ODESI | BUSY SUMMER | FLC | AWARD | LARGE FORMAT SCANNING
<odesi> - A Voyage in Data Discovery
ANDREW NICHOLSON
As an instructor, have you ever struggled with finding research data for your courses? Have you had difficulty fitting in time for software instruction so students can fully grasp course content? A commonly heard complaint of instructors is the loss of valuable class time teaching statistical software instead of content. In an effort to rectify such issues, the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) has launched the <odesi> data portal . Co-funded by the “OntarioBuys” program, the <odesi> data portal provides access to an enormous amount of historical and current Canadian research data. Go to <odesi> to search for statistics under topic categories including:
- Agriculture
- Business and Financial
- Census of Population
- Communication
- Consumer Surveys
- Crime and Justice
- Demographics and Population
- Education
- Government Finances and Economic Indicators
- Elections and Politics
- Health
- Labour and Employment
- Natural Resources and Environment
- Public Opinion Polls
- Social Surveys
- Trade
- Travel
What makes <odesi> especially powerful for faculty and students is its online data analysis capability. Users can now select variables from the online datasets and perform frequencies, correlations, and other statistical analysis that could only have been done using software packages like SPSS or SAS. Moreover, access and the analysis of the data through <odesi> can be done 24 hours a day wherever a secure internet connection is available.
For more advanced analysis, users can also download the data from <odesi> into a variety of file formats for migrating to other statistical software.
For more information, contact Andrew Nicholson, GIS/Data Librarian at andrew.nicholson@utoronto.ca
Busy Summer! - Upgrading Wireless Technology in the Library
SUSAN SENESEThe Library Systems Team enjoyed a busy summer upgrading the HMALC building’s wireless infrastructure to keep pace with the ever expanding appetite of students for wireless access in the HMALC. With more and more laptops being used in the Library every semester, the demand for high speed, wireless network service was already far exceeding wireless capacity. Working with Computing Services, the wireless infrastructure in the library was completely replaced with a new, high capacity solution that will meet needs even at the busiest times of the day. The new Xirrus wireless technology also sets the stage for the Library’s smooth transition to supporting the new, soon to be ratified 802.11n wireless networking standard.
Wireless Printing has come to the Library! Students can now enjoy wireless printing from their laptops – another new service put in place to satisfy high demand!
We welcome twelve new technology student assistants to help support student IT needs in the Library. Our twelve new student hires help their peers with their technology related questions and problems. Last year, from September 07 – April 08, the student based HIT (Help with Information Technology) Squad answered almost 5,000 questions from their fellow students! We are anticipating another very busy year!
Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre
PAM KINGOn Monday, August 11, the UT Mississauga held the Ceremonial Opening of the Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre. The Centre, realized with a generous gift from Dr. and Mrs Ronald Fook Shiu Li, is named after Dr. Li’s father, a noted philanthropist and founder of the Far East Stock Exchange at Hong Kong and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd.
This state-of-the-art classroom facility, which houses 32 public computers, will make possible a range of new and experiential learning initiatives for UT Mississauga students in finance, accounting, economics, mathematics, psychology and related disciplines. Located on Level 1 of the HMALC, the classroom is truly an engaging space with an 8 colour electronic ticker-tape display - the first in Canada, and a custom designed digital news display which will keep students up-to-date with minute-by-minute international stock exchange reports and financial news.
The Library is currently undergoing a search for the Director of the Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre, a position that will be instrumental in developing this Centre into a world-class teaching and learning facility.
Those in attendance for the opening included Dr. and Mrs Ronald Fook Shiu Li, Mayor Hazel McCallion, V.P. & Principal Ian Orchard, UT Mississauga’s Chief Librarian, Mary Ann Mavrinac as well as students, staff and community members who have followed the progress of this remarkable learning environment.
Innovation in Sustainable Design – the HMALC is a Winner
PAM KINGLibrary Staff cheered this summer with the announcement of the winners of the 2008 Library Interior Design Competition. The biennial awards are presented by the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association. The HMALC was the winner of the Innovation in Sustainable Design Award.
Receiving the award at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, California were Mary Ann Mavrinac, Chief Librarian and Andrew Frontini, representing Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners, Toronto. In her e-mail to library staff, Mary Ann noted: “It was an incredible honour to receive this award amongst our North American library peers across all sectors of libraries. We were the only Canadian award winner, and in viewing the other project submissions that received awards, we were in a very select group.”
Go Digital with your Research!
ANDREW NICHOLSONDo you have paper documents that you are interested in digitizing? Maybe hand drawn maps or plans that you want to visualize on your computer? The U of T Mississauga Library can help you migrate your valuable research into a digital and sustainable format for the future.
On the third floor of the Library is the AstraZeneca Canada Centre for Information & Technological Literacy. Inside the Centre are two scanners:
An Epson 3000 11x17 flatbed scanner-ideal for photos, text pages, etc
A Contex G600 Wide Format scanner-perfect for large maps, architectural drawings, plans, research manifestos
Each scanner is self serve (UTORid required) and scans are free of charge. Staff assistance is also available.
For those who were interested in digitizing features of their research such as new nature trails, commuter patterns, cycle paths, or boundaries of a study site, the Centre also has a tablet digitizer for capturing document or map features from paper into a digital format for use in Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand or other specialized software. Once in a digital format, image layers can then be used with other digital content to develop new works
For more information on creating digital content from your research, please contact Andrew Nicholson, GIS/Data Librarian.
