2015 SIBF-ALA Conference Program and Presentations

ALA President Sari Feldman, Executive Director, Cuyahoga County Public Library System (CCPL), Ohio. Under her leadership, CCPL has become one of the nation’s best and busiest public library systems, earning the Library Journal 5-Star recognition for five consecutive years (2010-2014). In 2013, Sari was honored with the Public Library Association’s Charlie Robinson Award for innovation in library service. She has received numerous other awards including Woman of Note by Crain’s Cleveland Business and YWCA Woman of Achievement. She is very active in the community and currently serves on the Board of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

American research libraries are becoming more involved in the process of research data management, planning and access with their faculty and researchers. Globally, this trend invites libraries to plan in collaboration with other groups on their campuses to support such initiatives.  It builds upon and is driven through support of institutional repository and open access initiatives that many libraries support. This presentation will take a look at the research data phenomenon and will examine the skills that librarians have to offer and the capabilities that libraries must build in order to support appropriate collection development around research data needs and services.

Robert H. McDonald, Associate Dean for Library Technologies and the Deputy Director of the Data to Insight Center, Indiana University,  Bloomington, Indiana.  Co-founder of the HathiTrust Research Center and Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Kuali Open Library Environment, Bloomington, Indiana.

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School libraries can be windows to the world of information through various activities. The activities are covering different 21st Century learning skills, too (i.e.,: collaborative learning, improving the use of ICT for learning and skilled communication, problem solving, self-regulation, knowledge construction, multiple intelligence, multicultural working skill, improving reading habits, etc.).

M.O Raghunathan, Head Librarian, The Westminster School, Dubai.

The Abdul Hameed Shoman Public Library in Jordan (and Palestine) has been striving to become a cultural hub and a family destination by organizing various literary activities—for both children and adults— such as book launches and book signings, monthly poetry recitals and musical evenings, and book club discussions. The Library also provides continuous capacity-building workshops for its patrons. Learn how the library is making connections and making a difference.

Ghaleb Masoud, Library Director, Abdul Hameed Shoman Public Library, Amman, Jordan.  He was previously Head of the Public Services Section.

Academic libraries can play a valuable role in improving an institution’s research impact in the changing landscape of scientific research and scholarly communication. Staff from the Library of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will showcase how their focus on bibliometrics and altmetrics tools, author affiliations, author naming and plug-ins to different search engines, research evaluation systems, and research repositories has reaped rewards for their faculty.

Mohamed A. Baessa, Research Repository Manager; J. K. Vijayakumar, Library Collections & Information Services Manager;

Daryl Grenz, Research Repository Coordinator.

School librarians are often the only ones in their building, school, or even district who have our specific jobs.  But the age of librarians only checking out books is over.  School librarians are teachers, collaborators, trainers, problem solvers, innovators, learners, and LEADERS!  Being connected inside our schools and beyond is crucial for success and growth.  Join us as we discuss how to wear all of these hats and be inspired and connected beyond the walls of the school library.

Sherry Gick, Library & Instructional Technology Specialist, Rossville Consolidated Schools, Indiana.

Patricia Wand offers convincing evidence of a correlation between the number of information centers in MENA countries and the countries’ scores on the Human Development Index.  She discusses how these findings can be used with government and commercial decision-makers to increase support for information centers of all types and how the findings relate to the recently adopted U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Patricia A. Wand, University Librarian Emerita at American University, Washington, DC, and former Dean of Library, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

A casual look around any public space reveals the growing ubiquity of smartphones and mobile devices, and recent projections suggest that by 2020, mobile data traffic in the Middle East and Africa will increase 14-fold.  How can we as librarians position ourselves to most effectively serve our institutions and support our students and faculty in this ever-changing environment? User experience (UX) design provides a framework for intentional, thoughtful service design, focused on identifying, articulating and meeting user needs—in other words, just what we need to create and maintain meaningful mobile library experiences for our varied communities. This session will present various strategies for providing mobile library services framed in the context of UX design.

Courtney Greene McDonald, Head of the Discovery & Research Services, Indiana University-Bloomington Libraries.

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One of the most needed services in all communities is educational services, including homework help for school children. How can public libraries work with schools to provide help? In New York City, teens and tweens spend a remarkable time every day socializing on social networks; especially Facebook.  The library systems and the school system worked together to implement social applications (Apps) that allow school-age children to obtain homework help through their social network accounts.  Learn how the successful collaboration has increased use of public libraries, including attendance at in-person programs.

Dr. Hesham Mohamed, Senior Librarian and Emerging Technology Specialist, Queens Library, New York, NY.

What’s going on in the selection and acquisition of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies materials?  The panelists will discuss various trends in acquisition methods and examine the collection of electronic resources and other born-digital materials.

Rashed Abdulrahman Ali, Collection Development and Technical Services Manager Tourism and Culture Authority-Abu Dhabi, National Library, UAE.

David Hirsch, Librarian for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of California-Los Angeles.

Mohamed Ghali Mubarak, Senior Librarian, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha.

Jim Neal served as the Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University during 2001-2014, providing leadership for university academic computing and a system of twenty-two libraries. His responsibilities included the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship, the Copyright Advisory Office, and the Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research. His numerous awards include the ACRL ‘Academic Librarian of the Year’ and ALA’s Lippincott Award for "distinguished service to the profession of librarianship."

James Neal, University Librarian Emeritus, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Linked data practices and techniques have opened new possibilities for improving resource discoverability and access. The Ohio State University Libraries has been experimenting with assigning subject headings in the language of the item using terms from a controlled vocabulary scheme. An Arabic book, for example, will be assigned an Arabic term(s) and then linked to other subject headings in other languages, including terms from the LSCH. In this presentation the process of assigning multilingual subjects will be discussed and will demonstrate how the users will be able to navigate from one language to another and to link the subjects in multilingual collections by using linked data.

Magda El-Sherbini, head of The Ohio State University Libraries, Collection Description and Access Department, Columbus.

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ALA defines digital literacy as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information…”How do we teach students to become information literate in a world flooded with many types of information? Learn to use Renee Hobbs’ five-part process of Access, Analyze, Create, Reflect, and Act and the four types of media, as well as a few technology tools to help students navigate the data stream.

Kathy Burnette, Media Center Director, The Stanley Clark School, South Bend, Indiana.

The American University of Sharjah (AUS) Library currently offers a liaison librarian program that serves as the primary link between the library and faculty.  To assess the liaison program, a survey was conducted in spring 2015.  The survey and follow-up interviews were designed to investigate scholarly practice across disciplines, faculty satisfaction with the existing program and faculty use of resources and services.  Hear about the survey findings and how they will be used to improve and enhance the existing liaison program.   

Daphne Flanagan, AUS University Librarian; Alanna Ross, AUS Associate University Librarian for Public Services, UAE.

Marquette University Libraries are using Google Analytics and other tools to create an in-depth view of user behavior across library web resources. Using these tools is easy to set-up with little or no programming experience required. Learn how, and make sense of the volumes of data your organization generates to make better decisions, improve SEO and reach a wider audience.   

Ed Sanchez, Head, Library Information Technology, Raynor Memorial Libraries Marquette University, Wisconsin. 

The presentation will focus on the training needed to enable public, academic, and school library staff to develop programs and deliver services to patrons using the advanced and emerging technological tools being rapidly adopted by libraries (e.g.  E-content, tablets, hotspots, social media, RFID, RDA).  Well-trained library specialists are a must to help library patrons to become acquainted with and effectively use these new tools.

Dr. Salwa Elmeawad, Senior Librarian II and Technology Staff Trainer, Queens Public Library, New York, NY.

The Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre, an Inter-University Centre of University Grants Commission under  the Government of India , has implemented a state-of-the-art, standard-based, open-source technological solution to extend access to e-resources. Users irrespective of their physical location are now able to access once unavailable information.  INFLIBNET serves as the gateway to scholarly content for the Indian academic and research community, providing access to electronic resources for over 400 universities, 35,000 colleges, and 820,000 users. This presentation of the INFED story (INFLIBNET Access Management Federation) will describe the challenges and advantages of providing access to e-resources in a diverse consortia environment. 

Yatrik Patel, Scientist, Information and Library Network Centre, Infocity, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.

LIS education in the MENA region remains an important topic for the development of the library profession, and for the contribution possible to the development of knowledge-based economies here.  This session will include discussion of the status of LIS education across the MENA, the role of accreditation and quality assurance, the role of national libraries, professional associations and key people in the field, and the importance of LIS program design as it relates to the employment market within the region.

Dr. Janet Martin, Moderator, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Dr.  Lokman Meho, Director University Libraries, American University Beirut, Lebanon; Shaikha Al Muhairi, Head, Cultural Resources Centre Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, UAE; Dr. Frederick Nesta, Senior Lecturer, LIS, University College London—Ar-Ravyan, Qatar; Dr. Sajjad Rehman, Chairman, LIS Department, Kuwait University; Dr. Jassim Mohammed Jirjess, Department Head of LIS, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, UAE.

School libraries are critical to foster the love of reading. Come hear about a number of successful initiatives, and share your own successful programs with the audience.

‘Reading Buddies Program’—Mohammad Al AHasan, Emirates National School, Al Ain Campus, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

‘Battle of the Books’ (PDF file, 550 KB)-- Michelle Wardrip, Head Librarian, The English Modern School, Doha, Qatar.

‘From assessment to celebration, strategies to promote reading in a primary school in Al Ain’—Wadha Al Daani, Al Ain Educational Zone, Mohammad Bin Khalid Generations School, Abu Dhabi, UAE.