Integrating information and communication technology (ICT) in social interaction spaces of proposed public library Gwagwalada, Abuja- Nigeria

This work focuses on preference of Public Library users on information and communication technology (ICT) facilities that matches user social activities in the library. It also proffers means of integrating such factors in social interaction spaces of proposed Public library Gwagwalada, Abuja to enhance user experience and meet the digital age. Libraries began incorporating ICT facilities since the advent of technology but without considering the facilities that matches user activity in such spaces. The analysis is based on data collected through observation and questionnaire survey addressed to users and staff of three public libraries and analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel analytical software. The results show that Group Creative Collaborative space is more preferred by users while very few users prefer Small Group Collaborative space. Responses indicate that users prefer group studies to interact. Also “Between Individual and Individual spaces”, majority of public library users prefer Internet Facilities which appears to have mean of (3.8371) while very few prefer Video Conferencing with mean of (2.8708). It also reveals that, in “Between Group and Group space” majority of public library users prefer Mailing List with mean of (3.7247) while very few users prefer Video Conferencing with mean of (3.0955) and “Between Group and Object space” majority of the users prefer Digitalized Library Structure with mean 0f (3.6180) while very few users prefer interactive floor (iFloor) with mean of (3.1292).In conclusion ICT has high potential for encouraging social interaction, in public spaces, thus connecting the society and provides access points to information and supports education. The study revealed the current situation on the issues investigated which can be relied on in future studies or decision making. Essentially, the study produced findings that researchers can apply or validate subsequent similar researches.

There and Back Again (Almost)

Library renovation caused the staff of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to plan a move of library services to a temporary location. The staff selected a subset of books to remain available to users; 90,000 volumes were placed in storage. Records for unavailable volumes were suppressed so that users would only see information about books available to them. The staff chose 6,000 books for a temporary library, based on faculty needs and past usage. Books were moved in January 2020. Staff were continuously involved in refining design and furniture decisions during the construction process, scheduled for completion in September 2021. The new Wright Learning and Information Center will feature a large collaborative space and a digital learning center. Lessons learned include the necessity for constant communication among staff members and keeping in mind that users want normal library services, despite the disruptions of a construction project.

Collaborative Future within Atla

In a post-pandemic, digital world, collaboration between libraries and librarians is more important than ever. This essay argues that Atla members should look to the association itself as a way of working together. I proceed first by outlining the great history of the association as a collaborative space for its members, highlighting three past successes. I then apply the four causes of success from these past projects to the challenges we face in a digital age that has been disrupted by the pandemic. I explore how Atla libraries can collaborate on collection development, digitization, and information literacy instruction, and what the opportunities and limits of working together may be.

COLLABORATING AT MICROSCOPIC AND MASSIVE SCALES: THE CHALLENGE AND VALUE OF COVID ISOLATION FOR CRITICAL INTERNET STUDIES

Global events like a pandemic or climate change are massive in scope but experienced at the local, lived, microscopic level. What sorts of methodologies and mindsets can help critical internet researchers, functioning as interventionists or activists, find traction by oscillating between these levels? How can we push (further) against the boundaries of research methods to build stronger coalitions and more impactful outcomes for social change among groups of scholars/researchers? This panel presents four papers addressing these questions based on a large scale online autoethnography in 2020. This “Massive/Micro” project simultaneously used and studied the angst and novelty of isolation during a pandemic, activating researchers, activists, and artists to explore the massive yet microscopic properties of COVID-19 as a “glocal” phenomenon. The challenge? Working independently and microscopically through intense focus on the Self but also working with distributed, largely unknown collaborators, in multiple platforms. The emerging shape of the project itself showcases the challenges and possibilities of how research projects at scale can (or don’t) reflect and build social movements. The panel’s four papers situate the project through a kaleidoscope of perspectives featuring participants from 7 countries, who variously explore: the value of the project for precarious or early career researchers, how MMS worked as both collaborative space and critical pedagogy, how non-institutional or playful experimentation in asynchronous collaborations can lead to new synergies; and how MMS developed an independent life of its own, beyond studying COVID to generating multiple communities of future digital research practice.

The Virtual Water Gallery: a collaborative science and art project

<p>Water is life and so water-related challenges, such as droughts, floods and water quality degradation, affect everyone. Conceptualizing water-related environmental and social problems in novel ways, with engagement between the public and science researchers, may lead to new and more comprehensive solutions to complex problems. A society that makes decisions informed by science and science that approaches problems in a transdisciplinary manner are key elements in finding creative and holistic solutions to the water-related challenges we all face. We believe that art can help co-establish new social norms to help us grasp and tackle water-related challenges in a more holistic manner.</p><p>The Virtual Water Gallery* is a science and art pilot project funded by Global Water Futures (GWF). GWF is a University of Saskatchewan-led research program that is funded in part by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Its overarching goal is to deliver risk management solutions, informed by leading-edge water science, to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where global warming is changing landscapes, ecosystems and the water environment. Launched in Summer 2020, the Virtual Water Gallery aims to provide a safe, inclusive and collaborative space for fully open discussions between scientists, artists, and a wider public, to explore past, present and future water challenges.</p><p>As part of this pilot project, 13 artists were paired with teams of GWF scientists to co-explore specific water challenges in various Canadian ecoregions and river basins, including the Arctic, the mountains, boreal forests, prairies, farmlands, lakes, rivers, and communities. These collaborations are leading to the co-creation of science and art pieces which will be exhibited online on a Virtual Water Gallery. By making this online exhibition accessible to a global audience, we hope that the co-created art pieces will open creative and informative discussions about urgent water challenges to a wider audience via the gallery space.</p><p>*More information about the Virtual Water Gallery on the GWF webpage: https://gwf.usask.ca/outreach/virtual-water-gallery.php</p>

SEKOLAH MENENGAH KEJURUAN DESAIN ANIMASI DI BANJARBARU

Animation is a sub-sector of the creative industry that has promising business opportunities and is able to absorb a lot of creative labor. The increasing number of animation creators in Indonesia shows the increasing demand for animated films, unfortunately the quality of animators has not been able to compete internationally due to inadequate infrastructure and low education. The government also encourages the development of the animation industry by opening vocational education, where the Animation Vocational School can become a special forum for learning activities in the field of animation technology which aims to improve Human Resources (HR). The Interactive Space theme offers problem-solving for Animated Vocational Schools which have an interactive platform. The method used is to create a place to stimulate ideas. Like a waiting room which can be a collaborative space for discussion and relaxation.

‘A sculpture that has never been seen before’: the Advanced Sculpture Course, group crit and Silâns magazine at St Martin’s College of Art1

Focusing on the magazine Silâns, produced by students and tutors Barry Flanagan, Rudy Leenders and Alistair Jackson on the Advanced Sculpture Course at St Martin’s College of Art between 1964 and 1965, this article explores the magazine as a collaborative space for students and tutors alike. Arguing that while the ‘group crit’ or discussion forum at St Martin’s offered students a verbal platform to describe, defend or critique their work (which increasingly relied on concepts and ideas over formal properties), it was the format of the art school magazine that offered a space for discourse and collaboration. By questioning the purpose of art and the role of the artist more generally, Silâns offered a site for critique of a rapidly changing art education system. In doing so, it prefigured later conceptual magazines that encompassed similar territory and preoccupations. I argue that although the content and form of Silâns are now identified in relation to concrete poetry, it is better situated in the context of early text-based conceptual art practice. The emphasis on the magazine as a means to disseminate concrete poetry tacitly avoids any of its political implications, in favour of its formal aspects. In concluding that the importance of Silâns, as an alternative platform for student collaboration and a precursor to later text-based conceptual art practice, has so far been overlooked and confined instead to a footnote in the sculptor Barry Flanagan’s biography, I argue that, more than group crit, this magazine is a manifestation of the verbal impulse in art colleges.