FOTIM Notes

Closure of FOTIM

The FOTIM Board have decided to close the foundation and to find new homes for the programmes. Please read the letter here. We are all busy trying to negotiate a friendly “take over” for all the programmes. The FOTIM Office has closed permanently on the Wits Campus.  We bid a sad farewell to Lorraine Young who ran the office for the past year or so. The virtual offices will be closing for the Summer break from the 15^th December until early in 2011 and any further contact with the foundation can be made directly through the programme managers.

We hope to continue for a few months still to enable us to shut down all processes and finish off all projects but we will not be planning anything new.

VUMA! Portal Notes

The Vuma! portal continues to be developed and add value to the student first year and adapting to student life experiences.  Some of the new content is in the form of Toolkits that help students to deal with such issues as money matter, careers choices, financial aid advice and the overall education system in South Africa.  These kits have been developed for students to access information, quizzes, videos, fast facts and more aimed at helping students adjust and make the most of university and life.   We encourage you to register and try them out.

MONEY TOOLKIT – information on banking, budgeting and spending. Videos, quizzes, fast facts, glossary and more.

CAREER TOOLKIT – Start mapping your career today. Access information, quizzes, videos, and start your own Career Log.

FINANCIAL AID TOOLKIT – Find out more about all your financial aid options. Information, quizzes, fast facts, glossary and more.

STUDY GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION TOOLKIT – This is a good place to brush up on the study options available to you in South Africa. Access tons of resources, quizzes and more to learn about how the South Education system works and how it can benefit you as a student.

Disability Project

The SALIT Project

Thank you to all for their participation in our survey. The results are being analysed and the report is scheduled to come out in early 2011.

Hopefully you have all received your video on the training of library staff  as well.  Read about the Open Rose group here >>>>>

The South African Library for the Blind in proud to announce that its catalog is now available to all on the Library’s Website. www.salb.org.za

Access, library exceptions named top WIPO priorities
At the November meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) a 2-year plan was drawn up to improve access for the print disabled and identify potential library exceptions in international treaty agreements. (District Dispatch, Nov. 15)

Text to Speech: “Elsevier Enables Its E-Books to Read Aloud, Increasing Access for People with Print Disabilities” December 8, 2010 17:33  Read the article from Resource Shelf

Objective 2 Build capacity through identification and provision of training needs and services for the optimal utilization of resources

Disability Notes

EBooks: “DAISY to Epub converter announced by Don Johnston Inc.” Don Johnston Incorporated, announced a new software conversion tool, DAISYtoEPUB. This tool converts DAISY 3 (Digital Accessible Information System) electronic files into EPUB, an XML format to easily navigate through digital books and publications.  Read more>>>

Capacity Building  Notes

• Training? Now more than ever by Betha Gutsche

“As trainers, we don’t question the value of staff development” But do our managers, directors, and funding agencies agree with us?. Here are two reasons why training is essential and three key efforts for moving it forward.”…  (ALA Learning, Nov. 30)

• The academic librarian’s identity conflict

Stephen Bell writes about our role in higher education and where we fit into the structure of colleges and universities…
(from ACRLog, Dec. 1)

• Is it our job to teach? Read what Eveline Houtman has to say in “Trying to figure it out”: Academic librarians talk about learning to teach” in Library and Information Research, Vol 34, No 107 (2010) . Full Text: PDF

• Libraries and digital access

British Library Chief Executive Lynne Brindley writes: “To continue to play their part in enriching the cultural life of the nation, libraries and archives are going to have to work fast and take the digital lead.

• Read the British Library’s 10-year strategy plan.

2020 Vision (PDF file)

• See the British Library online exhibition that showcases 21st-century research tools…. ,       Growing Knowledge: The Evolution of Research, (The Telegraph (U.K.), Oct. 15)

• ARL’s 2030 scenarios on the future roles of researcher and collections

Read the guide to scenario planning, which identifies four main areas.  By Lynn Blumenstein

1. The Research Entrepreneur
2. Reuse and Recycle .
3. Disciplines in Charge .
4. Global Followers .

or Read more about the scenario project here  project’s website.

or the four scenarios

or Read the comments on the  roles of the librarian in the 4 scenarios by Jennifer Howard         Four very different futures imagined for academic libraries (from Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 19; Association of Research Libraries, Oct. 19)

• The Unknown cataloguer

” So, let’s hear it for the Unknown Cataloger playing her or his part in the sublime mission of preserving and transmitting the human record and the more mundane task of enabling the discoveries of Professor Hebden-Snorkel and her many colleagues that will, if all goes well, …..”   Read more>>>

Gaming

Celebrating National Gaming Day
Read about a National Gaming Day and other gaming resources such as Games and Gaming Resources wiki, especially the Advocacy and Gaming and Literacy sections, the Librarian’s Guide to Gaming.  (from AL: Ask the ALA Librarian, Oct. 26)

Look also at this useful list of links ………..The Connection Between Literacy and Gaming

FOTIM Notes

The GAELIC Strategic Plan

GAELIC Summer Camp 2010– don’t forget to mark this event in your diary (15-19^th November) National Library of South Africa auditorium Pretoria.

Day 1 Marketing Fair

Day 2:  Reference staff and subject librarians.

Day 3 : Technical services and the IT services (incl system) staff

Day 4: Support staff and administrative staff

Day 5: “Labour relations”

Details to follow soon

VUMA! Project

VUMA!    for study information and resources including the Study Skills Tutorials.

The UNI Reviews area is a dedicated space for students to access information regarding all 23 public universities in SouthAfrica and share information.  Click here for access >>>

Disability Project

The Ford DMS Project  to investigate disability services in higher education on a national level is progressing well. Disability Management Services (DMS) has been contracted to undertake the research component of the project. As part of this project,benchmarking activities will be conducted by the Project Team members. Anlia Pretorius, Diane Bell and Tanya Healey visited various institutions in the United Kingdom from 2 – 12 October to assess what constitutes best practice at disability units in England.   Read more here>>>>

SALIT Project

The SALIT sponsored GAELIC project investigating library services to users with disabilities and is progressing well and we had responses to our survey from 8 of our members. Results have been recorded and the project is moving into the next phase of benchmarking for evaluation of the local results.

FOTIM Notes

Vuma! notes

Make use of the new  Bursary Guide which is an easily searchable Guide has been developed to provide information listing a number of organizations that offer bursaries at South African universities in 2011

Disability Notes

If you are asked to complete the survey on Library Services to Users with Disabilities please make sure that you are the right person or please pass it on and ensure that it is returned asap so that we can start to compile the results.

Disability Notes

GAELIC is working closely with the FOTIM Disability group to conduct a survey into the current status of library service provision to users with disabilities. We are about to send out the survey and appeal to all who receive it to participate so that your institution can be reflected in this very worthwhile exercise. Let us know if you would also like to participate by sending an email to tanya@fotim.ac.za

Disability Notes

Accessible e-Books – New best practice guide for publishing industry, a report on how  to make electronic book reading more accessible to people with disabilities by the implementation of existing technologies.. Read morefrom the Headstar Bulletin May  2010 >>>>>>>

The Internet Archive launched a new Open Library service during May to bring free access to more than 1 million books for visually challenges persons. Digitized into DAISY, the files can be downloaded to devices that translate the text and read the books aloud for the user to enjoy.

Watch a YouTube video (4:08) about DAISY.   Read more from the Internet Archive, May  2010

Elsevier wins an award for making resources accessible to disabled people Read more here>>>>

Many thanks to the CILIP Newsletter for many of the articles used

Disability Notes

GAELIC is working with the FOTIM Disability Group on a proposal to investigate services to library users with disabilities. Please contact the GAELIC Office if you have any interest in this area.

IFLA and DISABILITY

Read about the update on copyright developments within WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) discussed at the 19th Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. Topics included: educational exceptions; visually impaired readers; audio-visual issues and broadcasting rights.
JISC TechDis launches a tool to improve internet accessibility: an internet browser tool making information on the web more accessible for everyone, especially disabled users. (from IWR News Desk, Information World Review 20 Jan 2010)

The president of the National Federation of the Blind, (the oldest and largest organization of blind people in the US,) addressed staff at the Library of Congress on the 21^st January, 2010 on the need for digital information, including electronic books, to be made available to the blind

Students with print disabilities will soon have access to a larger library of web-based college textbooks. (by Dennis Carter, Dec 15th, 2009) Read more>>>>

FOTIM Notes

The Vuma! portal steams ahead with many new developments and enhancements. Through the sterling efforts of Lawson and Anke and their visits to the members, registrations on the site are growing daily and the target of 10 000 will soon be reached. Mon 26 April, 2010:  April Total – 9,649 and counting……

Look out for the Campus Champions and give them your support. 10 students were selected across the 9 FOTIM member institutions to serve as Campus Champions and have been trained and equipped with information and materials to serve as VUMA! student ambassadors Read more>>>

Disability Programme: GAELIC members attended the FOTIM Disability group meeting and held discussions with members on how the library and disability units can work together to provide better services to users with disabilities. This is the initial discussion to set the scene for the library investigation into best practices for users with disabilities investigation that has been sponsored by the SALI Trust. We thank all who participated and ask you to keep your eyes out for our questionnaires and to volunteer if this is an area of specific interest to you too. Contact Carole at the GAELIC Office.   

Objective 2 Build capacity through identification and provision of training needs and services for the optimal utilization of resources

Disability Notes

New technology gives deaf and blind people greater ability to communicate.

Watch the video >>>