SELECT * FROM rdminotes WHERE comment != ‘soapbox’

Take away points:

• There is a lot of energy behind data management, and many good standards and tools being developed, but the field is in a constant state of flux.
• Despite that energy, there is significant frustration.  Funding agencies are providing objective outcomes, but not implementation guidance.  They are waiting to see what consensus comes from the field, while users and providers are looking for some kind of direction or expectation from funding agencies to get them started. (I’d like to point out that this is a tremendous opportunity for the data management community to contribute to standards and best practices!)
• There is emphasis on big data, in part due to volumes produced and dollars consumed, but that emphasis leaves smaller implementations feeling isolated, even though small data are valuable assets that require as much attention as big data do.
• A variety of data management models were discussed, each with staunch proponents, but I expect the reality to be custom approaches taking the most useful element of each model.

An excellent collection of position papers are available at https://rdmi.uchicago.edu/page/submitted-experience-and-position-papers

Lynda’s recently added courses include such varied topics as “Managing Teams,” “Designing a Book,” and “Up and Running with Windows 8.” Watch a single video or work through an entire course, but be warned — it’s addictive.

Please note that we do continue to offer “by request” group training during the summer months, staff and classroom space permitting; kindly send your request with details to helpdesk@middlebury.edu.

Topic: Information Security Road Show. Led by Ian Burke, Network Security Administrator.
Who’s Invited: All liaisons, Information Security Team members, and anyone else who might be interested
Who’s “Required”: Primary liaisons, please try to attend if you can. Sorry in advance for any conflicts.
Where and when: Tuesday, April 16, 2013. 1-2 pm. LIB 145.
Description: Information Security: Why should we care about it? What are the recommended practices for keeping computers and identities secure? This is a near-total revamp of last year’s information security presentation, and Ian will be bringing it to other offices at Middlebury as well as out to Monterey. Come learn, share, and provide Ian feedback as he prepares for his travels.

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“Liaison Discussion Section” meetings address research and/or technology topics of interest to liaisons. They can be conversations, or presentations, or both. They take place most often on the 3rd week of the month, but in order to allow people who work different hours to attend, they’re sometimes scheduled for different days/times.

Want to get signed up?  Click here.

Students…  Interested in skills you can use in Life Beyond Midd?  lynda.com has everything you need!  Just click any of these course links, log on with your Middlebury username and password and you’re on your way.  Work through an entire course or view just the movie segments you need — it’s up to you.

• Discovering Your Strengths
• Creating an Effective Resume
• Job Search Strategies

This small sampler of business skills topics is just the beginning — lynda currently offers over 1600 course titles from which to choose.

Need a hand getting started?  Sign up for our lynda.com overview session at noon on March 15.

Lynda’s recently added courses include such varied topics as “JavaScript and AJAX,” “Writing Fundamentals:  The Craft of Story,” and “Office 2013 New Features.”  Watch a single video or work through an entire course, but be warned — it’s addictive.

Description: When Hans and Steve looked at a year of our emailed Reference questions as part of the 2012 assessment of Research & Instruction, they found several types of questions which were asked repeatedly.  They’ll present a handful of them with the ways in which we responded, and then open the floor up for discussion of other common Reference questions we’ve experienced and our best answers to them.

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“Liaison Discussion Section” meetings address research and/or technology topics of interest to liaisons. They can be conversations, or presentations, or both. They take place most often on the 3rd week of the month, but in order to allow people who work different hours to attend, they’re sometimes scheduled for different days/times.

Do you prefer to learn on your own?  Check out   — a fabulous online learning resource that uses short videos to help you acquire new business and technology skills.   Recently added new courses include “Mac OS X Mountain Lion Essential Training,” “Conflict Resolution Fundamentals” and “Creating Photo Books with iPhoto.”  Watch a single video or work through an entire course, but be warned — it’s addictive.

Topic: How to Reach the Uninterested Student. Led by Yonna McShane, Director of Learning Resources, CTLR.
Who’s Invited: All liaisons and anyone who might be interested
Who’s “Required”: Primary liaisons, please try to attend if you can. Sorry in advance for any conflicts.
Where and when: Friday, December 14, 10-11 am. Location LIB 201 (Watson Lecture Hall)

Description: Yonna frequently coaches students and faculty on how to improve their presentation skills. She’ll gear this session toward liaisons who lead LIS workshops. How can we “hook” students at the beginning of a workshop so that they stick with us for the whole class period? She will provide tips on handling question and answer sections of the presentation. Yonna also will give tips on professional conference presentations, including visual aids.
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“Liaison Discussion Section” meetings address research and/or technology topics of interest to liaisons. They can be conversations, or presentations, or both. They take place most often on the 3rd week of the month, but in order to allow people who work different hours to attend, they’re sometimes scheduled for different days/times.

Description: This is an opportunity to reflect on the Portal (http://go.middlebury.edu/portal) and review its place amongst our services. Matt LaFrance, the maintainer of the project, will present on its development, features, and intended purpose. Afterward there will be time for questions and discussion.

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“Liaison Discussion Section” meetings address research and/or technology topics of interest to liaisons. They can be conversations, or presentations, or both. They take place most often on the 3rd week of the month, but in order to allow people who work different hours to attend, they’re sometimes scheduled for different days/times.