Who we are and what we do:....

GAELIC is an academic library consortium founded in April 1996 within FOTIM (Foundation of Tertiary Institutions of the Northern Metropolis), which is a regional academic consortium of 9 universities. The region covered includes the provinces of Gauteng, North-West and Limpopo. Fotim aims to promote collaboration and capacity development within the South African higher education sector.



February 12, 2010

February 9, 2010

Welcome back colleagues Jan/Feb 2010


It’s back to the grindstone and some of us are already up and running and have dealt with the first intake of students and presented the introductory library orientation sessions. 2010 promises to be a busy and exciting year and all of us at the FOTIM Office wish you success and strength as you face the challenges.

Zodwa, Anke, Tanya, Lawson & Carole

The GAELIC Strategic Plan report back


We have several new ideas for GAELIC projects and in support of the general excitement

around the World Cup, we are hoping to adopting the theme of

Think global ~act local

for 2010 focusing on the challenges facing academic libraries globally from a local viewpoint l encourage all of you to work together within GAELIC to make this a reality.

GAELIC Members Note


Targeting Talent programme at Wits received a much-welcomed boost when international

literacy organisation Room to Read donated 636 books to its cause.


Adam Habib of UJ comments about the challenge of journal costs to the universities. Nov 2009

Read the UP library newsletter for an overview of all the exciting things happening at the University of Pretoria library

(Please let us know of other member newsletters which we can highlight)

Congratulations to Erika Rood who is to be the Assistant to the current IFLA President Ms Ellen Tise for the duration of her term until 2011. Erika's is the Training Librarian at North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) and a member of one of the GAELIC strategic Teams

FOTIM Notes


VUMA! Notes

The VUMA! video is available on YouTube - please encourage the students to use VUMA as a support resources and consider using it as a way to create your blog or as a means to communicate with them.

There are a lot of new and exciting options on the portal for 2010. Take a look at the TOP Ten survival tools for the beginning of this year…. 10. News and Events happening on the campuses. 9. Career profiles to find out more about study options & requirements 8. Keep an online journal at Blog-it!!! 7. Find articles and online information Library 6. Get a daily inspiration 'Quote of the Day' 5. Find friends - new and old. 4. Join in online discussions about university life, relationships, and lecturers - Say-it!!! 3. Locate health centres, financial services, & important offices on your campus - UNI Contacts 2. find part-time work at your university. 1. Relax and have some fun

Disability Project Notes

GAELIC is working with the FOTIM Disability Group on a proposal to investigate services to library users with disabilities. Please contact the GAELIC Office if you have any interest in this area.

IFLA and DISABILITY Read about the update on copyright developments within WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) discussed at the 19th Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. Topics included: educational exceptions; visually impaired readers; audio-visual issues and broadcasting rights.

The president of the National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest organisation of blind people in the US, addressed staff at the Library of Congress in January on the need for digital information and electronic books to be made available

Students with print disabilities will soon will have access to a larger library of web-based college textbooks. (by Dennis Carter, Dec 15th, 2009) Read more>>>>


JISC TechDis launches a tool to improve internet accessibility for everyone especially for the disabled users (from IWR News Desk 20 Jan 2010)


Objective 1: Promote Optimal Use of the Millennium System in GAELIC member libraries







IUG:SA 09 read the report from staff at the University of Pretoria who attended the event

Objective 2 Build capacity through identification and provision of training needs and services for the optimal utilization of resources


The Library Journal Directors’ Summit, "Successful Fundraising in a Tough Economy," held in November 09 produced some useful sources for contemplating. See the “7 Key ingredients for a successful capital campaign” produced by The Friends of San Francisco Public Library and others.

We are planning the training and workshop timetable -despite the interruption of the World Cup. - keep an eye out for notices and call for participations.

Objective 3 Improve cost efficiency through joint procurement and resources sharing

The debate on the tax on books is once again raised. Read about>>. “ a tax on books is a tax on learning”

Another exciting project is under discussion for GAELIC focused on an African digital library initiative. Watch this space.

Kenya calls for a policy for Africa: the Continent Needs Strong ICT Policies Read more>>>>

Open access and Institutional Repository Notes

New works in the South African Public Domain [by Andrew Rens ] Find out more>>>>

Google publishes Stanford dissertations online Read more>>>


OpenThesis is a free repository of theses, dissertations, and other academic documents Read more>>>>

Open Access journal : Codex: the journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRLA peer-reviewed journal examining academic libraries and librarianship

Blog Notes


How to produce Video Interviews for your blog using Skype. Read more>>>

Best Blogs 2009

® PC Mag publishes its favourite blogs of 2009 Read more>>>>

® From Edublog - the awards for best blogs 2009 top 10

Best librarian / library blog Never Ending Search ; Bright Ideas ; Library Tech Musings

Best educational tech support blog : iLearn Technology ; Langwitches ; Life Feast

Best elearning / corporate education blog : MPB Reflections — 21st Century Teaching and Learning ; Angela Maiers ; e-learning, conocimiento en red y web colectiva

Best educational use of audio : Xyleme Voices Podcasts ; Musical Blogies ; My Audio School

Best educational use of video / visual : Bitácora de Aníbal de la Torre ; The Longfellow Ten ; Inanimate Alice

Best educational wiki : Greetings From The World ; Soar 2 New Heights ; HUMS3001: Censorship and Responsibility

Best educational use of a social networking service : English Companion Ning ; EFL Classroom 2.0 ; RSC Access and Inclusion Ning

Best educational use of a virtual world : Virtual Graduation at the University of Edinburgh– ; Virtual Round Table Conference ; ISTE’s Second Life island and SecondLife Education New Zealand

February 8, 2010

Noteworthy


Library Transformation Charter: The 6th Draft of the Library Transformation Charter can be found on the National Library site. Read Chapter 4 section c (Page 27) about University Libraries.

Download the full 2010 Horizon report . Read about the Key Trends ; a comprehensive look at Electronic Books and the academic environment ; and Six new technologies to watch are just a few fascinating subject covered.

Longshots Library Podcast Celebrates its 200th Episode with an interview of Dr. Peter Lor, on how February 11, 1990, the day Nelson Mandela walked out of prison, was a turning point. He also relates how libraries have strived to play a part in the educational and cultural development of the country after apartheid.

Musical notes


DeweyMusic is a new public domain music library, where you can listen to, download, remix, and share anything you see on this site legally free.

Take note

69 of the best web applications from 2009. See how many you know


SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries). Read the latest Focus newsletter online. No 45 is a special Subject Librarians issue

Support Notes

More about the eBook revolution from the Horizon report

Things You Need To Know About Sony Readers in a Higher Education Environment Read more>>>>

Devices to Take Textbooks Beyond Text :Read about the new e-book readers >>>>


E-Book Fans Are Proving to be Enthusiastic Reader Read how they may be creating a greater interest in books

Library Trivia notes


Many of the words we use have become so familiar that we don’t think that their usage became popular in the last 10 years. Read "words of the decade" from Portrait of the Decade Part 1

Did you know that Wikipedia is 9 years old this year Read about it >>>> Happy Birthday!!!!!

Future Notes

South Africa National Library week runs from the 20th to 26th of March this year with the theme “Reading Changes Lives”.
The 10th Southern African Online Information Meeting: Past, Present and Future will be held at the CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria from 4th - 5th August 2010. Run by SAOUG (Southern African Online User Group), SLIS (Special Library Information Specialists) and OSALL (Organisation of SA Law Librarians) the call for papers is open until 3 May. Contact glenda.myers@wits.ac.za
International Conference on Digital Scholarship and Emerging Technologies. 25-27 May 2010. University of Botswana New Conference Complex. Organized jointly by the University of Botswana, the University of Pretoria and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
The Future is Now: new roles and relationships for academic libraries. 16 - 18 May 2010. University of Johannesburg, Council Chambers, Kingsway campus. For more information >>>
2010 Annual LIS Research Symposium – University of South Africa (UNISA) Library Services and Department of Information Science. 22 to 23 July 2010. UNISA School for Business Leadership (SBL) in Midrand, Call for papers/poster presentations now open. For more information >>>

Quote of Note

Quotes of Note “I am a part of all I have read” (Theodore Rubin)

Vartan Gregorian (Carnegie Corporation) “The library is not only a diary of the human race, but marks an act of faith in the continuity of humanity”