SLAIS News: Continuing education courses available
By Dan Slessor.

Take the next step with iSchool continuing education

The iSchool at UBC (SLAIS) is pleased to announce its new Continuing Education (CE) program. Courses are now offered to library and archival specialists looking to explore the changes and growing opportunities in information studies. The CE program builds on the iSchool’s commitment to support professionals in an information-intensive age. Courses are designed to address new and emerging areas of information studies, and to help information specialists meet the challenges of a globally driven environment.

“The iSchool at UBC has received many requests from SLAIS alumni and other information specialists looking for professional development courses,” said Director Caroline Haythornthwaite.  “Over the past few years it became apparent that there was a driving need for management and technology based courses for working professionals.

“As a result, we are excited to launch this new endeavour with two courses taught by two extraordinary instructors. We feel immensely fortunate to have Mr. Paul Whitney and Mr. Dean Giustini inaugurate our program this Spring, with their expertise in the areas of International Copyright and Social Media.”

Paul Whitney is the former City Librarian at Vancouver Public Library, a renowned speaker on library and public policy issues, and an authority on copyright and intellectual property concerns. His CE course, Copyright in the 21^st Century: Understanding Domestic and International Trends, focuses on the broader principles and issues shaping copyright in the emerging digital age, and how these affect the workplace.

Social Media for Information Professionalsis a two day course offered in early May, taught by Dean Giustini, UBC Biomedical Librarian at Vancouver General Hospital. His course is tailored to graduates of SLAIS, professional librarians and archivists who want to discuss social media critically. Its purpose is to provide critical and practical information on current social media issues.

The iSchool@UBC begins offering its new Continuing Education courses this May. For information or to register visit http://continuinged.slais.ubc.ca/

iSchool Dodson Visiting Professor Announced

The iSchool is pleased to announce that the Dodson Visiting Professor for the 2014-15 academic year is Dr. Julie McLeodfrom Northumbria University. Dr. McLeod will join the iSchool in January 2015.

Dr. McLeod is Professor of Records Management at the iSchool at Northumbria University, which she joined after a thirteen year career in industry as an information and records manager. She is Programme Leader for the MSc of Information & Records Management. She has worked on innovative experiential learning and distance education initiatives with The National Archives of the UK, the BBC, the Deutsche Bank, the European Central Bank, and other organizations, and is a member of the BSI and ISO committees on records management. She has led JISC and AHRC funded research on electronic records management (e.g. Accelerating positive change in electronic records management (AC⁺erm)) and research data management (DATUM). She has published widely, including co-authoring and editing several books; is Editor of the Records Management Journaland a member of the editorial boards of other scholarly journals; and has served as a member of Arts & Humanities Research Council Panels and Peer Review College. In 2007, she was awarded a Personal Chair in Research at Northumbria University.

Dan Slessor is the Student Services Coordinator at SLAIS: The iSchool@UBC.