Author: ISSA

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First-Year Student Spotlight: Catherine Gracey

For this month’s First-Year Student Spotlight, we are highlighting MI student Cat Gracey! Cat discusses her interests in Information Management, and what she loves about the School of Information Management so far! Thanks so much for sharing, Cat, we are happy to have you in the program!

Tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Cat, and I’m a first year in the SIM program. I just moved to Halifax from Hamilton, Ontario and am loving the East Coast! During undergrad, I studied Nutritional and Nutraceutical Science with a minor in International Development, and so when it came time to apply for grad school, I wanted to look for something interdisciplinary. My parents are both librarians, so they planted the idea and after looking into it more, it ended up being a good fit! 

What is your favourite thing about SIM so far?

I really appreciate how SIM allows us to learn about a variety of Information Settings, although I do have an idea of what I’d like to do after school, it’s awesome to have options to explore. I also love that the program is small, which encourages us to get to know each other and foster community. 

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

I’m really interested in science communication, misinformation and disinformation, and data management. I’d like to work in Health Librarianship, so I’m hoping to take that course in my second year and gain some work experience during the practicum. I’m also looking forward to taking more technology-based courses starting next semester.

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November 2022 Updates

Updates! Updates! Updates!

October was a busy month at the School of Information Management. This blog post covers just a few of the fun initiatives and events happening around SIM:

  • SIMSA held its fall General Meeting on October 21st. We had a great attendance from our student body and unanimously passed our recently updated constitution! 
  • Voting for the fall elections closed on October 26th and SIMSA is delighted to welcome five new members to its executive team! Congratulations to Robyn Smith (Incoming Academic Chair), Isabel Brechin (Incoming EDIA & Special Projects Chair), Toni Beaton (Incoming Digital Publications Chair), Hailey Wills (Incoming Non-Academic Chair), and Catherine Gracey (Financial Chair). We are looking forward to working with you and the great year ahead.
  • Other fun updates at SIM include the arrival of a new, full-sized fridge. Students are welcome to take advantage of this addition to the common room, and we are grateful for this resource and the support it will lend future events. 
  • Our Non-Academic chair, Janine, has launched a new SIM book club! Keep an eye on our social media and Teams spaces for book lists and meeting times! 
  • November Waffle Wednesday (to be held on Thursday, November 3rd) has been cancelled. Waffles will resume in December with a festive theme!
  • SIMSA is excited to announce a Save the Date for our Holiday party! Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 8th– more details about this event will be announced soon!
  • Finally, the CUPE 3912 strike continues. We recognize that this has generated stress for our students; if you require support in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out to SIMSA at simsa@dal.ca, or a member of our exec team. We are here to support you.

That’s all for now, folks! Keep an eye on the blog and our social media channels for more updates as the semester rolls on- November Reading Week is just around the corner!

Here are a few pictures from SIMSA’s Halloween party, held on October 28th. We had a great time painting pumpkins, eating pizza, and dressing up in costume! Thanks to all who came out!

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Conference Recap: Nova Scotia Library Association

Conferences are an excellent way to share your work, network with professionals in your field, and see new places! A cohort of SIM students recently attended the NSLA Conference in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Janine McGregor writes about her experiences in this conference recap- thanks for sharing, Janine!

NSLA Conference Recap by Janine McGregor

The weekend of October 14-16 myself and three other SIM students travelled the four and a half hours up to Sydney, Cape Breton to attend the Nova Scotia Library Association conference. The four of us are all interested in working in public libraries and wanted to have the chance to meet with and learn from current professionals in the field. Upon arrival we quickly realized we were the only students attending the conference, but I don’t think that was a bad thing. People were intrigued to know our reasoning for attending.

The weekend was a great opportunity for professional development. There were many workshops and presentations with the opportunity to join in on five throughout the weekend. I learned about creating guidelines for successful libraries, creative training techniques through webinars, creating connections and building community with African Nova Scotians, crocheting packers for transgender youth, and running paint nights with watercolors and credit cards. It was exciting to take what I already know from my time working in libraries this summer and build on it.

Saturday night included a banquet with a sit-down meal, awards and door prizes (which I won!). There were many opportunities to network and connect with professionals. I met library professionals from throughout the province as well as my home county back in Ontario! I’ve always said that library people are good people and this weekend definitely backed that up.

I’m looking forward to more opportunities in the future to connect with the people I met at the conference and continue to learn and grow as an information professional.

Joining professional organizations and associations is an excellent way to get more involved in a field, make connections, and keep up to date with current issues and trends. Many organizations have student membership pricing and reduced conference rates. If you would like to get involved with NSLA, find their website here: https://www.nsla.ns.ca/join-nsla

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First-Year Student Spotlight: Toni Beaton

We hope everyone is feeling more settled in their classes and routines after the new term was disrupted by Hurricane Fiona. While the common room is looking a bit different this year thanks to ongoing revitalization efforts, there are many new faces around SIM! We were lucky to welcome an incoming cohort of students who have made our community even more vibrant and engaging in only a short time! Once a month for the rest of the year we will spotlight a first-year student at SIM. We hope you enjoy getting to know our new students through this series.  
 
First up we are highlighting MI student Toni Beaton! Thanks so much for sharing a bit about yourself, Toni. We are lucky to have you with us and can’t wait to see where you go in Information Management! 
 

Hi everyone! My name is Toni Beaton (she/her) and I am from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. For the past seven years, I have taught internationally at Ontario and Alberta accredited Canadian schools in Egypt, Mexico, and St. Maarten. Ready for a bit of a career shift, I decided to pursue a Master of Information with SIM. My favorite things about SIM so far would have to be the combination of a small cohort of fellow students, as well the professors. You can tell the professors truly want all the students to succeed, and are very helpful and accommodating. After completion of this program, I’d love to work in the public librarianship sector, with a focus on children and youth programming; alternatively, I’m very interested in archival work and museums. I’m looking forward to my electives next semester: Community-Led Services and Archives I. I would love to learn more about how libraries and archives are shifting their focus onto how to best serve community members, as well as ensuring a variety of perspectives, especially Indigenous ways of knowing, are being featured.

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Spooky SIMSA

I see you shiver with antici-

SIMSA is excited for the spooktacular month ahead! We kicked off October with a frightful version of Waffle Wednesday. Our Halloween party will be held Friday, October 28th 11am – 1pm at the School of Information Management. Come out for a gourd time, if you dare. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us for pizza, pumpkin-painting, and satisfying their candy cravings! Costumes are encouraged!

The latest edition of Waffle Wednesday featured pumpkin waffles!

For students new to the east coast, or just looking for some spooky activities this month, check out the following list:

We hope this helps you plan some ghoulish fun this month- see you all on the 28th.

-pation!

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The Glorious Return of Waffle Wednesday

Pictured above is SIMSA’s wonderful Co-Chair, Courtney! Courtney is a second year MI student and a Reference Intern at the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library at Dalhousie. When Courtney isn’t helping students and faculty with scoping reviews and working on her own projects, she is devoting her time to putting on SIMSA events, like Waffle Wednesday! 

Students and faculty gathered on September 14th for the first Waffle Wednesday of the school year. This month’s flavour was apple cinnamon! New connections were made and old friendships reunited over homemade waffles and hot coffee. SIMSA is hoping to choose a new time to hold this event so that first years have more time to join us around their Wednesday class- stay tuned for updates! 

Waffle Wednesday is the brainchild of Maddie Hare, SIMSA’s EDIA & Special Projects Chair. It first began in the 2022 winter term and Maddie is hoping to cook up waffles on a consistent basis this school year. Waffle Wednesdays usually features “Food for Thought”, an engagement activity that encourages critical reflection on issues of EDIA in our institutions and in Information Management. A reworked version of “Food for Thought” will be launched in October which hopes to provoke greater participation and consideration from all attendees.

Look forward to October for spooky-themed waffles and “Food for Thought”!