IM Subject Librarian

Lindsay McNiff is the IM Liaison Librarian.

She can be reached at lindsay.mcniff@dal.ca

As your liaison librarian, I'm available and happy to provide research help to you via email or phone/videoconference. If you have questions about using the library or need research assistance, please send me an email to set up an appointment and we'll find a time to chat.

Do you need help with research for an individual or group project?

2023-2024 MI Academic Support Series Schedule

Note: Some sessions are mandatory and/or require advance registration. Read details below carefully and contact Lindsay with any questions. Sessions are a mix of online and in-person delivery.

FALL 2023

APA Citation

Friday, September 15th, 2023 from 9:30-11:30am
Rowe 1007

Click here to register

*This session is mandatory for incoming students*

Learn how to cite better in APA! In this session, you will learn the basic principles of APA, practice creating citations, and hear the answers to some tricky FAQs related to this citation format.

 

Finding and reading LIS literature

Wednesday, September 20th, 2023 from 12:30-2:00pm
Online

Register for Finding and reading LIS literature

Students come to Information Studies from many different disciplines and with different experiences with academic literature. In this session, you will learn where to look for IS literature and what genres of IS literature you can expect to find. You will also gain some tips on how to read this type of work if you have never encountered it before.   

Organizing your research with Zotero

Wednesday, September 27th, 2023 from 12:30-2:00pm
Online

Register for Organizing your research with Zotero

Citation management programs can help you store and organize your references, connect to full-text articles, and format your papers. They can really make your academic life easier! In this hands-on session, we will explore a popular and user-friendly citation management program called Zotero.

Tools & Strategies for Group Work (with Kate Crane)

Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 from 12:30-2pm
Killam 2616

Register for Tools & Strategies for Group Work

Evidence shows a link between group work and academic achievement, but many students cite negative experiences with group work due to a number of factors. In this session, we will look at both social and technological tools for facilitating group work. Students will gain an understanding of how groups work and why, as well as strategies for both repairing and preventing group conflict.

Easy Excel (with Julie Marcoux)

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023 from 12:30-2:30pm
McCain 2104

Register for Easy Excel

Learn to beautifully format and print tables of data. Discuss some common fixes that can be applied to messy external data. Practice cleaning and analyzing data using Excel's built in tools. This workshop covers formatting, filtering, and conditional formatting. Prerequisite: be comfortable selecting cells and groups of cells in Excel.

 

WINTER 2024

PowerPoint Basics

CANCELLED

Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 from 3-4:30pm
Rowe 3001

Register for PowerPoint Basics

This session is for beginner users of PowerPoint. You will learn the fundamentals of setting up a presentation, adding text and images, animating bullet points, using speaker notes, and more. We will also talk about best practices. It will not be fancy!

Effective Class & Conference Presentations

Wednesday, February 7th, 2024 from 3-4:30pm
Rowe 3001

Register for Effective Class & Conference Presentations

Conferences are a great way to disseminate new insights, research, and approaches in the information profession. As a graduate student, you will probably have to present your work in class, and may also have the opportunity to present at a conference. In this workshop, students will gain tips on how to organize an awesome presentation, increase the strength of their presence, and create great slides.

 

Introduction to Information Literacy (part 1)

Wednesday, February 28th, 2024
10:00-11:30am
Rowe 3089

Registration required: https://forms.office.com/r/jXa0eHye1A 

Information literacy is applicable across all information sectors, but it has particular relevance for academic library work. Many academic library jobs, particularly at the entry level, will involve some component of instruction. Students graduating this year and planning to enter the academic library job market may find this mini-series particularly useful. Students are welcome to attend either workshop, but are highly encouraged to attend both as they are intended to complement each other. The first session provides background information on information literacy, library instruction, and current topics in the field. The second session is more of a hands-on exploration of how one might develop an information literacy instruction session.

In this whirlwind compressed introduction to IL, we will discuss the concept of information literacy and how it applies in an academic library setting. We will review information literacy frameworks, educational theories, critical information literacy, and other topics that would be useful to know about as you enter the academic library world.

Introduction to Information Literacy (part 2)

Wednesday, March 6th, 2024
10:00-11:30am
Rowe 3089

Registration required: https://forms.office.com/r/wwFv83UCg8

Information literacy is applicable across all information sectors, but it has particular relevance for academic library work. Many academic library jobs, particularly at the entry level, will involve some component of instruction. Students graduating this year and planning to enter the academic library job market may find this mini-series particularly useful. Students are welcome to attend either workshop, but are highly encouraged to attend both as they are intended to complement each other. The first session provides background information on information literacy, library instruction, and current topics in the field. The second session is more of a hands-on exploration of how one might develop an information literacy instruction session.

In this session, we will look at basic instructional design and how it can be used to develop an information literacy lesson plan. Students will conceptualize an information literacy lesson plan and, time/participation dependent, discuss it with their peers.