April end-of-term updates 

Congratulations to the SIM community for making it to the end of the semester! As the flowers bloom and the days get longer, we are looking forward to having a break for the summer but are also sad to say goodbye.  

Our last Waffle Wednesday of the year was hosted on April 5th. Thanks to all who attended and participated in SIM’s Easter egg hunt!  

Our final book club was also held this week- meetings may continue through the summer months so stay tuned for more details! 

The School of Information Management’s creative journal, SIMagination, is available for purchase while supplies last! This journal was produced to showcase the original work of the SIM community and acts a fundraiser for SIMSA. All funds raised will be used by our student association for student events, programming, and initiatives. We kindly request $10 or PWYC; pay cash to any SIMSA representative or etransfer simsa@dal.ca 

We thank all of our alumni who have kindly contributed to our alumni fundraiser; we have raised almost $200 to put towards SIMSA events and initiatives. 

SIM’s end-of-year event will be held on Saturday, April 22nd at East of Grafton! Please RSVP using the circulated Microsoft Form. We look forward to celebrating with everyone! 

Finally, SIMSA wishes to thank everyone for a wonderful year. Our programming and events are meant to develop community, and it has been a privilege to watch it grow over the past two years. We are lucky to be surrounded by kind and thoughtful individuals at SIM, and appreciate everyone who makes our community the vibrant and lively group it is. We encourage all graduating students to keep in touch, and wish first-years all the best as they embark on their final year in the MI program.  

Alumni Spotlight Series: Jordan Audas 

Next up in our alumni spotlight series, we catch up with Jordan Audas! Jordan has been working at Digital Nova Scotia since he graduated from the MI program. Jordan offers great insights into how he translated the skills he learned in the MI program to the workplace. Thanks for taking the time, Jordan!

When did you graduate from SIM? What was your favourite class/subject of study when you were in the program and how have your interests expanded since then?

I graduated from SIM in April 2022. I really enjoyed both archive classes, taught by Patti Bannister, and Information in Society, taught by Dr. Mongeon. Both of these, I suppose, boil down to how people interact and engage with information. This is still something I’m passionate about, especially when it comes to accessibility and usability.

What is your current role and how long have you been in it?

I am a project manager at Digital Nova Scotia, a role I was just promoted to just about a week ago. Prior to that promotion, I had been working as a project analyst here since August.

How have you translated the skills and competencies you learned in the MI program into the workplace?

Ignoring the more obvious technical skills, such as navigating databases, visualizing data, and performing research, I think the more overlooked non-technical, or “soft” skills, are truly important in a workplace. Being able to communicate and collaborate effectively, for example, may seem like a given, but this is crucial to an organization’s culture and success, not to mention when interacting with stakeholders. These skills are much harder to learn than we often give them credit for, but I think SIM prepares students well for actually taking these non-technical skills into the real world.

In what ways is working as an IM professional different from the classroom?

It’s no one’s job to teach you anymore. Sure, you may be lucky enough to have learning opportunities and professional growth is extremely important, but everyone else in an organization has their own duties and responsibilities to focus on. So, that being said, if you need guidance in your work, ask! Most people are happy to help, but they won’t know what you can and can’t do until you make it clear.

If you could go back and give your first year self one piece of advice, what would you tell them?

I’d probably slip them the answers to a few tests; is it cheating if it’s coming from yourself?

First Year Student Spotlight: Hailey Wills

Our last First Year Student Spotlight for the winter term features Hailey Wills! Hailey has been a wonderful presence at SIM over the past year and is SIMSA’s incoming Non-Academic Chair! We are happy to have Hailey continue to foster a warm and welcoming environment here at the School of Information Management. Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself, Hailey!

Tell us a bit about yourself! 

My name is Hailey, and I am a first-year student at SIM. I’m originally from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia and have been living in Halifax for the past 4 years. I completed my undergrad degree at Mount Allison University in International Relations. I decided to complete this program as I was looking to stay close to family and friends in the Atlantic provinces.

What is your favourite thing about SIM so far? 

So far, I’ve been really enjoying meeting so many new people. The staff and faculty have fostered a supportive environment and the program is a great size to be able to connect with your peers.

What about Information Management interests you the most? What are you looking forward to learning more about? 

I’m really looking forward to taking a variety of courses throughout my degree. I’ve found so many different aspects of Information Management that we are learning about interesting and don’t have any specialized interests yet, so it is great that the courses offered are so varied so I can explore lots of different topics.

End-of-term Updates

As we sail past the midway point of the winter term, we wanted to highlight a few initiatives happening and SIM, and what students can look forward to for the rest of the semester!

Past:

  • Waffle Fundraiser. On March 1st, SIM’s monthly Waffle Wednesday was expanded into a Faculty of Management-wide fundraiser for earthquake relief for Turkey and Syria. SIMSA would like to sincerely thank everyone who bought a waffle, popped in to say hello, and donated to this initiative. It was wonderful to see so many faces in the SIM common room, familiar and new. Together we raised $222 for earthquake relief for Turkey and Syria, which was donated to Humanitarian Coalition. Millions of people across both countries are in need of humanitarian assistance, and we encourage you to make a donation if you are able.
  • Book Club: The SIMSA book club met again in February to discuss their book of the month! Look forward to the book pick for March and the meeting date and time.
  • Headshots and the annual SIM class photo. On March 10th students were welcome to have their headshot taken by a professional photographer. We also gathered as a group to photograph our class in 2023! 
  • Thanks to all who signed our collective letter to the Halifax Clerk’s Office and Councillor Sam Austin protesting the proposed budget cuts to Dartmouth Heritage Museum. We are relieved to hear the good news that these cuts will not be occurring and affecting the posterity of this valuable organization.
  • SIM Career Day Part 2 occurred on March 17th! This day featured in-person resume review by our Professional-in-Residence, Cabot Yu and virtual review by a larger group of Information professionals. We will be following up this event with a virtual group networking event on the platform Wander. Stay tuned for more details!
  • Alumni Fundraiser. We wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to all alumni who have donated to SIMSA in the past month. We have raised $155 dollars so far and will be using these funds for student programs and initiatives. Thank you.

Upcoming:

  • SIMSArchive Workshop 3: Description will be taking place on March 24th from 9:30- 11:30am in the SIM meeting room (4025). All are welcome to join us to learn about archival description and continue with next steps in processing SIMSA’s records to prepare them for their move to the Dalhousie Archives.
  • Lunch and Learn: Melissa Rothfus. Join us for pizza and a talk from Melissa Rothfus, Dalhousie’s Scholarly Communications librarian! This Lunch and Learn will be held on March 27th from 12-1pm in the SIM Meeting Room (4025) and over Teams.
  • Point Pleasant Walk: Join SIMSA for a walk in Point Pleasant on April 1st at 2pm! Get in touch with a Non-Academic Chair for more details about meeting points.
  • Triva Night: Our wildly popular trivia nights are returning: join us on Tuesday, March 21st at The Brewery by Quinn’s for trivia! Starts at 7pm.
  • SIMatinee. To wind down the semester we will be hosting a movie screening in the SIM common room on Friday, April 14th from 2:30-5pm! Please join us for the 1957 film ‘Desk Set’ starring Katherine Hepburn. Alongside this film we will be discussing an article written by Dr. Allison-Cassin entitled “Bodies, brains, and machines: An exploration of the relationship between the material and affective states of librarians and information systems”. Popcorn and movie snacks provided!
  • April’s Waffle Wednesday will be occurring on April 5th from 10am-12pm in the common room. This is our last WW of the semester, so come on out for socializing, homemade waffles, and coffee and orange juice!
  • The next book club meeting will be held on April 10th at 5:30pm in the SIM Common Room. The pick of the month is The Bear by Claire Cameron. If you’d like to join, feel free to sign out a book in the common room!
  • SIMSA is hard at work planning the annual SIMphony, our end-of-year celebration where SIM students, faculty, and staff gather in community to celebrate all we’ve accomplished in the past year. This year’s SIMphony will be taking place at East of Grafton! Stay tuned for more details and get excited!

That’s all for now! We hope the term wraps up smoothly for students. As always, never hesitate to reach out to SIMSA with questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns. We are hear to listen and support you. Get in touch with a SIMSA exec or at simsa@dal.ca

Celebrating our students: Spotlight on Charlie Hook (MI ‘23)

Charlie Hook is a second-year Master of Information student at SIM. Charlie was recently accepted to a doctoral program at the University of Leicester. In this spotlight we learn about Charlie’s doctoral project and what she is most looking forward to as she continues her studies at a new university. Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment, Charlie. This is important and valuable work, and we wish you all the best as you embark on your degree.

Tell us about the program you applied to and why you were attracted to the University of Leicester?

I found out about this doctoral opportunity through Twitter! The University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies was looking to award two fee waivers to students looking to pursue doctoral studies in their program in specific fields, one of which was human remains in the museum! I only had about six weeks left to apply when I found out! 

I first became attracted to the subject of human remains in the museum while putting together an exhibit on women’s health in Victorian Leeds during my MA in Curating Science at the University of Leeds. During archival research, I became aware of a tumour that was removed from a female patient and then donated to the Leeds Medical School. When I inquired about it with my supervisor, he informed me that although there was a possibility that the school still had the tumour in their possession, it would be impossible to get access to it because of the laws that governed the care of human remains in the UK. I started designing my PhD project a few months later, but never finalised my application due to the start of Covid.

This specific opportunity is particularly special, partly because the fee waiver means that I do not have to worry about paying exorbitant international fees, but also because my supervisor is one of the few experts on human remains in the museum that is still teaching in the UK. Leicester also boasts the only dedicated museum studies school in England, so it is a natural fit for my studies.

What is your proposed doctoral project?

My proposed doctoral studies are on the provenance of colonial human remains in the museum. Currently, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s Guidance on the Care of Human Remains states that the provenance of human remains should not play an important role in determining the outcome of requests for the return of human remains to their community of origin; instead, the outcome should be decided based on a prove-able association between the remains and the community making the request, and the spiritual or cultural importance of the remains to the community. However, remains that were acquired by individuals and institutions during the period of British colonial expansion from overseas territories were usually acquired through theft, or trade where an imbalance of power was present between the giver and the recipient. My research will study the provenance of certain colonial human remains in British institutions through archival research, and hopefully, interviews with the community of origin in order to ascertain the means of acquisition of the remains. My hypothesis is that my findings will confirm that these remains were acquired through unethical or illegal means, which would diminish the institution’s claim over the remain, and therefore mandate or encourage the return of said remains to their community of origin.

What are you most excited for?

The first year of my degree is the literature review year, so I’ll be doing a lot of secondary research at first, before passing an examination that would confirm the feasibility of my research and officially make me a PhD candidate. The real fun will start in my second year, when I’ll be able to start archival research and interviews with communities. It will be very important for me to balance archival research, which represents a Western point of view, with the research I’ll be conducting with the communities of origin, which will likely include other Ways of Knowing. Creating relationships of trust with those communities will be difficult, but I’m looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity to help bring their voices to light, and hopefully bring their ancestors home.

How do you feel the MI prepared you to move into a research-intensive degree?

I benefited tremendously from some of the courses that I took with Dr. Jamila Ghaddar in the first year of my degree, where I was able to further explore my interests in human remains and the policies and legislations that relate to them. Dr. Ghaddar uses an intersectional approach to her teaching that really helped widen my horizons and teach me about all the parties with stakes in human remains present in the museum. The opportunity to pursue a reading course over the summer and fall turn also allowed me to dive into the subject, and perform much of the research that went into my proposal. Research Methods also proved invaluable in teaching me to write a research proposal in the first place, which was obviously key in putting one together in such a short period of time. 

March First-Year Student Spotlight: Keith Macknight

Our First-Year Student Spotlight for the month of March highlights Keith Macknight! Keith talks about his experience in the Master of Information program so far and his evolving interests. Your insights are compelling indeed, Keith! Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself.

Tell us a bit about yourself! (Name, where you are from, and what brought you to this program)

My name is Keith Macknight, and I am from St. Andrews in New Brunswick, just on the other side of the Bay of Fundy from Nova Scotia. I came into this program after working at my local archives, the Charlotte County Archives, during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic and deciding that I wanted to move further in that field. I enjoy living a quiet life, and I try to find time to play old video games when I’m not too busy with course work. 

What is your favourite thing about SIM so far?

Our course lectures and assignments have afforded us many opportunities to discuss and examine topics which feel socially relevant, such as privacy on social media or social justice topics. My academic background is in archaeology and history, and I often felt during my undergrad that I was in a sort of “bubble” that was separate from everything else going on in the world. I don’t feel that way at all in the SIM program, and I find myself to be a lot more compelled with our work because of it. 

What about Information Management interests you the most? What are you looking forward to learning more about?

I want to learn more about online databases, in particular how best to structure them to make sure they are easy to use and accessible for the general public. Online databases have a lot of potential for making the information kept in archives and libraries more widely available, but if they aren’t structured well that would seriously diminish their usefulness. I’ve also become interested in topics related to data privacy and the potential of social media as a source of information, data, and many headaches. 

March First-Year Student Spotlight: Keith Macknight

Our First-Year Student Spotlight for the month of March highlights Keith Macknight! Keith talks about his experience in the Master of Information program so far and his evolving interests. Your insights are compelling indeed, Keith! Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself.

Tell us a bit about yourself! (Name, where you are from, and what brought you to this program)

My name is Keith Macknight, and I am from St. Andrews in New Brunswick, just on the other side of the Bay of Fundy from Nova Scotia. I came into this program after working at my local archives, the Charlotte County Archives, during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic and deciding that I wanted to move further in that field. I enjoy living a quiet life, and I try to find time to play old video games when I’m not too busy with course work. 

What is your favourite thing about SIM so far?

Our course lectures and assignments have afforded us many opportunities to discuss and examine topics which feel socially relevant, such as privacy on social media or social justice topics. My academic background is in archaeology and history, and I often felt during my undergrad that I was in a sort of “bubble” that was separate from everything else going on in the world. I don’t feel that way at all in the SIM program, and I find myself to be a lot more compelled with our work because of it. 

What about Information Management interests you the most? What are you looking forward to learning more about?

I want to learn more about online databases, in particular how best to structure them to make sure they are easy to use and accessible for the general public. Online databases have a lot of potential for making the information kept in archives and libraries more widely available, but if they aren’t structured well that would seriously diminish their usefulness. I’ve also become interested in topics related to data privacy and the potential of social media as a source of information, data, and many headaches