No. 511 - November 29, 2023

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
    - LIS 9733 Multilingual Information Access Poster Session
    - Annual Indigenous Winter Market

  • Important Dates:

    - Friday, December 1, 2023 - Meeting of the Senate (A&HB 1R40, 1:30 PM)
    - Friday, December 8, 2023 - Undergraduate classes end
    - Sunday, December 10 - Friday, December 22, 2023 - Undergraduate exam period
    - Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - FIMS graduate classes end
    - Saturday, December 23, 2023 - Wednesday, January 3, 2024 - FIMS/university offices closed
    - Friday, January 5, 2024 - Orientation for new MLIS students
    - Monday, January 8, 2024 - Undergraduate and Graduate courses resume 

  • News & Announcements:

    - United Way 50/50 Draw - December 4-8
    - Western launches new brand story and impact project

    Publications & Presentations:

    - Busra Copuroglu
    - Amber Matthews
    - Joanna Redden
    - Niel Scobie
    - Sandy Smeltzer
    - Luke Stark

  • In the Media:

    - Finley Butler
    - Jacklyn Chen
    - Giada Ferrucci
    - Chloe Grande (MMJC'16)
    - Alex Mayhew
    - Sam Trosow

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Open House at Wortley Village Studio

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - Make of the Month | Winter & Holiday Card-Making
    - FIMS Graduate Library Hours

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
Every Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Check your Western email for the Zoom link (or contact Pam McKenzie) or drop in to FNB 4070.
Do you expect to have assignment, story, article, report, thesis, and/or book writing deadlines coming up in the Fall term? Does having other people writing around you help keep you on-task? Then join us for FIMSWrites, an informal initiative to provide some solidarity in the sometimes-solitary writing process. What it is: a group of people sitting silently together working on their individual writing projects for 25-minute Pomodoro sessions, with short breaks between and a longer mid-morning coffee, snack, and socializing break. What it's not: a writing tutorial or workshop. Open to FIMS faculty and grad students who have writing to work on.

Annual Indigenous Winter Market
Saturday, December 2, 2023
11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wampum Learning Lodge
The Wampum Learning Lodge is opening its doors again for our second annual Indigenous Winter Market. This is a fantastic opportunity for all to shop for the holiday season while supporting local Indigenous creators, artisans, and entrepreneurs. After the success of last year’s Winter Market, we are excited to expand our market to highlight more than 30 incredible Indigenous vendors (read more).

LIS 9733 Multilingual Information Access Poster Session
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
FIMS Grad Library
View work from Associate Professor Victoria Rubin's LIS 9733 - Multingual Information class in this end of term poster session titled, "Crossing Language Boundaries Around the World." See case studies of information provision in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Norway, Greece, India, Korea, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, and Canada. Snacks, music and visuals! Come and chat with your peers. Snacks provided!


Important Dates


- Friday, December 1, 2023 - Meeting of the Senate (A&HB 1R40, 1:30 PM)
- Friday, December 8, 2023 - Undergraduate classes end
- Sunday, December 10 - Friday, December 22, 2023 - Undergraduate exam period
- Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - FIMS graduate classes end
- Saturday, December 23, 2023 - Wednesday, January 3, 2024 - FIMS/university offices closed
- Friday, January 5, 2024 - Orientation for new MLIS students
- Monday, January 8, 2024 - Undergraduate and Graduate courses resume


News & Announcements


United Way 50/50 Draw - December 4-8
Again this year, Western will participate in the United Way 50/50 draw from December 4-8. Promotional materials will be available on December 4. All proceeds from the draw will directly benefit Western’s campaign. It’s a win/win! For other ways to contribute to Western's United Way campaign, visit the donation page online.

Western launches new brand story and impact project
This fall Western is starting to tell a new kind of story – one that celebrates the impact this close-knit community is having in the world, today. View the story and join us in sharing this video with your network. The university has also launched The Impact Project, which is "a public exploration of how impact is being made in communities, cities and countries around the world." Check it out at https://www.theimpactproject.ca/the-project. 


Publications & Presentations


FIMS instructor Busra Copuroglu recently wrote a profile piece titled "Can you eat creativity, or searching for jobs in the 21st century," featuring the CAP program and specifically the first-year course CA1020. She interviewed students and Assistant Professor Basil Chiasson for the article.
 
Amber Matthews, LIS PhD candidate, co-presented a workshop at the Pathways to Prosperity 2023 National Conference in Montreal. The workshop was titled "Anti-Racist Approaches with Youth in Schools, Libraries, and Public Spaces" and was co-presented along with Katie Crossman, Bow Valley College.

Amber also participated in the poster session at the conference with my poster "Advancing Anti-Racism in Public Libraries for Black Youth in Canada".

Associate Professor Joanna Redden took part in a round table discussion "Understanding Artificial Intelligence," with Unmil Karadkar of the University of Graz, Nelson Shen of the University of Toronto and Maroussia Lévesque of Harvard Law School. The event was hosted by Seniors Action Quebec and co-organized by the Aging in Data Project. The event was chaired by Professor Kim Sawchuk from Concordia University on November 21.

Professor Redden also took part in a panel discussion on November 18 organized by Western AI. The event brought together Professor Mark Daley, Professor Michael Anderson, Associate Professor Yasser Rahrovani and Professor Redden to discuss the implications of AI.

Niel Scobie, Media Studies PhD candidate, served as the moderator for a panel called "Documenting a Scene" at Making a Scene: Toronto Hip-Hop at Hip-Hop 50 Conference, at York University on Saturday, November 25.

Associate Professor Sandra Smeltzer will present a lecture titled "Community Engaged Learning & Well-Being: Lessons Learned & Future Trajectories," on December 7 as part of the Campus Conversations Webinar Series hosted by Community Campus Engage Canada.

Assistant Professor Luke Stark has been invited to speak on a panel titled, "Generative AI as a Technology: Opportunities and Risks, Privacy and Generative AI Symposium," hosted by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in Ottawa on December 7. 


In the Media


Finley Butler, a first-year MIT student, and Associate Professor Sam Trosow were both quoted in a article titled, "Uber names London the No. 1 'party city' in Canada for second year in a row," published in the Gazette on November 28.

Jacklyn Chen, a fourth-year FIMS student, was featured in an article titled, "Students show how Western's international learning programs changed their lives," published by Western News on November 16. The article was written to celebrate Western's International Week (Nov 20-24).

Media Studies PhD candidate Giada Ferrucci was interviewed by the Gazette for an article titled, "New MIT course on climate change now available to students," published on November 21. The article discusses Giada's new course offering MIT3935G - Special Topics in MIT: Communicating Climate Change.

Chloe Grande, MMJC'16, is one of 10 preliminary profiles released as part of Western's The Impact Project, launched on November 28. She is featured in a story titled, "Chloe Grande's ultimate goal is to bring eating disorders out of the dark." She currently works as a mental health advocate.

LIS PhD candidate Alex Mayhew was a guest on GradCast, the official podcast of the Society of Graduate Students at Western, for an episode titled, "From Books to Bits: Decoding AI's Future," aired on November 14.


Additional Activities of Note


Open House at Wortley Village Studio in December
FIMS instructor Andrew Lewis, who is an internationally-recognized Canadian artist, will welcome visitors to his studio for an Open House on December 10 and 11, between 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (132 Bruce St.). To help raise funds for My Sisters' Place, Andrew will auction off an original painting. New Old South Holiday cards and posters will also be available for purchase to raise funds for the Children's Health Foundation.


News from the FIMS Graduate Library


Make of the Month | Winter & Holiday Card-Making

This month we’re putting the CricutTM from our Makerspace to good use and making winter and holiday-themed cards. When you next need a break from your coursework or research, visit us in the Library to put your creativity (and crafting skills) to good use. We supply the materials, and even a few pre-cut designs to make and take. Themes include seasonal messages, winter scenes, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, "Happy Holidays" and more. If the pre-cut cards aren't your style, browse our catalogue of cards that can be designed in any language, and cut from the Cricut in the paper of your choosing, all in ten minutes or less. We'll even add the postage and mail your card for you! All are welcome, and no appointment is necessary. Just drop in during open library hours and we'll be happy to help!

FIMS Graduate Library Hours (December 2023)

  • Monday, November 6th – Saturday, December 16th, 2023
  • (Regular Library Hours)Sunday, December 17th – Sunday, December 31st, 2023 (Library Closed; Service by Appointment, December 18th – 22nd, 2023)


Next Issue


The FIMS Bulletin is your source for news, announcements, and events pertaining to FIMS graduate programs. Submissions from the FIMS community are always welcome and may be sent via e-mail to fims-communications@uwo.ca .

The final issue of the FIMS Bulletin for the Fall 2023 term will be published on Wednesday, December 13. The deadline to submit content is Tuesday, December 12 at noon.