Real talk about Keeping it ReAL

Background

Keeping It REAL: Research in Academic Libraries was initiated by UBC iSchool Associate Professor Heather O’Brien and developed in consultation with four academic librarians:  Holly Hendrigan (SFU), Erin Fields (UBC),  Jo-Anne Naslund (UBC) and Christine Walde (UVic Libraries). The committee’s goals were to establish a free regional workshop for academic librarian researchers and foster a research culture among participants. Want to learn more? Read the final reports from ReAL 2016, ReAL 2017, and ReAL 2018.

What to expect

On the day of the event, librarians from our participating institutions and across the region engage in the day’s program. In addition to working professionals, students from the SLAIS program at UBC’s iSchool also attend, take notes and live- tweet while getting to know the critical issues facing working librarians and archivists. The structure and format of the day allow for a variety of sessions, including roundtables, panel presentations and some hands-on activities, resulting in a fulfilling and productive day of meeting and engaging with colleagues around research and academic librarianship.

...but you don't have to take our word for it:

Vancouver Island University librarian Dana McFarland reflects on her experience attending ReAL 2016: 

"[The organizers] assembled a program that served to concisely introduce a wide variety of topics related to research activity among academic librarians. Presentations addressed theory and practice, with concrete suggestions for how to approach and succeed at research projects and effectively communicate findings. Circumstances of academic librarian-researchers vary considerably depending on such factors as institutional mandate, circumstances of appointment, formal expectations related to research (or absence of them), availability of funding and release, and more, but there was a great deal of common ground that emerged in presentations and in discussion, to do with identifying meaningful opportunities, finding time and resources, the benefits of working in collaboration, and determining best-fit venue/s for sharing results." 

Want to read more? See Dana's blog post. 

Our team: ReAL Planning Committees

Keeping it ReAL 2020:

  • Julia Bullard (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia)
  • Devina Dandar (Royal Roads University)
  • Shahira Khair (Univeristy of Victoria)
  • Sajni Lacey (University of British Columbia Okanagan)
  • Donna Langille (University of British Columbia Okanagan)
  • Crystal Yin (Simon Fraser University)

Keeping it ReAL 2019:

  • Julia Bullard (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia)
  • Ean Henninger (Simon Fraser University)
  • Shahira Khair (Univeristy of Victoria)
  • Sajni Lacey (University of British Columbia Okanagan)
  • Ioana Liuta (Simon Fraser University)
  • Alison Moore (Simon Fraser University)
  • Christine Walde (University of Victoria)
  • Crystal Yin (Simon Fraser University)

Keeping it ReAL 2018:

  • Helen Brown (University of British Columbia)
  • Julia Bullard (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia)
  • Dean Giustini (University of British Columbia)
  • Aditi Gupta (University of Victoria)
  • Ryan Kyle (LaSalle College Vancouver)
  • Ioana Liuta (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia; Simon Fraser University)
  • Alison Moore (Simon Fraser University)
  • Christine Walde (University of Victoria)

Keeping it ReAL 2017:

  • Julia Bullard (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia)
  • Dean Giustini (University of British Columbia)
  • Holly Hendrigan (Simon Fraser University)
  • Ryan Kyle (LaSalle College Vancouver)
  • Peggy Lunn (Thomson Rivers University)
  • Alison Moore (Simon Fraser University)
  • Jo-Anne Naslund (University of British Columbia)
  • Melissa Smith (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia)
  • Christine Walde (University of Victoria)

Keeping it ReAL 2016:

  • Erin Fields (University of British Columbia)
  • Holly Hendrigan (Simon Fraser University)
  • Jo-Anne Naslund (University of British Columbia)
  • Heather O'Brien (School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British Columbia)
  • Christine Walde (University of Victoria)




We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations and peoples on whose ancestral and unceded lands the three SFU Library branches are located. By recognizing the Unceded Traditional Coast Salish territories, we aspire to create space for reconciliation through dialogue and decolonizing practices.