InsideOCULA

Leslie Taylor has been appointed as the Reference/Technical Services Librarian in the Lederman Law Library. Leslie has a B.A. Hons (Drama major, French minor) from the University of Toronto, and has completed the first year of the LL.B. program at Queen’s. She received her MLIS from the University of Western Ontario in August 2008. Leslie worked as a library intern at the Innis Library of McMaster University from September 2007-May 2008, and was a library intern at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in early 2007. Prior to entering the MLIS program, Leslie held customer service positions in several organizations and was an instructor for a firm that teaches computer skills, literacy, ESL and job search skills to adult learners. Leslie has been the recipient of several academic awards, including the Toronto Association of Law Librarians 25th Anniversary Award (The University of Western Ontario) in 2007.

David Burke has been appointed to a two-year appointment as Government Information Librarian in the Maps, Data and Government Information Centre, Stauffer Library. David has a B.A. (History) from Carleton University; a Post Baccalaureate Diploma (Latin American Studies) from Simon Fraser University; a B.Ed. from the University of British Columbia; an M.A. (Latin American Studies) from the  London School of Economics; a Post Baccalaureate Diploma (Applied Information Technology) from the Information Technology Institute; and an MLIS from UBC. Before beginning his MLIS studies, David taught high school for several years in British Columbia. Following completion of his MLIS, he provided reference services in the University of New Brunswick Library, St. John campus. Prior to coming to Queen’s, David was Corporate Records Manager for the City of Saint John. David was a Research & Instruction Librarian in Learning & Research Services, Stauffer Library, from September 2007-April 2008, and from May to August, he was coordinating the development of online instructional content for the Queen’s Learning Commons website.

Anne Brûlé has been appointed as the Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian in Central Technical Services. She has a B.A. Hons (Art History/Architecture) from Carleton University, an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Art History at Queen’s. Prior to coming to Queen’s, Anne was a Cataloguing Librarian/Liaison Librarian for Fine Arts, English and French at Okanagan University College in Kelowna. She has also worked for several years as a Recruitment Officer and a Benefits Officer at the Ottawa Hospital-Civic Campus.  Anne has been the Coordinator of the Visual Resources Unit, Department of Art, since August 2006. From October 2003- August 2006, Anne was a Cataloguing/Training Librarian in Central Technical Services.

Ellen Symons

Greetings.  It is hard to believe the semester is almost over.  It always amazes me how quickly the time goes when you are busy at work. This brings me to this month’s topic - research. As academic librarians, many of us must split our time between the three components of our appointment; duties, research and service.

When I started my current job, I was offered some very sage advice from my manager. He suggested that I not worry about trying to begin a new research project in my first year, that there would be enough to learn and adjust to without further complicating life.  This advice has been extremely valuable. Now that I am in my second year here, I feel I am better prepared to embark on a new research project. Along the way I discovered that topics I had originally planned to explore were already being examined by others here.  I also know enough now about our changing environment to select a topic which will be of interest to others. Most of all, I have been through the academic cycle once and I can strategize more effectively in terms of setting realistic timelines for myself.

In thinking about research, it doesn’t hurt to consider collaboration with your peers. There are many advantages to taking this approach in an initial research project. One obvious advantage is sharing the workload. The amount of work two or more can accomplish is bound to be greater than what you can accomplish alone. There is also the value of shared experiences and expertise. A majority of researchers on campus work in teams. It is efficient and effective. Why not apply this same strategy to your own research?

So as I wander off to ponder my next research endeavour, I will be taking my own advice and will touch base with a few of my peers to see what we can come up with…

Til next time,

Cheers

Carol

We are coming to the end of a strategic planning cycle; the data gathered from this survey will be used to help us complete our new strategic plan. We would especially like to hear your comments about OCULA’s events, publications, awards and elections.

At the end of the survey don’t forget to leave your name and email address to be entered into the draw for an iPod Nano and $100 iTunes gift card. Your personal information is separate from the survey data.

Use this link to access the survey:

http://tinyurl.com/OCULAsurvey

The survey will be open from November 17, 2008 – November 28, 2008.

Thank you for your participation!

OLA’s 2009 Super Conference, to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from January 28 - January 31, 2009, is getting closer and we have an opportunity for you to get involved! Your OCULA division has planned 33 sessions with speakers from across the province. Topics include collaboration/partnerships, digital collections, information literacy, management, reference services, learning commons and more.

We are now looking for people to convene the OCULA sessions and are hoping that you would like to get involved.

The duties of a convenor include the following:

* Contact the speaker(s) and ensure their AV requirements are sent to the OLA office.

* Elicit a short biography of the speaker(s) and use this to introduce the speaker(s) at the session.

* Meet the speaker(s) at the Speakers’ Lounge 15 minutes before the session.

* Get help in the event of technical problems.

* Make sure that, in the case of a panel, all panelists get equal air time.

* Monitor the length of the session for the speaker(s).

* Pick up evaluation forms at the end of the session.

* Write a short summary of the session for the Conference Blog and/or future OCULA publications.

Convenors’ names and institutions appear in the online OLA Super Conference program.

If you are willing to be a convenor please contact Caroline Stewart (caroline.stewart@guelphhumber.ca) regarding your interest and availability.

Please note that program convenors DO NOT receive a registration discount.

Thank you and we look forward to your support!

Lucy Gan joined the East Asian Library in September 2008 as East Asian Information Services Librarian. Lucy obtained her Master’s degree in Linguistics and Translation Studies at Chongqing University in China. In 2006, she completed her Master of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. She has worked as a part-time Reference Librarian at the Scott Library, York University, and has held a full-time librarian position at the Vaughan Public Libraries, managing the Chinese collection.

James Mason joined the Faculty of Music Library in July as the new Technical Services Librarian. James received both his Master of Library and Information Studies and his Master of Music from the University of British Columbia, and his Bachelor of Music (Hons.) from Lakehead University. Previously, James worked as the Music Library at the Banff Centre, and before that at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Weijing Yuan has joined the library as Digital Collections Librarian. Weijing will work with collection development, and collaborate with Information Technology Services and the wider university community providing leadership and expertise in acquiring and integrating digital resources into the Libraries’ collections. Her previous experience includes positions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, York University, Uof T Library, and as a research consultant. She holds an Master of Information Science from the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Information Studies at U of T.

Posted by Julie Hannaford, University of Toronto