We are saddened to note the sudden passing of Elizabeth Jones, MLS graduate of 1987. As highlighted in her obituary included below, Elizabeth was a active member of our community, and will be greatly missed.
SIM Welcomes Dr. Lori McCay-Peet
The School of Information Management is pleased to welcome Dr. Lori McCay-Peet, who is joining us in a limited term position as of August 1st, 2015.
Dr. Lori McCay-Peet has an interdisciplinary PhD (Management and Computer Science), MLIS, BA (History), and Diploma in Costume Studies from Dalhousie University. Dr. McCay-Peet has been postdoctoral fellow at the University of Western Ontario in the SocioDigital Lab, interned at Yahoo! Research in Barcelona, and earned a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship and the Thomson Reuters Information Science Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Scholarship for her PhD work. Her research focuses on new and emerging media such as social media and examines topics such as the information-rich phenomenon of serendipity, user engagement, and scholarly communication. Dr. McCay-Peet’s research interests lie in a) understanding how and why people use new and emerging media and to what effect, and b) applying this knowledge to improve these technologies. She has published and presented her research in several information science and computer science publications and venues including the Journal of the Association of Information Science and Technology, Information Research, Information Processing and Management, and the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter in Dartmouth, paddling (sprint kayak and war canoe), and walking her chocolate labradoodle.
SIM researcher on NSHRF‑funded team to study health‑related social media
Dr. Vivian Howard, Associate Professor in the School of Information Management, is part of an interdisciplinary team that was recently awarded a Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) Development/Innovative Grant. The project, entitled “Developing a Method for Studying Online Health Information Sharing over Social Media” will develop, apply and evaluate a novel approach for describing the type and content of health-related social media posts and to examine how this information is being shared over social media. The team consists of Dr. Christine Chambers (principal investigator, Dalhousie), Dr. Penny Corkum (IWK Health Sciences Centre), Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd (Ryerson) and doctoral student Michelle Tougas. Congratulations, Dr. Howard!
MLIS Alumni Event – Montreal, 10 July 2015
Dalhousie MLIS grads based in Montreal had an opportunity to meet with Dr. Bertrum MacDonald and Dr. Fiona Black during the 23rd annual international conference of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP), which met at McGill University on 10 July 2015. Fiona Black (MLIS, 1993), Sean Swanick (MLIS, 2009), James Ross (MLIS, 2015), and Bertrum MacDonald presented papers at the conference which was hosted by the Université de Sherbrooke, Bibliothèque et Archives de Québec, and McGill University. During a break in the conference, the Dalhousie grads met to share news about career developments and activities at the School. Amber Lannon, Jennifer Zhao, Sean Swanick, and Michael Groenendyk work with McGill University Libraries, Nicholas Warren is a staff member with the English Montreal School Board, and James Ross is member of the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research team at Dalhousie University.
l to r: Bertrum MacDonald, James Ross (‘15), Jennifer Zhao ( 2007 ), Michael Groenendyk ( 2013), Nicholas Warren (2007 ), Sean Swanick ( 2009), Amber Lannon ( 1999), Fiona Black ( 1993)
Call for Applications for Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship
To honor the memory and extend the legacy of long-time ARL staff member Julia Blixrud, ARL has established the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship, which will support the attendance of one master of library and information science (MLIS) student. The award recipient will receive a scholarship of up to $1,000 plus registration to attend the Fall Forum. This scholarship is supported by generous donations to the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Fund.
Scholarship Components
The award covers the registration fee for the ARL Fall Forum as well as air and ground transportation and meals, up to a maximum of $1,000 per awardee. Awardees will be reimbursed for receipted expenses that must be submitted to ARL following the event.
Awardee Selection Criteria
The successful applicant will:
- Be a current MLIS student or a graduate who is within two years of graduation.
- Exhibit evidence of being a creative thinker who is passionate about the topic of the ARL Fall Forum. The theme of the 2015 Fall Forum will be “Digital Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences.”
- Demonstrate strong potential to contribute to the profession.
Scholarship Requirements
The scholarship awardee will:
- Attend the ARL Fall Forum in early October.
- Actively use social media to communicate about the Fall Forum during the event and write a blog post to be published by ARL about her/his participation after the event.
Applications
To apply, complete the online application form and upload your essay or visualization along with your résumé or CV. All letters of reference/recommendation must be e-mailed directly from a supervisor or professor to JCBfund@arl.org.
Applications and supporting documents are due to ARL by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, August 20, 2015. Visit the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship webpage for application details.
More Information
Additional details are provided on the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship webpage. If you have questions about the scholarship or the application process, e-mail JCBfund@arl.org.