Calgary Libraries in Action (CLIA) was held virtually on Wednesday, April 30th from 11:00 AM – 2:15 PM. This free event was open to all library and information management professionals and students.
Time: Apr 30, 2025 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Recordings have been added below.
Learning Through Play: Makerspaces and Productive Procrastination, by Brianna Calomino
(11:10 am)
This presentation will cover innovative takeaways from a Makerspace session conducted during the Long Night Against Procrastination (LNAP) at the University of Calgary. “3D Print & Paint: Fidget Friends” was a drop-in session where students could take a fun break from exam stress by painting 3D printed, animal shaped fidget toys. The session will serve as a case study on the importance of library Makerspaces as an interdisciplinary, creative, and welcoming space, particularly for neurodivergent students. It will also explore how creative, hands-on learning can be more impactful while also benefiting student’s mental wellbeing. Attendees will gain knowledge of how “gamification” techniques can be incorporated into educational settings to engage students more effectively.
Probabilistic Obliteration and Formulaic Fabrication: Citational (In)justice in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence, by Joel Blechinger
(11:35am)
What does it actually mean to cite generative AI (GenAI) tools—both in an instrumental, information retrieval sense, and in a symbolic sense that has more to do with recognition? What does it mean that GenAI tools are also able to produce plausible-looking yet false citations? This presentation will critically examine two sets of examples related to GenAI and contemporary citation practices: (1) the existing citation guidance to GenAI output as articulated by the major style guides, and (2) the issue of “hallucinated”/fabricated citations produced by GenAI tools.The presenter will share takeaways from his recent scholarly work related to questions of GenAI citation and citational justice, using ideas from Robert Merton, Eugene Garfield, Emily Bender, Robert Connors, and Sam Popowich to show that the issues brought to the fore by GenAI and citation could present a pedagogical opportunity to radically reimagine library instruction around the importance of attribution and relationality in academic work if we so chose.
Wellness Resource Creation in Academic Libraries: A Holistic Approach, by Sydney Chappus & Laura Reid
(12pm)
This presentation showcases how we developed a library wellness guide through an inclusive and accessible lens. Our objective is to summarize the project and provide actionable recommendations for creating similar resources that foster student well-being and support diverse needs. Libraries have a unique role in sharing wellness resources to connect students with supports in their community. This project centers on an expanded definition of wellness, including emotional, social, and academic well-being. Throughout this initiative, we focused on inclusivity in resource provision and its role in fostering campus wellness and belonging. By addressing areas of identity and needs that are often stigmatized, we aim to normalize access to supportive resources.In this session, we will describe the steps we took to gather and create content, how we balanced being inclusive but not exhaustive, and discuss the challenges we faced. We will explore how we used the platform ThingLink to engage users through interactive design and provide an overview of the tools we used.
GenAI Tools Awareness, by Liam Baker
(12:25pm)
AI has complicated much of the work we do in libraries. There are emerging generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools which will continue to complicate how we interact with information. We need to start interrogating how these tools change our relationship with the research process, and what they might mean for the profession at large. It is also important to understand how these tools will change how students learn to research. Librarians cannot afford to stick their heads in the sand and ignore emerging GenAI tools. This can only be done through interacting with GenAI tools. It can be difficult given how many tools are out there, all greatly varying in quality. The goal of this presentation is to highlight 2 tools which represent the potential of GenAI to support research: Scite and Undermind. Both are tools that have the potential to augment and support researchers but also forces us to reevaluate our relationship with the research process. The presentation will explore what these tools do for users, along with their shortcomings, and potential opportunities for information professionals.
Born-Digital Preservation in Libraries and Archives, by Hannah Strueby (12:50pm)
Digital preservation is a growing field due to increased reliance on digital material in schools and workplaces. With rapidly changing technology and increased collection size and limited funding digital preservation can become a daunting task. This paper was completed as the final project for the Library Information Technology Diploma at SAIT. The presentation will aim to make the long-term digital preservation of born digital items more accessible to libraries and archives of any size. Throughout the presentation specific concerns, issues and barriers will be discussed, along with standards, best practices, select current efforts, and potential strategies and solutions. After this presentation you should have a better understanding of long-term digital preservation to be better equipped to make more impactful decisions when modifying or creating digital preservation programs.
Hidden Histories: Making the Chicksands Collection Accessible, by Areej Naqvi & Jason Nisenson
(1:15pm)
In 2009, the University of Calgary’s library at The Military Museums acquired the “Chicksands” collection, a rare military archive of 50,000 items spanning the 17th century to the Cold War. Originally assembled by the UK War Office for grey intelligence, it remains the backbone of the library’s holdings. However, only half is catalogued, and more than half—foreign-language materials—remains inaccessible due to cost. As part of the University’s commitment to community engagement, the library’s research collections and reference team serve the public. The Chicksands collection has broad appeal, but unlocking its full potential remains a challenge. This presentation highlights an ongoing effort to make the collection discoverable and accessible through alternative means beyond cataloguing. We will outline our methodology, discussing metadata, conservation and location work. We will share unexpected discoveries, including important historical notes in the margins, ownership marks and borrower’s records which make them rich primary sources; and explore the future of Chicksands as a major resource for international military history research.
Getting a Speaker Series at Your Library Right, by Cheryl D. Bain
(1:40pm)
Are you thinking about organizing an event at your library, but don’t know where to start? This talk will provide you with places to start looking for speakers, and ideas about how to assess the potential candidates to decide if they will be a good fit for your event and community. The focus will be on recruiting local (Calgary and area) speakers for an event that does not have a large enough budget to bring in people from distant locations.The primary example will be Sheep River Library’s Hollywood Got It Wrong series (March-April 2025), which featured speakers from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. Will include approximate timelines on how long event organization took from conceiving the idea to waving goodbye to the final attendees.
Foothills Library Association 