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news.library.ualberta.ca
  • BLOG HOME
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    • Five Things You Need to Know About the Library
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    • Cinq choses à savoir sur la bibliothèque
Author

Eva Romanick

Eva Romanick

Eva is an Information Services Specialist at Cameron Library. She has a BSc in Human Ecology from #ualberta. Her favourite season is Christmas.

    LIBRARIANS WORKING FROM HOME: MEET DALE, PART I: REFLECTIONS!

    by Eva Romanick November 23, 2020
    written by Eva Romanick

    This is a special two part interview with our Vice-Provost (Library & Museums) & Chief Librarian, Dale Askey. Part One reflects back on 2020 and how it changed UAlberta Library. Part Two (coming tomorrow) is looking forward to 2021 and beyond.

    Say hello to Dale! and Bella

    How has working from home changed the way you work and interact with U of A and UAL staff?

    Profoundly. I’m a social person who enjoys conversation and interacting with a wide range of people every day. A big part of my role involves staying in touch with the entire breadth of activity of a diverse portfolio, which just isn’t possible in a largely digital environment. Also, for better or worse, my education and background have made me reliant on dialectical methods; put less obtusely, I like to debate and use it as a way to surface issues and advance ideas. This is much harder to do with digital tools where body language, facial expressions and vocal modulation are less present.

    That said, working from home has made me even more punctual. This was never a particular weakness, but it seems really rude to make someone wait in an online meeting for even two minutes.

    It has made me much more deliberate about reaching out to people directly for meetings and conversations, particularly from across campus. A major part of my role is interacting with and building relationships and trust with senior leadership and other key people from all of our campuses. 

    Greenery and window views from our Leader’s command centre

    Have you noticed any pandemic-service trends among academic libraries in North America?

    Some of the responses have been nearly across the board, such as completely (or almost completely) closing physical locations and suspending circulation of print collections. Some of the actions to mitigate the impact of those two steps have also been fairly widespread, such as curbside service (nearly universal) and focusing acquisitions work on digital content to an even greater degree than normal. 

    For those who were HathiTrust members before this all started, most have implemented Hathi’s Emergency Temporary Access Service, although a number of schools in the US have again deactivated it because they opened their libraries in September (which I suspect they now regret to some degree). Within Canada, I am encouraged by the open lines of communication between libraries on these issues so that we can assure our campuses that we are acting based on consultation and a broad view of risks and procedures.

    More information about curbside services

    This isn’t a trend, per se, but I have observed both personally and from many of my peers a certain frustration that as soon as the pandemic hit, on many of our campuses, the people leading the response (often Provosts, but always at the VP level) reverted to a very narrow view of libraries as primarily a place where students gather and people check out books. Sure, those are both true, but both are part of a much broader level of service, much of which takes place virtually whether we are in a pandemic or not. 

    The mantra that took hold at UAlberta was “We’re here for you online (and always have been).” I’ve also used and heard many others use the phrase “digital-first” or “digital-forward” when talking with campus leaders about what the library is doing right now.

    Given the Library staff’s excellent reputation, I can’t say that I was surprised how well everyone adapted to the challenges the pandemic put in our way. This is such a strong group of people all working together. What I can say is that I am grateful for the thousands of large and small ways that everyone has found to contribute to continuing our services in challenging times. I also want to acknowledge how difficult this has been and continues to be as many people juggle a complex mix of personal and professional changes and demands. 

    I encourage all of us to be kind with ourselves and to remember that it’s OK to take a break and also to acknowledge that right now some things at work just aren’t going to be what we might want them to be. Back in April I started repeating the “it’s going to be a marathon” notion, while hoping that I would be proven wrong. From the perspective of November, perhaps marathon was something of an understatement. We’re not at Ironman extremes yet, but I feel like we’re definitely past the 42.2 km mark, metaphorically speaking.

    Chat with us! Email us! Book a consultation!

    Come back tomorrow for Part II – Looking Ahead with Dale

    November 23, 2020 0 comment
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  • Bases de donées à explorer : ARTSTOR

    by Eva Romanick November 18, 2020
    by Eva Romanick November 18, 2020

    La bibliothèque de l’Université de l’Alberta est abonnée à de nombreuses bases de données qui sont indispensables pour certaines disciplines, mais qui méritent vraiment une plus grande attention. Voici l’une de ces perles… Artstor est une collection de plus d’un million d’images numériques de haute qualité d’œuvres d’art provenant des collections de galeries, de musées et de bibliothèques du monde entier. Elle est utilisée le plus souvent par les chercheurs en Arts…

  • Hidden Gems: ArtStor

    by Eva Romanick November 17, 2020
    by Eva Romanick November 17, 2020

    The University of Alberta Library subscribes to numerous databases that are core for certain disciplines, but also really deserving of wider attention. This is one of those gems… Artstor is a collection of more than a million high-quality digital images of works of art from the collections of galleries, museums, and libraries around the world. It is used most often by researchers in the Arts and Human Ecology: Clothing, Textiles & Material…

  • Les bibliothécaires qui travaillent à domicile : Rencontrez Allison!

    by Eva Romanick November 12, 2020
    by Eva Romanick November 12, 2020

    Puisque la majorité des étudiants et du personnel ont été conseillés de travailler et d’étudier depuis leur domicile, c’est ainsi que nos bibliothécaires soutient l’apprentissage en ligne… Notre bibliothécaire de kinésiologie, sport et loisirs, Allison, a des étudiants qui lui posent toutes sortes de questions. Comment raffiner leurs recherches pour ne pas être submergés de citations ? Où peuvent-ils aller pour trouver les informations dont ils ont besoin ? Et, si je…

  • LIBRARIANS WORKING FROM HOME: MEET ALLISON!

    by Eva Romanick November 12, 2020
    by Eva Romanick November 12, 2020

    With the majority of students and staff being advised to work and study from home, this is how our librarians are supporting online learning… Our Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation Librarian, Allison, has students asking her all kinds of questions. How to refine their searches so they don’t get overwhelmed with citations? Where they can go to find the information they need? And, whether she can help create sophisticated searches for comprehensive reviews…

  • Mise en place d’un super espace d’étude

    by Eva Romanick November 3, 2020
    by Eva Romanick November 3, 2020

    À l’approche des examens de mi-session, les étudiants cherchent un endroit pour étudier sérieusement avant de passer leurs examens ou pour rédiger leurs devoirs. Nous avons voulu vous donner quelques conseils sur la façon de créer votre propre espace d’étude… Nous avons quelques conseils et astuces pour ramener l’atmosphère studieuse dans votre espace d’étude à domicile. Tout d’abord, l’emplacement, l’emplacement, l’emplacement… un endroit où vous pouvez vous épanouir. Vous aurez besoin de…

  • Setting up a super study space

    by Eva Romanick October 20, 2020
    by Eva Romanick October 20, 2020

    As midterms approach, students are looking for a place to do some serious studying before exams or hunkerdown when writing their papers. We wanted offer some advice on how to create your own personal study space… We’ve got some tips and tricks to bring the studious atmosphere back to your home/dorm study space. Firstly, location, location, location… somewhere you can spread way out. You’ll need that room for your books, laptop and…

  • LES BIBLIOTHÉCAIRES QUI TRAVAILLENT À DOMICILE: RENCONTREZ KARA!

    by Eva Romanick September 28, 2020
    by Eva Romanick September 28, 2020

    Puisque la majorité des étudiants et du personnel sont conseillés de travailler et d’étudier depuis leur domicile, voici comment nos bibliothécaires soutiennent l’apprentissage en ligne… Les cours de première année enseignées sous forme de séminaire à Augustana impliquent une recherche interdisciplinaire. Chaque section du cours a un thème différent, par exemple l’odorat, les dinosaures ou la surveillance. Récemment, quelques étudiants ont fait des recherches sur l’importance de l’odorat. Leurs sujets spécifiques comprenaient…

  • LIBRARIANS WORKING FROM HOME: MEET KARA!

    by Eva Romanick September 22, 2020
    by Eva Romanick September 22, 2020

    With the majority of students and staff being advised to work and study from home, this is how our librarians are supporting online learning… Augustana’s First Year Seminar courses involve interdisciplinary research. Each section of the course has a different focus–for example, smell, dinosaurs or surveillance. Recently, there have been a few students who were all researching the importance of smell. Their specific topics included petrichor (the smell of rain), the smell…

  • LES BIBLIOTHÉCAIRES QUI TRAVAILLENT À DOMICILE: RENCONTREZ ANNE!

    by Eva Romanick June 29, 2020
    by Eva Romanick June 29, 2020

    Puisque la majorité des étudiants et du personnel ont été conseillés de travailler et d’étudier depuis leur domicile, c’est ainsi que nos bibliothécaires soutient l’apprentissage en ligne… Le jour de son retour en Alberta, tout le monde a commencé à travailler de la maison. Anne Carr-Wiggin s’est mise en quarantaine pendant plus de deux semaines et a tout fait livrer à sa porte. Quelques collègues lui ont même apporté de délicieuses soupes!…

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The University of Alberta is situated on traditional Treaty 6 territory and homeland of the Métis peoples. Amiskwaciwâskahikan / ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᕀᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ / Edmonton


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