Want to read the book? Free copies are available at all five Dal Libraries and at the front desks of the residences. (psssst, there is also one available in the SIM lending library – feel free to borrow but please return when finished!)
You’re Invited: Freedom of Information Panel (Nov 15th)
What do libraries mean to you?
October is Canadian Library Month. During CLM, libraries and library partners across Canada raise awareness of the valuable role libraries play in Canadians’ lives. This year’s theme was “A Visit Will Get You Thinking”. Libraries are vital community hubs, and it is safe to say most of us have needed and used a library at some point in our lives.
In honour of CLM, we asked members of our community to tell us, “What do libraries mean to you?”.
“Through my life, libraries have been a partner. Growing up in a small town in Southern Ontario, my local library in Ancaster provided my first exposure to the wide range of books available. Trips to the library fueled long summer days spent reading. In high school I started to explore various libraries in the big city of Hamilton, and was amazed at the tools I could find to support my research. At Queen’s the library not only became my study place, but I was exposed to primary sources through the archives. In Toronto I worked in a corporate library, a whole new type of library to explore, and also frequented the public and academic libraries in my neighbourhood. Once my daughters were born, I saw libraries again with new eyes, as I watched them explore, play and learn. Libraries have been a partner through all these stages and changes, stimulating my curiosity, facilitating my learning, and providing recreation. They are a central part of what I consider community.” – Sandra Toze (SIM Director)
“Libraries to me mean a sort of sanctuary, where I know the rules, and can feel at home, no matter where I am in the world. It’s a place to find information, use a computer, or just avoid the rain for a few minutes. A library accepts me no matter how confused I am, how small my question is, or how foreign I sound. It’s a home away from home.” – Lucille Kiester (Liaison Librarian, WK Kellogg Health Sciences Library)
“Libraries mean many things to me, but above all knowledge and freedom. With the rapid changes in technology and society we have seen over the past few decades and the challenges that have come with them, I am grateful we have institutions like libraries that support both the right to know and freedom of expression.” – Lori McCay-Peet (SIM Professor)
“Especially in rural areas, libraries mean access. They’re community hubs that facilitate access to and the exchange of information in so many ways, especially for individuals for whom barriers may exist such as economic, health status, language, or digital literacy.” – Carlye Stein (1st year MLIS Student)
“Libraries, academic and public, to me have always been a home away from home. As a young immigrant I remember spending time at the libraries made me so happy that I could forget how much I missed not having my family around, at least for a short time. While I was still new to Canada, the libraries were among the first places that I immediately felt accepted and welcome. I could access the internet, books, magazines, newspapers, and a happy place all at the same time. Once at a library I still always feel that only the sky is the limit.” – Zara Palevani (2nd year MLIS Student)
IM Public Lecture: Matthew Novak (Saint Mary’s University)
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 website following the lecture. Live streaming is not currently available.
Comparing Field Data Collection with Commercial Datasets in Mapping Urban Area
Matthew Novak
Saint Mary’s University
Lecture Details
Thursday, November 3rd, 2016
5:35-6:35pm *embedded in the class INFO 5500: Information in Society
Room 1011, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue
Abstract: A wealth of data is needed to properly understand and manage the complexity of urban areas. Using Halifax as a case study, this talk examines the benefits and issues of securing data on urban retailing from commercial providers or collecting the data through field work using smartphone technology. Attention is paid to smaller, independent stores since many commercial datasets may overlook these establishments. The talk concludes with a discussion of incorporating the data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) for use in managing and analysing the spatial component of the information.
Biography: Mathew Novak is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies at Saint Mary’s University. His research focuses on the development of the urban landscape, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map processes and patterns of urban change. Underlying his research is the understanding that the built environment is shaped by and simultaneously a shaper of human activity; the urban landscape can be read as an indicator of human culture and modified to influence activities of its inhabitants. His current research is looking at changes to the inner-city landscape of Halifax, which is experiencing a rash of new condominium developments and reinvention of inner-city retail districts.
MLIS Students: CAPAL Student Bursary Available
The Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL) will be holding its annual conference next year at Ryerson University (Toronto, ON), from May 27 – June 2, 2017. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences; the theme for Congress will be ‘The Next 150’.
The CAPAL Board is pleased to introduce a bursary for student conference attendance. The bursary will be awarded to one CAPAL student member in good standing, who demonstrates an interest in and understanding of the conference topic, and who shows promise for a career as an academic librarian. The bursary will cover the cost of the attendee’s conference fees (CAPAL and Congress), and will provide a $250.00 CDN stipend to help with the cost of travel, lodging, and/or meals.
NOTE: Applications are not yet open for this bursary. A call for bursary applications will be sent out in late Fall at the same time as the call for conference proposals.
If you are interested, you may want to consider obtaining a CAPAL membership. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions: capal.students@gmail.com.
Visit the Dal CAPAL Chapter website here for more information on what this group can offer you.
Open Access Week at Dalhousie Libraries
Dal Libraries is celebrating International Open Access Week October 24th-30th with workshops and a film screening (featuring our own Ryan Whalen). These events are extremely relevant to anyone studying IM or working in the field.
From Dal Libraries: “Open Access Week provides an opportunity for academics and researchers to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation that will make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research. (from the Open Access Week website)
The principles of Open Access are founded on ideas of public access to publicly funded research, author rights, availability of educational resources, and affordable access to materials for educational institutions. The Dalhousie Libraries are pleased to be using these principles to bring the research activities of Dalhousie to the world.”
Read the full details here.
SIM Alumna Compiles Nationwide Book Recommendation Publication
MLIS alumna Zoe Dickinson has worked with Librarianship.ca (not-for-profit organization started to support and strengthen our community and advance its information professionals) to compile a new publication entitled “Canada’s Favourites: Book Recommendations Coast to Coast” in honour of International Literacy Day/Canadian Library Month. The recommendations come from Canadians from all walks of life, including politicians, journalists, sports stars, authors and librarians.
From the web announcement: “We asked our contributors to share books that had impacted their lives, their current reads, and their recommendations for other Canadians. It was inspiring to see how excited Canadians are to talk about what they’re reading!”
Great job, Zoe! Read the full publication here.
IM Public Lecture: Elizabeth De Santo & Lea Senft (Franklin & Marshall College)
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 website following the lecture. Live streaming is not currently available.
Presented by the School of Information Management, the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program, and the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance
Evidence and Public Engagement in Conservation Planning: UK and Global Biodiversity Examples
Elizabeth De Santo & Lea Senft
Franklin & Marshall College (Pennsylvania)
Lecture Details:
Thursday, October 20th, 2016
11:45am-12:45pm
Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue
How can stakeholders inform public policy? With increasing attention being given to evidence-based decision making, at least in Canadian political rhetoric over the past year, what can be learned from recent experience at national and global levels? What role does information fulfil in decision-making processes? In this lecture, two speakers from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania will draw on their studies to illustrate how stakeholder engagement and information exchange have played out in British and global conservation planning. They will outline recommendations for strengthening the use of information in public policy decisions.
Speaker 1: Elizabeth De Santo, PhD
California Dreaming: Challenges of Implementing Science-Based Marine Protected Area (MPA) Planning Processes in Different Political Contexts
Abstract: In response to direct and indirect pressures on the marine environment posed by increased development and climate change, the international community has been designating networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) and implementing marine spatial planning (MSP) in their exclusive economic zones, including offshore areas. This lecture critically assesses the role of evidence in marine conservation planning in the United Kingdom (UK), a process that drew heavily on the example set by California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) planning process. Whereas the role of a science advisory panel played a constructive role and facilitated MPA planning in the Californian context, the outcome in the UK was quite different; evidence became a sticking point hampering the process. The actual designation of sites in the UK has been slower than expected, and none of the Reference Areas (e.g., no-take MPAs) recommended by stakeholder-led consultations have been implemented. Drawing on examples from the United States, Australia, and the UK, I will provide recommendations for effective science-led marine conservation planning.
Biography: Elizabeth De Santo is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Franklin & Marshall College, in the Department of Earth and Environment. Her teaching and research focus on marine conservation and environmental governance, critically examining: (1) the efficacy of spatial approaches to conserving marine species and habitats, and (2) the science-policy interface in environmental decision-making. She is particularly interested in the challenges of effectively implementing Marine Protected Areas and biodiversity conservation worldwide. Prior to joining Franklin & Marshall College, she was a faculty member in the Marine Affairs Program at Dalhousie University. She has also held positions with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Environment Center, consultancies with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and the Institute for European Environmental Policy, and she is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law.
Speaker #2: Lea Senft
A Critical Examination of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): Improving Mechanisms for Stakeholder Engagement
Abstract: In this talk, I will critically examine mechanisms for stakeholder engagement within the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), recently established within the Convention on Biological Diversity. Tying ecosystem services to this platform is not only vital for biodiversity conservation, but also depends upon good stakeholder engagement, as well as effective global assessments. Further, this project explores lessons learned from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In particular, the IPCC’s strengths and weaknesses are examined in order to derive how IPBES can improve its approach, including stakeholder engagement. I have found that stakeholder engagement is at the early stages for IPBES, however, the organization is taking the necessary steps toward improvement. I have also seen that ecosystem services are at the forefront for IPBES, and its regional assessment plan provides more influential data for future conservation initiatives. In this talk, I will provide recommendations about areas in which IPBES can improve, drawing on the experience of the IPCC, and providing an in depth assessment of where IPBES needs to go to provide crucial conservation data.
Biography: Lea Senft is a senior undergraduate student, pursuing a Joint Major in Environmental Studies and Public Policy at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is in her second year of independent study with Elizabeth De Santo, and has completed coursework in both American and global environmental policy.
SIM Professor Bertrum MacDonald Appointed Visiting Researcher by the International Ocean Institute-Canada
Read the full announcement here.
“Bertrum MacDonald, research lead for the Environmental Information: Use and Influence (EIUI) research program, has been appointed Visiting Researcher by the International Ocean Institute-Canada (IOI-Canada) for 2016-2017.
Dr. MacDonald, who recently concluded a term as Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie and is on a year-long research leave, will continue his line of study aimed at advancing understanding of the many pathways of information (scientific, social science, and local) at the science-policy interface in marine environmental contexts. He and EIUI colleagues recently published Science, Information, and Policy Interface for Effective Ocean and Coastal Management (CRC Press, 2016), which is the first book to focus exclusively on the role of scientific information in the development of coastal and ocean policy and management of the oceans. The EIUI research program is pursuing case studies with governmental and intergovernmental organizations in Canada and internationally.
This research is currently supported by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The EIUI team will also be undertaking studies in research modules of the recently announced Ocean Frontier Institute that is supported by a $93.7 million grant Canada First Research Excellence Fund to Dalhousie University.”
Dalhousie Libraries News Roundup (Fall 2016)
Submitted by Marlo McKay, Communications Coordinator, Dalhousie Libraries:
Dalhousie Libraries Staff Changes
- Norbert Addo has been hired as a permanent Help Desk Technician in the Killam Library. He first started working there 2014 while he was a student, providing IT assistance to students and faculty alike.
- Leah Unicomb started as the new Manager of Library Services at the MacRae Library on July 4. Leah is responsible for the daily management of the library including staff, services, and facilities.
- Lucy Kiester has been hired as the new 10 month limited term Instruction and Reference Services Librarian in the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library.
- Hannah Steeves has been hired as the new limited term Instructional and Reference Services Librarian in the Sir James Dunn Law Library.
- We recently said goodbye to Copyright Services Coordinator John Yolkowski. We wish him well in his new role at SMU.
Service Enhancement for GIS & Data Services
The GIS Centre and other data services at the Dalhousie Libraries have been brought together with the goal of supporting a wider variety of teaching, learning, and research activities. Leading this activity will be the new Coordinator of GIS & Data Services, Gwen MacNairn. Gwen brings her impressive record of the provision of library services, experience in the development and oversight of staff training, and her knowledge of ESRI and GIS applications to this new system-wide role that began August 15. Gwen has a strong service orientation, having worked for the past fifteen years as the Computer Science Librarian for the Faculty of Computer Science, and most recently as the Assistant Head of the Killam Memorial Library. She is also the liaison librarian for the Medical Sciences program, and spends her time in the Kellogg and Killam Libraries in this capacity. Click here for full details.
Dalhousie and Halifax Public Libraries Team Up to Purchase Video Difference Film Collection
The carefully curated collection at Video Difference, a landmark video rental shop in Halifax, has long been important to Dal’s Film Studies program. When Video Difference announced it was closing in August, some Dalhousie faculty began to work quickly in an effort to try and purchase some of Video Difference’s collection. Deciding to join forces, Halifax Public Libraries and Dalhousie purchased approximately 5,500 titles from the Video Difference DVD collection. The collection will be housed jointly in the Killam Memorial Library and at Halifax Public Libraries. Dal’s portion of the purchase amounts to over 1,000 titles in subject areas which support classes at the university, including silent film, French and Spanish cinema, and films from Ireland, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand. But the entire collection will be readily available to both the Dal community and the broader public. Click here for full details.
Summer Shine
In early September, the Dal Libraries held our annual welcome reception for the Dal School of Information Management (SIM) students. This event now includes the Summer Shine presentations – this year featuring the summer projects by our six SIM interns and one Young Canada Works student.
- Keri McCaffrey: Developing Training Modules for Kellogg Navigators
- Alice Albarda: Digitization at the Dalhousie Archives
- Lauren Bull: Sign(s) of the Times
- Jacob Ericson: Citation Style Libguide & Cockerell Fine Bindings
- Deborah Hemming: Comments, Compliments, & Complaints: Creating a Feedback Database for the Killam Library
- Nick Manuel: Collection Management of Physical & Digital Resources at the Kellogg Library
- Domenic Rosati: Collection Assessment of Physical Carriers of Born-Digital Archival Material
PechaKucha Event: In late August we held the first annual Dal Libraries Conference Season Pecha Kucha event, featuring presentations by 12 Dal librarians and staff. Everyone who attended a conference that spring or summer was encouraged to do a PechaKucha-style presentation about it—20 slides for 20 seconds each on the theme of “What can the Dal Libraries use from what you learned [at the conference]?”
Dalhousie-wide Records Management Project: In June, funding was approved to hire a Records Management Consultant to help Dalhousie finalize a Records Management Policy and best practices, and implement a program under the auspices of the Libraries, based in the Archives. It has been a busy time informing various constituencies and consulting regarding specific RM needs in each unit.
Oriel MacLennan: an enduring study of Marie-Claire Blais: Dalhousie Librarian Oriel MacLennan has just published a second bibliography about Québec writer Marie-Claire Blais. Oriel has been researching Marie-Claire Blais for almost thirty years. In addition to the two bibliographies, she has also written and collaborated on two articles and appeared in a documentary about Blais. An important figure in the Canadian literary scene, Blais is known for producing works of great scholarly interest. She has written more than thirty novels that have been translated into English, German, Russian, and Chinese.[1] Blais has also won many awards for her work, including four Governor General’s Literary Awards, in 1968, 1979, 1996, and 2008. Click here for more details.
Reading with J.A. Wainwright: One of our most respected Dalhousie Canadian literature teachers and writers (now retired from teaching), Dr. J. A. Wainwright, gave a reading on Tuesday, October 4 in the program room on the fifth floor of the Killam Library. Dr. Wainwright is the author of five books of poetry, five novels, and two biographies. His most recent work of fiction is The Last Artist (2016). He is McCulloch Emeritus Professor in English at Dalhousie University. Click here for full details.
Dal Libraries Presents a Digital Preservation Management Workshop: The Dalhousie Libraries organized a five-day Digital Preservation Management (DPM) Workshop this September. The workshop was led by internationally recognized digital preservation experts Nancy McGovern (Director of Digital Preservation at MIT Libraries) and Kari Smith (Senior Digital Archivist at MIT Institute Archives), along with guest instructors and presenters both in-person and virtually. There was also a keynote presentation by Evelyn McLellan, President of Artefactual Systems. Click here for full details.