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How we remember the past shapes our future. In this episode Joel Sherlock shares some of his experience as the manager of Genealogical and Archival Research at Indigenous Services Canada. What does research in an archives look like? Who goes to such an archives, and why? This interview offers a glimpse of these topics as well as the enduring legacy of the Canadian government's treatment of First Nations peoples. [Editor’s note, the Jay Treaty was signed in 1794, not 1793] This episode is part of a collaboration showcasing how research methods are practiced and applied in various settings. These episodes are developed in collaboration with Dr. Melissa Adler and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University in support of the Media, Information and Technoculture Research Methods coursework. Episode transcript available online: sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/2-1-genealogical-and-archival-research Episode producer: Alex Mayhew

Emerging Library & Information Perspectives (ELIP) - the open access, peer-reviewed journal managed by the students in the MLIS program at Western University and published by the FIMS Graduate Library - illustrates the importance of engaging LIS students as active participants in the scholarly communications ecosystem. It also highlights the voices of emerging scholars with important new perspectives. Additional details and transcript available from our website: https://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-10-emerging-library-information-perspectives Episode producers: Alex Mayhew, Mike Ridley

In this interview Dr. Grant Campbell from the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University discusses dementia, both his research and how it has affected his loved ones. He makes sometimes surprising connections between the interactions of people living with dementia and their caregivers and topics such as music theory, cataloguing, and information organization. From Ranganathan’s faceted classification to Grice’s implicatures, Campbell makes use of many LIS concepts to help grapple with this challenging topic. Episode transcript available online: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-9-dementia-and-information/ Episode producer: Alex Mayhew

Recently, three professors at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University, Jacquelyn Burkell, Alissa Centivany and Alison Hearn, spoke at the London Public Library about the concept of your data double. As you scan social media, search Google or Bing, or just aimless wander the net, data about you and your habits, interests and behaviours are being collected. Collected, sold and repurposed for purposes unbeknownst to you. Your data double, you might want to get to know it. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: https://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-8-data-doubles/ Episode producer: Mike Ridley

In Episode 1.5 of the So What? podcast released in December last year we interviewed Alan Harnum of the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University in Toronto. We talked about the IDRC, its philosophy, and the way it works. This episode continues that discussion and focuses on two specific projects that exemplify the challenges and opportunities in the inclusive design area: the Social Justice Repair Kit and Co-Designing Inclusive Cities project. A transcript of this episode is available online: https://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-7-the-social-justice-repair-kit-and-the-co-designing-inclusive-cities-project/ Episode producer: Mike Ridley

What a simple question and what an intriguing set of responses! This question (“What is the first thing you can remember about reading?”) has been asked by Catherine Ross for many years as part of her research into reading and readers. We asked a number of people this and then posed the question back to Dr. Ross and her two research colleagues, Lynne McKechnie and Paulette Rothbauer. A transcript of this episode is available online: https://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-6-what-do-you-first-remember-about-reading/ Episode producer: Mike Ridley

Alan Harnum is an Inclusive Developer at the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) at OCAD University in Toronto. His work, and that of the IDRC, is focused on ensuring that emerging information technologies and practices are designed inclusively. Using approaches such as co-design, community engaged scholarship, and an activist perspective, the IDRC epitomizes the “nothing about us without us” philosophy of the disability community. Alan talks about his role, key principles of software design, specific IDRC projects, and their engagement strategies. A transcript of this episode is available online: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-5-inclusive-design-and-the-idrc/ Episode producer: Mike Ridley

If a Troll is only semi-reformed are they now neutral? What would cause a person to turn neutral... Lust for gold? Power? Or were they just born with hearts full of neutrality? We join Yimin Chen as he describes his relationship with trolling in the context of modern issues like cyberbullying. This episode tracks Yimin’s evolving understanding of trolling, both for himself and others, and what it may mean for the future of our online lives. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-4-memoirs-of-a-semi-reformed-troll/ Episode producer: Alex Mayhew

Camille Callison joins us to discuss the origins and developments of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of the CFLA-FCAB (Canadian Federation of Library Associations - Fédération Canadienne des Associations de Bibliothèques). In addition to summarizing the Committee’s recommendation and projects, Camille discusses the Medicine Wheel framework used by the Committee; acknowledges the many contributors that supported the development of the Committee’s recommendations and report; and, touches on the challenges of providing recommendations for different types of libraries across Canada. Further information and transcript are available online: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-3-cfla-fcab-truth-and-reconciliation-efforts/

Games of all types are popular in libraries. However, the diversity of games and gaming formats present some unique cataloguing challenges. Mackenzie Johnson spoke with Emma Cross from Carleton University about those challenges and the current thinking about how to address them. Their conversation covers best practices, recommendations for those starting a gaming collection, and why games (and cataloguing games) matter. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-2-cataloguing-games/ Episode producer: Mackenzie Johnson

Early in 2018 Catherine Ross, Lynne McKechnie, and Paulette Rothbauer published “Reading Still Matters: What the Research Reveals about Reading, Libraries, and Community.” Twelve years after their first book on the topic, “Reading Matters,” the authors discuss reading, readers, the role of libraries, changing technologies and, emphatically, why reading still matters. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/1-1-reading-still-matters/ Episode producer: Mike Ridley

The Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) was created in 2016 following the demise of the Canadian Library Association. Why do libraries and library workers need CFLA? At the 2018 CFLA Annual Forum held in Regina, Mike Ridley, a PhD student at FIMS, Western University and a former Board member of the Canadian Library Association, attended the wine and cheese social event do ask those present that question. The pinot noir and brie were good, but the responses were excellent. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/0-3-why-cfla/ Episode producer: Mike Ridley

The thought you cannot think controls you more than thoughts you can speak aloud. Library and information science has long been bastion against the restriction of free inquiry, be it the banned book or the taboo thought. In this episode Jen Opoku and Alex Mayhew delve deep into taboo thoughts about aging and death. Meandering and philosophical, no topic is off the table in this discussion. Highlights include discussion of sexuality of the elderly, religious context of death, and the desirability of rejuvenation and life extension. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/0-2-a-conversation-on-ageing-and-death/ Episode producer: Alex Mayhew

To what extent are children’s picture books containing LGBTQ+ representations being included in the collections of Ontario public libraries? Jamie Orr sat down with Alyssa Duke, Melissa Martin, Danielle Betteridge, and Ashley Yeats-McKay, fellow MLIS grad students at FIMS, Western University, to talk about their research project which asks that exact question. This episode describes the nature of their research, some early findings, and their reflections on the implications of their work. A future episode will provide more detailed results from their research. A transcript of this episode is available from our website: http://sowhat.fims.uwo.ca/0-1-lgbtq-stories/ Episode producer: Jamie Orr