‫املـــكتبــة الإخـــباريـــة‬
Al Maktaba Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 1 - 2013
Inside this issue
• Google Scholar
• Bidding adieu to Library staff
• Service Award
• Library staff visit Sharjah International Book Fair 2013
• UOWD Library hosts delegation from Shanghai Library
• Lynda.com
• Library collection development 2013
• My Library experience
• Library Days 2013
• ALA conference
Message from the Manager, Library Services
The UOWD Library is here to support you in your studies and in
making good use of your knowledge, by helping you to locate,
select and acquire the information you need. Our services,
resources and physical space provide a strong foundation to
support the University in achieving the highest standards in
teaching, learning and research.
We hope that you will use the library as a place of learning, Saba Gaffar
information and communication. You can make use of our
facilities, our advisory and training services provided by specialist staff, as well as our literature
collection, which comprises over 32,000 items covering Management, Engineering, Mass Media
and Communication, Computer Science and languages.
The Library has undergone renovation and expansions in order to accommodate the growing
numbers of students using the service and the fast-paced expansion of the library collection.
In October 2013 we celebrated Library Week, with the aim of promoting the library services
through a number of activities under the theme ‘I love my library’.
The UOWD Library continually works to further the development of its services in order to
provide you with the best possible environment, resources and support to meet your academic
and research information needs.
Menchie Aplaca
New!
Scholar Library, your personal collection of articles through the magic of Scholar
Google Scholar Library
Google Scholar recently launch a new tool, ‘your personal
collection of articles in Scholar’. As the website details, you
can save articles right from the search page, organise them
by topic, and use the power of Scholar’s full-text search and
ranking to quickly find just the one you want – at any time,
from anywhere. You decide what goes into your library and
they provide all the goodies that come with Scholar search
results – up to date article links, cited articles, related articles,
formatted citations, links to the university’s subscriptions,
and more. With a public Scholar, the articles in your profile as
well as all the articles they cite are available.
Here’s how it looks. Click ‘Save’ below a search results to save it to your library. Click ‘My library’ to see all the
articles in your library and search their full text. You can also use labels to organise your articles. To get you
started two labels have been created, ‘My Citations’ and ‘Cited by me’, based on your Scholar profile, if you have
one. ‘My Citations’ contains your profile articles and ‘Cited by me’ contains articles you’ve cited.
UOW research resources can also be searched at Google Scholar. All the publications of UOWD and
UOW were linked at Google Scholar. You will be directly linked to our online resources available at
UOW. To do this, just follow the steps below:
1
3
2
Kindly note, that you will be requested
to login using your SOLS account in
order to access the full text of the
article.
Bidding adieu to Library staff
Saba Gaffar
Mr Naveed Hashmi, Assistant Manager of the Library, served UOWD for 7.5 years.
Throughout his tenure he enjoyed the challenge of new experiences and was a key team
member, bringing new innovations to the Library services. Naveed joined UOWD in 2006
as Librarian and departed in April 2013.
Mr Mohamed Sajid, Research Librarian, served the UOWD Library for 5.5 years. He
was a key team member and played a tremendous role in supporting HDR students
in their research projects. He joined UOWD in 2008 as Librarian and departed in
January 2014.
Ms Menchie Aplaca, Librarian, served the UOWD Library for 4.8 years. Her contributions
to the development of the UOWD Library were greatly appreciated and she was a sincere
and hardworking member of staff. Menchie joined UOWD in 2009 as Librarian and
departed in February 2014.
I feel proud to have had such a wonderful team. I sincerely appreciate all of their roles in the success of the
Library and wish them all the best in the future too.
Service Award 2013
Menchie Aplaca
In October, Mohd Sajid Foazdar, Research Librarian, received an award in recognition of
his 5-years of service with UOWD. He joined in 2008 as Librarian, and was promoted to his
subsequent position as Research Librarian in 2011. His extensive contribution throughout
the library’s continuous growth was particularly valued when UOWD first introduced the
PhD program, in which the Library has played a vital role in terms of meeting the research
needs of PhD/DBA students.
Ruby Matthews, a Library Assistant who joined UOWD in 2008, was another recepient
of the 5-years service award. A well organised person, as part of the team she ably
supports the day to day operations of delivering service to library clients.
Library Staff Visit Sharjah International Book Fair 2013
Menchie Aplaca
The Sharjah International Book Fair is an annual event
where publishers showcase their products. Attending
this event is beneficial to everyone, especially to School/
University Librarians.
All book lovers can benefit from good purchase discounts
and the event provides an opportunity to meet famous
authors. Interacting with new people who have the
same interest is another bonus, and brings excellent
opportunities for networking.
The Sharjah International Book Fair offers different kinds of programs, to suit all kinds of visitors. One of those
is an art competition for children aged 8-12, with the theme ‘My Study Room’. This kind of contest brings out
the creative skills of every child.
Manager of Library Services, Saba Gaffar and Librarian, Menchie Aplaca, visited the Sharjah International Book
Fair on 13 November 2013. Book selections were made from Motivate Publishing and the University Bookshop.
Books that have been added into the UOWD collection focus on the following subjects; Finance, Accounting,
Business and Management, Computers, Marketing, Economics, Media, Politics, Research Methodology, and
Engineering.
UOWD Library hosts delegation from Shanghai Library
Sajid Foazdar
The UOWD Library welcomed a high-level
delegation from the Shanghai Public
Library to discuss opportunities for
collaboration under their international
cooperation project ‘Window of Shanghai’.
The Window of Shanghai project is part
of the Chinese national program ‘China
Book International’ and collaborates with
prominent institutions across the world,
such as UCLA Library, the State Library of
Queensland, the Austrian National Library
and Bibliothèques Montréal.
The visitors were received by Saba Gaffar, Manager of Library Services, and Mohmed Sajid Foazdar, Research
Librarian, who provided a tour of the UOWD Campus and Library facilities.
The delegation was led by the Deputy Director of Shanghai Library, He Yi, who explained, “The Window of
Shanghai project started in 2002 as a means of promoting greater awareness of Chinese society, by introducing
Chinese history and culture to overseas readers, through the donation of books to international libraries.
“The program now has many dimensions, including cultural and professional exchanges, the sharing of
academic and research expertise, and cooperation on international library events. We currently have 92 partners
in 56 countries/regions across the globe and hope this visit will mark the beginning of our collaboration with
partners in Dubai.”
Lynda.com
Watch. Listen. Practice. Learn.
Sajid Foazdar
Keep up to date with the latest software tools and skills with recognised industry experts and learn anytime,
anywhere on your desktop, tablet or smartphone. With lynda.com you can gain unlimited access to the full
collection of high quality short training videos.
From beginner to advanced, training is in business, design and web applications; for example, project
management, social media and app development. Register a user profile to access all content, including
practice exercises and custom playlists. New courses are added weekly.
What can you learn with lynda.com videos?
Retouch photos, design web sites, record songs, create spread sheets, animate 3D graphics, and more.
•
Refresh your skills or learn something new
•
Access all 2,280 courses (more added every week)
•
Learn from industry experts carefully selected for their teaching skills
•
Watch anywhere – on Macs, PCs, tablets, and smartphones
•
Mobile site and free app for iPhone, iPad, and Android tablet
You may access lynda.com through the library website ‘Electronic Database’ link.
Please note you will require your SOLS Username and Password to access this resource.
Library Collection 2013
Menchie Aplaca
Developing the collection in every library is one of the main activities the library administration has to do to
support the research goals of the institution. UOWD library is one of those proactive libraries amongst the
Middle East knowledge resource centres.
Currently, the total collection of the library has reached 32,674 titles and will continuously increase. The
library materials that have been procured and added are books, DVDs, CD-Roms etc. that were recommended
by the faculty members, staff and students.
Titles of newly procured library materials have been published every month on the Library Website under the
New Book List link and posted at the Library Bulletin Board.
My Library Experience
A shared experience from our casual staff and library interns
Menchie Aplaca
Shazia Naveed, Library Assistant
When I received a call from Saba, UOWD Library Manager, with the offer of a job as a casual Library Assistant
I felt so happy and honoured to be given a chance to work with one of the most reputable universities in the UAE.
Prior to taking up the offer as a casual member of staff, I had volunteered at the Library for three months in
2013, which gave me the opportunity to refresh my knowledge of the library work I had undertaken before my
marriage.
Serving library clients from different nationalities, I have found each and every task a very challenging one,
which has helped me in enhancing my customer service skills. Working with professional staff who are very
supportive is a great opportunity for me to develop my skills in my professional field of interest – librarianship.
Working with UOWD has given me an opportunity that I will always treasure.
Samer Kazanchi – Student Intern
Being an intern in the library was my first work experience and it helped me overcome my shyness and increase
my confidence by dealing/communicating with students from different nationalities.
Besides that, it has increased my sense of responsibility. It was challenging in the beginning to understand
the system and the coding of books, but later it became easier and more exciting. It is a pleasure to support
students, especially the freshers, by helping them to get used to library facilities.
Tigran Minasyan – Student Intern
This is my first time working in a University. It is a great opportunity to work and study at the same place.
I interact with new students of different nationalities every day in a very friendly environment. I experience
something new every day by handling students’ needs in library facility usage.
Working in the library for me is like my second home and the library staff are almost like my family. Working
in the library and handling student needs/issues has developed my skills and abilities in customer service and
enhance my whole personality to act responsibly within my chosen profession.
Celebrating Library Week 2013
The UOWD library concluded its annual weekly awareness programme on 28th October with a valedictory
function attended by President Trevor Spedding, alumna Ms Rohini Kamath and staff and students of the
university.
Library Services Manager, Ms Saba Gaffar, welcomed the
gathering and Professor Spedding, in his speech, stressed the
role of the library in a student’s life. Ms Rohini Kamath, Manager,
Deloitte, who gave a motivational talk to attending students
was introduced as ‘one of our most illustrious alumni’ by Library
Committee Chair Dr Swapna Koshy.
Ms Kamath, former president of the UOWD Speaking Club was
presented as a model and inspiration to current students. She
spoke about the role of reading in developing a well-rounded
personality and shared her own success story. She spent time
after the function encouraging students and responding to their
questions regarding career choices.
Several prizes were distributed at the ceremony to staff and
students for best library user and contributor, and for competitions
including library trivia quiz, book mark making etc.
The week of events, including a charity book sale and ‘act as
a librarian’, were held under the theme ‘I love my Library’. The
event, organised by Ms Menchie Aplaca and the library team, was
sponsored by UOWD management, UOWD Marketing Department,
Eurobib, Kinokuniya Bookstore Dubai Mall and Symantec.
Winners and Awardees
Library Days 2013 - Best Library User
Undergraduate
Nabeel Ishtiaq
Esmatullah Qalandari
Postgraduate
Shini Dhal
Abdulbaqi Kehinde Abubakar
Alumni
Mohamad Fadel
Ghadeer Al Safi
Staff
Bryan Cabije (ITTS)
Bookmark Making Contest
Gitanjali Venugopal
Faculty
Ali Saedvandi
Raffle Draw for Borrowers
Saltanat Yelgonova (PG)
Mirza Baig (UG)
Act as a Librarian
Ali Humayun (ITTS)
Kasica Fernandes (Registrar’s Dept)
Veena Machado (Finance Dept)
Best Faculty Contributor
Dr Mohammad Firoz
2013 ALA Annual Conference
Joan Clemence Aviso
I was very grateful to be the UOWD representative at one of the most prestigious, most attended, annual
gatherings and conferences of our profession – the American Library Association (ALA) held this year in
Chicago, Illinois on 28 June to 2 July 2013. I was very pleased to meet our colleagues from all over the world,
and talk to them about our institution, our library programs how we serve and promote our libraries, and
ideas from library designs to customer service.
Chicago is a quiet, laid back, friendly and windy city and I enjoyed all the six days spent there. The ALA
annual gathering has so much to offer; conferences that overlap each other, huge exhibits, book talks, meet
and greets and a lot more. I thought I would concentrate on areas that UOWD Library would most benefit
from. Though I was torn between research and information literacy topics, I choose the later, as UOWD is
still new to research and information literacy has been a topic of discussion in most of the workshop and
conferences in the past herein the Gulf region.
Here are a few research topic highlights of the conferences that I attended:
The data and expertise libraries are using to track and enhance research dissemination
Increasingly, libraries are building services designed to assess and improve the impact of their institutions’
research activities. This is an increasingly important, but complex task as more and more scholarly work is
digitally shared and accessed through traditional and non-traditional pathways.
Returning to Learn
Discovering recommendations resulting from research, and identifying further research opportunities in
relation to a unique and growing student population.
Conference Connections: Taking an Active Role in Undergraduate Research
Culture Conference involvement has been beneficial in terms of furthering relationships and networking
opportunities with faculty, and is a rewarding opportunity for librarians to be involved in the research
creation and distribution of accomplishments by students.
Conversation Starters: Tumblarian 101: Tumblr for Libraries and Librarians
Tumblarians are part of an information sharing community which connects libraries, publishers, authors,
major media outlets, educators, students, advocates, and more. The conversation starter provided basic
user tools and tips for library professionals interested in creating a Tumblr blog for their library or their
personal brand.
Aside from topics on research, I also attended several talks from authors and writers and had the chance to
shake hands with two of my favourite – Khaleed Hosseini (Author of Kite Runner, And the mountains echoed,
etc.) and Alice Walker (The Cushion in the Road), as well as many more.
There was a huge array of exhibits, fortunately, the stalls and booths were arranged according to what they
had to offer, so it was easier to navigate around. However, picking up brochures and pamphlets from each
exhibit made my back sore and sent me over my luggage allowance for the return trip to Dubai!
Newsletter Contributors
Saba Gaffar
Mohd Sajid Foazdar
Joan Clemence Aviso
Ruby Mathews
Samer Kazanchi
Designed and Prepared by
Menchie Aplaca
Contact Us
library@uowdubai.ac.ae
04 3672492