Thursday Lightning Talks
Collaborating to Improve the Accessibility of Scholars Portal Journals
Speakers: Mark Weiler, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Bartek Kawula, Scholars Portal
Abstract: This presentation describes an initiative of the Web & Discovery Services Librarian at Scholars Portal and the Web & User Experience Librarian at Laurier University to improve the accessibility of Scholars Portal Journal for blind users. We had two goals. First, add a feature to Scholars Portal Journal platform that would allow users with disabilities to easily report problems with the interface, quality of files, or compatibility with assistive technology (and flag the issue as urgent); and second, add a help guide to make it easier for screen reader users to understand how the platform is intended to be used.
Filling a Gap: How Ryerson Library Pivoted its Captioning Service to Accommodate the New Reality of Online Courses
Presenter: Kelly Dermody, Ryerson University
Abstract: Before COVID, the library might be called on to caption a few videos in their collection for classroom use, but when classes went online in March 2020, the use of recorded lectures to teach students exploded. This led to a demand in captioning and the library was the only one who had the knowledge to meet this demand. Learn how we pivoted to ramping up our captioning and found unique solutions to ensure our students were accommodated in the classroom.
Library Expertise, Accessibility and the Pivot to Online Teaching
Presenters: Aneta Kwak and Jeff Newman, New College Library, University of Toronto
Abstract: The move to online learning wasn't just a chance to "teach online," it was a chance to reflect upon what skills and practices were already in place in our library to support students and faculty, and in particular, how this moment could be a chance to centre accessibility practices into course and curriculum design. This prompted deeper conversations around accessibility requirements like captions and transcripts, accommodations for learners in other time-zones like time-shifting, and general questions about what does "good" online pedagogy and academic programing look like. Our library has a long tradition of creating online teaching materials, integrating principles of accessibility into library services, and supporting students in online environments. During the quick pivot to online learning the library was well situated to leverage and share these skills and practices with communities and partners outside of the library. This talk will briefly introduce how the shift to the online environment sparked robust conversations around accessible pedagogy and academic programming through collaboration with librarians.
Meeting Our Users Where They Are: Learning, Adopting, and Utilizing Virtual Tools
Presenter: Joel Rivard, Carleton University
Abstract: The Research Support Services (RSS) department at the library is responsible for providing research help and library instructional sessions to the Carleton University community. During the past year’s disruption, we’ve utilized various virtual tools to help us serve and reach out to both faculty and students on campus. Because we no longer had the benefit of face-to-face interaction with our users, we tried as best we could to remove barriers to access to research help by using various technology such as MS-Teams, Zoom, Big Blue Button, LibCal, Ask a Librarian, Kaltura Capture as well as the course learning management system (Moodle). While most of these tools were around pre-pandemic, the presentation will show how many in our team of 25+ staff had to learn, adopt and utilize these tools so that we can better help and interact with our users. The presentation will also highlight many of the benefits of these tools as we transition to post-pandemic research help and library instructional sessions.
Evolving with Chat: Strengthening our Service During a Pandemic
Presenters: Amy Rutherford and Carling Spinney, Queen's University
Abstract: Now more than ever before, many OCUL schools find themselves relying on the collaborative Ask-a-Librarian chat service in order to reach students virtually. As a critical component of the overall Queen’s Ask Us service, this live chat feature is internally examined on an ongoing basis through operator feedback, statistical analysis and assessment reports. Considering the increasing reliance o n virtual library help under present circumstances, we have re-examined and strengthened how we provide chat to optimize our effectiveness. These local implementations have become permanent mainstays of our service. Queen’s adopted Ask-a-Librarian mid-April 2019, meaning we had not yet completed one full year with chat before the pandemic first resulted in our closure in mid-March 2020. Now, as we approach our two-year mark with chat (April 15th 2021), we would like to share some of our usage statistics and the ways in which disruption has led to the strengthening of this key service. Our presentation will touch on team-building and communication among chat operators, strategic staffing hours within the home-team-first model, initiatives for further chat promotion, and future assessment plans.