Title: How Academic Libraries Enhance the UN Sustainable Development Goals through Research Support

Abstract: How does research supported by academic libraries help move the SDGs forward? As part of an ongoing Cornell webinar series focused on Academic Libraries and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Ellen Tise, Senior Director of Library and Information Services at Stellenbosch University and Haseeb Irfanullah, Independent Consultant and Visiting Research Fellow at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, will address how academic libraries in Africa and South Asia, respectively, are supporting research that enhances the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  Following the presentations, Cornell University Librarian, Gerald Beasley, will engage the speakers in a discussion, and then the speakers will answer questions from the online audience.

Bios: Ellen R. Tise is Senior Director, Library and Information Services at Stellenbosch University in South Africa since January 2006. She previously held the positions of University Librarian at the University of the Western Cape and Deputy University Librarian at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. She is a Past-President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) (2009-2011) and of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) (1998-2002).

She served on other major library and information bodies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award Advisory Committee in 2007, OCLC Members Council Delegate 2005-2008 and Director of the Sabinet Online Board since 2003. Ms Tise was appointed to the UNESCO International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World for a four year period from 2011-2015. She served as Chairman of the Board of the National Library of South Africa from 2012-2015.

Haseeb Irfanullah is a biologist-turned-development practitioner, and often introduces himself as a research enthusiast. Over the last two decades, Haseeb has worked for different international development organizations, academic institutions, donors, and the Government of Bangladesh in different capacities. Currently, he is an independent consultant on environment, climate change, and research systems. He is also involved with University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh as a visiting research fellow of its Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) in Dhaka. 

Haseeb has been involved in designing and facilitating workshops, training sessions, and dialogues for young & mid-career researchers and journal editors of Bangladesh to improve their understanding of journal publishing practices and standards. He also writes articles and thought pieces on scholarly systems and works with relevant agencies to improve Bangladesh’s research ecosystem. Haseeb has a PhD in aquatic ecology from the University of Liverpool, UK.

Date & Time:  December 5, 2019, 9:00 AM EDT (NY) US time

Gerald Beasley (host and moderator)

Gerald Beasley is currently the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. As the chief academic and administrative officer of the university’s extensive library system, Beasley leads one of the world’s largest research libraries, with a total budget of more than $64 million, a staff of more than 400 and more than 8 million print volumes, 1.5 million e-books and 128,000 e-serials. Cornell has 18 constituent libraries located in Ithaca and New York City. The staff supports teaching, learning and research across the university’s colleges and schools, and it actively serves scholars around the globe.

This webinar is free and open to the public. Please share this invitation openly.

Please click on this zoom link to join the webinar:

https://cornell.zoom.us/j/861551630

View Webinar recording here

Series organisers: Reggie Raju reggie.raju@uct.ac.za,  Xin Li  xin.li@cornell.edu

Chair of ARL: Gulcin Cribb gulcincribb@smu.edu.sg

This session is in a series of presentations on topics relevant to Academic & Research Libraries.