UW-MILWAUKEE, SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES
Summer 2014
In this issue... From a mobile app to an acoustic atlas with a stop at the PGA TOUR headquarters along the way, SOIS alumni once again show the diverstiy of the information professions.
SOIS nside giving technology its own
personality
SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
IN THIS issue Dean’s Note ....................................................................01 Dr. Hope Olson: Passing Her Passion Forward .........02 Giving Tech its own Personality: Jessica Gilmore ....08 Blazing a Digital Trail: Kenning Arlitsch .....................10 An Archival “Hole-in-One”: Carole LaRochelle ..........12 IST Graduate IT Director: Rett Lehrer .........................14 SOIS Tech Corner ..........................................................15 Dr. Dietmar Wolfram ......................................................16 Grant Award: Fostering East Asian Librarianship .....18 Doctoral Student-to-ALISE Grant ................................19 Doctoral Student Research Poster Award ..................19 The Keepers of SOIS: Meet the Techs ........................20
Student Conference Report: iConference 2014 .........22 SOIS Staff Retreat .........................................................23 CIPR Update...................................................................24 SSIRG Update ................................................................25 RGIR Update ..................................................................25 Recent Scholarship ....................................................... 26 Faculty Publications ..................................................... 27 SLA Conference (Arabian Gulf Chapter) ..................... 28 Alumni Updates. ............................................................ 29 Development Director News: Connecting to SOIS .... 29
Summer 2014 VOL. 5 No. 2 Inside SOIS is published twice a year by the School of Information Studies Interim Dean: Wooseob Jeong Interim Associate Dean: Alexandra Dimitroff Assistant Dean: Chad Zahrt Executive Editors: Chad Zahrt Bonnie Withers Writers: Bonnie Withers Alex Vegelatos
Sarah McCraw
Keep us Informed! We invite all students and alumni to send us your updates and news for future issues of Inside SOIS. We’d love to hear from you!
ADDRESS CORRECTIONS AND UPDATES UW-Milwaukee, School of Information Studies Attn: Inside SOIS PO Box 413 Milwaukee, WI 53201 Phone: 414-229-4707 | Fax: 414-229-6699 Email: rjhall@uwm.edu
Art Direction / Design: Rebecca Hall Photography: Natalie Puariea, Contributing Photographer UWM Photographic Services: Pete Amland, Peter Jakubowski, Troye Fox
Inside SOIS is printed in limited quantity. Electronic issues are available online at: http://www.uwm.edu/ sois/news/publications/ Please share this publication with colleagues and please recycle!
INFORMATION our focus INTERNATIONAL our scope INTERDISCIPLINARY our mindset
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DEAN’S note Fall of 2014 will once again see SOIS in transition as we welcome Dr. Tomas Lipinski as the third permanent dean of the School of Information Studies. If Dean Lipinski’s name is familiar to you, it’s because he served on the SOIS faculty before leaving for leadership roles at the University of Indiana-Purdue University Indiana and then the library school at Kent State. We’re delighted to welcome Dean Lipinski back to UWM.
TRANSITION... let t he m om e nt um c ont i n u e! As I look forward to returning to my faculty role, I reflect on how important it is for each of us to give back in service of the School. I hope each of you will consider the impact your contributions, in the form of hosting internship or fieldwork students, or through financial support, make not only to the individual student, but also to SOIS and the world around us. We must always be diligent in remembering the great responsibility we have in preparing the next generation of information professionals. We need your help to insure that our students and graduates continue to be the best and brightest, engaged in their work, community and the profession. I’m proud of our accomplishments—I know, and have seen firsthand, that we have the best staff, faculty and students in the UW-System. As I look to the start of Dean Lipinski’s tenure, the future of SOIS is as bright as ever. Finally, I want to thank each of you for your support over the past two years. I’ve had the great fortune of watching the School grow and change to meet the demands of an ever-changing higher education landscape. It’s been a wonderful journey and I hope you will afford Dean Lipinksi the same level of support you have shown me during my tenure as dean. We are SOIS! We are the best! Woosoeb Jeong Interim Dean
Summer 2014
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Passing Her Passion Forw
Seated at a sunlit dining table graced with a Chinese bowl filled with clementines, Dr. H offers reflections on her professional career, her achievements, her retirement from th SOIS in summer, 2013. A further marking point for reflection is her recent selection by Satija Research Foundation for Library & Information Science*, for the 2013 Life Time A Award, an award recognizing world library leaders. *http://srflisindia.org/wp/
What has been her career path?
What marks the unique quality of her body of rese
What impact has she had on students and colleag 02 | Inside SOIS
INFORMATION our focus INTERNATIONAL our scope INTERDISCIPLINARY our mindset
ward
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By Bonnie Withers
Hope Olson he faculty of y the SRFLIS, Achievement
earch? ues?
“I believe when you choose a school, you should go where there is a scholar you most admire. That scholar was Dr. Olson.” Dr. Daniel Martinez-Avila, Former International Post-Doctoral Researcher SOIS Adjunct Instructor
Summer 2014
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
directed her next career move—a PhD. Leaving 10-year-old son Matt in the care of dad and grand-parents in Edmonton, Hope entered the doctoral program at the University of WisconsinMadison which she completed in 1996. (Matt later earned his own PhD in computing science, resulting in a threeway “Dr. Olson” household—fodder for jokes over the answering machine). After serving on the faculty of the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada)
Hope Olson getting an early start on her research career.
from
1992-2003,
Hope came to SOIS in 2004. The first person she knew on
Reading….it all begins with reading.
the SOIS faculty was Dietmar
First there were forays to the Detroit Public Library, supplemented
Wolfram whom she had met at
by fiction from her pastor father’s personal library. Later, when the
a conference in Alberta in 1995.
family moved to Waukegan, Illinois, research for the high school
Dietmar recalls, “During the first
debate team moved from the school and local Carnegie libraries to
few years after Hope’s arrival
a memorable trip to the Chicago Public Library.
at UWM, we talked frequently about library and information sciDr. Hope Olson recieving her PhD from UW-Madison in 1996.
As an undergrad at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter,
ence (LIS) research approaches.
Minnesota, Hope conducted a study grounded in government
We come from different scholarly
documents to determine whether political leanings of the mayors
traditions, so I learned a lot from our discussions about humanistic
were reflected in their city budgets. This study (the answer was
perspectives on LIS research problems. During our discussions
“no”) marked Hope’s first experience with text-based research, her
we found common ground in some of our research interests, in
preferred methodology from that point on.
particular the study of interindexer consistency. Through our work we demonstrated that humanities-based and informetric-based
After a junior year in England, graduating magna cum laude, and a
methods can be meaningfully combined and can complement each
summer marriage to Gust Olson, graduate study at the University
other. “ For her part, noting especially Dietmar’s impeccable sense
of Toronto was the next stop. It is here where Hope recognized
of integrity, Hope says she can’t think of a better research partner.
classification as her field of study, inspired by Professors Margaret Cockshutt and Nancy Williamson. After earning her MLS degree,
The growth of SOIS over the past decade brought more excellent
while husband Gust continued working on a doctoral degree in
colleagues to campus and allowed for expansion in information
Russian literature, Hope began seventeen years of library work,
organization (IO) studies and the opportunity for special projects
gaining the solid practical experience that richly supported and
like the DOIT program.
DIVERSITY IN THE ORGANIZATION of INFORMATION and its TECHNOLOGY (DOIT)
04 | Inside SOIS
Hope Olson is justly proud of the DOIT project
Services, was designed to recruit students from
which she developed and administered with
underrepresented populations in the library pro-
Dr. Hur-Li Lee. Diversity in the Organization of
fession and to prepare them, through coursework,
Information and Its Technology, funded with a
especially in organization of information, and paid
grant from the Institute of Museum and Library
internship, tuition and technology support, and
INFORMATION our focus INTERNATIONAL our scope INTERDISCIPLINARY our mindset
Between 2007 and 2011, Hope served as associate dean and then interim dean. Of her work in SOIS administration, she says, “It revealed the complexity of the academy as well as the power to do good.”
Research Hope’s doctoral dissertation, The Power to Name: Locating the Limits of Subject Representation in Libraries, was later (2002) published as a book and is widely recognized as a classic of scholarship in Information Organization. That evocative title encapsulates the thrust of Hope’s robust list of publications and presentations, over 100, available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. How have subject headings and classification schemes revealed a bias toward male, white, hierarchical power? How do the systems that have been accepted as logical, therefore, uniquely correct, marginalize the “other”? Hope’s work is well-summarized in the SRFLIS citation, “The most identifiable characteristic of her research activity is her feminist, poststructural, postcolonial approach focusing on equitable subject repre-
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Reflections on Hope’s Work and Contributions to the IO Field Hope Olson can undoubtedly be considered, nowadays, one of the main theoreticians in information organization, especially because of the reflexive and critical approach that she has given to the mentioned area. Her studies were much ahead her own time and have dived into deeper waters, because she not only considers the practical and applied dimension of such area, but, mainly, demands a deep reflection about the technical procedures: the power to naming information. In this vein, document surrogates can both serve to promote intercultural dialog -and, as a consequence, to establish social inclusion- as well as, in another and dangerous way, to disseminate prejudices and to promote social exclusion. For Hope, information reveals a deep and complex dimension whose meaning is multiple, depending on diverse users´ realities and cultures. In this sense, her writings invite us to pay attention to the dangers of an indexing blindness which could be led to the belief of one only approach: the mainstream one, not considering other voices, colors and approaches and, as a consequence, acting as a servant of a dangerous master: the prejudice. Her theoretical-methodological route, paved by interesting interpretations of authors such as Foucault and Derrida, reaffirm the social, cultural, political and, in a higher instance, ethical dimension of information organization, whose results are document surrogates that are not mere labels but mainly vehicles of values.
general guidance and encouragement, to serve diverse audiences in the library field. A highlight of the experience for the 21 participants, half online and half onsite, was a trip to the ALA Annual Conference 2005 in Washington, D.C. Eighteen of the students completed the program with an MLIS degree.
In this rich and deep world of ideas, Hope´s oeuvre is especially powered by her extreme generosity, sensibility and open mindness, always concerned on establishing dialogical experiences and on promoting mutual learning by the exchange of cultural values. José Augusto Guimarães, Professor Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Faculty of Science - Marília Campus, Department of Information Science Summer 2014|
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
sentation for access; the cultural aspects of classificatory structure
Christmas trees we made by folding TV guides when I was a kid,
(notably from indigenous and feminist perspectives); Art and clas-
which was a delightful way to combine my obsession with empiri-
sification; and the roles and nature of surrogates…” Hope states
cal study with her penchant for discourse analysis. Perhaps most
that at the most profound level, her work is grounded in “pervasive
famously, in Granada in 2002, we dined one evening in a courtyard
values of responsibility to Others.”
with a solo guitarist who played all through our meal as the night fell and the stars came up over the Alhambra.” Later, he cites evidence
“The most identifiable characteristic of her research activity is her feminist, poststructural, postcolonial approach focusing on equitable subject representation for access; the cultural aspects of classificatory structure (notably from indigenous and feminist perspectives); Art and classification; and the roles and nature of surrogates…”
of the profound regard in which Hope is held in the IO community, “She’s a champ, all right; at a CAIS (Canadian Association for Information Science) conference a young student quoted Hope twice, and during the Q&A said “I met her once! Oooooo just like a rockstar!”
Students Comments from doctoral students, marked in equal parts by respect and affection, detail Hope’s impact on their work and lives. Daniel Martinez-Avila, a recent post-doctoral researcher at SOIS, first met Hope when he was a master’s student at Carlos III University of Madrid and she was invited to spend a week there.
Academic life includes conferences—attending them and organizing them. Hope speaks fondly of the IO professional organization ISKO (International Society of Knowledge Organization), where scholars first share their new ideas, with papers coming later, making for an especially lively and creative environment. This group alternates annual meetings between national and international conclaves. Colleague Richard Smiraglia first met Hope at an ASIST (Association for Information Science and Technology) meeting when she was editor of the Knowledge Organization journal (which he later took over). Friendship grew through email exchanges and other conferences, especially ISKO. He says, “… by meeting at biennial ISKO international conferences I learned she was open to my explanation of semiotics as being like the
Dani stresses that he was already well aware of Olson’s work and had been much inspired by her writings. In 2009, when it came time to choose a university for a special EU doctoral program, SOIS was Dani’s first choice. “I believe when you choose a school, you should go where there is a scholar you most admire. That scholar was Dr. Olson.” He was inspired by her ability to translate classification into practice, her narrative skills, and both personal and professional approachability. Dani speaks in the highest terms of Hope’s guidance during his doctoral program which she co-chaired, noting her willingness to collaborate, her motivating support, her inspiration. Even though Hope was piled high with administrative duties, she always made time to meet. With a broad smile he offers one complaint, “I want to have written what she has already written! What do I do now?” Ann Graf, current doctoral candidate, meets regularly with Hope to discuss art and classification…and much more. “She has the ability to really see irony and humor in academic situations when all is so serious. She gives newer students ways to handle stress, pressures, deadlines, personalities. She is open and approachable.”
(above) Dr. Hope Olson with her Major Professor Dr. Edwin Cortez. UW-Madison, 1996. (right) Dr. Jihee Beak with her Major Professor Dr. Hope Olson. UW-Milwaukee, 2014.
06 | Inside SOIS
“I was new to this culture and I found it hard to interact with professors,” states recent PhD graduate Jihee Beak. Through time, Hope became “the most
INFORMATION our focus INTERNATIONAL our scope INTERDISCIPLINARY our mindset
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Dr. Hope Olson with her doctoral advisee Jihee Beak.
“I was new to this culture and I found it hard to interact with professors,” states doctoral student Jihee Beak. Through time, Hope became “the most influential person I’ve met in this country. She’s my advisor, my mentor, my role model, even sometimes my mom. She helps me to justify the value of my work…she passes her passion forward.” Jihee Beak, PhD 2014 influential person I’ve met in this country. She’s my advisor, my
for analysis. These records are surrogates for patients but patients’
mentor, my role model, even sometimes my mom. She helps me
voices are generally not heard and power dynamics are complex.
to justify the value of my work…she passes her passion forward.”
For example, she discovered that when the doctors noted she was a “pleasant woman”, they were indicating that she was “compliant”.
Retirement What does retirement mean to a scholar? Hope says that some stop working, others stay active in their field to varying degrees. Hope is currently happy to have a respite from teaching classes, but she delights in working with students individually. Parkinson’s Disease limits her independent research so she passes on to others most of the research problems she identifies. Her major ongoing research stream, in collaboration with Lynne Howarth (University of Toronto), concerns the nature and roles of surrogates (e.g. library catalog records as surrogates for books or database entries for journal articles). Last summer they explored surrogates
(With a mischievous smile, she notes that not all doctors describe her this way.) What does such coding imply about the power relationships between patient and doctor? What does it imply for other contexts? Faculty, staff, alums, and students of the School of Information Studies are deeply grateful to Dr. Hope Olson for her passion, her creativity, her intellect, her friendship, for the lasting mark she has made through her internationally respected scholarship. All good wishes go to her in her retirement as she continues to “pass her passion forward.”
as vehicles for making marginalized voices heard. Hope has obtained a decade of her own medical records to employ as texts
Summer 2014 |
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
giving technology its own
personality By Alex Vagelatos
J
ESSICA GILMORE WAS A “GUINEA PIG,” part of the high school class of 2000 who were warned in kindergarten that they would be the vanguard in a new world of computers. She had her first of many computer classes at age six. Even her teachers, however, could not have imagined how prescient they were. Gilmore always loved her time on computers, and taught herself all she could. Years later, when she became a SOIS student, earning a bachelor’s degree in Information Science & Technology (IST), she put that education to good use – and found yet another world she could explore and enjoy. “When I learned at SOIS why we do things in technology, I found it fascinating. I pride myself in my attention to detail and you need that in coding and problem-solving, and pretty much what we do here is problem-solving,” Gilmore said.
A May 2014 graduate, Gilmore hopes to work in the field of mobile software and application development. She has already launched her first mobile application, a project she undertook as a student while working part-time at the “App Brewery,” an academically-inspired cooperative effort between SOIS, University Relations and University Information Technology. Combined with her SOIS coursework – particularly an early class in mobile applications – the App Brewery helped Gilmore recognize her passion.
08 | Inside SOIS
Jessica Gilmore Mobile Developer IST Alumni 2014
INFORMATION our focus INTERNATIONAL our scope INTERDISCIPLINARY our mindset
AS A STUDENT WORKER, she had the opportunity to create and launch a new mobile application for the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, now available on Google and iTunes.
“Students in the App Brewery write statements of work, learn project management, software development, the whole process you will need for the real world,” Gilmore said. Not that Gilmore was unfamiliar with the “real world.” After high school, she studied music education at UWM for a while before earning a cosmetology license and working at her mother’s salon for eight years “working in the family business was one of my mom’s dreams, it turned out,” she said.
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LGBT Chamber App
This app connects users to LGBT owned and allied businesses around Wisconsin. Users can find businesses, learn about upcoming events, and see how they can support a pro-fairness, pro-business community. “IN THE IST PROGRAM, you can go in different directions, depending on your interests and the electives you take,” Gilmore said.
“THE PEOPLE IN SOIS are at least 50 percent of why I am as successful as I am. Everyone is so approachable and takes the time to answer your questions. The most prominent people in the field are right here. If they can’t answer your question, they know someone who can.”
Eventually she s returned to UWM to marketing; an instructor told her major in m a her that with he e experience and interests, might SOIS migh ht be a better fit. It didn’t take Gilmore to find out he was right. long for Gi lm
Her work in Associate Professor Tom Walker’s Organization of Knowledge class was an eye-opener.
McGhee suggested I attend “Twyla McG G house an open ho ou to learn more. I talked Laura Myer and with Chad Zahrt, Z They are the reason Angie Sadowsky. Sado ow transferred I transferre ed to SOIS as a sophomore,” said. Gilmore sa aid
“When we got into being able to classify and index things, it made so much sense. No matter what field I go into as far as development, I’m going to need that. My education here in SOIS has turned out to be so much larger than I thought it would be.”
That assistance helped Gilmore get a job in SOIS as an academic advising assistant for graduate students and as a marketing assistant for Rebecca Hall. As president of the SOIS IST Student Association, Gilmore has returned the favor, helping other students find work within SOIS.
She originally thought she would orig gin her use he er love of design to work on websites webs sit from the graphic design side. side e. But she found that she loved lov ve software and application development more. d e
An important part of that education, Gilmore says, has taken place outside the classroom in the form of counseling and advice on both her coursework and her career.
“The help I’ve received here, schoolwide, has been so important. And because we are such a diverse degree, you get suggestions from all sides and viewpoints.
APP BREWERY Affectionately nicknamed the “App Brewery,” UWM’s Mobile Innovation Lab employs UWM students who apply skills learned in coursework offered in SOIS and other UWM academic programs to real-world projects for area nonprofits.
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Blazing a Digital Trail By Alex Vagelatos
F
or some time, the focus of Kenning Arlitsch’s work has been search engine optimization for digital repositories – a familiar phrase but perhaps not likely to dominate casual dinner party conversation. Unless, you pay attention a bit longer. And then you may hear the Sage Grouse Lek or the Mexican Beaded Lizard on your computer. Or read what life was like in the mid-19th century West, in newspapers published in that era.These practical and useful digital repositories are among the projects that Arlitsch has helped bring to fruition since he earned his MLIS degree from SOIS in 1993.
From Digital Repositories to the Trai MLIS Alumni Kenning Arlitsch is Le Arlitsch was named Dean of the Montana State University Library in 2012, after spending 18 years at the University of Utah. At the Bozeman, MT, campus, he leads a staff of 55, including 17 faculty librarians, and manages a $8 million operating budget. In 1999, he began leading a team that developed the University of Utah’s first digital library, which grew to encompass Western newspapers, documents, photographs, maps and even the sounds of nature. “We always assumed that search engines were finding materials posted in our databases. But four or five years ago we discovered that search engines were not picking them up as we expected. So I began to really research how libraries have traditionally prepared metadata for human comprehension rather than machine comprehension. My research partner, Patrick OBrien, and I found that for most digital collections, including Utah’s and many other libraries, search engines did not know to deal with that metadata,” Arlitsch said. That led to Arlitsch and OBrien to look into how metadata in digital repositories is made available to website crawlers, and how that material can be prepared for readability. Arlitsch grew up on Long island, and received a bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1987 from Alfred University in upstate New York. He previously had an associate’s degree in business admin-
10 | Inside SOIS
istration. After graduation, he drove a truck for Sears, moving furniture and appliances, before taking a four-month tour of the Continent. Eventually, Arlitsch was attracted to UWM and its MLIS program. “The MLIS program at UWM was already well-established and it was a great time to start library school. Hitting the MLIS when I did with the internet first starting to blow wide open, and the first graphical web browser released, suddenly computing and information technology made a whole lot of sense, and not just to me,” Arlitsch said. An old friend from Long Island built Arlitsch a computer, another reason his interest was piqued. “It was an IBM 386 with a 40 MB hard drive and two MB of memory, prehistoric by today’s standards, but it helped me understand technology.” Arlitsch began working at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah as a technology instruction librarian in 1994, shortly after graduation from UWM. Funded by a USIA/ALA International Library Fellowship in 1997, Arlitsch lived in Cyprus for six months and helped to establish, among other things, the country’s first international electronic document delivery system for the medical community, and a database
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of Cypriot medical literature. Upon his return to Utah he moved into IT and did much of his work on digital library development and digitization over the next decade, including founding the Mountain West Digital Library and Utah Digital Newspapers program. From 2007 to 2012, he served as the library’s associate dean for IT services, managing a staff of 20 FTE, with responsibility for digitization, systems administration, programming, and website design and development. At Utah he also co-founded the Western Soundscape Archive with Jeff Rice, and the
ils in Montana, aving His Mark pair developed the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University in 2013. The Acoustic Atlas will continue to collect recordings of regional species, with a focus on Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and it will serve as a digital repository for bioacoustic and soundscape research. You can hear these recordings at acousticatlas.org. With the opportunity to move to Montana State University in the role of dean, Arlitsch was happy he did not have to leave the West.
Kenning Arlitsch Dean, Montana State University Library MLIS 1993
SOIS Associate Professor Thomas Walker recalled how eager Arlitsch was to relocate to that region. “I remember his enthusiasm and that he jumped at the chance to go out west to my part of the country for his first job,” Walker said. As for Arlitsch: “I had a great career at Utah, but after 18 years, I felt it was time to move on. Also, I’m very particular about where I live. I love the outdoors and the West, and when I saw Bozeman, I thought, ‘this is a place where I could live.’ ”
The Acoustic Atlas is a digital repository for bioacoustic and soundscape research. acousticatlas.org
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Carole LaRochelle MLIS 2013 Paralegal/Legal Archivist, PGA TOUR Headquarters
By Alex Vagelatos
An Archival “Hole-in-One”
A Virtual Stop at SOIS Leads to Recent
“Hi, I’m Carole and I’m an aspiring archivist.” This excerpt from an “elevator speech” Carole LaRochelle wrote in 2013 is an example of her enthusiasm as a recent SOIS graduate with an MLIS Concentration in Archival Studies. That enthusiasm has taken her on a journey from the Harpers Ferry site of John Brown’s attack on a federal armory in 1859 to her new job as paralegal/legal archivist for the PGA TOUR at its headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. You could add a virtual stop at UWM, as LaRochelle completed her studies in the MLIS program completely online while living in the Washington, DC area. “Can you tell I’m the biggest fan of SOIS there is?” LaRochelle asked over the phone from balmy Florida recently. “The program and the people at SOIS were more connected with things and opportunities in the Washington, DC area than the people in DC. I call it the long-arm of SOIS.”
12 | Inside SOIS
The long-arm of SOIS found LaRochelle while she was a legal assistant for a Washington, DC law firm and a single mother. She had graduated in 2011 from The Catholic University of America with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, coupled with years of volunteer work and professional education in archives and libraries. LaRochelle was looking for a program in which she could continue her study of archiving and related disciplines. She did her due diligence. “I looked at other schools, but they didn’t offer what SOIS did.” Her husband-to-be, Scott, was living in the Milwaukee area, and LaRochelle paid a visit to SOIS, speaking with Amy Cooper Cary. “From my first contact with SOIS I had nothing but positive encouragement. They said, ‘Carole, you can definitely do this.’”
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Alums Dream Job! Growing up in an area “rife with history,” LaRochelle developed her love of historical documents and artifacts from her mother. They visited everything from Harpers Ferry to antique stores, where she discovered old postcards, photos, magazines and daguerreotypes. “All these things come into play and explain your path in life,” she said. As a distance learner at SOIS, LaRochelle “was blown away. I felt more part of the SOIS community than I ever did being on a campus. The professors knew me better and were more available to me.” After she and Scott married, the couple assumed they would settle in the Shenandoah Valley. But a conversation with the Chief Legal Officer of the PGA TOUR, a former attorney of the DC law firm, eventually led to LaRochelle’s applying for a job. When she learned that the position would involve records management for the TOUR’s Legal Department that sealed the deal. At the TOUR, she is helping to move an all-paper system to an electronic one, a project that involves going through the metadata
of some 14,000 official records, including legal records, tournament contracts, and vendor agreements. “In this transition project, I analyze whether or not to retain the paper version for its enduring value,” LaRochelle said. And, yes, there are golf lessons. Scott LaRochelle is an avid golfer, but Carole had never touched a golf club before she arrived in Florida. “It’s a sunny, warm vibe here,” she said of the TOUR headquarters, as well as Florida. “We both love it.”
“The program and the people at SOIS were more connected with things and opportunities in the Washington, DC area than the people in DC. I call it the long-arm of SOIS.” Carole LaRochelle
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
IST GRADUATE IT DIRECTOR
After 5 and 1/2 years and three majors at UW-Madison, Brett Lehrer finally found his calling in SOIS. The Grafton, WI, native graduated with a degree in IST in
business - accounting, customer management, shipping, anything
December 2011 and immediately began work as an IT intern at
and everything. Next is the 2.0 version, with more tweaking for
Solaris, a West Allis-based company. That intern position quickly
customization, better integrating machinery and the warehouse,
expanded to full-time, and Lehrer became director of IT in mid-
and ways to improve the whole process,” Lehrer said.
2013.
“I liked what I saw about Solaris, it’s charitable giving and
the fact that all of its employees have their pictures on the website.
School in Madison may not have been particularly fulfill-
It’s just a nice environment, a cool place to work,” he said.
ing for Lehrer, but he did learn a valuable lesson: his favorite part-time jobs involved combining technology
Solaris custom-makes compression garments to help people with
and people. “When I came to UWM, I still liked working
Lymphedema, a chronic swelling that occurs when a blockage in
in IT, but I found SOIS so much more interesting, with
the lymphatic system prevents the
the creativity it allowed,
lymph fluid from draining adequate-
and the human interac-
ly. Its compression garments also aid in the treatment of venous insufficiency, venous ulcers and varicose veins. It sells its products to a network of durable medical equipment
“If you have joy in what you’re doing, it’s not hard to make a career out of it.”
retailers and hospitals.
tion. Plus, you meet lots of people who will help you.” The coursework in Madison helped in
another way, as Lehrer was able to complete his Solaris was started in 2000 by Kathy Weatherly, an occupational
SOIS requirements in three semesters, plus a summer.
therapist who had been making her own medical compression
Among his favorite courses was the challenging work
garments. Her son, Kyle Weatherly, became president in 2006 and
done in project management, which required his work-
the company has seen rapid growth since. Located in the former
ing with other students in a group over a semester while
Allis-Chalmers complex, the company was named to the Inc. 5000
learning to budget their time and his.
list of fast-growing privately held companies in 2012 and 2013. It employs some 60 people.
It turned out to be good training. Because Solaris is growing – along with its IT needs – Lehrer quickly moved from intern to
As director of IT, Lehrer has a lot to do: maintaining the company’s
someone who will hire others to work with him in the IT department.
servers, and phone system as well as the proverbial “troubleshooting” of day-to-day problems with computers and printers. But
He has a laundry list of things he’d like to implement. One would
he was quickly given responsibilities beyond those tasks. “We’ve
provide the company’s sales force with an interactive map of their
been implementing an ERP system to handle all phases of the
customers across the United States, allowing them to simply click
14 | Inside SOIS
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SOIS
TECH CORNER By Jim Schultz
A lot of exciting tech updates have been happing at SOIS! We just completed a major overhaul upgrading our server room. This included installing additional cooling, power, and most importantly several racks of IT infrastructure. With our upgraded server room we are able to offer increased capacity on the SOIS virtual computer labs, upgrade many of our services such as the student webspace, and offer additional IT resources for research.
Other important updates for this Fall include: • Faster new lounge computers • New cameras and live streaming equipment • Expansion of the SOIS digital signage network • Expansion of SOIS charging stations around campus
Free software, printing, and more!
Brett Lehrer Director of IT, Solaris • IST 2011
All current SOIS students have access to many unique technology resources that no one else on our campus has. This includes free software from Microsoft and VMware, free printing in our lounges and computer labs, and use of our virtual labs and web space. For more information on all of the new and updated technology resources, please be sure to check out the SOIS Tech website at: soistech.uwm.edu. If you ever need any technology assistance or have any tech ideas for our School, please be sure to get in touch with us!
on all the customers in their area, for example, and bring up the buying history. It may have taken a while, but Lehrer is now doing what he wants to do. “If you have joy in what you’re doing, it’s not hard to make a career out of it.”
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Dr. Dietmar Wolfram
By Bonnie Withers
Dynamic, Informed by Research and Dedicated to Developing a Next Generation of Scholars
Step into this office and you forget it was once a patient hospital room. With a few simple touches—a handsome rug, a strong charcoal drawing of birch trees, Asian scrolls, neatly arranged bookshelves, Dr. Dietmar Wolfram has created a space that calms and welcomes. Here is where students at all levels—bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral—come for advice, encouragement, and collaboration. Since his arrival at SOIS in 1990, Dietmar has been at the heart of programs which have added depth and breadth to the School, from implementation of the BSIST program to the development of the PhD program, including Overcoming Barriers to Information Access: The B2A Project, for which he secured, as principal investigator, a major IMLS Laura Bush grant. His contributions have included development of curriculum, innovation in teaching through technology, and program direction, all while maintaining a robust research agenda. Dietmar’s areas of research interest are applied informetrics, information retrieval (IR) system design and evaluation, modeling and simulation of IR systems, and user studies. Dietmar’s achievements as a teacher were recognized in 2012 when he was awarded the prestigious Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award by the American Society for Information Science and Technology. In their letters supporting his nomination, colleagues Iris Xie and Jin Ziang outlined the dedicated, energetic, and visionary work Wolfram has done in all levels of program development and implementation. More directly addressing his teaching, Iris stated, “Professor Wolfram’s dedication to students can be shown by high student evaluation scores and comments.” How does one learn to be a good teacher? Dietmar says it is a long apprenticeship where one takes bits and pieces from others and learns through trial and error. He stresses that one does not need to be an entertainer in the classroom to be successful. “What is vital is to show students you care, that you are there to listen, that you will allocate time to them, that you are fair, organized and clear, and flexible.” In his letter of support for the ASIS&T award, doctoral candidate Kun Lu (now a professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies) gave evidence of these characteristics as he detailed Dietmar’s strength as a teacher: “His classes are always well prepared, clearly organized, and thoroughly elaborated. Even when I was first here as a foreign student, I could grasp the themes with ease. His in-depth knowledge about the field enables him to relate a wide range of materials promptly
16 | Inside SOIS
and explain both the details and the broad picture in a quite comprehensible manner…..He always encouraged us, stimulated our thinking, and supplemented [readings] with one or two wonderful citations when further interest in a topic was aroused.” To this enthusiastic testimonial, Lu added, “…as knowledgeable as he is, he always maintains his humbleness and is very accessible to his students.” Whether in-class, online, or in his office, Wolfram is consistent in his open and engaged attitude toward his students. Current doctoral student Hye Jung Han echos Lu in her description of Dietmar’s interaction with students, “He motivates students to learn actively by encouraging them to express opinions and views.” She says that he is passionate in his teaching and generous with his guidance, “He guides me in conducting research step by step from data collection to finding results, helping me to develop a research mind.”
“He motivates students to learn actively by encouraging them to express opinions and views. He guides me in conducting research step by step from data collection to finding results, helping me to develop a research mind.” Hye Jung Han, Ph.D. Student There is long-standing discussion in academia about how the demands of research work and publication compete with expectations of teaching and of service. When asked about this issue of research versus teaching, Dietmar points to a book that has highly influenced his approach to his work. Although it was written in 1990, Ernest L. Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate is still relevant. In fact, Dietmar uses this book in his introductory course for PhD candidates.
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Stated briefly, Boyer suggests that the notion of “scholarship” is commonly believed to refer to research and study; teaching then comes after scholarship. He proposes instead an expanded notion of scholarship, suggesting four equal and interacting functions, scholarship of discovery, scholarship of integration, scholarship of application, and scholarship of teaching. Boyer’s vision of teaching is based in deep intellectual engagement, pedagogical practices continuously updated and connected to the subject, students challenged to be active learners and critical thinkers. (Boyer, 23-24) The interplay of research and teaching is well exemplified in Dietmar’s experience with distance learning at SOIS. The success of the online program goes back much farther than D2L! Distance learning first meant that SOIS staff drove to off-campus sites to meet with students. Dietmar recalls driving to Eau Claire and realizing too late that an approaching snowstorm had changed course and the class should have been cancelled. Nevertheless, when he arrived, every student had braved the storm to attend his class. Next came experiments with teaching through technology. Dietmar and other early adopters among the faculty experimented with connecting to remote sites in Wisconsin with audiographics technology using telephone lines. Next came compressed video over ISDN lines with Internet-accessible content, and finally full Webbased coursework with streaming audio and video. After detailing these pioneering efforts in teaching a course in electronic networking and information services , Dr. Jin Zhang, in his ASIST nomination letter pointed out, “The use of these technologies created a self-referential learning experience where many of the technologies discussed in the course were used to convey the course content to facilitate interactions among class members.” After a study of online student relationships to instructors raised concerns about the degree of interaction among class members, Dietmar altered his class design to draw attention away from the instructor as the center of attention and more toward peer discussion. Thus, research and pedagogy intersect and are, together, integral elements of scholarship. Here, then, we find in Dietmar Wolfram’s practice Boyer’s vision of the scholarship of teaching--dynamic, informed by research and dedicated to developing a next generation of scholars. SOIS students who have been fortunate to study and work with Dietmar will agree with Hye Jung, “ I believe that Professor Wolfram’s wellbalanced teaching and research guidance will be a great positive influence on future students.”
Did you know?
Outstanding Information Science Teacher Dr. Wolfram is a recipient of the prestigious Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award by the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). (http://www.asis.org/awards/teacher.html)
Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Student News
Grant Award Fostering East Asian Librarianship (FEAL) The School of Information Studies was awarded a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for the Fostering East Asian Librarianship (FEAL) diversity initiative. The FEAL grant, under the direction of Interim Dean Wooseob Jeong, has awarded 12 Masters of Library Science (MLIS) scholarships to paraprofessionals currently working within domestic East Asian libraries to pursue the 36 credit MLIS program at SOIS, specializing in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean studies/service. SOIS has partnered with the library of each participating paraprofessional to coordinate an individualized strategy for each student. This includes the identification and assignment of a professional mentor within the host library, and a commitment to active career guidance, occupational placement assistance, and other wraparound services to support the paraprofessional(s). Students also received financial support in the form of tuition, and travel support to attend informational meetings and national conferences. 10 Students were admitted to the program in a cohort for the Spring 2014 academic semester. Two additional students joined the cohort in Fall 2014.
SOIS has a distinguished history in actively promoting diversity within the field of librarianship. Through the “Diversity in the Organization of Information and its Technology (DOIT) Project” funded by an IMLS Librarians for the 21st Century grant from 2005-2009, SOIS supported 21 master’s students from diverse populations to achieve professional standing within librarianship. The IMLS-funded “Overcoming Barriers to Access (B2A)” recruitment proChristopher Flaherty gram currently supports 6 full-time Linying Wu doctoral students with research interests that address barriers to Yuh-Fen Benda information access.
FEAL SCHOLARS
Hongxia Song
For more information regarding the program contact: Interim Dean Wooseob Jeong, wjj8612@uwm.edu .
Seung Bong Jeon Tsuyoshi Harada Kaori Otsubo Shangching Huitzacua Qianwen Chen Xiaohong Li Myung Hee Kim
18 | Inside SOIS
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Doctoral Student-to-ALISE Grant SOIS doctoral student Adriana McCleer was awarded the Doctoral Students to ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) Grant and attended the annual conference held in Philadelphia, Pa. in January. McCleer, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in information policy, was one of only two students in the country to be awarded the annual grant. “This is the first time I attended an academic conference,” McCleer said. “It was a great opportunity.” McCleer said she attended a variety of presentations on this year’s conference theme of research methods. “Just to hear how other people are conducting their research by using a variety of research techniques, instruments and approaches, I found that to be really useful,” she said. As a grant recipient, McCleer received a one year membership to ALISE, a certificate at the ALISE awards ceremony, a stipend for lodging and meal expenses and she attended a luncheon hosted by a board member. She also had to participate in 10 hours of conference activities, including working at the registration desk.
“I received really useful feedback and had a chance to talk with a range of people throughout the week about the work I’m doing. Their critical questions and helpful feedback was really useful.” Adriana McCleer, Ph.D. Student
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By Sarah McCraw
McCleer said assisting with registration was an excellent opportunity to make connections. “It gave me a chance to start some conversations with faculty from all around the country,” she said. McCleer and three other SOIS doctoral students and one faculty member presented a poster at the conference entitled “Converging Knowledge: Networking the Gap between Public Librarians and Researchers,” which focused on types of research methods. “I received really useful feedback and had a chance to talk with a range of people throughout the week about the work I’m doing,” she said. “Their critical questions and helpful feedback was really useful.” In 2007, McCleer earned a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish from Edgewood College in Madison in 2004. ALISE is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote excellence and advancement in teaching, research and service for educators and scholars in LIS.
ALISE/Jean Tague-Sutcliffe Doctoral Student Research Poster Award Recent SOIS PhD graduate, Jihee Beak, recieved Honorable Mention in the ALISE 2014 Jean TagueSutcliffe Doctoral Student Poster Competition for her poster titled Emotional Metadata: Pilot Study of Children’s Book Selection Behaviors. This competition was established in memory of Jean Tague-Sutcliffe, professor and former dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Western Ontario. 5 doctoral student posters are chosen each year to recieve this award. Congratulation Dr. Jihee Beak! For more information about the competition, visit: http://www.alise.org/alise-jean-tague-sutcliffe-doctoral-student-research-poster-competition
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Anthony Julian Jesmok
Bojana Gajic
Brandon William Born
Sorcerer of Arrays and External Data Sources
Self-employed Web Developer
Technician and Apple Troubleshooting/Repair
With the semester looming and the projects stacking, tarantula owner Anthony uses the power of PHP to smite those in defiance of video game progress. His battle cry “For Fluffy!” can still be heard well into the fall.
Put on some heels, pour some red wine and hide the milk. Bojana is here, prevent all damage and hit the beach.
An audiophile, Brandon found that happiness can be sold in 24 bit increments. Too bad he forgot to hit repeat after RC Music & DJ. His desire to merge Nascar and football never did pan out as the drivers couldn’t figure out how to down shift in shoulder pads.
Kent Patrick Fehrm
“I LOVE to drink my milk from the gallon (when no one is watching).”
Madeline Margret Jaeger
Matthew William Harrison
Technician of Information Arts
Tech Wizard
Chief Awesome Officer
Kent may have missed out on seeing Kurt in the 90s, but that doesn’t keep him from reliving the greatest generation of rock while taking his deck out for a spin. Now, if only he could find the perfect Lobster Lasagna.
When Madeline dreams of sushi its about halfway through her latest Netflix marathon; now if they only had Game of Thrones on instant she’d be set. “I can’t just watch one episode on Netflix!”
Flea isn’t a Beatle but he does love chili peppers, Matthew knows this. He’s a fan, the best kind of fan and secretly your brother. If he doesn’t fall off the wagon from his WoW addiction then he’s on track to graduate in a year. Catch him now before his guitar takes him beyond Summerfest.
20 | Inside SOIS
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When it comes to tech wizardry, SOIS has the best troops in all the lands. These mighty men and women are bringing it all to the table and pulling out all the stops to keep the sailing smooth and the gears of progress churning - all in an effort to keep the goblins out of your computer. Descriptions: Mathew Fey, Design: Gabriella Tato
Dustin Rae Schultz
Ernesto Ivar Thiel-Hernandez
James R Schultz
Advance Technology Commander
IT Support
Chief Technical Wizard
Dustin’s a commanding officer taking down Diablo with the Master Chief and listening to Skillet fry up some Eggs Benedict up at Blue’s Egg. Wub wub wub Wub Wub wub wub DROP wub wub wub. - A Dubstep Song
When Kid Cudi wanted to take Ernesto down to the Two Door Cinema Club, he had to wait till Beckham was done watching our man play some ball down at the gym where his buddy Neal Shuster thinks he books a little too much time.
Famous for his iron stomach and willingness to fight off would be thieves, Jim spends much of his time enjoying the company of his home theatre. Counter Incoming Attack! “I had a fist fight with a thief who tried to break into the tech office in 2009.”
Montgomery Schmitt
Creative Director & Chief of Unicorn Division The first time the locals saw Montgomery riding an ostrich they were shocked. The second time when he came back with a chupacabra they were delighted. When he came back with a cheeseburger they were just confused. “I used to have two ostriches as pets.”
Robert Lee Nunez
Professional Destroyer of the CMS He cares not for state lines nor for petty things like system requirements. When the captain wants Whataburger all he needs to do is look to Rob to make it so. To some he is known as the destroyer of the CMS, but to most he is a hero to designers everywhere.
Summer 2014| |27 21 Fall 2013
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Student Conference Report - iConference 2014 The iConference 2014 Berlin, Germany, 2014 March 3-7 The iConference is an annual meeting of scholars and researchers from around the world who are interested in critical information issues in contemporary society. The iConference series was established in 2005 by the iSchools organization, a growing worldwide association of Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field. The conference was held at Humboldt University in Berlin where the famous philosopher, Hegel, is from. It is located near the center of Berlin. Most of the sessions were hosted in the building, Hegelplatz, which is named for Hegel. On the first day I participated in two workshops, “Advances in Spatial Information Science” and “Digital Youth: Towards a New Multidisciplinary Research Network.” In the workshop, cutting edge areas of Spatial Information Science were introduced: the use of shared spatial information, location-based privacy, big (spatial) data, volunteered geographic information, empirical studies on spatial cognition, and other recent Did you know? developments in SOIS offers travel funding and support the field. for students to attend and present at various conferences thourghout the year. 22 | Inside SOIS
On the second day, I presented a poster about virtual reference services with the topic “Situational virtual reference when users need it.” Some scholars gave their advice and pointed out various perspectives to supplement our research. Because Be eca caus use us e there ther th ere er e have have been ha bee een n previous prev pr eviio ev ious studies, ious stu tudi tudi dies es, es the advice and opinions were very helpful in designing our future study. The conference was an exciting experience for me. It will be very helpful to improve my research, and widen my sight and perspective. Someday, we could organize the conference in our school.
Sukjin You
MLIS Spring 2014
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2nd Annual
SOIS Staff Retreat In July, the hard working SOIS staff participated in the second annual all staff retreat. The group (more than 35!) met at Antigua Mexican and Latin Restaurant in Milwaukee for a “Hands-On” Cooking Class and team-building experiment. The staff was broken into 6 teams based on functional areas/job duties. Each team was provided with ingredients and limited instruction to make two or three unique latin dishes that was served to the whole group. In the end... we all had a feast like no other! We are SOIS. We are the Best. We eat good!
The SOIS Tech Team... ourr ttechnicians ech hnic nician i ian ians sc can an fi fix c mp mputmpu mp x co computers a and fix a great salad!
S OI Staff at Antigua Mexican and Latin Restaurant SOIS - Mi Milwauke, WI
Kelce Gold and Laura Meyer goofing goofing off while Evelyn does all the work!
SOIS Advisors having fun cooking up 3 fabulous dishes. They were the most popular team because they made dessert!!
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Center for Information Policy Research
Events, Research and Funding Opportunities
The Center for Information Policy Research (CIPR) enjoyed a dynamic 2013-2104 academic year that featured global Internet scholars, a focus on intellectual freedom, and the launch of the world-recognized “The Zuckerberg Files.”
Visiting Fulbright Scholar During the Fall 2013 semester, CIPR was privileged to serve as host for Dr. Alexei Krivolap, a Fulbright Fellow visiting from European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania. During his time at CIPR, Dr. Krivolap pursued a research project entitled “Internet: Local Aspects of Global Technology,” making use of the resources in campus library and archives and collaborating with various local scholars to better understand implications of his project outside the sphere of Belarus. He also worked on a book project entitled “Opening a New Constellation social and cultural differences in iin the th Internet’s I t t’ Galaxy,” G l ” about b national segments of Internet in former USSR countries. While in residence, Dr. Krivolap presented at a CIPR Research Lunch on “The Potential of the Internet for Social Change in Former Soviet Countries: Case of Belarus,” and he participated in other campus events.
Intellectual Freedom CIPR engaged in numerous initiatives focusing on intellectual freedom over the past year. The Center organized a Banned Books Week event on September 22, 2013, featuring Barbara Jones, Director of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom, on the topic of “Canaries in the Coal Mine: How Libraries Fight for Free Speech,
24 | Inside SOIS
Freedom from Surveillance, and Democratic Values.” The event was in collaboration with Milwaukee Public Libraries, and was funded by the Sweetland Intellectual Freedom Fund. CIPR again was a co-sponsor of the Intellectual Freedom Award presented jointly by the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) and the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association (WEMTA). The 2014 award was given to Megan Schliesman, a long-time librarian at the Cooperative Children’s Books Center (CCBC) of the School of Education at UW-Madison and manager of its intellectual freedom services for the past eleven years. With the assistance of Dr. Joyce Latham, CIPR launched a new digital archive of challenges to public library materials, including all relevant complaint materials, news reports, public comments, and communications available through public records requests. This project currently contains materials related to the 2009 West Bend library challenge, and materials related to the 2013 Orland Park library challenge.
The Zuckerberg Files CIPR Director, Michael Zimmer, launched a new project called “The Zuckerberg Files,” a digital archive of all public utterances of Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. It includes transcripts and bibliographic data of all publicly-available content representing the voice and words of Zuckerberg, including blog posts, letters to shareholders, media interviews, public appearances and product presentations, and quotes in other sources. The project has drawn wide media attention, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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The Social Studies of Information Research Group (SSIRG) held a successful full day workshop, “Exploring the Social Studies of Information,” at the 2014 iConference in Berlin, Germany, in March. Over 50 scholars attended the event. The goals of the workshop were to discuss the social studies of information as it is currently practiced in iSchools and foster communication among a diverse array of scholars who are researching topics related to the social study of information. Traditionally, scholars have worked in distinct subfields within information studies, often not conversing across disciplinary boundaries. The workshop provided opportunities for scholars in these subfields to meet each other, discover unexpected commonalities, and foster new collaborations. The event brought together scholars in information science, history, archival studies, ethics, philosophy, policy, and social informatics. Due to the success of the day, participants asked the SSIRG to plan a follow-up social studies of information event. In the fall semester, SSIRG hosted Paul N. Edwards for a two-day visit to campus as part of the SSIRG Speaker Series. Edwards is Professor in the School of Information and the Department of History at the University of Michigan and author of A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming (2013, MIT Press) as well as The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America (1997, MIT Press). To coincide with Edwards’ visit, the SSIRG held its first reading group, where interested members read and discussed Edwards’ A Vast Machine. Fall events also included two co-sponsored film screenings “My Perestroika” (2010), with an introduction and discussion by director Robin Hessman, and “A Belorussian Dream” (2011, Ekaterina Kibalchich). On December 6, 2013, SSIRG hosted its second Social Studies of Information Social to bring on campus SSIRG participants together for networking.
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Sunday, October 12, 2014 8:30am - 12:00pm Last year SOIS took home the award for the largest team! Let’s do it again this year!
Sign-up Today to be a part of the SOIS Panther Prowl Team “The Red Elevators” Register online at: https://www4.uwm.edu/pantherprowl/
For information about the Social Studies of Information Research Group as well as its current and past events, please visit http://www.socialstudiesof.info/.
RGIR UPDATES
Research Group for Information Retrieval RGIR sponsored two presentations during the Spring Semester. Dr. Catherine Blake, Associate Professor in the iSchool (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois spoke on “ Representing Biological Responses to Chemical Exposures using the Claim Framework” and Dr. Soo Young Rieh, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan who presented on “Credibility Assessment of User-Generated Content”.
For information about the Research Group for Information Retrieval as well as its current and past events, please visit http://research.sois.uwm.edu/rgir/.
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
Faculty/Staff UPDATES Presentations Kozak, N., Co-organized full day workshop on “Exploring the Social Studies of Information” at the iConference, Berlin, Germany (March 4, 2014). Peekhaus, W. (June 2013). Conceptualizing and Challenging the Capitalist Academic Publishing Model. International Association for Media and Communication Research Annual Conference in Dublin, Ireland Peekhaus, W. (January 2014). Presented a paper as part of the following panel: Parttime and Adjunct Faculty SIG Panel: “Casualties and Collateral Damages: A Critical Look at Educational Entrepreneurship in LIS” Title of paper: ““Educational Entrepreneurship”: Undermining LIS’s Professional and Disciplinary Foundations”. ALISE 2014 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA Peekhaus, W. “‘Educational Entrepreneurship’: Undermining LIS’s Professional and Disciplinary Foundations”, Association for Library and Information Science Education Annual Conference. Philadelphia, PA (January, 2014). Wolfram, D. (July 2013). The Symbiotic Relationship Between Bibliometrics and Information Retrieval. 14th International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics Vienna, Austria. Wang, F., Wolfram, D., & Zhao, Y. (November 2013). The Use of Citing Journal Topicality to Assess Journal Relatedness: Results from Two Investigations. American Society for Information Science and Technology Annual Meeting. Metrics 2013 Workshop. Montreal, Canada. Wolfram, D. (2013). The Symbiotic Rela-
26 | Inside SOIS
tionship Between Bibliometrics and Information Retrieval. 14th International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics Pre-conference. Vienna, Austria. (July 15, 2013). Wolfram, D., Wang, F., & Zhao Y. (2013). The Use of Citing Journal Topicality to Assess Journal Relatedness: Results from Two Investigations. American Society for Information Science and Technology Annual Meeting. Metrics 2013 Workshop. Montreal, Canada. (November 2, 2013).
Publications Hooper, L. and Force, D. Keeping Time: An Introduction to Archival Best Practices for Music Librarians. Madison, WI: A-R Editions, Inc., 2014. Kozak, N. (2014). Local Communities and Home Rule: Extending the Alberta SuperNet to Unserved Areas. The Journal of Community Informatics. 10(2). Lor, P.J. 2013. Burning libraries for the people: questions and challenges for the library profession in South Africa. Libri 63(4): 359-372. Lor, P.J. 2014. Revitalizing comparative library and information science: theory and metatheory. Journal of documentation 70(1):25-51. Peekhaus, W. (2013). Resistance is fertile: Canadian struggles on the biocommons. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. Lu, K., Ajiferuke, I., & Wolfram, D. (2013). Extending citer-based analysis to journal impact evaluation. In J. Gorraiz et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International So-
ciety for Scientometrics and Informetrics Conference (pp. 755-768). Han, H.J., Joo, S., & Wolfram, D. (2013). Tales from transaction logs: User search session patterns in an image-based digital library. In Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science. Available: http://www. cais-acsi.ca/proceedings/2013/HanJooWolfram_submission_23.pdf. Lu, K., Ajiferuke, I., & Wolfram, D. (2013). Extending citer-based analysis to journal impact evaluation. In J. Gorraiz et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics Conference (pp. 755-768). Hong, Yi, Zeng ML,Zhang J, Dimitroff A and Kahn CE. (2013). Application of standardized biomedical terminologies in radiology reporting templates. Information Services & Use 33(3-4):309-323. Zimmer, M. (2014). Librarian attitudes regarding information and Internet privacy. Library Quarterly, 84(2), 123-151. Zimmer, M. (2014, February 4). Mark Zuckerberg’s theory of privacy. The Washington Post, C1-C2.
Service Wolfram, D., Papers and Notes Co-chair for the iConference. Berlin, Germany. (March 2014).
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BOOKS...
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New Directions in the Middle East Mohammed M. Aman (Author), Mary Jo Aman (Editor)
Recent publications by SOIS faculty
6/16/2014 Publisher: Westphalia Press ISBN-10: 194147201X
Cultural Synergy in Information Institutions Richard P. Smiraglia 7/15/2014 Publisher: Springer, 2014 edition ISBN-10: 1493912488
Middle East Conflicts & Reforms Mohammed M. Aman (Author), Mary Jo Aman (Editor) 6/16/2014 Publisher: Westphalia Press ISBN-10: 1941472001
Measuring Scholarly Impact: Methods and Practices Ying Ding (Editor), Ronald Rousseau (Editor), Dietmar Wolfram (Editor)
Keeping Time: An Introduction to Archival Best Practices for Music Librarians
11/14/2014 Publisher: Springer, 2014 edition ISBN: 3319103768
Lisa Hooper (Author), Donald C Force (Author) 01/01/2014 Publisher: A-R Editions, Inc ISBN-10: 0895797860
Library Trends, Volume 62, Number 4, Spring 2014 The West Bend Challenges: Open Access and Intellectual Freedom in the Twenty-First Century Issue Editors: Joyce M. Latham and Barbara M. Jones The entire issue is a case study of the controversies in West Bend, WI in 2009 which centered on YA materials for gay youth. The collection involves a stellar configuration of scholars addressing the various aspects of the conflicts involving the West Bend Community Library. Michael Zimmer and Adriana McCleer situate the library challenge in the larger social context; Loretta M. Gaffney addresses the issue of YA literature and its relationship to conservative activism; Emily Knox engages an analysis of the various interpretations of “censorship” as a broader concept, and a specific one within the West Bend debates; Mark C.E. Peterson explores the role of the counter-movement within the controversy, and the question of whether a public sphere can actually function
in American society; Jean Preer surveyed the challenge process within Wisconsin public libraries, and produces a trenchent analysis of “best practices” for addressing intellectual freedom practices within a public library’s community. This issue provides an in-depth analysis of multiple strands that comprise an IF challenge today and will hopefully be useful not only in stimulating further study of IF and public libraries and the public sphere, but also provide a resource for studying the impact of IF on the role of the public library.
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SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE
20th Annual Conference & Exhibition of Special Libraries Association (Arabian Gulf Chapter) SOIS Assistant Professor Shana Ponelis attended and presented at the 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition of Special Libraries Association (Arabian Gulf Chapter) held in Doha, Qatar. Dr. Ponelis’ presentation, “Librarians as Changemakers: the Role of Intrapreneurship in Librarianship” was part of a discussion panel entitled, The Role of Information Professionals in the Knowledge Based Society. Other panelist included, David Rooney, Associate Professor at UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, and Dr. Khaled A Mohamed, Associate Professor, Dept. of Library and Information, Fayoum University. Prof. Hesham Azmi, Dean, College of Media & Mass Communication, American University in the Emirates (AUE) was the session chair. Dr. Azmi previously spent time at UWM during his doctoral research. An additional highlight of the conference was the keynote address, “A New Generation of Technologies for Libraries and Information Centers,” by Marshall Breeding, creator and editor of Library Technology Guides and the lib-web-cats online directory.
Pictured above (L to R) - Dr. David Rooney, University of Queensland; Dr. Hesham Azmi, American University in the Emirates, Dr. Shana Ponelis, UW-Mlwaukee
“I very much appreciate the opportunity to participate in the conference, meet and interact with the other delegates and learn about the many exciting library initiatives under way in the Gulf region. Our panel linked well to the the host country’s national development plan, Qatar National Vision 2030, which seeks to transform Qatar from a carbon-based economy to a knowledge-based one by unlocking human potential.”
Shana Ponelis, Assistant Professor
SOIS Student Orgs
STUDENT ORG SOCIAL MEDIA
PA R T I C I PAT E !
http://linkedin.com (UWM-SOIS:Student Organization)
The SOIS Student Organizations plan social and academic events, help develop academic programs, bring student issues to administrators’ attention and much more! Examples of past events and activities include: LAN Parties, SOIS Town Hall Meetings, Summer BBQs, Resume Building Workshops and the mighty SOIS Dodgeball Team!
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If you have an idea for a new event or just want to get involved, now is the time! Contact the SOIS Student Orgs online at soisorg.uwm.edu or by email at sois-ugso@uwm.edu.
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http://facebook.com/soisstudentorg
Facebook - UG https://www.facebook.com/ SOISUGStudentOrg http://twitter.com/soisorg
INFORMATION our focus INTERNATIONAL our scope INTERDISCIPLINARY our mindset
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ALUMNI UPDATES Brittany Dudek, MLIS 2011 Named to Library Journal’s list of “Mover’s & Shakers (Marketers) 2014 http://lj.libraryjournal.com/category/people/moversshakers-2014/
Catherine Sering, MLIS 2013 Job Update: Reference Librarian, Sioux City Public Library
Alexis Logsdon, MLIS 2011 Job Update: Reference & Instruction Librarian, Macalester College
Makiia Lucier, MLIS ‘07 Publishes New Book Makiia Lucier’s debut novel, A DEATHSTRUCK YEAR, about a seventeenyear-old student in Portland, Oregon who risks her heart and her life when she volunteers for the Red Cross during the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on March 4, 2014. Makiia grew up on the Pacific island of Guam. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and a masters in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. For more information, please visit www.makiialucier.com.
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We’d love to hear from you! We invite all SOIS
CONNECTING to SOIS It has been a pleasure meeting so many SOIS alumni this past year. Whether it has been at SOIS reunions at conferences or the new Happy Hours SOIS has been sponsoring, I have very much enjoyed seeing the wide variety of professionals SOIS has sent out into the world. Equally exciting is the commitment showed by friends and alumni alike to the mission of both the SOIS undergraduate and graduate programs. There are many ways alumni can get involved but one of the most important is philanthropy. Many people think philanthropy involves a lot of money but this is not the case. Any contribution to the School helps promote our undergraduate and graduate program by making both more accessible to students. In addition planned giving is another vehicle that allows you to have a significant impact on SOIS and the future of information education. Planned giving is a way to create new scholarship opportunities while making the gift in a deliberate manner years from now.
students, alumni and friends to send us your
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Give me a call or send a note. Let’s start a conversation. I look forward to meeting you or seeing you again at conferences, happy hours or any of our gatherings.
story? Let us know! Visit the Alumni & Friends
Richard Kessler, Development Director
website to contact us and share your news!
kessle23@uwm.edu | 414-229-6890
news and updates for possible inclusion in future
www.uwm.edu/sois/alumni_friends/update.cfm or Email: rjhall@uwm.edu Summer 2014 | 29
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