Category: Archived

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SIMSA as a Service (SaaS)

Hello fellow MLISers,

Today in our meeting we have decided to discontinue office hours. They were useful near the beginning of the term when many of you were just starting and had questions about the program. But now you’ve all come so far, grown so much, *sniff* that we have decided to set you free…

Instead of office hours we encourage you to email any of the executive when you have questions. We are happy to help digitally, but you are also welcome to arrange a meeting with any of us. Don’t hesitate! We are very friendly and want to help you succeed.

This method may prove to be more flexible and more useful to those students with difficult schedules.

We have updated our Officers page to include each executive member’s email.

Together we can do it!!

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IM Public Lecture Series: “Fraud Forgotten? What the History of Drug Regulation Teaches Us About the Importance of Transparency Today” by Matthew Herder

Abstract:

Greater transparency is needed in the realm of pharmaceutical drugs. The current policy focus is on disclosing more information about the safety and effectiveness of drugs. But to be effective, transparency must serve another purpose – namely, of enabling standard setting through a more participatory, public model of drug regulation. I turn to the history of Canadian drug regulation to demonstrate that such a conception of transparency is not only possible, but increasingly needed. I argue that tying transparency to a revitalized concept of fraud in drug research and development might help activate more participatory, public regulatory work.

Biography:

Matthew Herder is an associate professor in the Faculties of Medicine and Law at Dalhousie University. He holds three law degrees from Dalhousie and Stanford University’s Law School. His research centres around biomedical innovation policy, with a particular focus on intellectual property law and practices connected to the commercialization of scientific research. He is currently the Principal Investigator on a three year CIHR operating grant. He has been commissioned to write reports and appear as an expert witness before key national and international institutions, including the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development and, most recently, two Canadian Parliamentary committees, which contributed to the most important changes to Canada’s Food and Drugs Act since the thalidomide disaster of the 1960s.

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. When feasible, recordings of the lectures are posted here for wider circulation. For the full schedule, visit the Public Lecture page of the SIM website.

Lecture Details
Wednesday, November 4th, 2015 from 12:00-1:00pm
Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue

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IM Public Lecture Series: “Mindtools: What Does it Mean to be Literate in the Age of Google?” by Dan Russell

Dan Russell
Google Inc.

Abstract: What does it mean to be literate at a time when you can search billions of texts in less than 300 milliseconds? Although you might think that “literacy” is one of the great constants that transcends the ages, the skills of a literate person have changed substantially over time as texts and technology allow for new kinds of reading and understanding. Knowing how to read is just the beginning of it — knowing how to frame a question, pose a query, how to interpret the texts you find, how to organize and use the information you discover, how to understand your metacognition — these are all critical parts of being literate as well. In this talk Russell will review what literacy is today, in the age of Google, and show how some very surprising and unexpected skills will turn out to be critical in the years ahead.  We have created powerful new tools for the mind. Thing is, those tools are constantly evolving and changing even as the things they operate on change as well. This puts us in the position of having to learn how to find tools, and understanding the substrate on which they work. Literacy in these days is not just reading and writing, but also understanding what knowledge tools are available, and how they can be used in interesting new ways.  And the role of the designer turns out to be critical in this new understanding of literacy

Biography: Daniel Russell is the Űber Tech Lead for Search Quality and User Happiness in Mountain View.  He earned his PhD in computer science, specializing in Artificial Intelligence until he realized that amplifying human intelligence was his real passion.  His day job is researching how people search and the ways they come to learn about the world through Google.  His 20% job is teaching the world to search more effectively.  Dan enjoys teaching, learning, running and music, preferably all in one day. Dan blogs at SearchReSearch (http://searchresearch1.blogspot.com), teaches search skills classes online at PowerSearchingWithGoogle.com, and teaches live search/research classes live throughout the civilized world.

Lecture Details
Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 from 5:30pm-6:30pm
Room 3089, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue

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Returning and Outgoing Student Practicum Reference

First off, thanks everyone for replying so promptly to my email for this list! I hope that this list will assist you first years in choosing a practicum that better matches your librarian leanings. At the very least it should give you a better idea of what is out there if you’re having troubles deciding.

Students that have moved on (graduated, so it may be harder to contact them if you want to)

  • Kaitlin Anne – Capital Health – http://www.cdha.nshealth.ca/health-sciences-library
  • Stephanie Anne –  NS Advisory Council on the Status of Women – https://women.gov.ns.ca
  • Emily Beth – Nova Scotia Legislative Library – http://nslegislature.ca/index.
  • Alieda Blandford –  Children’s services at HPL
  • Laurie Chase – Nova Scotia Archives
  • Elliott Gish – Captain William Spry Public Library
  • Andrea Kampen – “info literacy” practicum with Lindsay McNiff.
  • Jaq-Lin Larder – Mount Saint Vincent University Library – http://www.msvu.ca/en/home/library/default.aspx
  • Karine Lelievre – Dieppe public library, New Brunswick public library system
  • Alison Manley – Bedford Public Library
  • Tam Proulx –  IWK
  • James Ross –  Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education, Planning, Research, and Accountability Division.

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Revised Office Hours

The SIMSA executive has reconfigured the office hours to be in larger blocks of time to allow students more freedom for when they choose to come in. The new hours are as follows:

Mondays 11:30 – 2:30,
Tuesdays 11:30 – 4:00,
Thursdays 11:30 – 1:00

SIM office hours

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SIMSA Fall Potluck!


Its that time of year again, that time where everyone brings a bunch of tupperware for us all to share. The food in the tupperware… not the tupperware itself. First take time to give thanks with your family (blood or otherwise) this weekend, and then come celebrate with us on Tuesday!

Come one come all to a lovely feast in the SIM common room on October 13th, 2015 at Noon until the food is cold or gone.

Here is a link to the google sign-up if you’d like to contribute to this delicious feast!

Please note if there are any allergens in your culinary creations, or if they are going to be particularly suited to any dietary restrictions.