2019 Sharjah International Library Conference Program and Presentations
Sharjah International Library Conference
Conference Program and Presentations
November 5-7, 2019 | Expo Centre Sharjah, UAE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Preconference I: Planning, Assessing, and Communicating Library Impact: Putting the Standards for Libraries in Higher Education into Action
Libraries in higher education are increasingly required to demonstrate their value and document their contributions to overall institutional effectiveness. The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Standards for Libraries in Higher Education is a framework for library planning and assessment that can be used for a variety of circumstances including annual planning, program review, and accreditation self-study. Through presentation, discussion, and group activities, learn how to use the Standards to communicate your library’s impact.
Presented by Sharon Mader, Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of New Orleans Library, USA.
Preconference II: New Concepts and Applications for Cataloging
Significant changes have taken place in the cataloging community, especially IFLA's Library Reference Model (LRM) and the 3R (RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign) Project on RDA. Catalogers need to understand these new concepts and processes. This preconference will address the impact including new entities, and elements and how these changes to your cataloging practice.
The afternoon hands-on session will focus on new approaches to authority data and the emergence of the Identity Management model. It will explore how you move from traditional Authority Control to an Identity Management model. You will learn how to create new RDA records using Identity Management tools like URIs, ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID); VIAF (Virtual International Authority File); ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) and WikiData.
Presented by Rania Osman, Head of Library of the Future Section, Innovation, Research, and Technology Directorate, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt; Tharwat Al-Olaimi, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian, University of Sharjah, UAE.
Preconference III: Building Empathy, Understanding, and Tolerance through Collections, Curriculum, and Virtual Reality
School librarians and school library programs can play a vital role in helping students consider and learn empathy, understanding, and tolerance. This full-day workshop will explore the different ways you can do this in your library, through books and activities, including virtual reality! Using the concept “Windows and Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors” created in 1990 Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop about the importance of providing young readers with diverse books that reflect the “multicultural nature of the world” in which we all live, the workshop will delve into collection analysis, integration of inclusive books for all learners, and how you can now go beyond the books- connecting learners to the world through virtual reality (VR).
Presented by Andrea Trudeau, Library Information Specialist, Alan B. Shepard Middle School, Deerfield, Illinois, USA; Laura D’Elia, Library Teacher, Armstrong Elementary School, Westborough Elementary School Libraries, Westborough, Massachusetts, USA.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2019
Session A (concurrent programs)
Beyond Reality: Expanding Your Library’s Services to the Virtual
It’s no longer enough to build library services around the real world. Technology is enabling an entirely new set of worlds for libraries and our communities to explore and build, through the emergence expanded reality technologies. Augmented, virtual, and mixed reality comprise expanded reality -- collectively, they represent new modes for people to learn, experience, interact with, and explore knowledge, places, and activities that would otherwise be inaccessible. What should libraries be doing today to aide their users in these areas? What are the medium- and longer-term plans we should be making? And what in this brave new world might give us pause?
Presented by Ken Varnum, Senior Program Manager for Discovery, Delivery, and Library Analytics Library Information Technology, University of Michigan Library, USA.
How to get People to Use the Public Library
Getting people to use the public library can be a challenge. The Misr Public Libraries in Egypt had seen a decline in the number users a few years ago. This program explains how the Misr Public Libraries turned it around by studying the community and the nature of various age groups and their interests which led to a clear vision and the development of a plan. The number of users has steadily grown since then through creative and innovative activities that have attracted back past users as well as new users.
Presented by Ahmed Aman, Coordinator of Misr Public Libraries, Misr, Egypt.
Transforming Your School Library
A school library can be a welcoming place full of wonder, curiosity, and joy! Learn from an elementary librarian and a secondary librarian who transformed their libraries into active learning spaces. With an emphasis on innovative and engaging instruction while not losing sight of the importance of people and relationships, this session will demonstrate how libraries and librarians have the potential to transform the culture of a school through simple changes that can have a widespread and lasting impact.
Presented by Andrea Trudeau, Library Information Specialist, Alan B. Shepard Middle School, Deerfield, Illinois, USA; Laura D’Elia, Library Teacher, Armstrong Elementary School, Westborough Elementary School Libraries, Westborough, Massachusetts, USA.
Session B (concurrent programs)
The Value of Measuring Outcomes: The Nashville Public Library Experience
Nashville Public Library was chosen as the 2017 Public Library of Year in the United States as a model for the nation and the world for its programs, services, and collections, and its cooperation with other public agencies, departments, and local businesses. Measuring outcomes now is key for any type of library, as the Association of College and Research Libraries has joined the Public Library Association to look at new ways to collect data and how it relates to making program improvements, creating additional programs, and eliminating programs that no longer meet the needs of your community.
Presented by Kent Oliver, Library Director, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Libraries and Information Freedom
What roles are there for libraries in promoting information freedom? And how can libraries and librarians make a difference in society. Learn how libraries are making an impact in various countries and regions.
Presented by Imen Aloui, Library Director, Ecole Nationale d'Ingenieurs de Tunis, Tunisia.
School Librarians of the Year: Sharing Stories, Lessons, and Keys to Successes
This year’s recipients of the School Librarians of the Year Awards*, organized by the Emirates Literature Foundation, will show you how they created successful school library programs. Topics featured will include boosting reading in the secondary environment; reading initiatives developed to promote the love of reading, and using Evidence Based Practice to evaluate impact. Learn new ideas from award winners and colleagues to implement in your library.
Presented by Abeer Mohammed Salem Hamad AlHusani, Librarian, Muhra Bint Ahmad School for Basic Education, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE; Teejay Button, Secondary School Librarian, Raha International School Abu Dhabi, UAE. Alan Jacques, co-presenter, Secondary School Librarian, Uptown School, Dubai, UAE.
Session C (concurrent programs)
Libraries Fostering Tolerance in Their Community
Across the world, divisiveness, hatred, and violence against others is a major threat. Tolerance is a hallmark of progressive and civilized societies, whose members enjoy equal rights, opportunities and respect regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds, or their gender. This program will showcase the Sharjah Public Library’s efforts to promote understanding, respect, and multiculturalism through an array of programs and activities that can be modeled and replicated.
Presented by Eman Bushulaibi, Director of Sharjah Public Libraries, UAE.
Library Lightning Talks – Quick presentations that will inspire you with quick glimpses of latest innovations, interesting ideas, and new technologies or services.
- "Bibliometric Support Service for Researchers in Academic Libraries: An Example from National Medical Library at United Arab Emirates University'' - Khalid Bilal Pasha, National Medical Library, UAE.
- "The Small Writer in the Big Book Competition" - Salma Khamis, Department of Culture and Tourism, UAE.
- "Edutainment: How VR-technologies can popularize reading"- Valentina Agafonova, The Central City Youth (Michael Svetlov) Library, Moscow, Russia.
School Librarians Helping Teacher’s Teach
How can school librarians connect with teachers, and become an integral in curriculum development? Hear from one of this year’s Librarians of the Year about an innovative program going on that can be replicated in your school or system. The Open University and the UK Literacy Association have been running a Teachers’ Reading Group which increases teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature and encourages them to include reading for pleasure into the curriculum.
Presented by Mary Rose Grieve, School Librarian, Hartland International School, Dubai, UAE.
Session D (concurrent programs)
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Assessment through Practitioner Research
This session will explore how librarians can engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to develop practitioner research projects to assess student learning and improve teaching, especially in the context of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The presentations examine problems in teaching and learning, such as: How do you know if students are learning and how can you assess conceptual understandings? Examples from research studies on assessing student learning will be presented, with an emphasis on qualitative methods and the interactive and reflective engagement of students and faculty partners.
Presented by Sharon Mader, Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of New Orleans Library, USA.
Transforming Library Science Education (LIS) for a Global Marketplace
With the rapid changes continuing today impacting the work and role of libraries and librarians around the world, departments and schools of information studies (LIS) struggle to gain credibility and recognition for their programs and achieve qualified outcomes that match the basic requirements in the information jobs. This program will report on current study projects underway that focus on this critical issue of assessment for relevancy, and the efforts related to international accreditation. Join us for a robust interchange and discussion.
Presented by Naeema Jabur, Professor, Information Studies, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.
Public and School Libraries Collaboration: Making Everyone Better
Both public and school libraries are community centers at heart, with the same goal: to provide a safe, welcoming environment for all patrons and access to information in a variety of formats. When public and school librarians and library workers engage in collaboration, community members reap the benefits. Hear about collaborations of Sarawak State Library with schools, which are beyond the common library services, and the many positive outcomes of integration of public and school libraries in Nashville.
Presented by Dr. Rashidah H. Bolhassan, CEO Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Sarawak State Library, Sarawak, Malaysia; Kent Oliver, Library Director, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019
Plenary Session - “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Libraries”
Presented by Jason Griffey, Affiliate at metaLAB at Harvard University, and a former Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, USA. Jason Griffey is the founder and principal at Evenly Distributed, a technology consulting and creation firm for libraries, museums, education, and other non-profits. Griffey was formerly an Associate Professor and Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Griffey has written extensively on technology and libraries, including multiple books and a series of full-periodical issues on technology topics, most recently Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Iterative Design for ALA. In 2018, Griffey delivered the Gloriana St. Clair Distinguished Lecture in 21st Century Librarianship for the Carnegie Mellon campus in Education City, Qatar. Griffey is the creator and director of The LibraryBox Project, an open source portable digital file distribution system.
Session E (concurrent programs)
Digital Preservation in Libraries
Libraries have been preserving intellectual content for many centuries. With the proliferation of digital data in recent decades, libraries need to explore strategies for digital preservation to ensure that this new type of content is preserved for the future. This talk will focus on the history and development of digital preservation practices in libraries, including insights into the basic concepts important in the field of digital preservation. A case study will be shared showing how one academic library implemented these practices into its own digital project workflows to preserve over 20 years of digitized special collections.
Presented by Jeremy Myntti, Head of Digital Library Services, University of Utah Library, USA.
Malaysia Public Libraries: Connecting to Community Needs
Public libraries in Malaysia have a philosophy of doing whatever the library users need to help them with a better life. This has led to many innovative activities and services throughout the country, from gyms to STEM programming to theaters to oral history collection and centers for local knowledge, as well as taking services to where people are. Hear what is going on in three active library systems, and what could be replicated in your library.
Presented by Dr. Rashidah Bolhassan, CEO Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Sarawak State Library, Sarawak, Malaysia; Mastura Muhamad, Director, Selangor Public Library Corporation, Selangor, Malaysia; Nor Hafizah Md. Yaakob, Selangor Public Library Corporation, Selangor, Malaysia.
Guided Inquiry Design for School Libraries
Regardless of what you teach, the Guided Inquiry Design provides a framework that offers a way of teaching inquiry-based learning within a meaningful and integrated context so that students gain deep understanding of curriculum content while internalizing an inquiry process. Participants will explore the eight steps of guided inquiry (Open, Immerse, Explore, Identify, Gather, Create, Share, Evaluate) and develop ways to apply the principles of guided inquiry in their own teaching that will help capitalize on students’ natural desire to ask questions and learn through authentic, student-led inquiry.
Presented by Laura D’Elia, Library Teacher, Armstrong Elementary School, Westborough Elementary School Libraries. Westborough, Massachusetts, USA.
Session F (concurrent programs)
Blockchain and Libraries
Libraries are just beginning to explore blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The opportunities for libraries go beyond digital money. Blockchain is being explored as the backbone of a freer and more open Internet, as well as a means for authentication and for privacy and security. This program discusses the possibilities for blockchain technology, including smart contracts, illustrates various ways the technology is being used today, and explores how libraries might apply blockchain to deal with intellectual property, scholarly publishing, and copying as well as managing users, ensuring patron privacy, expanding collections beyond our walls, and even helping to build the internet of the future.
Presented by Jason Griffey, Affiliate at metaLAB at Harvard University, USA.
School Libraries Lighting Talks
A fast-paced program with presentations from colleagues who will highlight best practices you can add to your library program.
- "How Changing the Environment Can Put Your Library Back on the Map" - Teejay Button, Raha International School Abu Dhabi, UAE
- "Establishing School Library Network through Collaboration and Partnership in the Middle East"- Success Story of GEMS School Library Network’ – Raghunathan, M.O., GEMS Modern Academy, UAE.
- "Mirror Books and Positive Self Identity: How to Empower Young Readers in the UAE" - Alan Jacques, Secondary School Librarian, Uptown School, Dubai, UAE.
Session G (concurrent programs)
Graphic Novels and Graphic Non-Fiction in Libraries: Promoting Reading
Join us for a panel discussion between authors and librarians. The explosion graphic literature and non-fiction presents an opportunity to use these visual engaging books to get young people to read, especially those reluctant to read or those with learning disabilities that make general reading difficult. All types of libraries, from school to public, to academic can create collection and programming around this genre.
Oral Histories: A Role for All Libraries
Libraries of all types can create and contribute oral history projects that capture the story of a school, a neighborhood, or even a country. Oral history efforts can be used for everything from collection development and programming to community engagement. Hear the how the American University of Kuwait (AUK) Library is capturing the life histories of pioneers in Kuwait using through a platform created with an open source tool at very little cost. The project is providing a rich resource for AUK faculty and students, other researchers, and the public. This session provides you information on how your library can be a history maker.
Presented by Asma Al-Kanan, Library Director, American University of Kuwait, Kuwait.
