” and “Moments from a 150 Years Ago”. Upcoming exhibits will held at Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and later in Vancouver and Halifax.

Becky Shaw (a joint Master of Library and Information Studies & Master of Arts in Musicology student here at Dalhousie), was presented with the Dalhousie-Horrocks National Leadership Fund, by Sarah Horrocks (Norman Horrocks’ daughter). Sarah spoke on behalf of her family about her parents’ legacy, and told some wonderful stories about growing up with them.

SIM thanks the Horrocks family for their continued support of SIM and its students. We encourage anyone interested in supporting future IM leaders to donate to the Horrocks Fund today.

L to R: Dr. Sandra Toze (SIM Director), Dr. Guy Berthiaume (LAC), Sarah Horrocks, Donna Bourne-Tyson (Dal University Librarian)

L to R: Dr. Sandra Toze (SIM Director), Dr. Guy Berthiaume (LAC), Sarah Horrocks, Donna Bourne-Tyson (Dal University Librarian)

Career Discovery Tours connect graduate students with real‑world experience

Leave a Comment

From Dal News (read the full article here). The story features photos and quotes from MLIS students Christine Cousins and Ali McLaughlin.

The MLIS Career Discovery Tour is just one of the ways in which Management Career Services supports our students. Learn more here. You can also read MLIS student Rebekah Prette’s personal account of her Discovery Tour experience here.

Career Discovery group

In December, Faculty of Management students in the Master of Library Information Studies (MLIS) and Master of Resource and Environmental Management (MREM) programs took part in Career Discovery Tours. These two-day experiential learning opportunities allow students to connect in person and network with program alumni and professionals in related careers and organizations. Students also visit a range of workplaces, participate in practice interviews with industry professionals, and learn about career choices available after graduation.

The MLIS tour to Toronto was organized by Management Career Services (MCS). Robert Wooden, Acting Director of MCS, led nine students through two jam-packed days of activities designed to prepare them to take full advantage of their education and training. “They don’t necessarily know all the different directions their degree could take them or understand how their competencies could apply in many different industries,” he explains. On this tour alone, students visited the Toronto Public Library, the University Health Network and Michener Institute, Ryerson University Library and Deloitte Consulting. They also attended panel discussions, networked with alumni and gained invaluable feedback through practice interviews.

Second-year MLIS student Christine Cousins, from Guelph, was struck by the “openness among my future colleagues and their willingness to talk and answer questions. If you’re undecided or uncertain about where you want to go, this tour is excellent because it gives you lots of options. Information management is not just libraries anymore—our professors tell us this, but it’s good to see how it plays out in real life.” Cousins is leaning toward public librarianship.

When first-year MLIS student Alison McLaughlin signed up for the tour, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She’s interested in academic librarianship, but she’s also considering special libraries and other non-library information management careers. For her, the tour demystified the process of choosing a career path. “I’ve been a student my whole life,” she explains. “It made the whole starting to work thing a little less daunting. We had panels and got to ask people questions about how they got where they are and how they made that decision.”

Another bonus was discovering that a city like Toronto might be a fun place to live. Coming from tiny Grand Falls, New Brunswick, McLaughlin had never experienced a city bigger than Halifax. The verdict? “I could live in a big city and actually like it!” McLaughlin even scored an unscheduled tour of the Toronto Public Library with the head librarian.

[photo: L-R: Benji Spagat, Emilie English, Christine Cousins, Alison McLaughlin]

Congratulations on another successful IWB Conference

Leave a Comment

Slider_SIMSA_IWB_No textCongratulations to the Information Without Borders Conference team for a very successful and educational event! This annual conference has been organized by our MLIS (Master of Library and Information Studies) students for more than 10 years.

The 2018 IWB Committee is:

  • Co-Chairs – Diana Castillo & Kim Mortimer
  • Programming Chairs – Adrienne Colborne & Laura Little
  • Logistics Chairs – Christine Cousins & Ellie Bernard-Wesson
  • Web & Communications Chairs – Alicia Whidden & Tobbi Dyer
  • Finance & Fundraising Chairs – Crystal Vaughan & JP Pineo
  • Registration Chairs – Cassandra Larose & Samantha Adema

On Tuesday, February 13th, attendees gathered at the McInnes Room in the Dalhousie Student Union Building to hear various talks related to the theme of “Information in Mass Media”. The Opening Keynote was given by Dr. Victoria Rubin and explored “The Disinformation Triangle: An Epidemiology of ‘Fake News'”. Breakout sessions included poetry with El Jones and Janice Cruddas, and fan culture with Jennifer Grek Martin (SIM Lecturer). The Closing Keynote was entitled “Media Manipulation, Misinformation Online, and the Role of Library and Information Professionals” by Dr. Tami Oliphant.

Here’s to another fascinating conference in 2019!

27907592_1445746025535066_6810073820309536108_o

Dr. Victoria Rubin [photo credit: Kim Humes]

You’re Invited: 2nd Annual NS Open Data Contest

Leave a Comment

Open Data Contest_logos

The Province of Nova Scotia, the School of Information Management and the Rowe School of Business (Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University) are excited to announce the
2nd Annual Nova Scotia Open Data Contest!

The event is taking place on March 3 – 4, 2018 in conjunction with International Open Data Day.

Visit our Event Page for full details and to register. Invite attached.

This event is open to all. $4,000 top prize available.

Participants will build and prototype an app, produce compelling visualizations, or generate predictive models—all incorporating NS open data.

Slider_Open Data Contest

 

CLT Lunch & Learn with Dr. Keith Lawson (Feb 9th)

Leave a Comment

Centre for Learning & Teaching (CLT) LUNCH & LEARN

Register for this event here.

Facilitator: Dr. Keith Lawson, Assistant Professor, School of Information Management

In designing an online version of a third-year communications course in the Management program, Dr. Lawson decided to give more emphasis to group work and to the large group project, as a key way of engaging the students with the course content, with the instructor and teaching assistant, and with the other students in the class. This presentation will outline the specific changes and design decisions made in creating the online version of the course, with specific reference to the modifications made to the course’s group work component, and to the research and rationale behind these specific decisions.

When
Friday February 9, 2018 – 12:00 to 1:00 PM

Where
Killam Library, Room B400

 

 

Join us for our next MLIS Open House on February 1st

Leave a Comment

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 and thrive.

Learn more about us, and how our Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree can broaden your career options by joining us for our next MLIS Open House.

 

This event will feature a panel discussion with MLIS students and alumni.

When: Thursday, February 1st from 1:00-2:30pm (AST-Atlantic time)
Where: Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Ave (map)
Online access: Further details will be emailed to you prior to the event (see below)

Coffee and cookies provided!

RSVP below by January 31st

Questions? Email sim@dal.ca

Making Valuable Connections: My Experience at the 2017 MLIS Career Discovery Tour (Toronto)

Leave a Comment

By Rebekah Prette:

In December 2017, myself and eight other first and second-year students participated in the 2017 MLIS Career Discovery Tour in Toronto, organized by Robert Wooden (Management Career Services). This tour gave us the opportunity to explore some of the diverse employment options available to us after graduation, practice interviews and network with professionals.

Sites visited were the City of Toronto, Toronto Public Library, University Health Network and Michener Institute, Ontario Library Association, Ryerson University Library, and Deloitte.

One of the core aspects of the tour was meeting and interacting with professionals including public, academic, health sciences, and business librarians. During several information sessions and a discussion panel, we were able to ask them questions about their career paths and tips for finding our first job. Two of the key tips, repeated many times, were: 1. to network as much as possible, and 2. to get involved with associations, as a way to both increase connections and to add to a resume.

Another beneficial aspect of the tour was the practice interview session. This gave us the opportunity to hone our interview skills, especially with competency questions (i.e “Tell about a time when…). After the interviews finished, the professionals gave us concrete feedback on how to improve our answers. For example, they encouraged us to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to improve our examples. We also received feedback about our resumes. It was very beneficial to practice these skills in a low key, relaxing environment.

The tour helped all of us grow our knowledge of the profession, and make valuable connections. It was an extremely helpful experience that made our potential career paths much more clear.

You’re Invited to the 2018 Dalhousie-Horrocks National Leadership Lecture & Award Presentation

RSVP here by February 26th. Light refreshments will be served.

This event features:

1. Free public lecture by Dr. Guy Berthiaume
Librarian and Archivist of Canada

Title: Fast Times at Library and Archives Canada. Imagine Sisyphus Happy!

Abstract: When I arrived at LAC in June 2014, I shared my vision of the institution’s future with employees and with national and international partners. That vision was embodied in four simple—some might say simplistic—commitments, which I reiterated at every possible opportunity during my first few months. LAC should be dedicated to serving its clients, be at the leading edge of library and archival sciences, be engaged with networks, and have greater public visibility.

Like characters in a novel whose actions surprise their author, these four commitments have taken on a life of their own and they have led us along some unexpected paths. I propose to explore the trials and tribulations of this vision, by discussing the initiatives launched over the past three years, as well as the management principles—or lack thereof—that underpinned those initiatives.

2. Presentation of the Dalhousie-Horrocks National Leadership Award to MLIS student, Becky Shaw.

Visit Eventbrite for full details.

Public Lecture: Using Innovative Information Management and Artificial Intelligence to Increase Information Quality in Citizen Science Crowdsourcing (Roman Lukyanenko)

You’re invited to attend a public lecture by a candidate for the position of Lecturer, Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in the School of Information Management. Full details below. No RSVP required. These lectures will not be live-streamed or recorded. Please feel free to share. Thank you.

  • December 1st: 10:45 – 11:45, Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Ave
    • Candidate – Roman Lukyanenko
    • Title – Using Innovative Information Management and Artificial Intelligence to Increase Information Quality in Citizen Science Crowdsourcing
    • Abstract – As user-generated content becomes an increasingly important source of data for organizations, a pressing question is how to ensure that information contributed by ordinary people – the crowd – is of sufficient quality to be useful for both known and unanticipated purposes. In this paper, we examine the impact of class-based versus instance-based information management on key dimensions of information quality in crowdsourcing. We present 8 studies, including 6 experiments (laboratory, and field) and two studies with experts and machines – all in the Atlantic Canadian context. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research for theory and practice.
TOP