Gregynog Colloquium 2011: open for bookings

We are delighted to publish the programme for this year’s WHELF/HEWIT Colloquium taking place at Gregynog between 13^th – 17^th June. This year’s programme is a varied mix of library and IT topics ranging from the strategic to the operational, with something to suit all tastes. We have succeeded in our aim of keeping the prices as reasonable as possible and have therefore been able to keep them broadly the same as last year.

We would therefore urge colleagues to spread the word and  to book their places for the colloquium as soon as possible. The last date for taking bookings will be 20th May.

We look forward to seeing you at Gregynog. Here is the link to the website: http://gregynog.glam.ac.uk/

Reaching out to ALL our users: using interactive technologies to support student engagement

University, College & Research Group (UC&R) Wales invite you to an event:

Reaching out to ALL our users: using interactive technologies to support student engagement

On: 4th May 2011

At: Cardiff University, Trevithick Seminar Rooms

Location & Map – Cardiff University: http://www.caerdydd.ac.uk/locations/maps/map-e4.html

Trevithick Building ground floor plan: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/estat/accessibilityinformation/cathayscampus/trevithick/Trevithick%20Building%20Ground%20Floor.pdf

Cost: £30 for UC&R members, £50 for non-members.

Programme

10.00-10.30:      Registration, tea & coffee

10.30-11:00:      Fill the communication vacuum – engage your users online / Dave Puplett, London School of Economics

11:00-11.30:      Social Networking, Remote Assistance and Self-help / Dylan Meredith & Andy Greenway, Aberystwyth University

11.30-11.45:      Questions

11.45–12.00:     UC&R Wales AGM

12:00-13:00:      Lunch. Optional tours of Trevithick Library

[UC&R Wales Committee meeting, part 1]

13:00-13.30:      Using Question Point to engage with the public / Nia Dafydd, National Library of Wales

13:30-14:00:      “Ask a Librarian live” – chatting with our users! / Sonja Haerkoenen, Cardiff University

14:00-14:30:      Tea/Coffee

14:30-15:00:      Questions & Plenary with all 5 speakers

15:00                Close

15:30-16:00       [UC&R Wales Committee meeting, part 2]

Lunch: Buffet lunch included. Please let us know about any dietary requirements when you book.

If you would like to attend this event, please contact Elizabeth Kensler by 27^th April 2011

Email: eak@aber.ac.uk or telephone 01970 621848

* Please note that places are limited and you are advised to book early *

Getting started in digital preservation – Cardiff

21 March 2011 at Glamorgan Archives, Cardiff

Following on from the very successful ‘Decoding the Digital’ conference, the British Library Preservation Advisory Centre and the Digital Preservation Coalition are running a series of events across the UK designed to raise awareness of digital preservation issues, increase involvement with digital preservation activities and sign-post the support and resources available to help you on your way.

Who should come?
The sessions are aimed at librarians, archivists and collection managers in all sectors and in all sizes of institution who want to find out more about digital preservation and the implications for their organisation of having to retain, manage and provide ongoing access to digital material.

Each day provides an introduction to digital preservation, builds an understanding of the risks to digital materials, includes practical sessions to help you apply digital preservation planning and tools, and features speakers sharing their own experience of putting digital preservation into practice.

Throughout the day participants will gain confidence in addressing digital preservation issues and knowledge of achievable steps to put theory into practice and safeguard vulnerable digital content.

How do I get a place?
Places are strictly limited and we expect them to be booked quickly. Early booking is recommended. Each event costs £25 + VAT but is free to DPC members.

For full programme details and to book, please visit:
http://www.dpconline.org/events/details/23-getting-started-in-digital-preservation-cardiff?xref=23

UC&R events in Wales

9th March 2011
The changing face of library catalogues: new OPAC developments
Aberystwyth University

To focus on implementation and user perspective.

Presentations will include: Encore (Bangor University), Primo (Aberystwyth University), Meta Lib (Glamorgan University), VuFind (Swansea University) and WorldCat Local at Trinity St David University.

4th May 2011
Reaching out to our users – enhancing library communication using technology
UC&R Wales AGM at Cardiff University.

To include Virtual Librarian project (chat reference service) from Cardiff University; QuestionPoint from the National Library of Wales; Text Tools from Trinity St David University and Aberystwyth University – remote assistance for students from the library.

More details will be available soon.

For further information, contact: Elizabeth Kensler Rheolwr Gwasanaethau Cwsmeriaid / Customer Services Manager Adran Gwasanaethau’r Llyfrgell / Library Services Division Gwasanaethau Gwybodaeth / Information Services Prifysgol Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth SY23 3DZ Tel : 01970 621848 Email: eak@aber.ac.uk

The V Factor – best practice videoconferencing in Wales

A videoconferenced event at Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea Universities.
Wednesday 2 February 2011.

Videoconferencing is a technology whose time has come. This unique event will combine local and videoconferenced presentations, discussions and research. It will  present the reasons why you need to get the most from your videoconferencing facilities – and how to do so. 

It will highlight the ways in which videoconferencing can help meet the current environmental and financial challenges faced by education and the public sector. Who should videoconference? When should videoconferencing replace travel? When is travel more appropriate? How to get people using the facilities? How much money, time and CO2 emissions can be saved? What are the benefits to staff and the organisation?

This event is organised by the Welsh Video Network and has a focus on Higher and Further Education in Wales, but will be of interest to the whole public sector.

More information and booking from http://www.wvn.ac.uk/vfactorreg

Open Edge – Open Source in Libraries – Free event

If you are interested in what Open Source software solutions are available to libraries, how they work, and the issues and strategies around their use, then this free event in Edinburgh on the 25th and 26th January may be of interest.

 ’Open Edge’ is a two day event on open source software for libraries being run in collaboration with JISC and SCONUL. The first day is ’Haggis and Mash’, is a ‘Mashed Library event’ and will take a very hands-on approach, while the second day covers broader issues, in particular how capacity might be built to enable open source solutions to flourish in HE and FE Libraries.

You can attend one or both days – full details of the programme are available at http://www.mashedlibrary.com/wiki/index.php?title=Haggis_and_Mash and registration is now open at http://www.nesc.ac.uk/esi/events/1114/

CDG and UC&R Wales – Dylan Thomas Literary Trail

The “lovely, ugly town” of Swansea is the birthplace of Dylan Marlais Thomas, one of the most famous poets writing in the English language in the Western World during the twentieth century….. Dylan (as everyone seems to know him) was born in Swansea on 27 October 1914, and lived at 5, Cwmdonkin Drive, Uplands, until he was twenty.  During this period he wrote approximately two thirds of all his poetry together with many of his short stories and copious letters.
From ‘Poets, Priests and Pubs’ by Paul Barrett

On Sunday 11 July 2010, the Wales divisions of the Career Development Group and UC&R will be meeting up to hold their joint annual sponsored walk.  This year we will be heading for Swansea City Centre to follow the Dylan Thomas Literary Trail.  We won’t be using sponsorship forms this year.  Instead we’ll be asking for a minimum donation of £2.50 per walker (children free).  Money raised will be split equally between our respective charities:

Career Development Group – International Projects (in support of libraries and information professionals in the developing world)
http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/careerdevelopment/what-we-do/international/Pages/international.aspx

Book Aid International
http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/ucr/activities/pages/charity.aspx

You don’t have to be a CDG or UC&R (or even a CILIP) member to attend, and please bring along as many colleagues, friends and family as you can. 

For bookings and further information, please contact Elizabeth Kensler – 01970 621848 / eak@aber.ac.uk

Learning in a Digital Wales

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to attend our ‘Learning in a Digital Wales – Dysgu mewn Cymru Digidol’ event on 30 June 2010.

‘Learning in a Digital Wales – Dysgu mewn Cymru Digidol’ is a collaborative, cross sector event brought to you by JISC RSC Wales, with the support of LearnTech Wales, Moodle-Wales and Community eLearning Wales (CeLW) covering all educational sectors in Wales including Work Based Learning and Higher Education.

The aims of the event are:

• to share good practice and experiences in new and existing technologies from across the sectors
• to focus on key questions about the transformation agenda and the role of technology enhanced learning
• to look at the reasons for change in 21st Century education

The event will be a mix of presentations, hands on sessions, sharing of good practice, networking and discussion opportunities. The topics covered during the day include: personalised learning, accessibility and inclusion, effective use of digital media, portable free applications, assessment, Moodle, use of Web 2.0 and mobile technologies, eSafety/Safeguarding, the transformation agenda … and more.

For the full programme please visit http://docs.google.com/View?id=df7ss89s_49xc27mgc8

Further details and the booking form can be found here: http://admin.rsc-wales.ac.uk/events/event_details.asp?eid=550

The event will be hosted at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff and the cost is £50 per person.

BOOK NOW

We look forward to seeing you there.

Regards

The RSC Wales team.

Repositories Strand – Gregynog 2010

Just a reminder that we have announced the repository stream programme at this year’s Gregynog Colloquium. Please book now to attend as delegate bookings are closing at the end of this week (Friday 21^st)!

The full Colloquium programme is available on the Gregynog site at http://www.gregynog.ac.uk/HEWIT/index.asp?Page=2 

As in previous years the WRN will be sponsoring places at the Colloquium for 2 participants per partner institution to attend the repository stream. Please book as usual via the Gregynog website but inform the project team that you would like a subsidised place by emailing wrnstaff@aber.ac.uk

Looking forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Repositories Strand – Gregynog 2010

Tuesday 8th June 2010

15.30-17.00 WRN Business Meeting

Wednesday 9th June 2010

9.15 – 10.00 The power of mandates, Sue Hodges, University of Salford

10.00 – 10.30 Publications Management System at Swansea University – Alex Roberts, Swansea University

10.30 – 11.00 Research Management System at the University of Glamorgan – Leanne Beevers & Neil Williams, Glamorgan University

11.00 – 11.30 Tea

11.30 – 12.00 Developing a repository, caring, sharing and living the dream – Misha Jepson, Glyndwr University

12.00 – 12.30 Encouraging Author self – deposit at Cardiff  – Tracey Andrews & Scott Hill, Cardiff University

12.30 – 13.00 Using statistics as an advocacy tool Nicky Cashman, Aberystwyth University

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

2.00 – 2.30 Repository Advocacy: The theory – WRN staff

2.30 – 3.30 Advocacy Café Society session
3 tables will be laid out each with a facilitator and a topic to discuss, participants are moved on to a new topic every 15 minutes with a 15 minute slot at the end to feedback and present findings. Suggested topics:

A)What are the main obstacles to gathering content in your repository?

B)What are the main misconceptions your stakeholders have when it comes to your repository?

C)Put yourself in the shoes of an objector and outline the main arguments against having a repository?

3.30 – 4.00 Tea

4.00 – 5.00 Advocacy in Action: Workshop/exercise. Participants are asked to work in groups to produce some broad brush repository promotional materials.

Gregynog Colloquium 2010

Bookings are open for the Colloquium at: www.gregynog.ac.uk/HEWIT

The main themes for Monday and Tuesday  are projects, co-operation, Information literacy and resource discovery, Wednesday is a joint Library IT day with emerging technologies in libraries and IT services, access management and the future of IT services as the main themes and Thursday and Friday’s themes are green ICT and projects of special interest.

We have excellent speakers coming including  Rebecca Davies, Sue Mace and Cathie Jackson and Chris West. The Information Literacy session will include a talk about the Information Literacy Strategy for Wales.

There will also be a parallel repository session running from Tuesday afternoon through to Wednesday afternoon with Sue Hodges (University of Salford) speaking on Wednesday morning.

We are still looking for Chairs for some of the sessions so if you wish to Chair please contact Jenny Jones jmjones@uwic.ac.uk

There is also a poster presentation going on through out the whole week and if you have posters to submit please contact Jenny Jones for this too.

Please encourage your staff to book and not to miss this great opportunity for networking.