University of Victoria

In late 2022, generative AI, which can create any type of text or code, was made available to the public for the first time. In the education sector, this technology has raised both concerns and expectations and prompted an ongoing discussion about its disruptive potential. Meanwhile, a growing number of innovative applications in teaching and research, as well as thoughtful regulations demonstrate that, with critical care, it is possible to manage the impact of this unprecedented technology ethically and with sound pedagogy.

We invite professionals to join this conversation panel about generative AI and share their experiences, ideas, and questions.

Recently, I was in the far back corner of the law library working on a jigsaw puzzle. A client sat nearby in an easy chair scrolling through her phone and we got to chatting. She told me that 20 years before she had spent time in our library with her newborn daughter while she finished editing a book. It was a moment of sharing that happened because we made a space for it. A space we have come to call our Cozy Corner, created when we resumed full services in April 2022. I want to tell you what a success it’s been.

Librarians may experience feelings of isolation and uncertainty when joining a new organization. Subject librarians may face additional challenges as they learn the norms and cultures unique to their departments. Mentorship is linked to favourable
outcomes in academia (Lorenzetti & Powelson, 2015). A faculty-mentoring program was developed and implemented with two new librarians in Advanced Research Services, University of Victoria Libraries.

This presentation will describe the program and its implementation. We will share our experiences and successes, including how this program aligns with principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in fostering a sense of belonging for new subject librarians.

The TRC Calls to Action, UNDRIP and the Calls to Justice call on public institutions to not only share truths but to acknowledge Indigenous Ways of Knowing. It is often difficult to know where to start.

The Decolonizing Spaces Working Group at UVic Libraries is examining our current physical and digital spaces and finding ways to acknowledge Indigenous experiences, Knowledge(s), and histories. We will share our current projects, provide space for others to share their projects, and discuss how we can work together to address these calls and ensure that our libraries are places where everyone feels they belong.

Community organizations and members of the general public engage in research practices, from community engaged research partnerships, to citizen science projects, to more informal initiatives. However, given restrictive licensing and costly academic research platforms, it can be challenging for both public and academic libraries to provide them with tools and support.

This panel brings together experts in open research tools to discuss strategies for supporting community researchers. Participants will learn about community engagement strategies, accessible tools for literature reviews and open data, and participate in group discussion about how our library systems can better support community research on Vancouver Island.

The presenters will report on the findings from the focus group interviews, which were conducted at UVic for the project "Developing an open toolkit for inclusive
pedagogy in library instruction and consultation". Participants are invited to join an open discussion focusing on questions pertaining to inclusive pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching and UDL principles. The presenters will lead and facilitate the discussion by providing concrete examples of how we have experienced some scenarios that can make minoritized and underrepresented people uncomfortable in library instruction sessions, library interactions, but also workplace situations.

UVic Libraries are currently managing around 150 terabytes of data related to our unique digital collections, in multiple storage locations and across a diversity of access platforms. However, our current practices—most of which were developed in the
gigabyte era—are showing obvious signs of strain as we approach petabyte scale. As data volumes grow, we risk losing our ability to manage our assets effectively, which impacts our ability to support our user community. We will explore three key areas for improvement, namely 1) digital workflows, 2) technology, and 3) staffing.

Based in the success of a long-running Bookbinding for Kids workshop, this workshop introduces and briefly explores the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy,
and shows how it can be applied in the context of a school-age bookbinding workshop. Attendees then experience how a rich literacy experience can be delivered though learning-centered activities leading to the completion of a sewn book.