University of Alberta Libraries

Linked data is an emerging web-native method for publishing and consuming structure (meta)data in order to promote discoverability of, and linkages between, resources. The move to linked data within libraries has been uneven, with lack of skills and expertise as well as practical starter projects often identified as barriers to joining the movement. The University of Alberta Libraries has been working with the Canadian Linked Data Initiative (CLDI), forming partnerships at the local, national, and international levels, and participating in groups and projects aimed at developing standards and practice for linked data in libraries. These partnerships and experiments are being used to guide practice at the local levels. We will give an overview of linked data and its importance to libraries, a survey of ongoing developments in linked data application for libraries, and a view of planned and ongoing projects at the U of A and CLDI as exemplars of possible ways forward.

Like most large academic libraries in North America, University of Alberta Libraries (UAL) currently relies heavily on Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Library of Congress Classification (LCC) for subject access to both our print and digital collections. While the use of LC standards comes with many recognized advantages, it understandably causes challenges in terms of adequate and appropriate representation of the Canadian context. In the fall of 2016, the Decolonizing Description Working Group was formed to investigate, define, and propose a plan of action for how we could more accurately and respectfully represent Indigenous peoples and contexts through our descriptive metadata practices. This presentation will provide an overview of the group’s process and recommendations and subsequent plans and outcomes.

As the Internet of Things (IoT advances and an increasing number of personal and household devices become connected, the implications for individual privacy become much greater. Public librarians occupy a unique position in their potential for advocacy and education about privacy and the IoT. Makerspace programs are an especially apt place to begin a dialogue with patrons to help them understand how new technologies can affect their privacy and how they can better navigate online and data-sharing environments. While Canada’s privacy legislation undergoes review over the next few years, librarians can open a dialogue with patrons and provide educational programs that will allow patrons to become more critical digital citizens.

Using Digital Library North as an example, this session will review techniques for environmental scanning and community collaboration for creating a digital library. Community input is reflected not only in the structure of the digital library itself (e.g. culturally appropriate metadata), but also in the way the team continues to build their relationships with the community. Attendees will be invited to consider applications for use in their own communities.
Learning objectives:

• Understand what an environmental scan is and how it can be applied to a library environment
• Create a mini-environmental scanning plan for their own context
• Explore iterative ways to collect and apply community input

This session aims to inspire dialogue around library policies and practices, in all library sectors, that support sexual and gender minorities. Session themes include the historic struggles of LGBTQ* minorities, rainbow terminology, LGBTQ* library information needs, library barriers, and access challenges for inclusive services and space. There is a powerful symbolic message in library services for LGBTQ* communities – there’s something for everyone at the library and power in the universal library message of inclusivity.
Learning objectives:

• Understand the histories and complexities of LGBTQ* minorities
• Understand rainbow terminology
• Understand historical barriers and access challenges for LGBTQ* communities
• Recognize the power of the universal library message of inclusivity

The 8Rs Redux aims to replicate key components of the original 8Rs research and enable a quantitative mapping of the ways in which Canadian academic libraries and their staffing requirements have changed in the past 10 years. Additionally, the study has more deeply probed the human resource implications of workforce diversity and organizational change.
Learning Objectives:

• The audience will understand the importance of demographic and longitudinal research
• Learn about the original 8Rs research and the Redux, with implications for human resource practice.

n 2012, the H.T. Coutts Library, University of Alberta, began digitizing the historical Alberta textbook collection. Collaboration between library units and external partners on this project will ensure online accessibility to this collection. In this session we will review the project milestones, lessons learned and strategies for developing a successful large scale digitization project.
Learning Objectives:

• Strategies for preparing a collection for digitization
• Successful collaboration with project partners Project management techniques
• The rich historical collection of the Alberta K-12 Curriculum

A book has the power to unite a community. Learn about On the Same Page from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Education and the Edmonton Public Library's One Book One Edmonton. These diverse and innovative programs aim to create community, conversation, and engagement. Learn how to start a program at your library, engage users in person and online, and garner benefits for your community.
Learning Objectives:

• Learn why shared reading is beneficial and has the potential to create community
• Learn how to implement a successful shared reading program
• Learn how social media can be used to engage readers

Within the context of the latest trends and research, this informative session will include engaging group conversations guaranteed to “shake up” perceptions of wellness and mental health in the workplace.
Learning Objectives:

• Increased awareness of mental health issues today/how they impact
• Performance/morale
• Increased knowledge of how to develop & contribute to solution focused strategies to improve workplace wellness 

This session will present the findings taken from a public library “big data” set of user queries posed to the Edmonton Public Library during the summer months from June 21-September 21, 2014. Some of the questions this “big data” set can answer include determining variation in the number of library catalogue searches by day of the week, users’ preferred formats of materials, the long tail of library collections, and the topics of materials being searched for by Edmonton Public Library users. Implications for studying user behavior using big datasets are discussed along with areas for future research.
Learning Objectives:

• What materials users are searching for
• Kinds of questions large datasets can answer
• Data analytics