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We are pleased to announce
the first full issue of the Dalhousie Journal of Information and
Management. Our inaugural theme is Diverse Populations, and we are
fortunate to have received four high-quality papers, all from the School
of Information Management.
Monique Woroniak’s paper entitled “Public Libraries as Aids to Sense
Making in Urban Aboriginal Populations” focuses on the greater role that
public libraries could and should play in the lives of Canada’s
aboriginal peoples. Amidst the constant flood of information dealing
with America, we applaud the exploration of a specifically Canadian
environment. The paper is intriguing in its discussion of urban
aboriginal people rather than those living on reserves, and of the
current lack of aboriginal cultural referents in the urban environment.
It analyzes ways in which aboriginal culture can be honoured and
provides an example of how this can be accomplished.
Debra Mann’s “Adaptive Technologies for Individuals with Visual
Impairments: Scholarly and Consumer Perspectives” focuses primarily on a
Canadian situation as well. In its examination of the role of the
Internet in bringing resources to people with visual impairments, the
paper also integrates global trends. It explores recent technological
advances in providing service to this group and maps out areas which
still need improvement. We tend to think of diverse populations as
constituting different ethnic groups, and this paper is a refreshing
reminder that some of the most underserved populations do not fit this
mold.
Robin Illsley’s “South African Public Libraries after Apartheid” is a
must-read for anyone with an interest in languages, cultures, and ethnic
integration. South Africa is a country whose citizens hail from several
different linguistic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, but it is also a
country that has been torn by apartheid. The author suggests how South
Africa’s public libraries can help to heal the breach among citizens of
all different backgrounds by honouring their diversity. The paper
examines efforts to date, describes areas of need, and presents a
hopeful view of a happier and more integrated South African society in
future.
Our final paper, by Deborah Hicks, examines change in libraries and the
diverse needs of library users. “Google: Submit or Resist: Is There a
Third Way?” explores the debate over whether librarians should hold on
to their traditional roles as gatekeepers of information or change to
meet the needs of modern library users. The paper also proposes a third
way in which librarians can continue to meet the needs of users in the
future.
While these papers are primarily library-focused, we wish to emphasize
that our issues’ themes will continue to be accessible to students in
all five of the Faculty of Management’s schools. In future, we look
forward to receiving and publishing submissions from the other schools,
using DJIM to promote further co-operation between all the schools in
the Faculty of Management, and putting the spirit of “Management Without
Borders” into action through this journal.
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| Melissa McCarthy will be graduating in
May of 2006 from the MLIS program at the School of Information
Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She served
as DJIM's Editorial Chair in 2004-05 and as Co-Chair in 2005-06. Melissa
is interested in archival work, special libraries, and university
librarianship, with a particular interest in the history of the book.
Kenneth Allan is an upcoming graduate of
the MLIS program at the School of Information Management at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, NS. He wrote “Talking Through the Keys”, an
article that appeared in the first issue of DJIM in 2005, and was
pleased to serve as Co-chair of the Executive Committee of DJIM during
the 2005-2006 school year. A native of Alberta, Ken is interested in
reference service, business information and online librarianship, in
either public or academic library settings. |
