Neil MacDonald

Description: This course focuses on using Microsoft's Sequel Server Reporting Studio to write custom reports and automate the server

Skills Learned:

• Configuring, managing, and automating SSRS
• Fundamentals of Business Intelligence.

Description: This course focuses on advanced query writing and data manipulation.

Skills Learned:

• T-SQL scripting

Description: This course focuses on installing, configuring, and managing MS SQL servers.

Skills Learned:

• Server maintenance
• Server security
• Backup & recovery
• Server automation

Description: This course focuses on the principles of presenting large data sets visually

Skills Learned:

• Using Tableau software
• Interpreting and presenting data visually
• Visual analytics best practices
• Creating interactive dashboards

Description: This course focuses on business intelligence, data modeling, and lifecycle for a typical data warehouse.

Skills Learned:

• ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) systems
• Dimensional modeling
• Business intelligence

Description: This course focuses on issues surrounding data quality.

Skills Learned:

• Applying a DQ framework
• Analyzing a data set for anomalies
• Statistical analysis of a data set
• DQ best practices

Description: THis course focuses on installing, configuring, and maintaining MS SQL Server 2016 databases

Skills Learned:

• Physical database design
• Installation and configuration
• Security
• Maintenance

Description: This course focuses on information technology and its use in libraries and information-based organizations.

Description: This course provides an overview of the various types of information-based organizations (private, public, and academic) in which librarians may work and the duties they are expected to perform.

Description: This course offers an introduction to the principles of information organization.

Skills Learned:

• Controlled vocabularies for information systems
• Authority control
• Catalogues and cataloguing
• Resource description
• Encoding description
• Interpreting documents for their significant characteristics
• Subject languages
• Classificatory structures
• Metadata for resource discovery

Description: This course focuses on providing research and reference services in public and academic library environments.

Skills Learned:

• The reference process
• Assess user information needs
• Formulate search strategies
• The main types/categories of information resources
• Clearly annotate selective items from the literature

Description: This course focuses on the issues and skills required to manage an information organization, including financial and security planning, disaster preparation, and change management.

Skills Learned:

• Strategic planning within an information organization
• Manage group situations, i.e. task forces, board of governors
• Handle personnel problems

Description: This course focuses on the theory and practice of quantitative and qualitative research methods and their applications in information based environments.

Skills Learned:

• Prepare a detailed research plan
• Quantitative and qualitative research
• Observational research
• Ethical issues relevant to conducting research

Description: This course focuses on the principles, methods, and standards of cataloguing.

Skills Learned:

• Bibliographic records using AACRII
• Bibliographic records using MARC

Description: This course focuses on the knowledge, theory, and practice of indexing printed documents, physical objects, and electronic resources.

Skills Learned:

• Controlled vocabulary indexing language
• Index a web site using HTML
• Natural language indexing
• Thesaurus, back-of-the-book and WWW indexing software

Description: This course focuses on the theory and practice of records management in various types of organizations, to identify all documents and records in all formats within an organization and develop a records management system which will ensure the continued operation of the organization in the event of a disruption to normal operations.

Skills Learned:

• Information audit of an organization
• Devising a coding system for a document/records management system
• Devising a retention schedule
• Establishing on-site and off-site storage
• Understanding of legal, regulatory, and technological issues currently affecting the practice of records management
• Assessing threats to an organization's information security and devise backup and safety protocols

Description: The focus of this course is on the design and creation of databases.

Skills Learned:

• Database concepts and terminology
• Assessing information needs within an organization
• Specifying user and organizational requirements
• ERD diagrams
• Microsoft Access

Description: This course focuses on information architecture with an emphasis on user-centered design.

Skills Learned:

• Assess the design of objects and information systems
• Personas
• User needs assessments
• Task analyses
• Low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes

Description: This course focuses on understanding the structure, design, and variety of information retrieval systems and how to conduct efficient searches. The course also covers current research trends in the area of information retrieval.

Skills Learned:

• Formulate searches using a variety of search languages and techniques
• Various search engines

Description: This course deals with how individuals seek and use information, with an emphasis on human computer interaction.

Skills Learned:

• How individuals perceive, value, and relate to information based on demographics
• Practical application of theory
• Original research on the information needs or behaviour of a chosen group

Description: The course explores web design with the latest WYSIWYG software.

Skills Learned:

• Design, build, and mount a website using Adobe Dreamweaver.

Description: This course deals with the use of metadata to manage digital collections.

Skills Learned:

• Major metadata standards
• Selecting appropriate metadata standards for the creation of a defined digital collection
• Creating a digital collection using open source collections management software and metadata standards
• Information architecture with regard to digital collections management

Description: This course focuses on the software standards, hardware, and techniques used in creating a digital collection from analogue sources.

Skills Learned:

• Appropriate file formats and hardware for digitizing material
• Design workflows for a digitization project.

Description: This course focuses on the issues involved in selecting, creating, and managing print, electronic, audio, and visual collections for various user groups.

Skills Learned:

• User needs assessments with regard to collection development
• Evaluating vendors and vendor services
• Budgeting for a collection
• Weeding a collection
• Current methods of electronic document delivery, intellectual freedom, and copyright concerns with regard to collection management

Description: This course focuses on the elements required in the design and implementation of an online catalogue and website for a private library.

Skills Learned:

• Open source integrated library systems and content management systems
• Customizing an open source ILS and CMS to the needs of a specific library catalogue
• Design a web interface for a private library