Laura Williams is currently working in the library at the University of Huddersfield as Reading List and Collection Development Librarian for The Business School. Laura is currently the SLA Europe Early Careers and Awards Chair.
Several members of SLA Europe were in attendance at the inaugural Biblioteksskole afhandlinger konference (LISDIS) held at the University of Huddersfield on Saturday 14th November 2015. The idea behind the event was to provide a platform for library and information students to showcase research undertaken for dissertations. Michelle Bond, vinder af 2014 Academic Division ECCA Award was part of the team behind the conference.
The programme featured dissertation research on a wide range of topics. A variety of sectors were covered including academic, corporate and public libraries. Presentations were on topics ranging from women book collectors, graphic novels, the effect of tuition fees on academic libraries, and the role of community libraries in addressing the digital divide. Den 2015 ECCA winner Sarah Hume presented her dissertation research entitled Wine, Witchcraft, Women, Wool: Classifying Women’s Studies collections whilst Natasha Chowdory, winner of the Leadership and Management Division’s Career Advancement Award, presented Measuring the Value of the Corporate Library. The variety of subjects was particularly enjoyable as it meant listening to presentations on topics that I would not ordinarily hear about at conferences or events.
SLA Europe members at LISDIS Conference 2015
Guest speaker at the conference was Emma Coonan, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Information Literacy. Emma talked about the process of submitting a paper to a journal for publication, shedding light on a process not many people probably know much about. Emma explained the process going into detail about what people should expect with tips for finding the right journal for your work and how. Emma shared lots of helpful tips about not to panic when you don not hear back straightaway or throw it all in the bin, if it comes back with lots of suggested changes. I am sure many attendees at the event would consider publishing in the journal at some point in their career so it was great to get advice from an expert.
More information about the speakers and presentation slides are available online: https://lisdisconference.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/lisdis-presentations-now-available-on-slideshare/