UBC, and the Library’s licensing database, are featured in a Maclean’s article that examines a looming copyright issue.

You can view the article here.

Dr. Irving K. Barber, a renowned forestry executive and long-time supporter of projects at UBC and elsewhere, has been named “Outstanding Philanthropist” by the fourth annual Giving Hearts Award Program, presented by the Vancouver Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

Dr. Barber is the principal donor for the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC, and he is a generous supporter of many other post-secondary initiatives. You can view the full award announcement here, and you can read a related story in the Delta Optimist here.

Congratulations Ike!

MEDIA RELEASE | NOVEMBER 23, 2010

Small businesses across British Columbia now have a free, comprehensive resource to boost their business-planning efforts and foster an online community of information and support, thanks to the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia.

The Small Business Accelerator, which launches today at www.sba-bc.ca, is a new gateway to business information for small firms and entrepreneurs throughout the province. It’s also a valuable tool for public and college libraries, community development organizations and other agencies to support their clients.

A highlight of the SBA is its range of research guides that provide tailored information for specific industries. The site features 36 in-depth guides, developed with the expertise of UBC business librarians and library students, which cover sectors ranging from alternative energy to Web development, landscaping to restaurant retailing, and much more.

Visits to B.C. communities by the Learning Centre’s Director and the Community Business Services Librarian provided the Learning Centre with valuable feedback that was used to help shape the SBA during its development. In the new year, the librarian will visit organizations throughout the province to provide site training and outreach.

“We’re honoured to offer this free service for British Columbians who have started, or are looking to start, their own businesses – especially those in rural and remote parts of the province,” says Sandra Singh, director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. “The site is an invaluable resource, built with the expertise of business librarians, to help entrepreneurs from communities across the province access the right information for effective business planning at any stage of development.”

“Anyone interested in exploring the possibilities of opening a business in B.C. will find a wealth of information on the site, no matter what stage of business planning they are in,” says Petra Mauerhoff, manager of College Library Services at Cranbrook’s College of the Rockies. “Even business students working on hypothetical cases for their course work will get great use out of this offering.”

“I’m really impressed with the SBA so far. What it means to rural would-be entrepreneurs is that they’ll have access to information that everybody takes for granted in large metropolitan areas,” says Larry Jones, a business analyst with Community Futures Terrace, which supports small- and medium-sized companies and community economic development. “This is going to level the playing field quite a bit.”

The site also serves as a venue for an online SBA community, where those who create content for B.C. businesses – such as libraries, economic development agencies and others – are invited to share resources and expertise.

Small business is vital to the economic health of British Columbia. According to a 2010 profile, small businesses accounted for 98 per cent of all businesses in the province in 2009, and employed more than one million people.

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CONTACT

Glenn Drexhage
UBC Library/Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Tel: 604.827.3434
Cell: 778.378.0174
Email: glenn.drexhage@ubc.ca

Lorraine Chan
UBC Public Affairs
Tel: 604.822.2644
Cell: 604.209.3048
Email: lorraine.chan@ubc.ca

The Nelson Star features an article on a project that’s received funding from the BC History Digitization Program. That initiative was launched by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre in 2006.

You can view the article here and learn more about the digitization program here.

Serials Solutions, the vendor, recently issued a press release about the adoption of its services by UBC Library.

You can view the release here.

A generous $500,000 donation to UBC Library from the Canadian Pacific Railway is noted in a Calgary Herald article on the 125th anniversary of the Last Spike. The donation will be used to digitize materials from the exceptional Chung Collection.

You can view the article here, and learn more about the Chung Collection here.

A profile of Andrew “Chima” Akomas, one of the inspiring people who participated in UBC Library’s recent Living Library event, appears in The Ubyssey.

You can view the profile here, and you can learn more about the Living Library here.

Jan Wallace, the Head of David Lam Library, is featured in a Vancouver Sun article that highlights the Canaccord Learning Commons at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.

You can read the article here, and you can find out more about the Canaccord Learning Commons here.

The recent Living Library event, which took place at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, is profiled in the new issue of the BCLA Browser – the open access newsletter published by the British Columbia Library Association.

You can view the article here, and you can view the table of contents here.

Book reviews

This article is from Business in Vancouver, October 12-18, 2010; Issue 1094


BlackBerry: The inside story of Research in Motion

By Rod McQueen

Key Porter, 2010

This month we take another look at the genesis of technical innovation as financial journalist McQueen delves into the history of Research in Motion’s (RIM) founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.

McQueen takes us to see Lazaridis’ childhood science experiments, his two-man company housed in a Waterloo basement, the pre-BlackBerry days of intense experimentation and precarious revenue and the eventual global success of Research in Motion under Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.

As a small child, Lazaridis used batteries to light up the engines of his electric train set. He built a Halloween haunted house with automated sensors that turned lights on and created noises. He became someone who learned from experience – both success and failure. A University of Waterloo co-op term taught him that he needed to be in control of the technology he was working on, when the company he was working with pulled the plug on a new, fast mini-computer his team had been assigned to develop. His observation of other technology companies that failed because of inadequate financial management led him to seek out Balsillie as his vice-president of finance and business development. As eventual co-CEOs, the two men brought complementary skills to their roles and took on different tasks.

What’s fascinating about the story is the way in which the products RIM worked on all contributed to the company’s success in building the BlackBerry. The early Budgie was first-generation digital signage, conceived for use at grocery store checkouts to advertise products. It gave the young developers experience in using cathode ray tubes, building circuit boards and adding ROM and RAM to create a new point-of-sale display terminal. The lengthy relationship with Rogers’ Mobitex gave RIM experience in developing applications for a cellular network and creating an application programming interface to link hardware and software.

Lazaridis’ early and unshakeable knowledge that a product that could receive and send email on a pocket-sized wireless device would be a runaway global success is another fascinating glimpse into the mind of a successful futurist and technical innovator.

McQueen doesn’t look at length at the stock option issues of 2006, saying these were more prevalent then than now among North American companies. However, the highly publicized patent fight with NTP Inc. is explored in detail.

Lately, RIM has been fighting Apple and Google for market share. Google’s Android recently overtook both the iPhone and the BlackBerry in the United States. However, RIM’s latest financial results, released in mid-September, refute speculation about the company’s long-term health. Revenue rose 31% during the past quarter, while earnings per share rose 76% as the worldwide recession continued to pound corporate revenue elsewhere. There are now more than 50 million BlackBerry users, up 56% year over year. RIM’s share of the global smartphone market is now second only to Nokia. •

Jan Wallace is head of the David Lam Management Research Library at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.


Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google

By Aaron Goldman

McGraw-Hill, 2010

In Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned From Google, we see how Google used the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and the wisdom of crowds, and tested and tracked customer responses and data to shape its message and move its name from a noun to a verb. Goldman, not satisfied with laying out 20 lessons from Google’s marketing success, gives you the tools to use these lessons and build your brand. In a world where everyone is searching for information, learning from the king of all providers is a good thing.


Superconnect: Harnessing the Power of Networks and the Strength of Weak Links

By Richard Koch and Greg Lockwood

McClelland & Stewart, 2010

Koch and Lockwood draw from sociology, physics and math to illustrate the impact of networks on our lives. In Superconnect: Harnessing the Power of Networks and the Strength of Weak Links, the authors plumb their own experience to illustrate the importance of networking in today’s business environment. Breaking these networks into three categories – strong relationships, weak relationships and hubs – they make the argument that it is often what we would call “the weakest link” that provides the best opportunities for success. Nobody wants to hire his or her brother-in-law, but everyone hopes he finds a good job. This is where acquaintances can be more useful than friends. •

Treena Chambers is the marketing technology co-ordinator at UBC Bookstore.

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