UVic Libraries Strategic Directions Impact Fund 2022-2023
In 2022, 13 applications were funded for a total of $68,000. The scope and vision of the projects ranged from celebrating student climate change action; solving 21st century digital preservation challenges; improving safety, ethics, and professional practice for engineering students; and creating an audio tour of UVic Libraries.
British Columbia Historical Textbooks Interactive Digital Library
Pia Russell | $15,000 | SDG 4
The British Columbia Historical Textbooks (BCHT) Interactive Digital Library project is a successful, ongoing initiative within UVic Libraries involving student research assistants, Indigenous community members, faculty co-investigators, and multiple library units, including Special Collections and University Archives, The Digitization Centre, Reconciliation, and Metadata. The aim of librarian Pia Russell’s project is to use digital technologies to preserve and increase access to central primary sources from the history of education in the province. BCHT also provides a significant opportunity for decolonizing collective historical narratives and working towards broad public dialogue for reconciliation.
Read the British Columbia Historical Textbooks Interactive Digital Library summary report
Celebrating Student Climate Change Action
Michael Lines | $4100 | SDG 13
In November, COP27 brings our collective attention to the pressing need to address climate change through mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. Collaborating with Philosophy Professor Thom Heyd, Librarian Michael Lines’ initiative acknowledges and celebrates the work of engaged students and provides opportunities for discussion and hands-on learning. In the process, the project addresses climate change anxiety among students and in the community by raising awareness and strengthening connections. Working with the Libraries, researchers, Community Engaged Learning, and CIFAL, a small group of students will create and run a multi-day engagement with seven events.
Read the Celebrating Student Climate Change Action summary report
Demystifying Library Assessment: Professional Development to Expand Skills and Improve Practices
Shahira Khair | $5000 | SDG 4
Librarian Shahira Khair will develop a professional development series of 4-6 courses consisting of invited instructors, consultants, and other experts knowledgeable in a range of topics related to research methods and analytical tools to improve the assessment-related skills of information professionals at UVic Libraries. All course materials will be made available to Libraries employees following the course delivery on a central resource sharing platform. Topics covered in the programming may include: study design and methodology selection; survey design and administration; usability testing methods; instruction design; power, sample size, and testing statistical assumptions; and best practices for data visualization.
Read the Demystifying Library Assessment summary report
Exploring the Application of Research Computing Infrastructure to Solve 21st Century Digital Preservation Challenges
Corey Davis | $3000 | SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 13
Much of the current digital preservation infrastructure and practice employed at UVic emerged from research and development efforts in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the library community was working in relative isolation from the broader IT community. Since then, enterprise-scale computing, storage, and networking technologies have tackled very similar challenges using very different technical strategies such as object storage management and serverless infrastructure. Librarian Corey Davis’ research will consider how digital preservation practice can scale to larger data volumes, and will streamline resource-intensive preservation processes to reduce environmental impacts and ongoing costs.
Information Literacy Session: Academics Without Borders – Ethics, Law, Safety in Engineering
Aditi Gupta | $3900 | SDG 1, SDG 10, SDG 11, SDG 17
In many parts of the world, the engineering profession is legislated and self-regulated by members of engineering associations. Developing countries like India are well equipped in providing students the opportunity with meeting the expectations of education and work experience; however, there is a lack of regulation. Aditi Gupta, Engineering & Science Librarian at UVic Libraries, was integral to the Academics Without Borders (AWB) course that was facilitated by a faculty member from UVic at Nirma University, Gujarat, India. Aditi traveled to India to offer a library instruction session in collaboration with librarians at Nirma University. Her session focuses on ethics for practising engineers; academic integrity, plagiarism, citation styles, and citation management tools. Additionally, as part of her instruction session, Aditi presented on Science Communication Skills where students will gain an understanding of how to create a scientific poster, and various tools available to create and present posters. Aditi also met with librarians and library staff at Nirma University after the library instruction session for a presentation on trends in Canadian Academic libraries.
Read the Information Literacy Session summary report
The Library as a Place: An Audio Tour of UVic Libraries
Shahira Khair and Samantha MacFarlane | $8000 | SDG 4
This project seeks to gather feedback from library users on their relationship to the physical spaces of UVic Libraries. Compiling user narratives and anecdotes about the use of the physical library, as well as ambient sounds of library life, Librarian Shahira Khair and UVic Libraries’ Special Projects Administrative Officer Samantha MacFarlane will create an audio tour that will inform a more personal understanding of the communities the Libraries serve. Online and in-person exhibits will be developed to illustrate the value and impact of the Libraries’ physical spaces and to inspire the UVic community with their potential for connection, inclusion, and creativity.
Read The Library as a Place summary report
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Asian Canadian Content
Ying Liu | $7000 | SDG 4, SDG 16
Pacific and Asian Studies Professor Angie Chau and Librarian Ying Liu will focus on the cooperation between librarians and instructors in embedding Wikipedia editing in curriculum. Using one UVic 300 level course as a case, they will cooperate in curriculum design and teaching with the support of Wiki Education to encourage the students to use what they learned in the classroom to contribute qualified content on Wikipedia about Asian topics. Along with organizing peer-training workshops, the process, challenges, strategies, and solutions will also be documented, and a toolkit will be created for instructors and librarians to use in their own curriculum design.
Read the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon summary report
Workshop Badges: Student Perceptions & Uses of Informal Credentialing
Rich McCue | $2800 | SDG 4, SDG 8, SDG 9
Since 2017, UVic Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Commons (DSC) has taught over 18,000 workshop participants with a small but significant percentage of those participants receiving informal credentialing in the form of a digital badge. DSC Manager Rich McCue received informal feedback but a more systematic approach was desired to determine if the time and effort into this pilot project was warranted, and if improvements could be made. Survey invitations were sent to students, and 15 respondents agreed to participate in qualitative interviews in a study to further explore their perceptions and uses of the DSC badges they earned.
Read the Workshop Badges summary report
Four Bundled Proposals
Karen Munro | $15000 | SDG 4
Engaging researchers: explore a research sprints program to support UVic faculty or graduate student research projects
Librarian Karen Munro explores the possibility of creating a research sprints program at UVic modeled on programs at other institutions. Over the course of several intensive days, researchers will benefit from the support of a team of Libraries employees to make rapid progress and accomplish milestones on a research project.
Increasing impact: Facilitated writing workshops for librarians and archivists to publish in national or international publications
This proposal funds a short series of facilitated writing workshops to support librarians and archivists with publishing in national or international publications. Workshops focus on topics such as identifying publication venues, writing abstracts and summaries in response to calls for publication, developing conference presentations into articles, and principles of knowledge mobilization.
Principles into practice: Professional development series for research help providers
This proposal provides professional development for research help providers (librarians and archivists) to develop their skills in line with the recently-adopted guiding principles for research help. Professional development could include workshops, invited speakers, facilitated peer sharing sessions, or other training materials and resources.
Increasing capacity: Liberating Structures custom workshop for key Libraries personnel
This proposal provides customized Liberating Structures training for key Libraries personnel who facilitate meetings, consultations, trainings, and other staff or public events. Heads, managers, supervisors, and potentially some personnel who work in public services would be the key audience for this training.
Read the Four Bundled Proposals summary report