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Gravitational wave astronomy: a new window to the cosmos a new window to the cosmos

- Bishop, Nigel T

Authors: Bishop, Nigel T
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:581 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018923
Description: [Introduction] Since recorded history began, humankind has wondered about, and tried to understand, the Universe. Until about 400 years ago, the only tool available was the naked eye. In 1609 Galileo applied the new invention of the telescope to astronomy, and so opened a window to the cosmos. This window has been getting wider and clearer with every technological improvement. But always the medium bringing information about the Universe has been light, because radio waves, X-rays, gamma-rays etc. are light at different energies, or in other words different colours of light. But that is about to change. In a few years time we will have measured gravitational waves, and so will have opened a new window to the cosmos. And that window is very different to the one open to light in its various forms, because these are all emitted from the surface of an astronomical body. Gravitational waves are caused by the relative motion of matter, and as such are generated primarily in the deep interior of the body.
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Date Issued: 2013

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Rhodes University Library Services Annual Report 2012 : Library Director's message

- Satgoor, Ujala

Authors: Satgoor, Ujala
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:7945 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011893
Description: Library Director's Message: It gives me great pleasure to present the 2012 annual report of the Rhodes University Library Services. Since 2010 the staff have experienced a variety of impactful changes which included a new building, a new organisational structure, a new practice model and a change of leadership. Change refers to altering one’s approach or attitude; a process which enables transformation, becoming different or doing things differently. Peter Drucker defines innovation as “change that creates a new dimension of performance.” Therefore 2012 can be described as a year of engagement, conversations, consultations, reviews, participation, collaboration and redefinition. In addition to ensuring the delivery of professional services to the Rhodes community, strategy development, quality of service, continuing professional development, human resources management and national professional engagement defines this period. Therefore an effective organization must be prepared to grasp the opportunities, alongside the threats, by responding to the challenge of change to continue adding value to its defined audience. An innovative organization focuses on the following four significant areas: • Alignment of internal strategies to corporate/institutional goals and strategies • People, skills and roles • Defined workflows or processes • Cultural engagement and support The process towards crafting a new strategic directions and articulating an organizational culture commenced with a 2-day intervention on June 14-15 2012 which was facilitated by Dr Noel Pearse. This exercise proved to be an invaluable experience for the staff, who by taking ownership of the subsequent development of the strategic focus areas and the organisational culture statement, were able to articulate their thoughts, concerns, aspirations and expectations of their organisation. The four strategies identified will go a long way to strengthening and consolidating the RUL: • Positioning the RUL in the intellectual midst of the University community • Dynamic user services to advance the RU research, teaching and learning endeavours • Staff development • Technology and innovation The LibQual online library quality survey conducted during 13-31 August 2012 was a success, which surpassed our expectations. The comparison between the 2005 and 2012 results show a significant improvement in the perceptions of the RU community towards the quality of service, information resources and the library as place. This affirmed that the new Library building and Faculty Library liaison model are serving to locate the library positively in the academic endeavor. However while we savour these results, concerns have been raised about the lack of awareness and proper use of the wide array of electronic resources available. Therefore we will be focusing on a concerted marketing and training campaign to ensure that the subscription-based electronic resources are optimally used by the RU community, especially the academics. I wish to acknowledge the sterling and creative work of the team that led this project. We also bade farewell to Ms Jeanne Berger, who was the former Deputy Director and Acting Director in April 2012. Together with the former Director, Gwenda Thomas, Jeanne drove the reconstruction and renewal project of the RUL. I acknowledge both Gwenda and Jeanne, the University Management and all those who contributed to the realisation of the vision of a modern 21st century academic library.
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Date Issued: 2013

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Rhodes University Research Report 2013

- Rhodes University, Roberts, Jaine, Mantolo, Thumeka, Jacob, Patricia, Macgregor, Jill, Dore, Sally

Authors: Rhodes University , Roberts, Jaine , Mantolo, Thumeka , Jacob, Patricia , Macgregor, Jill , Dore, Sally
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59330 , vital:27549
Description: From Foreword by Dr Saleem Badat: Rhodes University has positioned itself as a research university that, alongside excellence in undergraduate teaching, also takes scholarship seriously. This has strongly shaped the intellectual identity of the university and, today, research income and expenditure are significant components of the university’s finances. Rhodes University values the scholar-teacher model of combining research with teaching and learning, and other scholarly activities. This has a strong influence on the quality of intellectual endeavour at the University, and is critical in advancing the University’s pursuit of a strong postgraduate trajectory. This is an opportunity to briefly reflect on research at Rhodes over the eight years of my Vice-Chancellorship. It is gratifying to see that scholarship and publishing has continued to blossom at Rhodes, and has also occurred over a wider academic base, and that there has also been increased enrolments of postgraduates, as part of overall University strategy. Postgraduate enrolments increased from 24% (1 397) in 2006 to 30% (2 302) in 2013, with considerable increases in the numbers of Masters and Doctoral students. Between 2006 and 2013, Honours and Postgraduate Diploma graduations increased from 453 to 719, Masters graduations increased by 73% (from 171 to 296) and Doctoral graduations by 70% (from 46 to 78). Concomitantly, there was an increase in the numbers of black and women PhD graduates. The number of Postdoctoral Fellows at Rhodes rose from 19 in 2007 to 68 in 2013, an increase of 258%. , A publication of the Rhodes University Research Office, compiled and edited by Jaine Roberts, Thumeka Mantolo, Patricia Jacob and Jill Macgregor. Design and Layout: Sally Dore
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Date Issued: 2013

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RUL News, Quarter 1, 2013

- Rhodes Library Services

Authors: Rhodes Library Services
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:16125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020860
Description: [From Introduction] Message from Ujala: A new year is always welcomed as a time for new beginnings, new ideas, new considerations for continuity and sustainability - so too with the Rhodes University Library! In 2012 staff embraced wholeheartedly the exercise to identify the strategic focus areas for 2013-2015 and defining the organizational culture. I’m pleased to share the organizational plan and culture that will guide the RUL for the next three years. Introducing new students to the RUL is an exciting process as it gives us the opportunity to become familiar with and understand the evolving learning needs of the young student. We also need to assure new and returning students of certain constants within the Library. To this end, we have introduced the Personal Librarian programme for 1st year students, who through this initiative will be able to work consistently with a librarian to learn about and use the library resources optimally. Regular training sessions, offered by the faculty library teams, on how to access information, the use of databases and other eresources, Libguides, etc. are critical for a dynamic undergraduate learning experience. The RUL is committed to its ongoing support for research and making the RU research output visible. Digitisation of research outputs and the creation & management of institutional repositories at academic institutions have become the key ways of ensuring this visibility. The retrospective digitization of theses and dissertations, going back to the 1930s, is moving along consistently. Proper harvesting and metadata protocols will ensure the optimal visibility and access of these items. We also need to seriously consider the physical environment for a digitization unit within the library. This team has been enhanced by the placement of an intern who is being taught and exposed to a new skills set. The SEALS Consortium is a very successful example of collegiality and institutional collaboration. Whilst its primary goal is to ensure a stable shared library management system in the region, discussions have also commenced on how we may use this platform to enhance staff skills and development. The importance of benchmarking, standardization of skills sets and workplace development is critical for ensuring a cohort of strong professionals for succession planning in the region. To date, two workshops on Systems Librarianship and Skills Development were held. The aim was to understand how each institution is addressing these issues, what is the role of SEALs, and what should be addressed going forward. Task teams have been identified to continue the conversation on Systems Librarianship and the 21st Century academic librarian. I strongly believe that the success of an organization resides in the ability of its staff to give expression to their ideas, concerns and professional goals in alignment with the organisation’s goals and strategies. I’m confident that the RUL staff will succeed in this and collectively strengthen this dynamic organization in 2013
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Date Issued: 2013

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RUL News, Quarter 3, 2013

- Rhodes Library Services

Authors: Rhodes Library Services
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:16124 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020859
Description: [From Introduction] Message from Ujala: This has indeed been an extremely engaged period for all staff at the Rhodes University Library (RUL). In addition to ensuring the delivery of professional services to the Rhodes community, strategy development, quality of service, continuing professional development, human resources management and national professional engagement defines this period. The LibQual online library quality survey conducted during 13-31 August 2012 was a success, which surpassed our expectations. The comparison between the 2005 and 2012 results show a significant improvement in the perceptions of the RU community towards the quality of service, information resources and the library as place. This affirmed that the new Library building and Faculty Library liaison model are serving to locate the library positively in the academic endeavor. However while we savour these results, concerns have been raised about the lack of awareness and proper use of the wide array of electronic resources available. Therefore we will be focusing on a concerted marketing and training campaign to ensure that the subscription -based electronic resources are optimally used by the RU community, especially the academics. I wish to acknowledge the sterling and creative work of the team that led this project. This collection development & management workshop held on 17 September 2012 was attended by all professional library staff. The workshop was aimed at establishing an understanding of basic aspects of collection development & management, the supporting policy and guidelines, as well as the Information resources (IR) grant. The discussions took cognizance of the context in which the RUL functions as well as the various industry trends such as patron driven acquisition (PDA) and demand driven acquisition (DDA). As this is a key responsibility of librarians, it is critical to regularly revisit collection development patterns and trends to ensure the continued development of core balanced collections. The successful migration of the SEALS consortium libraries to the III SIERRA next generation library management system during September-October 2012 may be attributed to professional collaboration and collegiality. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the RU ITD especially Jonathan McKeown who together with Ms Allwright worked across time zones with the III team (US-based). The level of support and professionalism displayed is to be commended. By the end of November 2012 task teams were able to present their identified strategies to all staff. The e-Strategy, Staff Development, User Services and Marketing strategies, as well as the RUL Culture Statement will be collated into a single document that will be aligned to the RU Institutional Development Plan (IDP). The level of interaction, inclusion and participation augers well for taking these strategies forward in 2013 as staff were able to experience the dynamism of participative engagement. I wish to congratulate staff members for their various achievements during the course of 2012! I also wish to thank you for your willingness and openness to engage with the various ideas and processes proposed during this year. It has indeed been an exciting, challenging and fulfilling year which was made possible by your support and involvement. Happy holidays and best wishes for 2013!
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Date Issued: 2013

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Teenage pregnancy

- Macleod, Catriona I

Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:6301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015906
Description: In a book on preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes in developing countries, the World Health Organisation (2011) declares that ‘adolescent pregnancy’ contributes to maternal, perinatal and infant mortality, and to a vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health. This statement reflects the common public assumption that ‘teenage pregnancy’ represents an individual, social, health, educational and financial risk that requires remediation. This kind of public perception is spurred by media coverage in which young girls with large protruding stomachs are etched in profile and stories of calamity are told (e.g. Time (21 June 2005) magazine). And yet the very notion of 'teenage pregnancy' is a relatively recent one. Depending on the country one talks about, it has been around since between the 1960s and 1980s. In the United States, for example, the rise of ‘teenage pregnancy’ as a social problem was associated with a shift in gendered power relations. Prior to the late 1960s the morally loaded concepts of 'unwed mother' and 'illegitimate child' were used to describe young women who conceived. For the most part, young pregnant women were excluded from society, with the accompanying shame around the lack of proper conjugal arrangements. The use of the term 'teenage pregnancy' removed the implied moral judgment and replaced it with seeming scientific neutrality. Young pregnant women now became publicly visible and thus the object of scientific scrutiny (Arney & Bergen, 1984).
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Date Issued: 2013

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The landscape holds answers to more questions than we have yet learned to ask : perspectives of an environmental scientist

- Ellery, William F N

Authors: Ellery, William F N
Date: 2013
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:584 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018944
Description: [From the text] Implicit in the title of my talk is the idea that the landscape has a voice – it "holds answers". Our understanding of landscapes depends on the questions we ask about their appearance and dynamics. What I love about the voice of landscapes is its gentle nature – it whispers. It's a seductive voice, inviting one to hear secrets. I have long been curious about the intimate language of landscapes and this has stemmed from a personal connection with nature from a very early age. My interests led me into the fields of ecology and geomorphology, both of which have allowed me to unravel some of these secrets. So, in tonight’s talk there are a number of narratives that form a part of my story. The first narrative is about science. It’s about how we uncover nature’s secrets and thus create new understanding.
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Date Issued: 2013

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Journalism in a new democracy : the ethics of listening.

- Wasserman, Herman

Authors: Wasserman, Herman
Date: 2012-09-19
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:577 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008551
Description: [Conclusion] I started this lecture by recalling how, as a youngster, it was stories that helped me to understand the country I was growing up in, and helped me imagine the lives of others that I did not read about in the media of that time. For journalism in a new democracy such as South Africa to serve more than an elite, for it to enable citizens to actively practice their citizenship through media, for it to treat all South Africans with dignity, it would have to learn to listen across the different lines that continue to keep South Africans apart – journalists would have to learn to listen to the stories of those on the other side of the railway line, the breadline, the picket line, the barbed wire fence. What would this listening mean for journalists in practice? Let me end by returning to the coverage of the Marikana massacre. In a recent interview with Greg Marinovich, the journalist that did the investigation that cast doubt on the official accounts of the events, he was asked if what was needed for better journalism was more investment of resources. ‘Do we need a team (or teams) of journalists to get to the bottom of this?’ he was asked. Marinovich responded as follows: “I wouldn't say that. I think other journalists have been spending more time there than I have (…) It's about opening your eyes and looking at what people are telling you, looking at their stories.”
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Date Issued: 2012-09-19

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Feminist health psychology and abortion : towards a politics of transversal relations of commonality

- Macleod, Catriona I

Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
Date: 2012
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:6303 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015959
Description: In 1992 Speckhard and Rue argued in the Journal of Social Issues for the recognition of a diagnostic category, post-abortion syndrome (PAS). This term was first used in 1981 by Vincent Rue in testimony to the American Congress, but was only formalised in a published paper a decade later. Speckhard and Rue (1992) posit that abortion is a psychosocial stressor that may cause mild distress through to severe trauma, creating the need for a continuum of categories, these being post-abortion distress, post-abortion syndrome and post-abortion psychosis. PAS, which is the main focus of their paper, and which has taken root in some professional language as well as lay anti-abortion discourse, is described as a type of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Date Issued: 2012

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Institutional economics and the environment

- Fraser, Gavin C G

Authors: Fraser, Gavin C G
Date: 2012
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:573 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006130
Description: [From text] What is Institutional Economics? Before delving into the concept of institutional economics, it will be useful to explain what is meant by institutions because institutions in economics have a particular meaning. The most commonly agreed upon definition for institutions is a set of formal and informal rules of conduct that facilitate coordination or govern relationships between individuals or groups. The formal rules include laws, contracts, political systems, organisations, and markets, while the informal rules of conduct consist of norms, traditions, customs, value systems, religions and sociological trends. Institutions provide for more certainty in human interaction (North, 1990) and have an influence on outcomes such as economic performance, efficiency, economic growth and development. They can either benefit or hinder these economic measures. Williamson (2000) noted that new institutional economics operates at both the macro and micro levels. The macro level deals with the institutional environment, or the rules of the game, which affect the behaviour and performance of economic actors and in which organisational forms and transactions are embedded. Williamson (1993) described it as the set of fundamental political, social and legal ground rules that establish the basis for production, exchange and distribution. The micro level analysis known as the institutional arrangement, on the other hand, deals with the institutions of governance. These refer to the modes of managing transaction costs and include issues of social capital, property rights and collective action. Here the focus is on the individual transaction and the questions regarding organisational forms (private property versus common pool resources) are analysed. An institutional arrangement is an arrangement between economic units that govern the ways in which its members can co-operate or compete.
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Date Issued: 2012

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Rhodes University Library Annual Report 2011 : acting Library Director’s Review

- Berger, Jeanne

Authors: Berger, Jeanne
Date: 2012
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:7944 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011891
Description: [From the Introduction] 2011 saw the consolidation of a number of changes to Library services implemented in 2010 as a result of the 2009 Review of the Library Services Division. These include: 1) Collection development operating as a collaborative effort between Library staff and the academic community. The Collection Development Policy also underwent a major revision and was approved by Senate in October as the “Collection Development and Management Policy and Guidelines”. 2) The Faculty Liaison Service – the librarians in these teams are now proactively liaising with academics, for example, playing a crucial role in collection development for the departments, ensuring that they spend their information resources grants, creating awareness of appropriate online information resources and offering information literacy workshops.
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Date Issued: 2012

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Rhodes University Research Report 2012

- Rhodes University, Roberts, Jaine, Connan, Verna, Mantolo, Thumeka, Macgregor, Jill, Jacob, Patricia

Authors: Rhodes University , Roberts, Jaine , Connan, Verna , Mantolo, Thumeka , Macgregor, Jill , Jacob, Patricia
Date: 2012
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:567 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011985
Description: [From Introduction] Rhodes University continued to grow in overall accredited research outputs in 2012, and in other forms of scholarship which enhance the intellectual space of the university. During the graduation ceremonies that followed the 2012 academic year, 2 288 students earned new qualifications. A record 948 students or 41 percent graduated with postgraduate degrees. We also celebrated a new University record of 63 PhD graduates, a wonderful achievement for the smallest university in the country. Our Science Faculty was a particularly noteworthy contributor to the postgraduate numbers, with 35 PhD graduates, 83 Master’s graduates and 132 honours graduates. The University’s Enrolment Plan outlines our intention of becoming a more postgraduate university, and our overall strategy is to enhance our contribution to knowledge production through research and scholarship. Rhodes is well-positioned for such a trajectory, and we look to strengthening our capacity to serve society in this way by striving to provide our academics with effective research support. In the latest Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Ministerial Report on National Research Outputs, Rhodes University is listed as having the third most favourable research output rate per capita (the accepted norm for measuring efficiency of investment in the research domain) in the South African university system, and the second highest percentage of academic staff with PhDs (56 percent). Other studies show that Rhodes has the top PhD graduation rate of South African Universities, and very good postgraduate throughput rates overall. We continue to give special attention to identifying potential new postgraduate and research niche areas and programmes, and to developing the appropriate institutional arrangements to effectively support larger numbers of Honours, Masters and Doctoral students, and further enhance their academic and social experiences. The audited result of our DHET submission of accredited research outputs for 2012 has not yet been received at the time of writing, so exact success rates in book and conference submissions are not yet known. These are the smaller components of our overall accredited outputs (in the previous year, books and accredited conference proceedings each contributed 7 percent of our total accredited publishing output, while journals contributed 86 percent). In 2012, Rhodes submitted 46.82 book and book chapter units for consideration (up by 33 percent on the 2011 submission), and 32.04 accredited conference proceeding weighted units (down by 8.6 percent on the 2011 submission, which in turn had been up 46.8 percent on the previous year’s submission).Year-on-year variance on the relatively small submission base in these categories is to be expected. The big component of Rhodes’ publication output, our journal publications, grew by 13.2 percent on the 2011 level to 350.47 units (the previous year has seen a 6 percent increase in this category), maintaining Rhodes’ position amongst the most research productive institutions in the South African Higher Education system. Coupled with Rhodes’ high volume of accredited journal outputs in relation to its size, a very pleasing quality measure is that 90 percent of Journal outputs (the highest proportion in the sector) appear in internationally accredited journal indices. Accredited outputs from thesis-based PhD and Masters graduates rose by 4.9 percent in 2012 to a new high for Rhodes (2011’s figure had grown by 15.4 percent over 2010, which in turn had grown by 35.8 percent over 2009). I add my warm thanks and congratulations to all of our researchers, funders, collaborators and partners who contributed to the excellent accredited research results of 2012, as well as generated the many forms of scholarship that are not counted in the accreditation exercise, but which contribute much to the rich intellectual space that is Rhodes. I also thank all of the administrators who play a crucial role in preparing the university’s meticulous audited submissions.
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Date Issued: 2012

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RUL News, Quarter 1, 2012

- Rhodes Library Services

Authors: Rhodes Library Services
Date: 2012
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:16122 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020856
Description: [From Introduction] Message from Ujala: It is now two months since I joined Rhodes University Library on February 01 2012 as the latest Director in a list of respected professionals who have led this Library to what it is today. I feel extremely privileged to have inherited an amazingly beautiful library building that has all the trappings of a modern 21st century academic library. To this end I acknowledge the former Director Gwenda Thomas who drove this reconstruction and renewal process together with Ms Jeanne Berger, former Acting Director and Deputy Director. I believe that together we are poised to embark on a new trajectory that will redefine this institution. This redefinition will include a new vision, mission and values statement; an articulated organizational culture; staff enablement and development for consolidation and innovation; and increased visibility and appreciation of the Library. While we enjoy the physical Library environment, we also need to explore the frontiers of the digital library. Unprecedented growth in technology provides us with vast new opportunities for identifying appropriate or relevant models for library services and communication. We need to commence this conversation proactively so that we understand and embrace the newest technologies to enable and contribute to the success of our users and the University. I believe that we have an exciting future ahead of us and that collectively we can set the agenda for this future. The African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together” certainly holds true for us and I look forward to working with each one of you.
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Date Issued: 2012

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RUL News, Quarter 2, 2012

- Rhodes Library Services

Authors: Rhodes Library Services
Date: 2012
Language: English
Type: Text
Identifier: vital:16123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020858
Description: [From Introduction] Message from Ujala: The last three months have been an exciting time for me at the Rhodes University Library (RUL) as it coincides with my first 100 days as the Director. It’s been a time for observations, questions, conversations, reviews, meetings, gaining trust, challenging assumptions and old habits, and taking ownership with the intention of facilitating change and innovation for a redefined future. After all of this, I must admit that the future looks extremely positive. An invitation to speak at the 11th South African Online Information Meeting (SAOIM) on 06 June 2012 on the topic “Change and Innovation: the need to push the limits” gave me pause for thought regarding innovation and organizational development. While there is a tendency to link innovation to technology, it may be used to implement change at every level of an organization. Change refers to altering one’s approach or attitude; a process which enables transformation, becoming different or doing things differently. Peter Drucker defines innovation as “change that creates a new dimension of performance.” Therefore an effective organization must be prepared to grasp the opportunities, alongside the threats, by responding to the challenge of change to continue adding value to its defined audience. An innovative organization focuses on the following four significant areas: - Alignment of internal strategies to corporate/institutional goals and strategies - People, skills and roles - Defined workflows or processes - Cultural engagement and support Keeping the above in mind, the following activities were held towards redefining the organization’s purpose and culture, and identifying the focus areas for 2013-2015: Review of the Faculty Library model on May 03 2012 with all the Principal Faculty Librarians. The following questions were addressed: - What are we doing well? - What are we not doing well? Why not? - How could we do things differently? - What are the burning issues critical for success or failure? - How well are we positioned for the future? 2-day strategic planning session on 14-15 June 2012 which was facilitated by Dr Noel Pearse of the Rhodes Business School. The context was set by Dr Sizwe Mabizela, the Acting Vice-Chancellor and the Dr Peter Clayton, DVC: Research who focused on the Rhodes priorities and the research agenda respectively. Presentations on Open Scholarship; Mobile Technologies; Library Leadership; Changing User Needs and Library as Space were made by staff and the World Café concept was used to encourage open discussions and exchange of ideas among staff in teams and across levels. The most positive and encouraging outcome hereof is that various task teams which include every member of staff have taken the responsibility of developing the eStrategy and the strategies relating to Marketing & Communications, Staff Development, User Services and Infrastructure, as well as the Purpose Statement (Vision, Mission and Values) and the Organisational Culture. This is indeed an innovative way of the staff taking ownership of the future of the organization. I believe that the greatest asset of an organization is its human capital and RUL is fortunate to have a corps of staff that is representative of different skills, expertise and varying experience. Collectively we can define the conditions for successful innovation by enhancing existing strengths; committing to change; focusing on specific needs; innovating for the present which will have long-term impact; and changing our behaviours and processes. This gives us the opportunity to: - demonstrate our value to the University management - take the lead in being strategic and inculcate the “One organization, many leaders” mindset - focus on exceptional user experiences - use technology as an enabler - redefine our role through collaboration and embedded librarianship Jean Sykes (Chief Librarian and Information Services Director: London School of Economics) is of the opinion that “Librarians are very well-placed to make a difference and secure an enviable reputation for our profession if we continue to watch, listen, think, analyse, collaborate, share, test and try and if we deploy real leadership skills, displaying a genuine willingness to keep reinventing ourselves and our old skills to match the changing environment we find ourselves in at any stage.” I agree!
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Date Issued: 2012

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