Library and Archives Projects 

I first secured funding for this project through the Edmonton Community Foundation.  Together with the board president we hired a fantastic Archivist Assistant.  Because of this project we were able to get through 10 years of backlog and describe over 200 fonds then add them to an online searchable database (Alberta on Record).

I had a number of opportunities to showcase the JAHSENA collection at local community events.

The event below was a film festival.

1. - Introduction: Chronic pain is defined by a majority of sources, pain that lasts for more than 3 months appearing after onset injury or illness, however at times it may appear without pre-existing ailments.  This globally prevalent condition effects millions of North Americans.  Though pain is uncomfortable it is necessary to feel, for pain helps humans recognize illness and injury.  Pain sources may vary, leading to other injuries or having psychological/behavioural implications (ei: sleep deprivation, depression).  Chronic pain desensitizes the nervous system to pain sensation, as pain is felt nerves and cells send signals to the brain.  To someone dealing with chronic pain, the repetition of stimulation never “turns off”, leaving them to feel pain more often than not.  Though there are methods in dealing with chronic pain; being in patient programs and pain medication.  However, this support isn’t 24/7 and chronic pain needs to be assessed regularly for pain management to work most effectively.  The research question for this review is as follows:

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1.1 – Research Question: What are the pain management resources, programs, and support systems for adults in North America dealing with chronic pain and in need of outpatient care?  

1. - Methods: For sources to be included in this review, studies had to meet certain requirements.  1. Focus on adults (18-64 years old), 2. conducted in North America, and 3. published between 2010-2020.

2.1 - Data sources: Three databases were used to search for literature: Library & Information Science Abstracts (LISA), Library Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), and the McGill Library.  A combination of these keyword searches were applied; “chronic pain”, “pain management”, “adults” and “opioids”.   Limits were applied to all searches; peer reviewed and limited by date (2010-2020).

I mediated a panel titled  Growing up in Edmonton, which was a 3 part speaker series.  Discussing varrying experiences of growing up in Edmonton from First Nations and Jewish perspectives.

Title - Barriers graduate students experience accessing archives for research

Abstract : Archives are typically not open to the public for anyone and everyone to access.  But for graduate students do they still feel barriers when accessing archives?  Do they have the archival literacy to support their research or feel comfortable asking for help if they aren’t sure.

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Objective: To understand what barriers graduates students perceive and experience with regard to their research.  Whether it is necessary for them to access archives and get information specifically from archives in order for them to be successful in their research and academic endeavours.

Methods: Using Microsoft Forms and Zoom to conduct interviews and questionnaires.  Followed by a data analysis, of coding, taking raw data and turning into qualitative and quantitative data.

Findings: Graduate students both users and non-users of archives feel they have a limited knowledge bank of archival literacy.  Only find resources from archives when they absolutely need to for research purposes and mainly try to use other resources that are more accessible first (pdf, or digital file/pictures).

Conclusion: Lack of outreach has left many graduate students feeling as though they do not know how or where to start when it comes to accessing archives.  Streamlined policies and curriculum on archival literacy would help this issue greatly.

photo: Library of Congress

After a few hardworking volunteers catalogued and labelled over 2000 books.  I planned a library launch - information session.  Where I showed members of the organizations and patrons how to search the online catalog and take out books.  Prior to the Information Session I conduced a User Study to best determine how the catalog should be designed for the most user friendly experience.  We formed a committee and established policies so the collection can now be a lending library.

I was able to secure funding from the Edmonton Heritage Council to attend the ACJS conference where I met with scholars and academics.  Concluding the conference I participated in a panel titled Gateways and Gatekeepers, explaining the Archives place in the research process.

While working at the Blackfalds Library I created an interactive display for a Library Consortium wide contest.  The theme of our displays all included books with the concept of a journey.  I used books from all sections of the library, not just the children's section.