Libraries

This panel session will share the process and outcomes of a collaboration between the Libraries and the Academic and Technical Writing Program (ATWP) at UVic. The panelists will discuss how librarians and ATWP administrators have developed a shared lesson plan with consistent intended learning outcomes for students in library ATWP sessions, and how the Libraries are working to encourage a consistent library instruction style that emphasizes active, participatory learning. We’ l l discuss the tensions and challenges of navigating changes in both the Libraries’ instruction program as well as within ATWP, as well as the opportunities we have for developing a shared pedagogical approach and connecting the Libraries more effectively with campus curriculum planning and strategic enrollment management.

In re-imagining services, the Legislative Library and Parliamentary Education Office collaborated on virtual learning programs during the pandemic. The Parliamentary Education Office had successfully pivoted some programing to on-line but there were some service gaps. For the Library, public virtual programming was a new experience. Both departments benefited from the collaboration. The Parliamentary Education Office connected with the public when the Assembly was closed to visitors, the Library gained new exposure, and both departments learned about each other.

The session is an overview of the systems team’s implementation of a full-text search discovery platform for our online BC Government Publications collection using VuFind.

Expand your innovation toolkit and spark new insights for your team with this handson session that focuses on creative destruction - a fun and innovative method of problem-solving. Through a facilitated discussion and your contributed experience, you'll have an opportunity to practice a different approach to brainstorming. Together, we'll tackle a broad challenge related to library services, and explore a process that can be used to think creatively about library spaces, systems, collections, programming, or instruction.

In order to build and maintain a healthy community, members need to understand their past. The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries is home to the world's largest collection of trans, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse history. In December 2019, we proudly launched an online discovery tool to search our collection of publications, which include articles written by trailblazing community members, and historical events that shaped trans activism and history. In this presentation, Michael Radmacher (MLIS, MA) and Shahira Khair (M.Sc, MIS) will tell the story of this project, and will offer a demonstration of the new discovery tool.

Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) implemented a Community-Inspired Library Service Model in 2016 in order to redefine the role of librarians in public services. Influenced by changing trends in public libraries and organizational changes that included the removal of traditional reference desks, GVPL‘s new model focuses on librarians as leaders within and outside the library. Join us for an introduction to the model and hear from public services librarians about how the community-inspired model has influenced their work. There will be time for questions.

Have you ever wondered how academic libraries support distance education students and programs? Join several distance librarians to find out more about their services and how they keep their patrons happy, even in different time zones!  Come away with a brief history of serving this distinct population, an overview of current services and challenges, and a few funny stories in betweeen.  The session will conclude with a Q & A session.

VIU Library has been working on a project to create meaningful ways for users to interact with a unique collection of audio interviews about Nanaimo’s coal mining past. To map the spoken word of coal miners and their families, tech services staff searched through interview transcripts for references to mines and then took steps to represent these mentions of historic sites on an interactive map. Not only did the project provide opportunities for us to venture “into the darkness” of increasingly technical new work, but it also helped to bring light to the stories of generations of local coal miners.
At VILSC in 2016, Dalys and Sarah were part of a crack team of VIU Library wizards presenting a "6-pack" of emerging work projects that developed new skills in our department. The coal mines map, then in its early days, was one of the projects featured. Three years later, we’re still adding the finishing touches, but we’ve learned a lot, and we’d like to share our experience.