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Antiracism & Decolonization in Archival Studies: Open Classroom Series

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Join us for the Fall 2022 edition of the open classroom series on antiracism and decolonization in the information professions, with a focus on archival studies in the 2022-2023 academic year. The first open classroom is scheduled for October 26 and features a presentation by Riley Linebaugh (PhD), Research Associate, Leibniz Institute for European History on “Race, Capital & Empire: Placing Hilary Jenkinson into History.”

Registration is free and open to all!

Check out the full details here!

The Fall 2022 open classrooms are hosted at the University of Manitoba’s History Department, and sponsored by Dalhousie’s School of Information Management and CUNY’s Archival Technologies Lab. They are taking place as part of graduate courses taught by Dr. Jamila Ghaddar, which are: HIST7372 History of Archiving & Archival Records (Fall 2022) at the University of Manitoba’s History Department, and INFO6370 Records Management (Winter 2023) at Dalhousie University’s School of Information Management.

Contact: Dr. Jamila Ghaddar at jghaddar@dal.ca or jamila.ghaddar@umanitoba.ca.

Fall 2022 Schedule:

Note: CDST refers to local Winnipeg time and ADST refers to local Halifax time.

  • Wed 26 Oct @ 11:30am CDST / 1:30pm ADST: “Race, Capital & Empire: Placing Hilary Jenkinson into History,” a presentation by Riley Linebaugh (PhD), Research Associate, Leibniz Institute for European History. Register today!  

Abstract: This presentation provides a critical biography of Hilary Jenkinson with a focus on his 1912 publication, “The Records of the English African Companies,” his participation in the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section during WWII, and his 1948 memo on colonial archives. Read more

  • Wed 16 Nov @ 11:30am CDST / 1:30pm ADST: “Displaced Archives, Repatriation & the Vienna Convention: Global South Perspectives,” a panel with Dr. Ellen Namhila (Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Namibia), Dr. Nathan Mnjama (Professor, Department of Library & Information Studies, University of Botswana), and Dr. James Lowry (Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Library & Information Studies, CUNY). Co-hosted with CUNY’s Archival Technologies Lab. Register today!

Abstract: Contestation over archival access and ownership have been a feature of the relationship between European countries and their former colonies in Africa and Asia because records displaced to Europe in the context of Third World political decolonization in the mid-20th century have rarely been repatriated. How to imagine a future in which such archival legacies of colonialism are redressed? This open classroom explores this question with renowned personalities and leading experts. Read more

  • Wed 7 Dec @ 11:30am CDST / 1:30pm ADST: “Multiple Provenance, Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Archival Protocols,” a conversation with Dr. Vanessa Watts (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Indigenous Studies, McMaster University) and Krystal Payne (University of Winnipeg, Kishaadigeh Collaborative Research Centre). Co-hosted with Dr. Amber Dean, Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University. Register today!

Abstract: How can archivists and archivists be more responsive and accountable to Indigenous peoples and communities? This open classroom explores this question in relation to a variety of archival principles-based guiding documents, and the project based out of McMaster University, “The Challenge of Reconciliation: What We Can Learn from the Stories of the Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium and the Mohawk Institute Residential School.” Read more

Conference Recap: International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, September 7-9, 2022

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Submitted by Maddie Hare (MI student and Alberta Letts Conference Travel Award recipient):

In early September I travelled to Granada, Spain with members of the Quantitative Science Studies Lab (QSS) for the 26th International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators hosted at the Universidad de Granada. The conference featured three days of oral communication sessions, an event dedicated for Women in Science Policy (WISP) and a PhD student round table.

The QSS Lab presented four studies at the conference. Director of the QSS Lab, Dr. Philippe Mongeon, presented his work “On the Impact of Geo-contextualized and Local Research in the Global North and South”. MI graduate Kydra Mayhew presented a study entitled “On the Citation Relationship Between Industry Funded and Publicly Funded Canadian Food Research Publications” and a poster session for her work “On the coverage of historical journals in Web of Science and Scopus”. I presented my research-in-progress “The Impact of Mentorship on the Research Performance of LIS PhDs”.

The QSS Lab was represented by those of us from Dalhousie University’s School of Information Management, as well as its collaborators from around the world. The conference was a fantastic opportunity to meet established members of the bibliometrics and scientometrics community and meet fellow researchers new to the field. I received useful feedback on my study from conference participants, broadened my academic network, and gained valuable experiencing presenting in an international academic setting. STI 2022 was a deeply formative experience for me as an early career researcher. I will reflect on this conference as an event that crystallized my desire to continue in academia and contribute to global efforts directed towards the advancement of knowledge.

Included below are a few photos from the conference; many new friends were made, old ones reunited, and tapas eaten!

Maddie Hare presenting her work “The Impact of Mentorship on the Research Performance of LIS PhDs.”

Dr. Philippe Mongeon, Kydra Mayhew (MI ’22), and Maria Henkel with their poster “On the coverage of historical journals in Web of Science and Scopus.”

A dinner with members from the QSS Lab, the Scholarly Communications Lab, the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, and Aarhus University.

Mansi Nishit Trivedi Awarded the 2022 Stephanie Downs Memorial Award

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Congrats to Mansi from everyone at SIM! More information about SIM’s awards and scholarships can be found here.

When Stephanie Downs returned to Canada from the UK to become a librarian, she chose to enter the MLIS program at Dalhousie for its sense of community, welcoming faculty and Maritime culture. Diagnosed with cervical cancer at the end of her last year at SIM, Stephanie graduated with her MLIS but lost her hard-fought battle to her illness on May 27th, 2007.

Remembered for her enthusiasm, Stephanie was a “doer” and very active in school life, serving as 2005-2006 Co-Chair of SIMSA and SIM Team Captain for the 2005 Halifax “Run for the Cure”. She was also awarded the Student-to-CLA travel award to attend the 2005 CLA Conference in Calgary. This award was established by Stephanie’s family and friends in her memory.

Mansi is a student in the Master of Information (MI) at Dalhousie University. Originally from India, Mansi earned her Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Accounting and Statistics. She developed an interest in library studies and joined the Master of Library and Information Science at Gujarat University, India. After completing her library studies, she worked in libraries for 8 years. Throughout her library career in India, Mansi primarily worked with a corporate library of Tata Consultancy Services and then joined the academic library of Architecture and Design University.

She wanted to pursue further study abroad and decided to join the SIM MI program. As an international student, she managed to overcome obstacles in her initial time at the Dalhousie with her positive approach toward everything. As a Dalhousie Libraries Multidisciplinary Intern, Mansi has been working at the Killam, Sexton, and MacRae Libraries and working on projects related to the accessibility of library resources, designing instructional material using technology, and providing reference and research assistance.

Mansi hopes to motivate and inspire students to reach their full potential. She’s volunteered in the Email Buddy program of SIMSA. In this program, she is paired up with one or more incoming MI students to answer any questions they may have before they move to Halifax and begin their studies. She loves to help others and enjoys interacting with new people. She enjoys hiking and staying connected with nature. Mansi lives in Halifax with her husband, Nishit.

SIM Professors Win Data Champions Competition

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Re-posted from Dal News. Click here to read the full article:

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada has announced Mike Smit, Colin Conrad and Darren Abramson as winners of their Data Champions competiton. Dalhousie’s Data Champions will receive up to $50,000 each to develop activities at the local, regional and national levels that advance awareness, understanding, development and adoption of research management tools, best practices and resources in Canada.

Mike Smit, Faculty of Management

Accelerating Research Data Management in Ocean Observing & Research

Understanding the ocean is essential for coastal communities, access to food, and moderating climate. Challenged but undaunted by its vast expanse and depth, researchers from across disciplines rely on observations of the ocean. This project will advance research data management from ocean observations in support of ocean research, beyond what would otherwise be possible. The Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System (CIOOS) will accelerate research data management by:

  • Informing, educating, and guiding new and emerging researchers in how to manage, share, and find ocean data from a growing array of sources;
  • Review and renew research data management advocacy and support for sharing ocean data based on the results of a previous SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis grant;
  • Build on existing collaborations and engagement, consult with First Nations communities on how Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural labels might be incorporated in data management systems when it is appropriate to include this type of data.

The research team includes Dalhousie data experts like Louise Gillis (Research Data Management Librarian, Dalhousie Libraries) and Shayla Fitzsimmons (Executive Director, CIOOS Atlantic) along with expertise from some of Canada’s leading ocean data management centers, including Ocean Networks Canada, Observatoire global du Saint-Laurent, and Memorial University. During the pilot phase, the team will work with academic institutions and organizations on the Pacific coast, the Atlantic coast, and the Gulf of St Lawrence.

Colin Conrad, Faculty of Management and Darren Abramson, Faculty of Arts and Social Science

Beyond the Black Box: Unlocking the Potential of Digital Humanities

Digital technologies and data now play a pivotal role in our world, yet many university researchers are poorly equipped to create knowledge with them. This issue is particularly pertinent to researchers in the social sciences and humanities who are limited by funding and resources tailored to pre-digital methodologies. There is also a growing interest among digital researchers in the insights from the social sciences and humanities related to the intersection of digital technologies and society.

Drs. Conrad (pictured) and Abramson aim to address disciplinary divides through a series of events aimed at equipping humanities researchers with digital and data skills. Their immediate goal is to foster interest and cultivate expertise. Their long-term goal is to create a hub for equipping social researchers with ever-changing research tools for the digital era with a vision to position Canada as a leader in data-driven social sciences and digital humanities.

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