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Issue 111 of the YA Hotline now available

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A new issue of the YA Hotline has just been published!  Issue 111: Y(LGBTQ+)A Hotline This issue of the YA Hotline features LGBTQ+ book lists, program guides, reviews, an artist interview, and a glossary of terms. Articles provide critical analysis on topics such as books with happy endings and the evolution of LGBTQ+ character portrayal. Discussions of non-traditional print media, such as video games, fanfiction, and webcomics, are also present in the issue. The authors (Kira Chalupa, Nathan Hynes, Nicole Marcoux, and Ridley Thomas) hope that this issue of YA Hotline provides professional readers with ideas for implementing changes to make materials, programs, and learning environments more welcoming and inclusive for LGBTQ+ teens.

All issues of the YA Hotline are produced by students in INFO 6250 Services and Resources for Young Adults and are freely available at  https://ojs.library.dal.ca/YAHS/issue/archive

 

Join us for the 4th annual NS Open Data Contest (Mar 7-8, 2020)

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SIM is teaming with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Rowe School of Business to host its fourth annual Open Data Contest on March 7th-8th, 2020 in conjunction with International Open Data Day. There will be cash prizes for winning submissions (including a $4000 top prize). This year our Contest is focusing on healthcare and the economy.

Registration is now open! Visit Eventbrite to sign up today.

MI Granted Continued ALA Accreditation Status

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The School of Information Management is very pleased to announce that our Master of Information (MI) program has been granted Continued Accreditation Status from the ALA Committee on Accreditation.

We would like to thank all of you within our SIM, Dalhousie and Information communities for the significant role you played in the accreditation process. As highlighted in the final report from the External Review Panel (ERP):

“The ERP was impressed with the energy and enthusiasm evident among faculty, staff, alumni, employers, and students for the directions in which the MI program is evolving.” 

We look forward to celebrating this news together.

Registration Now Open for the 2020 Information Without Borders (IWB) Conference!

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On February 11th, 2020, the 14th annual student-run Information Without Borders Conference (IWB) will be held in the McInnes Room at Dalhousie University’s Student Union Building. The topic for the 2019 conference is: Information at Home. Halifax is a unique community with a diverse population with different experiences and different needs. The conference will explore the information needs of Halifax and how different individuals and organizations help serve the information needs of the Halifax community. As we explore some of these information needs, the conference will provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary and inter-organizational discussion on this topic for a variety of professional and student attendees.

Registration is now open! Student registration will be $25, or $105 for professionals & community members. Registration includes access to all events, breakfast, lunch and a gift bag.

Register via Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/84081805945

We are also running two competitions that feature student research: the first is a poster competition, the second is a paper competition for the student speaker session. We encourage all university students who are researching relevant topics to apply. Please see our website for details.

We hope that this year’s conference topic will be of interest to you! Please share this information with your department.

For more information, please email iwb@dal.ca or visit our website at www.iwbconference.ca

Symposium: Indigenous Knowledge & Access (Nov 15th)

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Please join us for a day of stimulating discussion and presentations on Indigenous knowledge and access! The Indigenous Knowledge and Access Symposium will be held in Halifax on Thursday, November 15.

Co-hosted by Dalhousie Libraries, Dalhousie’s School of Information Management, and Library and Archives Canada, the event will focus on the work and challenges of documenting and improving access to Indigenous knowledge. The day features a keynote address by Elder Albert Marshall and Dr. Cheryl Bartlett, presentations from the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre and Beaton Institute and much more!

This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Please be sure to register in advance, and prior to Monday, November 12.

Event info:
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Registration opens at 8 a.m. (AST)
Sessions begin at 8:45 a.m. (AST) and run all day until 4:10 p.m. (AST)

Collaborative Health Education Building (CHEB), Room 170
Dalhousie University, 5793 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia

It’s FREE!

Reserve your spot for this event now! All seating is general admission.

SIMAA Event Welcomes Students & Celebrates Peers

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SIMAA welcome_FionaThe SIM Alumni Association (SIMAA) hosted their annual Welcome Reception & Outstanding Alumni Award Presentation on Monday, September 24th in Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building. Attendees mingled, snacked on delicious hors d’oeuvres, and listened to remarks from SIMAA Chair David McDonald (MLIS ’99), SIM Associate Professor Vivian Howard (MLIS ’95), and SIM Director Sandra Toze. Sandra distributed gifts to alumni celebrating anniversaries (from 5 to 38 years!) on behalf of Marianne Hagen (Alumni Officer, Faculty of Management).

The 2018 Outstanding Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Fiona Black. Dr. Black shared some special career memories and gave incoming students some tips for “a joyous life as an information professional”. Those tips are: 1. Aim for excellence, and help others to join you, 2. Be inclusive, walk the walk, and make the right things happen, and 3. turn a potential whine on its head, think constructively about a resolution – all important tips for everyone to keep in mind! Dr. Black also gave special thanks to her colleagues in SIM, Dr. Bertrum MacDonald (who kickstarted her life as an academic) and to her MLIS and MIM students throughout the years.SIMAA welcome_reception

SIM is proud of the legacy of our programs, and the connection we continue to have with our alumni. This event is always a wonderful opportunity for SIM alumni, students, faculty and staff to catch up and network.

Cheers to all alumni and friends who joined us on September 24th – we hope to see you again soon!

(Perhaps during our 50th anniversary celebrations?!)

MLIS Alumna Organizes Correctional Facility Book Club

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Janice Fiander (MLIS ’95 & Manager, Alderney Gate & Dartmouth North branches, Halifax Public Libraries) is featured in this Star Halifax article about Page Turners Book Club for inmates of the Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, NS.

Read the full article here:

HALIFAX—Twelve months ago, two Halifax women entered the province’s largest jail, not to serve sentences, but to start a book club. The program continues today, with more than 50 men having participated, and its organizers would like to see it grow to serve more inmates in more facilities. Individuals from Halifax Public Libraries and the John Howard Society of Nova Scotia partnered to bring the book club to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (CNSCF) last spring.

By mid-July, they gained access to the medium-security jail, and brought with them a few hundred books for the men inside. Janice Fiander, manager of the Alderney Gate and Dartmouth North libraries, is an organizer of the book club. She travels to the jail in Dartmouth once a week to spend a couple of hours facilitating the program. She said inmates can be easily ignored or misunderstood by those on the outside. Spending time with the men in CNSCF through the book club called Page Turners has illuminated for her some of their experiences.

“Going in and doing the book club really opens your eyes to (the inmates’) challenges and their issues, and in particular their challenges for when they’re released, and their reintegration,” she said.

The people incarcerated at CNSCF — 95 per cent of them are male —are either serving sentences of less than two years or awaiting trial. Fiander said one of the goals of the book club is to build a bridge to the outside world by giving inmates a connection to public libraries and the John Howard Society. Once released, they can turn to those organizations for support.

L to R: Jennifer Haigh (John Howard Society of NS) and Janice Fiander [photo credit: TARYN GRANT/FOR STARMETRO]

L to R: Jennifer Haigh (John Howard Society of NS) and Janice Fiander [photo credit: TARYN GRANT/FOR STARMETRO]

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