ANNUAL REPORT 2022
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We acknowledge the land for sustaining us and for providing us with the necessities of life. This territory is covered by the Dish with One Spoon treaty and the Two Row Wampum treaty which emphasize the importance of joint stewardship, peace and respectful relationships. As we reflect on land acknowledgements, let us remember that we are all stewards of the land and of each other.
Sheridan campuses reside on land which has been and still is the traditional territory of several Indigenous nations, including the Anishnaabe, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Wendat, the Metis and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Since time immemorial, numerous Indigenous nations and Indigenous peoples have lived and passed through this territory.
Sheridan affirms it is our collective responsibility to honour the land, as we honour and respect those who have gone before us, those who are here and those who have yet to come We are grateful for the opportunity to be learning, working and thriving on this land
Sheridan Library is the place learners come to build critical thinking skills, discover and create knowledge, and find community in technology-rich and welcoming study spaces. We advance teaching, learning and research by providing equitable access to high quality scholarly information and scaffolding digital and information literacy across the curriculum We partner in the research process, providing expert guidance on scholarly communication and publishing, and facilitating access to resources that enable researchers to effectively communicate their findings to the wider academic community and engage in knowledge mobilization. Our customized library solutions and collections are aligned to industry and disciplinary needs and help prepare students for a complex world.
Dear library community,
Digital transformation is leading to a paradigm shift in how we perceive and experience our information society. Library expertise in teaching information literacy (including digital, data and visual literacies) through the scholarly research process empowers learners to become informed consumers who are less susceptible to the pitfalls of misinformation and disinformation abetted by new technologies.
By connecting learners to communities of knowledge in a safe and welcoming environment and by teaching them how to mobilize their knowledge to a global audience, learners can build the knowledge and confidence required to design the creative innovations needed to transform today’s economy for the benefit of the greater good.
Reflecting on 2022, the library promoted academic success by focusing on the six key strategies outlined in this report: 1. Equip learners with critical thinking competencies developed through information literacy instruction; 2. Empower knowledge creators; 3. Leverage technology to prepare learners for a digital future; 4 Centre the user experience in all library activities and spaces; 5. Engage for broader impact and 6. Model a lifelong learning mindset. The six strategies were underpinned with a promise to embrace innovation, to build meaningful partnerships, and to embed equity, diversity, inclusivity, decolonization and sustainability into all library activities.
I extend my gratitude to our library staff for their dedication to empowering learners to be information-literate, a key component to success in daily lifewide learning and in their lifelong learning journey.
Kind regards,
Marian Traynor Director, Library and Research Support ServicesIn 2022, faculty librarians taught 566 research and citation classes and reached 12,300 students. While most instruction sessions returned to in-person and synchronous delivery following the pandemic, virtual delivery remained popular especially for programs with high numbers of international learners
The library teaching and learning program increased its student reach by 25% in comparison to 2021. This increase can be attributed to librarians seeing continued success in building relationships with teaching faculty and embedding online learning modules that develop research skills, along with customized research guides, directly scaffolded into curriculum where they are accessible to a larger number of course sections and a greater number of learners These efforts support our goal of providing equitable access for learners to develop information literacy skills and to develop their research abilities over the length of their studies.
Library Instruction Statistics (reported to College Libraries Ontario for April 1, 2021 – March 30, 2022)*
Number of classes taught 493
Asynchronous classes taught 140
Number of students taught 12,303
The faculty liaison librarian team supports quality assurance at Sheridan by providing data-informed evidence and recommendations related to library collections, spaces, and the library's teaching and learning program, as part of the college's review and accreditation processes These insights are used to inform program enhancements In 2022 the library participated in approximately 25 reviews and accreditations Due to a faculty labour disruption in Ontario’s colleges in 2022, the regular process of consulting with faculty and planning for implementation of library recommendations did not occur
In 2022, faculty in the new Honours Bachelor of Social and Community Development (HBSCD) program approached Karen Lints, FAHCS Liaison Librarian, to ask for her involvement in building a series of synchronous and asynchronous workshops for students focused on research and data topics.
The library’s expertise in research and data literacy made our department the ideal partner to help learners develop their knowledge around research methods. The workshop series was embedded into the research-intensive course CSRV 32521 which all HBBSCD students take in their first year.
After meeting with HBBSCD professors to learn more about the needs of their students, Karen reached out to Nicole Zhang, Business & Data Librarian, and together they designed and implemented a signature learning experience for HBSCD students.
To begin the pilot, Karen Lints facilitated workshops on core information literacy skills including the identification of empirical articles, peerreview process, and database search techniques. Students were tasked with creating a literature review, which was a new assignment format for many of them, so the workshops taught skills that related to this assignment guideline. These workshops were paired with drop-in virtual office hours as students required customized research and assignment support
Nicole Zhang further supported research skills development through the design of asynchronous tutorials on data literacy. These tutorials covered a range of topics including finding data, utilizing Excel for research, and creating a survey with Qualtrics. The tutorials helped students to locate secondary data through library collections and Statistics Canada to support their survey analysis by demonstrating how to create a survey, pivot tables, and chart the data in Excel The impact of this tutorial is expressed by the course instructor:
“You have done such a great job of explaining the functionality within Excel in a way students can apply immediately to their own research without having to go through countless hours of online training for the same. Your instructions are clear and thorough and are going to be such a great help to our students "
As a next step in this curriculum integration project, Sam Cheng, OER & Copyright Services Librarian, has partnered with Karen Lints on an asynchronous module focused on research dissemination, publishing, and Open Educational Resources. Nicole Zhang also continues to build modules for course integration on data topics.
COMM 66200 is mandatory course in the Academic and Career Entrance (ACE) Certificate, a certificate that acts as a high school equivalent for admission to college programs The program’s connection with Sandra Shoufani, Business and CAPS Librarian, has grown organically over the last 7 years and has been driven in large
part by students who recognized the importance of research and citation skills in their learning journeys.
The course helps learners build communication strategies in reading, writing and oral communications. These fundamental skills are required for success in Sheridan College programs and employment beyond graduation. Students entering the ACE Certificate come from a variety of social, cultural and educational backgrounds but are typically united in their motivation for success. The ACE COMM course materials scaffolds increasingly complex written and oral modules, slowly building up learners in their journey toward a written persuasive research report worth 20% of their final mark.
Sandra Shoufani, Business and CAPS Librarian, was invited into an ACE classroom for the first time in spring 2016 to support student learning for their annotated bibliography assignment. Working closely with the instructor, Sandra evolved her lesson to support an additional research assignment focused on persuasive writing.
From 2017 through to 2022, Sandra worked with a variety of ACE COMM instructors, visiting classes around week 8 to provide instruction in support of the two assignments, focusing on the research process, selecting keywords and accessing articles from the library databases The information literacy instruction provided by Sandra emphasized concepts first introduced by course instructors and enhanced that content with Boolean searching, providing templates for searching as well as classroom activities.
Sandra’s involvement in the program continued to evolve, when in fall 2022, student questions and curiosities about APA citation bubbled to the surface and she responded with a citation lesson designed to meet students ‘where they were” so they could better understand the importance, as well as the mechanics, of successfully citing information sources. The students responded well, and in fact, they wanted more!
Sandra returned for a second workshop on citation and heard the following:
“As always, the students raved about you You have a way of delivering information in such a calm and kind way I also appreciate how you understand our demographics.”
By scaffolding information literacy instruction alongside the curriculum delivered by course instructors, students were better able to develop their skills in research and communications.
In January 2021, faculty teaching in the Electrical and Plumbing programs of Magna School of Skilled Trades reached out to Gouthami Vigneswaran, FAST Liaison & Digital Resources Librarian, to investigate options to access the latest electrical codebook and CSA standards, which are required texts for the programs.
The faculty members’ primary objective was to find a sustainable solution to access these teaching materials online because accessing hardcopy curriculum resources was difficult during the pandemic. After meeting with the professors and the Associate Dean to learn more about the students and faculty needs, Gouthami consulted with the CSA sales staff to inquire about the CSA OnDemand platform, including its codebook and standards collections, access models and pricing. She also tapped into the Ontario Colleges Library Service (OCLS) consortium to drive down the cost with the vendor and negotiate a more costeffective subscription with unlimited user access.
The subscription to CSA OnDemand not only ensured access to teaching materials but also saved students upwards of $200 per hardcopy of mandatory CSA codebooks. The CSA OnDemand database is estimated to have been used by 450 Electrical students and 50 Plumbing students and has collectively saved over $100,000 in textbook costs since the online resource was acquired by the library.
In 2007 Miranda Craig was a new fulltime faculty when she met Shelley Woods, FAAD liaison librarian and wrote in her notebook, "Shelley Woods - great for resources." That early impression led to a longstanding collaboration benefitting students in the Honours Bachelor of Interior Design.
Miranda teaches a residential studio course to 1st year students, and their first project is a case study of iconic residences worldwide. When Miranda first assigned this project, she found that students would only search Google so she reached out to Shelley and they landed on 2 solutions for building stronger research skills.
First, Shelley delivered a virtual information literacy workshop including topics like finding, evaluating, and using scholarly research. Second, she designed a customized research guide with resources on architects and residences allowing students to narrow their research to credible and scholarly resources.
Miranda has seen term-over-term that learning how to access scholarly resources via the research guide "has significantly helped students conduct their research in an efficient, effective manner." She now shares an updated project brief with Shelley every winter term so that the workshop and guide can be updated accordingly. This collaboration ensures that students are prepared to build stronger case studies and to successfully enter industry when they graduate.
Kathleen Oakey, FHASS Liaison Librarian, provides 1-hour workshops for research, website evaluation, and citation help for each section of the Advanced module and EAP program every term.
In 2022, Kathleen conducted 41 workshops for the ESL program reaching 837 students Kathleen curates the content of the ESL research guide which had 1,982 page views in 2022 Exam English, Language Portal of Canada Quizzes, and the Simple English Series are the most clicked links on the guide A guide for EASL68060: Advanced Reading & Writing is also available for students doing the comparative essay assignment in the Advanced module and this guide had 1,448 page views in 2022.
As a circulation technician at the Davis Library, Hannah Masterman gets to interact daily with students using the library to work on assignments or to explore extracurricular learning
Hannah can recall an international student who came to the service desk looking to improve her English skills. Hannah showed her how to access the English as a Second Language research guide on the library website. The guide includes resources to help students studying for TOEFL and IELTS as well as a collection of grammar books and levelled readers What the student really responded to, were the books she called “fun ” She wanted a good book to read between classes, a story that would keep her interest while she practiced her English reading skills. She was excited to read what she ultimately checked out from the choice of hundreds of ESL resources available to students.
For 12 years, the faculty liaison librarians have been partnering with teaching faculty to build research guides that are relevant at the assignment and program-level and easily embedded into SLATE
The research guides continue to provide invaluable support to students by directing them to curated scholarly research resources and course reading materials that are industry-aligned and only available through library subscription. In addition to providing access to library collections materials, the research guides provide guidance on research methodologies, citation styles, copyright and other academic skills such as visual and digital literacy They are also an invaluable resource in independent learning as students browse collections and follow their curiosity
Since 2020, the research guides have had 1+ million views. Guides are regularly updated by librarians based on feedback from faculty and students, as well as by monitoring usage numbers to determine what guides need to be modified or discontinued.
In late 2021, the faculty liaison librarian team released a new series of guides that cover key research skills in a fresh new format. From planning a research project to evaluating sources, these new guides highlight key skills that students need to develop to be successful researchers. They were built to offer students the opportunity to explore information literacy topics asynchronously. Click here to browse all research guides.
Since the full re-opening of the library’s physical spaces in September 2022, the library has promoted both in-person and virtual supports to prioritize student choice. Virtual help delivered via the library’s chat service is the option of choice for learners asking indepth assignment questions.
Statistics show that 55% of questions from students were complex enough to require up to 15 minutes of research support. 51% of in-person interactions are sought out by learners for more transactional requests related to technical or wayfinding supports.
Total questions asked related to research, citation, remediation and copyright are not as high in grand total because the library provides strong research guide supports in these areas. e.g., the citation research guide had 280K+ views in 2022
In response to the service point data, the library has aligned our staffing model to metrics, worked on
further promotion of the library chat service in association with the SSU, enhanced supports for technical questions at Davis campus and installed monitors above service desks to provide additional information for transactional questions.
Trend forecasting company WGSN defines Gen Z as the “digital incognito” generation who prefer to seek advice in secret and safe social spaces
(WGSN Insight Team, 2022).
This combined with the well-established understanding in libraries that students are often hesitant to approach staff for assignment and research assistance, led to the introduction of the Library QR code sticker project initiated in June 2022.
QR code stickers have been added to study workstations across all campus library learning commons. The stickers have also been added to study workstations in the quiet study room of the C-building at HMC, in consultation with the Sheridan Student Union.
The stickers allow students to directly access the library chat service via the QR code for any assignment and research questions and remain anonymous. In 2022, the library responded to a total of 2,715 student questions via the chat service.
Understanding that social isolation and its effects continue to be an issue for students post-pandemic and that students want choice when it comes to in-person or virtual service delivery, the library has complemented the chat service with in-person assignment and research help at all campus libraries. Students asked 3,522 questions at physical library service points in 2022.
Source: WGSN Insight Team. (2022, August 24). Gen Z: The Digital Incognito Generation.
The Library supports equity, diversity, inclusivity, and decolonization (EDID) work in collections management while also acknowledging that there is still much more work to be done in the space
In the past year, the Library added an EDID statement to the collections management policy to make our community aware that we acknowledge that library collections are based on colonial structures and Western knowledge organization systems.
While these structures allow us to work with libraries around the world, they do not always reflect the library’s commitment to EDID. We are working and learning within a global and local library context to create greater inclusivity within our systems of knowledge. To that end, the library has been working with stakeholders such as Inclusive Communities as we collect materials reflective of a full range of diverse viewpoints and experiences.
Alternate formats for materials held in the library collection can be requested either through the Accessible Content E-portal (ACE), through purchase with the vendor or through the AERO repository In those cases when an alternate format cannot be found through these venues, the Liaison librarians will work with faculty to find a comparable resource
The implementation of the new Page 1+ library services platform in 2022 allowed the library team to re-examine how collections are organized and how information is retrieved. It was evident that several subject headings used to classify information were based on structural biases which arose out of a colonial mindset. The library technical services team is working to address offensive and discriminatory terminology in subject headings, in consultation with College Libraries Ontario (CLO) and Patricia Buckley (Diversity, Sustainability and Materials Librarian).
Fiscal accountability is also a key tenet of collections practices. The liaison librarians are aligned to Faculties and have developed the subject specialization which allows them to identify new industry-related resources and to evaluate current collections. Using vendor metrics, the librarians engage teaching faculty in discussions related to new purchases and renewals The librarians and faculty also strategize on how to embed resources into curriculum to encourage easy access and increase usage rates by students
This collections review process ensured that in 2022, collections – new purchases and renewals – remained within Sheridan budgetary allocations despite a 2% inflationary renewal pricing increase. Sheridan library has remained at the same median renewal pricing as other Ontario college libraries (Source: Ontario Colleges Library Service) while also providing students with the largest database collection (226 databases) among Ontario colleges. (Source: College Libraries Ontario annual report, 2020/21)
A reorganization of the A to Z database list is underway in 2022-23 to provide multiple access points to databases especially those which are multidisciplinary and attract the highest usage numbers.
This reorganization will help drive usage numbers even higher going forward.
*Please note that not all database vendors had provided usage statistics by the date of this report’s publication so 38 databases were not included in the analysis.
Launched in 2015, SOURCE has seen significant growth since 2020, including an 894% increase in student work uploaded from 2020-2022 This growth in student work exploded during the pandemic when the repository provided space to share end-of-year shows that would typically have been hosted in-person Adding student work to SOURCE allows students to gain publishing experience and to showcase their research experience in a scholarly record for use in their resumes. To increase the number of works in the repository, the SOURCE coordinator works with the liaison librarian team to identify specific courses and programs where student work can be consistently shared in SOURCE. From 2021 to 2022 student work featured in SOURCE increased by 143%.
In 2022, SOURCE featured 2377 works and had 159,312 total downloads from 167 countries This was an increase in uploads from 2021 and a positive sign that SOURCE’s profile has been established and that our community sees the value in disseminating their research. SOURCE is now also integrated into the program review process, highlighted as a tool that supports the academic quality process and supports enrollment and recruitment efforts.The SOURCE team is focused on a more targeted approach to including program specific work in 2023 to drive further engagement.
1 What factors contributed to the success of Apple’s iPhone? by John Laugesen
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4 Forecasting bitcoin prices using N-BEATS deep learning architecture by Alikhan Bulatov
5 The Schillinger System of musical composition and contemporary computer music by Bruno Degazio
For six years and counting, the library academic integrity remediation (AIR) team, made up of 3 library technicians, has been meeting with students in 1:1 AIR appointments as part of a level one sanction where students are introduced to academic integrity concepts through a restorative justice lens which emphasizes education over a more punitive option.
Team members employ a holistic approach during individualized appointments with students, making sure they are made aware of all pertinent academic supports, including those offered by both Library Services and the Academic Integrity Office.
In 2022, there were a total of 481 AIR appointments, a small decline from the 509 AIR appointments in 2021 which is unsurprising given the higher number of infractions experienced with increased online curriculum delivery in 2021 In 2022, the data illustrates a clear alignment in most cases between the programs with the highest number of academic integrity breaches and the programs with the highest number of AIR appointments.
The library is well positioned to support students with breaches because most breaches in 2022 were due to plagiarism (702 breaches in total) and the library manages citation supports to help students who have difficulty in understanding attribution.
The library’s Citing Your Sources online guide received 286,729 page views in 2022. Citation specialists on the library team supplement online citation supports by providing students with 1:1 help either online or in-person.
While passing by the Trafalgar Library, you will spot the interactive digital wall that highlights the stories behind the research and curriculum innovations happening at Sheridan.
The wall uses digital storytelling to engage prospective students and industry partners with the wide variety of research-related activities at Sheridan.
The wall currently features 11 projects ranging from scholarly research papers to an interactive digital project This collaboration between the library, teaching faculty and learners offers an alternative medium for exploring creative and innovative content creation.
Digital wall projects include:
A/R Book Covers (Professor Mark Shufflebottom, FAAD)
Domestic violence in immigrant communities (Professors Ferzana Chaze and Bethany Osborne, FAHCS)
Creating public history in the 21st century (Professor Bob Tiegs, FHASS)
Sheridan’s Research Data Management (RDM) strategy launched at the end of 2022 It furthers Canadian research excellence by promoting sound data management and data stewardship practices. To read Sheridan's full RDM Institutional Strategy, please click here.
The strategy was written in response to the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy. The library’s Data Connection team plays a key role in implementing the strategy by providing support to researchers creating data management plans and by offering expertise around metadata, data deposit and sharing
Nicole Zhang, Business & Data Librarian has created a RDM Tutorial with a certificate of completion to build Sheridan’s RDM knowledge base.
From 2021 to 2022, there was an 86.4% increase in views of the RDM library guide which includes the tutorial The library is a key partner in RDM education and as a result of the guide, Sheridan library has been sought out by other Canadian colleges and universities looking for our expertise. Along with RDM supports, the library offers workshops and consultation on data-related topics (e.g. best software for data collection, access to datasets including from the Data Liberation Initiative) which can be found on the Data Services research guide which has over 8,000 views.
The adoption of open educational resources (OER) has been increasing at Sheridan with the support of Library Services. OER are important because they reduce the need for costly course materials which are barriers to financially disadvantaged students. Due to their digital format, OER are also more accessible to students facing barriers due to geography or differing abilities
The library supports faculty in finding existing OER and Creative Commons licensed images, using Pressbooks to author OER, creating attributions of sources, navigating copyright and open licenses, publishing OER in SOURCE and eCampus Ontario’s Open Library, promoting faculty OER work to Sheridan and external OER partners, and connecting faculty with supports such as SPARK and eCampus Ontario.
Copyright and Open Education Librarian, Sam Cheng, is enrolled as part of the 2022-23 cohort of the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program which empowers librarians as leaders of open education on campus.
eCOR is the library’s electronic course readings tool which allows digital course materials, available in library collections, to be directly embedded into SLATE
In 2022, there were 88 faculty users of the library eCOR service As a result of eCOR, 5,154 students were able to access eCOR materials in SLATE and there was an estimated $412,320 in cost savings for students (based on an average cost of $80 in course reading materials per student). This saving represents reduced financial stress for students who otherwise would need to pay for expensive textbooks and has the potential to contribute to increased student retention.
In July 2022, the library launched Page 1+. Page 1+ is a powerful research platform that provides learners with enhanced access to the library’s scholarly, industry-relevant collections.
Unlike its predecessor “Summon”, Page 1+ can hold a larger number of digital collections and provide advanced metrics. Since its launch, Page 1+ has proven to be popular with the Sheridan community. Metrics indicate that learners have used Page 1+ to connect with the library chat for assignment support in greater numbers than with Summon. Page 1+ saw more library chat interactions (491) as compared to Summon (207) in 2022 even though Page 1+ was not launched until July.
From a user point of view, Page 1+ has some exceptional features that greatly improve the research experience:
Print course reserves are searchable by course code and professor
name
Learners can access a scalable mobile version of their desktop search using the QR code feature
Accessibility features include such 'search by voice'
Site navigation and design informed by the research expertise of faculty librarians
The Page 1+ project was led by College Libraries Ontario (CLO), in alignment with the Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) of eCampusOntario. The VLS is an initiative funded by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) to drive growth in virtual learning and the use of technology solutions in post-secondary education. In 2021, the MCU and eCampusOntario announced funding for the implementation phase of Page 1+. Sheridan, along with 17 other Ontario colleges, became signatories to the agreement to partner on Page 1+ implementation and to identify collaborative opportunities going forward using the platform.
In February 2022, the provincial government announced funding for colleges and universities to modernize infrastructure.
As part of the successful Sheridan application for funding under the College Equipment and Renewal Fund (CERF), the library put in motion a plan to provide students with virtual reality (VR) hardware and software at each library learning commons.
The rationale is to provide all students with access to emerging technology regardless of whether VR is used in the curriculum of their programs.
For those students who experience VR in the classroom, having VR equipment in the library also opens the opportunity of reinforcing VR instruction and exposure outside of the classroom.
Library Learning Commons spaces hosted activities in 2022 focused on sustainability, wellness and community connection.
In collaboration with the Mission Zero team, the LLC hosted some Freeuse Pop-Ups, an initiative that aims to extend the life of goods while promoting a culture of waste reduction.
A Zine Zone event led by SSU clubs was also hosted in LLC space and provided an opportunity for students to create and sell zines among their peers
Art Hive, a community art studio that provides an inclusive, informal and fun space for people to connect, create and learn together through art-making, was hosted in the LLC in collaboration with FAAD after a pause due to the pandemic.
This year the library focused on adding comfort seating, plants and items like seasonal affective disorder lamps and noise-cancelling headphones to encourage students to stay on campus to study, decompress and ward off social isolation. As a result, LLC spaces were again busy hubs of activity and engagement including being used as a filming location for 8 groups of students and as events space for 11 activities organized by various departments.
To address wellness and community in virtual spaces, the library hosted online APA study halls and continued to build wellness and mental health research guides with curated content for students, faculty and staff, including resources specific to the Indigenous community and LGBTQ+ community.
In 2019, Sheridan signed the Dimensions Charter, a federal government initiative to drive increased equity, diversity and inclusion practices in the research ecosystem at postsecondary institutions.
The library responded by working with Sheridan partners as part of the REDIAC committee and has committed to embedding EDI into service delivery and collections management and posting EDI-related activities publicly to remain transparent and accountable to Charter principles.
The library is invested in equipping students with the skills required to use information in an ethical and legal manner
Copyright instruction and consultations whether in-class or one-toone are an essential component of copyright support. In the past year, there were 150 staff/faculty consultations, 47 student consultations and 8 workshops.
As a complement to instruction and consultations, the library provides a copyright research guide for faculty and staff, a copyright research guide for students and a copyright guide for remote learning which had 3,550 views in 2022 Copyright guides specific to programs such as Film and Game Design have also been created and used in curriculum delivery
Additionally, the library provides support in ensuring that course reading materials are copyright complaint and in 2022, spent over $6,000 in copyright payment fees for course materials outside of what is available through library collections.
The library's instruction program uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the effectiveness of Sheridan Library’s information literacy instruction and outreach activities.
Usage statistics, surveys, and formative feedback from faculty, students, and staff are several methods we use to evaluate our services. This data improves our teaching and outreach efforts by not only expanding student reach, but also enhancing user experience.
Assessment plays a crucial role in the library as it fosters a culture of critical reflection amongst the liaison librarian team and provides rich data that informs services and program delivery models.
In addition to assessment in the liaison librarian program, the library mapped assessment methods across services by activity (eg. eCOR, AIR, research help, circulation, SOURCE) and according to the academic calendar.
The mapping equips the library with the data required to evaluate the balance between quantitative/qualitative data and engagement/impact which ensures consistent service delivery that is informed by student needs and institutional goals. In 2022-23, the library will formalize the assessment plan in partnership with key stakeholders and align to Project Outcome from the Association of College and Research Libraries.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework to address the world’s greatest challenges related to poverty, peace and environmental sustainability.
With the ambitious and short timeline of 2030 to successfully meet the goals, academic libraries, at the forefront of knowledge access, dissemination and mobilization, are uniquely positioned to support and advance the SDGs through their collections, services, and programming, as well as through their operational practices at the heart of campus.
In 2021, Sheridan became Ontario’s first institution to sign the SDG Accord, the postsecondary sector’s collective international response to the SDGs In support of the Accord, Sheridan library has committed resources over the past two years to support Sheridan in meeting its commitment.
This report examines the ways in which Sheridan library is specifically taking action on the SDGs and includes a roadmap on how the library will continue its SDG-related work moving forward.
The library is focused on two recommendations based on guidance from the Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ TRC report: decolonize access and classification by addressing structural biases and by committing to integrating Indigenous epistemologies into knowledge management practices AND decolonize library spaces through culturally appropriate space planning and programming in collaboration with local Indigenous stakeholders.
In 2022, the library introduced the Page 1+ platform and as part of its implementation, the library technical services team initiated a project to address offensive and discriminatory terminology in subject headings in consultation with CLO (College Libraries Ontario) and Patricia Buckley (Diversity, Sustainability and Materials Librarian).
To support space planning and service delivery planning going forward in 2022-23, the library has joined NIKLA (National Indigenous Knowledge and Language Alliance) and participated in CLO professional development activities related to Indigenous data governance and Indigenous considerations in information literacy development and delivery.
The library recognizes that its relationship with the Centre for Indigenous Learning and Support (CILS) and SPARK is essential to meeting TRC recommendations and is focused on continuing collaborations with key Sheridan stakeholders.
The increased adoption of generative AI tools such as chatGPT reinforces the importance of the library role in teaching learners how to effectively and ethically access and use information.
Disruptive technologies are being produced at such a rapid clip that it is more important than ever for those in the library profession to continuously hone our research skills and build our technical knowledge. Coupled with this is an urgent need to better understand and address structural discrimination embedded in our current knowledge structures and practices.
To support ongoing professional development of the Sheridan library team, the library launched its own professional development guide for staff, featuring curated and regularly-updated resources from a variety of sources including online skills development platforms as well as expert contributors. Launched in November 2022, the guide has received 238 page views.
Adam Duguay
Presentations
Showcasing and Tracking UN Sustainable Development Goals Through Your Repository November 9, 2022. A Digital Commons Odyssey
Open Access Publishing. October 10, 2022. Sheridan Creates.
SOURCE: Sheridan’s Institutional Repository. September 22, 2022. Sheridan Research Advisory Committee.
Award
Service Excellence Award (Nominee)
Elizabeth Schembri Award
Participant, Virtual Engagement Team Library representative, Getting Online Series
Student Success Award (Nominee)
Gouthami Vigneswaran
Internal Committees
Member, Student Success Network, FAST Homeroom
External Committees Award
OLA (Ontario Library Association) Super Conference Planning Committee. Serving as a Coplanner for the OCULA Council (Ontario College & University Library Association). 2 year term.
Emerging Leader Award (Nominee)
Irene Sillius
External Committees
Member, Page 1+ Study Group (formerly CLSP Project Weekly Meeting)
Member, Metadata & Cataloguing Subcommittee (Formerly CLSP Met/Cat Subcommittee)
Member, CLO Decolonization Sub Committee (in hiatus)
Member, Sirsi Planning Group Meetings (in hiatus)
Johnathan Pring
Internal committees
Manager Member, Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC)
Karen Lints
Internal committees Publications
Member, Sheridan Teaching and Learning Committee
Member, Artificial Intelligence Working Group
Member, Student Success Network, FAHCS Homeroom
Chaze, Ferzana; Lints, Karen; and Anderson, Kimberley, "Crafting Well-being: A Scoping Review of the Benefits of Participation in Fibre Craft Communities and Implications for Activities for Older Adults" (2022). Publications and Scholarship. 21.
Kathleen Oakey
Internal committees Award
Contributor, FHASS Strategy Hives
Member, Student Success Network, FHASS Homeroom
Community Impact Award (Nominee)
Lingling Jiang
External Committees Presentations
Member, Page 1+ Systems, Analytics and Data Subcommittee
Member, CLO Metrics & Assessment Committee
Member, Ontario College RDM Community of Practice
Nicole Zhang and Lingling Jiang, Finding Data: Introduction to Sheridan Library Data Resources, October 2022, Sheridan Creates
Jiang, L., Sevenpifer,D., Caspary, K. (2023, February 24). Data deposit from a college perspective. Webinar.
Lisa Eschli
Internal Committees
Co-Lead, Nudging Committee
Member, Advisory Council on Sheridan Accessibility
Member, Start of Term Committee
Member, Homeroom Working Group (project complete in 2023)
External Committees
Member, Page 1+ Study Group (formerly CLSP Project Weekly Meeting)
Marian Traynor
Internal Committees
Member, Project Magnet Committee
Member, Data Analytics and Learning Strategies (DALS) Steering Committee
Member, Signature Learning Experience (SLE) Initiative Committee
Member, SDG Committee
Member, Associate Dean Council
Member, AI Working Group
Member, Research Equity Diversity Inclusion Advisory Committee (REDIAC)
External Committees
Member of Directors of College Libraries Ontario (CLO)
Nicole Zhang
Internal committees
Member, Sheridan RDM Communication and Training Subcommittee
External committees
Member, Ontario College RDM Community of Practice
Presentations
Nicole Zhang and Lingling Jiang, Finding Data: Introduction to Sheridan Library Data Resources, October 2022, Sheridan Creates
Nicole Zhang, Sam Cheng, Iryna Pavlova, Library Support and Academic Integrity, September 2022, Sheridan TLA 1
Patricia Buckley
Internal committees
Member, Building Positive Spaces Committee Member, Mission Zero Green Team
External committees
Member, College Libraries Ontario (CLO) Indigenous Matters Committee Member, CLO Indigenous Matters Report Card Subcommittee
Presentations
Open Educational Resources: Zero-Cost Alternatives to Textbooks co-presented with Sam Cheng for Sheridan Creates, 26 October 2022
Ravi Balasubramanian Award
Mission Zero Hero (Winner)
Sam Cheng External Committees
Member, CLO OER Interest Group
Member, CLO Copyright Interest Group
Member, Ontario Colleges Open Education Working Group (OCOEWG)
Member, Media Access & Copyright Working Group of the Film and Media Studies Association of Canada (FMSAC)
Presentation Award
"Practical Copyright for OER" in May 2022, Open Education Week for Ontario Colleges
“Academic Integrity and Visual Plagiarism” with Iryna Pavlova in September 2022 to a TLA cohort
“Contract Cheating and Course-Sharing Websites” with Iryna Pavlova in October 2022 for Teach Well
“Going Offroad with OER” with Patricia Buckley in October 2022 for Sheridan Creates
“Understanding Open Access & Self Archiving” with Adam Duguay in October 2022 for Sheridan Creates
Emerging Leader Award (Nominee)
Sandra Shoufani
Internal Committees
Member, Student Success Network, BBA Homeroom
Member, Academic Integrity & Artificial Intelligence Committee
External Committees
Academic Integrity Council of Ontario (AICO) Reviewing committee member in the document Supporting Academic Integrity- Ethical Uses of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Information Sheet. Completed
Publications
Shoufani, Sandra (2022). Artificial Intelligence in Libraries. https://source.sheridancollege.ca/lls publ/24/
Award
Community Impact Award (Nominee)
Shelley Woods
Internal Committees
Member, Student Success Network, FAAD Homeroom
External Committees
Member, CAPAL Game Based Learning Community of Practice
Member, ARLIS North America, Ontario Chapter and Events Subcommittee
Presentations
Shelley Woods, Game Based Learning Community of Practice Session, June 6-7, 2022, CAPAL 2022 Conference
Susan Shepley
Internal committees
Sheridan
Member, Research Data Management Advisory Committee
Member, Research Data Management Communication and Training Subcommittee
Member, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RIE) Advisory Committee
Member, Faculty 180 Governance Committee
Member, S-Sense Launchscape
Reviewer, 2022 SRCA Student Award Review Committee
Member, Sheridan Web Advisory Committee
External Committees
Member, CLO Research Data Management Community of Practice
Presentations
Susan Shepley & Adam Duguay. SOURCE: Sheridan's Institutional Repository. February 2022. Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee.
Susan Shepley. Research Data Management in the College, Polytechnic and CEGEP context. December 2022. Research Data Alliance Webinar Series.
Award
Inspirational Leader Award (Nominee)
According to 2022 pulse surveys, library services usage increased by 7% from 2021 International student usage primarily accounted for the increase While 43% of domestic students said that they used library services, 67% of international students said the same This represented a 13% increase in library usage by international students compared to 2021.
When it comes to library resources and collections, usage increased by 5% from 2021. 48% of domestic students said that they used library resources and collections. 64% of international students said that they used library resources and collections which represented a 10% increase over 2021 usage rates
In terms of the extent to which students feel the library meets their expectations, the library just like other departments, saw percentages increase during the pandemic and then return to normal levels postpandemic
Across services, the library is among the strongest in terms of sentimentextent to which students feel it meets their expectations - keeping in mind that some services cannot be easily compared. The library continues to provide services levels that usually or always meet the needs of most (7 in 10) students, and this result is strong in relation to perceptions of other services at Sheridan.
Libraryresourcesandcollections-Expectations
Libraryservices-Expectations
ITservices-Expectations
Tutoringservices-Expectations
Internationalservices-Expectations
AccessibleLearningservices-Expectations
SheridanStudentUnion-Expectations
AssessmentCentre-Expectations
Supportforfindingco-op,fieldplacement,etc-Expectations
StudentHealthCentre-Expectations
CouncellingandWellnessservices-Expectations
Records&Registration-Expectations
FinancialAid&Awards-Expectations
StudentAdvisement-Expectations
For over a decade, faculty liaison librarians at Sheridan have mapped their presence across curriculum either formally or informally as part the Library Services instructional program. The goal of the Library Mapping Project is to compile information about all library touchpoints with curriculum into one document that the team can build over time to represent departmental connections in courses across Sheridan’s 130+ programs
This mapping document will communicate where Library Services is aligned with curriculum, illustrate how the team contributes to signature learning experiences, and will allow the library team to identify opportunities to expand our supports in collaboration with our partners in Learning Services and ILS.
Curriculum mapping provides valuable insight into the student experience (Archambault, 2015; Buchanan, 2015) and facilitates a dialogue around equitable access to library instruction and services across programs (Khailova, 2021) Undertaking a full-scale mapping activity through a visualization tool will create a depiction of library teaching, learning, and research supports embedded across Sheridan’s five Faculties to help the team identify opportunities for further wrap-around supports. Buchanan et al. (2015) defines curriculum mapping as “...a process for evaluating the various components of a curriculum for cohesiveness, proper sequencing, and goal achievement” (p. 95) which speaks to the scaffolding of information literacy skills into curriculum that librarians, in partnership with faculty and administrators, have addressed for many years
In addition to mapping library touchpoints like information literacy instruction and research consultations, key Library services such as eCOR, LibGuides, OER, SOURCE, etc. will be mapped to present a holistic view of current supports and to identify areas for enhancement. This work will support ongoing reports, program review and development, the library’s departmental strategic goals, and contribute to signature learning experiences at Sheridan
Phase One (Fall 2022 – Spring 2023): chart research skills development touchpoints and course-embedded consultations in programs currently under review for the 2022/23 academic year.
Phase Two (Spring 2023 – Fall 2023): investigate a technology to use in mapping that’s flexible, accessible, and data secure
Phase Three (Fall 2023 – Ongoing): use the technology identified in Phase Two to map all faculty programs, beginning with those that are in the current cycle of program review.
Phase Four (Winter 2024 – Ongoing): the mapping technology will facilitate the project’s expansion into charting additional touchpoints including, but not limited to, SOURCE, Research Digital Wall, eCOR, and OER
References
Archambault, S. G., & Masunaga, J. (2015). Curriculum mapping as a strategic planning tool. Journal of Library Administration, 55(6), 503-519.https://doiorg library sheridanc on ca/10 1080/01930826 2015 1054770
Buchanan, H , Webb, K K , Houk, A H , & Tingelstad, C (2015) Curriculum mapping in academic libraries New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(1), 94–111 https://doi-org library sheridanc on ca/10 1080/13614533 2014 1001413
Khailova, L (2021) Using curriculum mapping to scaffold and equitably distribute information literacy instruction for graduate professional studies programs. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(1), 102281. https://www-sciencedirectcom.library.sheridanc.on.ca/science/article/pii/S0099133320301725
Faculty librarian Kathleen Oakey will embark on an 8-month sabbatical leave to explore the topic of effective research assignment design.
She will examine how students conduct research and where they face challenges with information literacy activities in their assignments. Her research will include the experiences of international students and learners from equity-deserving groups, as well as the implications and possibilities for generative artificial intelligence tools (like ChatGPT) in the research process.
Kathleen's sabbatical activities will impact the ways the library helps students develop their digital and research skills and will provide faculty with valuable, research-informed strategies for designing effective research assignments Strengthening the ability of learners to engage with the research process effectively and ethically will help them to become lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and to thrive in their future careers.