Connecting with the Community: The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Advisory Committee (posted June 22, 2009)

The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre has established an advisory committee to help guide its efforts with BC communities.

“I am looking forward to interesting and engaging discussions with our advisors. They represent an exciting cross section of education and community-based services,” says Sandra Singh, the Learning Centre’s Director. “As well, they bring diverse geographic and individual perspectives.”

The advisory committee, which features 25 members, will serve as a forum for discussion and consideration of the Learning Centre’s role and activities as it seeks to fulfill its wide-ranging Statement of Purpose (found at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca/about/charter.html).

Indeed, Singh is keen to expand the Centre’s community-oriented services. “We have an expansive and inspiring mandate in terms of supporting British Columbians, and we need to better understand what role we might play that does not duplicate existing services – such as those provided by public libraries, post-secondary institutions, and service centres or agencies – but rather enhances and supports them.”

The committee was established as a strategic point of connection between the Learning Centre, internal UBC stakeholders and the broader community. The committee is set to meet twice a year, with the inaugural gathering planned to take place this summer.

Community connections and the development of community-oriented services are vital to the Learning Centre’s mandate, as it strives to support lifelong learning opportunities for those at UBC and throughout the province.

In 2004, consultations were held across B.C. to find out what kinds of resources and services would best suit the Learning Centre’s wide range of users. Those results are now helping foster new discussions with the Advisory Committee and other community groups.

Here is a complete list of advisory committee members:

COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES

Nancy Henderson, Executive Director, Social Policy and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC)

Sue Hanley, Coordinator, First Nations Technology Council

Marie Gallant, Executive Director, Community Futures British Columbia

Doug Chapman, General Manager, Financial Services, Campbell River

Paul Whitney, City Librarian, Vancouver Public Library (Co-chair, Learning City)

Nancy Levesque, University Library Director, Thompson Rivers University

Rory M. McIvor, Director, Community Futures Development Corporation of Okanagan Similkameen

Doug McLachlan, Senior Instructional Officer, Dean of Instruction, College of the Rockies

Baljit Sethi, Executive Director, Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society, Prince George

Eve Hope, Head Librarian, Hazelton District Public Library

Chris van der Mark, Assistant Superintendent, School District 54, Bulkley Valley

Andy Ackerman, Trustee, Fort St. John Public Library Board

President, British Columbia Library Trustees Association

UBC REPRESENTATIVES

Mrigank Sharma, VP Academic, Graduate Student Society, UBC

Johannes Rebane, VP Academic and University Affairs, Alma Mater Society, UBC

Ian Cavers, Associate Dean, Curriculum and Learning, Faculty of Science, UBC

Janet Giltrow, Associate Dean, Students, Faculty of Arts, UBC

Linc Kesler, Director and Senior Advisor to the President on Aboriginal Affairs, First Nations House of Learning, UBC

Michelle Lamberson, Director, Office of Learning Technology, UBC

Janet Teasdale, Director, Student Development, UBC

Jan Wallace, Head Librarian, David Lam Management Research Library, UBC

Marie Earl, Executive Director, Alumni Association, UBC

Judith Plessis, Director, Continuing Studies, UBC

Stephen Owen, Vice-President, External, Legal and Community Relations, UBC

Cynthia Mathieson, Acting Dean, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, UBCO

Leonora Crema, Associate University Librarian, Planning and Community Relations, UBC

Ex officio: UBC University Librarian

Ex officio: Irving K. Barber

The Bella Coola Valley Museum has completed its digital heritage project about logging in the region. This project was supported in part by the B.C. History Digitization Program, an initative of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

You can find out more about the Bella Coola project here:

http://www.bellacoolamuseum.ca/en/digital_heritage/logging/index.php

In response to feedback from students, staff and faculty, the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre is pleased to announce that much of the building will be open 24 hours a day for the upcoming final exam period, which runs from April 14 to April 30.

This marks the first time a UBC Vancouver learning facility will remain open on a 24-hour/7 day-a-week basis, an effort made possible through support of stakeholders in Land and Building Services, Campus Security and Classroom Services.

All study areas and classrooms with the exception of the Chapman Learning Commons, Ike’s Café and UBC Library divisions (Art, Architecture and Planning, Science and Engineering, Rare Books and Special Collections, University Archives, the circulation desk on level two) will remain open during extended hours.

The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre has become a valued, central point of interaction for our academic community. The security, safety and comfort of our building patrons and its assets are the Centre’s highest priority. Additional security staff will be on hand during this time to facilitate these needs. Patrons may be asked to produce their UBC staff or student cards, and are encouraged to make security or building personnel aware of any suspicious or inappropriate activity.

Formal exams will be scheduled in various classrooms during this period. To ensure exams commence promptly at scheduled times, patrons are requested to vacate classrooms in a timely manner. Please ensure furnishings are returned to standard seating configurations and that all food and beverage refuse is deposited in the garbage and recycling bins throughout the facility.

The success of this pilot will be due in large part to the students using the space. One of the significant challenges currently faced by the IKBLC management and staff team is the condition of the building. Since opening last April, scattered debris, movement of heavy furniture across and between floors, and damage to furniture and fixtures have all created a real operating and financial challenge. Various activities have been identified to try to solve these ongoing challenges, including seeking feedback and help from student societies. In addition, through campaigns and other approaches, management and staff will appeal to building patrons to keep the space in good shape by cleaning up after themselves and by considering how their use of the space and furniture may impact its availability for, and use, by future students.

It is hoped that the brief pilot will offer insights into how the model can be supported on an ongoing basis. Stakeholder meetings will be held throughout the coming months in an effort to evaluate the success of the pilot. Feedback from students, staff and faculty is welcome and can be directed to Sandra Singh, Director of the IKBLC, at sandra.singh@ubc.ca

A digitization project supported by the B.C. History Digitization Program – which was launched by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre – is featured in the Terrace Standard newspaper.

You can view the article here: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/terracestandard/news/41489462.html