Add These to Your Staff Calendar!
NISO Webinar
Wednesday, August 8, 2018, 1:00pm - 2:30pm (Eastern Daylight)
Discovery: Where Researchers Start
If the discovery resources available via the library don’t necessarily serve as the faculty’s starting line for launching cutting-edge research, then what’s the next step? Published in early 2017, ITHAKA’s US Library Survey of roughly 1,500 institutional libraries indicated a diminishing expectation that the institutional library will be the starting point for researchers. What does that suggest for content providers and for library professionals? How does a library know that faculty are using something else? How can libraries draw upon that knowledge of researcher preferences to improve their own services?
Confirmed Speakers:
- Joelen Pastva, Head, Collection Management and Metadata Services, Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University;
- Karin A. Wulf, Professor, History and Director of the Omohundro Institute, College of William and Mary;
- Robert Sebek, Collections Technology Specialist, Virginia Tech University Libraries.
Speaker abstracts are posted to the NISO event page.
NISO Virtual Conference
Wednesday, August 15, 11am – 5pm
The Computer Campus: Integrating Information Systems and Services
Super computing is used by scientists and engineers working on complex research problems. Such investigations may involve data-intensive applications that consume enormous amounts of bandwidth and computing power. Instruction on campus is increasingly tied to learning management systems, which require seamless integration with information resources found in libraries.
At the same time, libraries are expressing numerous concerns associated with digital asset and access management. Where is the institutional IT department and just how far can its resources be stretched? This virtual event will look at systems demands found on campus and offer examples of how innovative research institutions (and most particularly, their libraries) are meeting the challenges of talent-sourcing, integration, and support.
Our first block of speakers will address the topic at a high level. The second block of speakers will address specific types of computing and IT services that the library is asked to support in some fashion and the third block of speakers will cover policy concerns, such as privacy and ethical use of collected data.
Confirmed Speakers:
- Robert H. McDonald, Dean of University Libraries, University of Colorado - Boulder;
- Marcy Vana, Senior Support Scientist, Washington University in St. Louis
- Scott W.H. Young, User Experience & Assessment Librarian, Montana State University;
- Mark A. Beadles, Chief Information Security Officer, OARnet;
- M. Brooke Robertshaw, Assistant Professor & Assessment Librarian, Oregon State University;
- Twyla Gibson, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri;
- Andrew Magda, Manager, Market Research, Learning House;
- Amanda Tickner, GIS Librarian, Michigan State University.
A preliminary agenda for the day may be found here.
SEPTEMBER
NISO Two Part Webinar: Using Analytics to Extract Value from the Library’s Data
Part One: Analytics Behind The Scenes
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
1:00 p.m. -2:30 p.m. (Eastern)
Part Two: Actionable Data Analysis
Wednesday, September 18, 2018
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern)
Faced with a highly diverse combination of externally and internally collected data (web visits, gate counter, collection usage, subject analysis, budgets, space use, reference help interactions, etc.), academic libraries have rapidly mastered the value and use of analytics. Whether analyzing prospective subscription packages to determine their value for an institution’s research activities or reviewing usage data drawn from the local digital repository, libraries want to extract meaning from the increasing volume of library data. What does that data look like? How should that data be managed? And in what combinations is that data most enlightening?
We have the data and the report. Looking beyond the simple statistical report (how many individuals attended a program or searched a database), what might be best practices in using that data in support of long-term planning and decision making? What types of trends do libraries believe they might be seeing? Wrestling with library data should yield significant insights about the institution's needs. Libraries and those who serve them will benefit from understanding how data is being wrangled, mixed, and interpreted.
With more to be announced, confirmed speakers include:
- Suzanna Conrad, Associate Dean for Digital Technologies & Resource Management, University Library, California State University, Sacramento
- Steven Braun, Data Analytics and Visualization Specialist, Northeastern University Libraries
- Corey Harper, Data Scientist / Sr. Tech. Researcher, Elsevier Labs