WHELF

Welcome to Sue Hodges – new University Librarian at Bangor

suemace — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:17:20 +0000

A warm welcome to Sue Hodges in her new post as University Librarian at Bangor.

Sue was formerly Head of Learning and Research Support and part of the Library Leadership Team at the University of Salford. She had responsibility there for Library Academic Support, the ICT Training Team, Digital Developments, Collections and Archives. She has also worked in senior roles at Liverpool John Moores University as Head of Business and Information Systems and as Technical Services Manager, as well as at Oxford Brookes University as a subject librarian. Prior to that she held a variety of roles in information services in the FE sector.

She has a keen interest in information literacy, research support and institutional respositories, digital content and in enhancing the student experience.

Sue was born in North Wales in Clwyd and her family has lived in the North Wales region of Llanwrst and Colwyn Bay for many years.

Sir Alex admires Swansea University’s archive of American Civil War Books

suemace — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:29:22 +0000

Sir Alex Ferguson took time out of his busy schedule to visit Swansea University to see its extensive collection of over 3,000 books about the American Civil War, generously donated to the American Studies programme by a private collector, Alan Milne.

Jon Roper, Professor of American Studies, invited the famous Manchester United manager to the University when he discovered that Sir Alex has a long-standing fascination with the Civil War and a wide-ranging knowledge of American history.

Professor Roper said: “Sir Alex is extremely interested and knowledgeable about the War and the personalities involved in it, including President Abraham Lincoln, and Generals such as Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. It was our privilege to have him visit this major research archive in American Studies”.

Sir Alex spent an hour at the University’s library and saw for himself the collection of precious books, including rare first editions. He talked about the subject with Dr. David Anderson, lecturer in American Studies and a specialist in this area. He also met a number of American Studies students at the University.

Unfortunately Sir Alex’s Manchester United team weren’t so kind to Swansea’s football team – they beat them 1-0!

E-books day in Wales – a review

suemace — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:21:51 +0000

Read Alyson Tyler’s comprehensive blog post to find out more about this event in Aberystwyth on Friday 25th November. Three out of the five talks on the programme were related to public libraries and e-books, but there was a good mix of public and academic librarians.

Mieko Yamaguchi reported on the patron drive acquisition (PDA) pilot which Bangor University have been trialling with a small grant from CyMAL.

http://libalyson.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/e-books-day-in-wales-a-review/

HEFCW Annual Report 2010-2011

suemace — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:16:12 +0000

Every year HEFCWpublishes a report of their activities to show how successfully they have met their targets and how they have used public funding.

The Annual Report also includes information about HEFCW’s accounts, and a summary of developments in areas which have been given priority over the previous year.

http://www.hefcw.ac.uk/publications/corporate_documents/annual_report.aspx

2012-13 CyMAL grant schemes open

suemace — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:19:46 +0000

The CyMAL grant paperwork is now available and the schemes are open for applications from libraries (and museums and archives) in Wales for 2012-13 projects.

Libraries in Wales can apply for grants in a range of priority areas within the Innovation and Development scheme. The closing date for applications is 23rd January 2012.

More information from: http://libalyson.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/2012-13-cymal-grant-schemes-open/

Welsh Information Literacy Project – new project officers

suemace — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:44:50 +0000

http://library.wales.org/informationliteracy/blog/

Introducing new Welsh Information Literacy Development Officers, Louise Harrington and Sarah Puzey.

Sarah and Louise have replaced Joy Head who is now the Project Manager of the JISC funded Digidol project.

They are both based in Cardiff University. Louise also works in Senghennydd Library which serves the Cardiff University Centre for Lifelong Learning, and previously worked on the JISC-funded I-WIRE project. These roles have given Louise experience of project work and delivery, advocacy and working with learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Sarah’s other part-time role is Social Sciences Subject Librarian at Cardiff University. She was previously a Trainee Liaison Librarian for the Institute of Education, University of Reading. Sarah has also worked at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University as a Graduate Trainee and spent time working in Cardiff Public Libraries. Through these roles, Sarah has had the opportunity to work with the education and school library sectors as well as Higher Education.

Louise will be working Monday and Tuesday (9-5) and Wednesday (9-12.30) and Sarah Monday and Friday (9-5). Please contact them at the Arts and Social Studies Library, Cardiff University on 029 2087 0252. Their new project email address will shortly be announced on the website ‘contacts’ page.

National knowledge service

suemace — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:39:47 +0000

A UK-wide digital library for British higher education is in reach, says Ann Rossiter (SCONUL), if we can sort the licensing out.

The UK’s status as a world leader in research depends on its institutions having the best possible access to the full range of published work. Although we currently rank alongside the US and outstrip most European and Asian nations, we risk being overtaken in the next decade if we do not grasp the possibilities of new technology.

For the first time, a national digital library has become a realistic possibility, both technologically and economically. Such a shared service, delivering a national core collection of monographs and journals, would allow the UK to maintain its lead in delivering the best content electronically to all students, researchers and academics at higher education institutions. It would also overcome a significant barrier to new entrants to the higher education market: further education colleges would be able to buy into it, rather than having to build up their own individual libraries. The student experience would be improved by resources accessed through a national catalogue.

THES – read more

Libraries Inspire

suemace — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:07:17 +0000

Libraries Inspire: The strategic development framework for Welsh libraries 2012-16

Libraries Inspire outlines CyMAL’s plans to work in partnership with the library in sector in Wales.

Public, educational, and workplace libraries, are at the heart of their communities. The very reason for their existence is to inspire and assist people to make a positive difference to their lives. Libraries contribute to the social, educational, cultural and economic wellbeing of the people of Wales.

This strategy describes how CyMAL will maintain and develop new innovative services to meet the needs of the people of Wales over the next 5 years.

Download in English

Llyfrgelloedd yn Ysbrydoli: Fframwaith strategol ar gyfer datblygu llyfrgelloedd Cymru 2012-2016
Download in Welsh

LILAC 2011 – papers available

suemace — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:59:04 +0000

The papers presented at LILAC 2011 are now available on the LILAC website in the archive section for LILAC 2011.

Keep an eye on the Journal of Information Literacy (JIL) over the next year, as some of the presentations are being expanded by the authors into peer reviewed articles. A number of LILAC presentations from previous years are already available as papers in JIL.

Free Research Data Management Workshops for HEIs in Wales

suemace — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:45:36 +0000

Cardiff, 14-16 December 2011

The UK Digital Curation Centre is running a series of inter-linked regional workshops to support institutional research data management as part of the DCC Roadshow. The seventh DCC Roadshow is being organised in conjunction with Information Services at Cardiff University and will take place 14-16 December in the Rowe-Beddoe Studio, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff.

Each day is aimed at a different audience:
* Day 1 is a general introduction and is open to all. Best practice will be shared through case studies to help build a community of data management expertise in Wales.
* Day 2 is a strategic workshop to help senior support staff start to plan research data management services for their institution.
* Day 3 is the DCC’s practical training course for researchers and research support staff. This provides an introduction to curation and DCC tools through presentations, breakout discussions and exercises.

Each workshop can be booked individually. We encourage you to select those workshops which address your own particular data management requirements and to pass this invitation on to colleagues who might also be interested.

Find out more about the event at: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/data-management-roadshows/dcc-roadshow-cardiff