Information Science Student Association
The Dalhousie Library and Information Science Alumni Association (DLIAA) has a few positions opening up!
Nominations (for yourself or another alumni) are to be submitted by June 15, 2024 to dallibraryinfoalumni@gmail.com. This is a great way to get involved, new grads!
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.
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?
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.
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:
Upcoming:
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
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.
