IWB is pleased to welcome the following speakers to our conference in 2026:
Keynote Speaker – Peter Webster
Remarkable Transformative Change for Academic Libraries: 1993 to today – From the dawn of the World Wide Web to the Rise of Artificial Intelligence
This presentation will offer a timeline of the series of technology changes that have completely transformed/truly revolutionized, scholarly communication, and the work of academic libraries, in the short span of 30 some years. This will be a not too technical summary of the key developments, and the important Librarians who have brought about the transformation of scholarly communication.
Peter Webster is an Information Systems Librarian with over 45 years experience working with, and seeing the evolution of Library capabilities. He will bring that experience to bare in this presentation.
Peter Webster is Information Technology Services at Saint Mary’s University, Patrick Power Library. He has been with Saint Mary’s since 1993 and he has an MLS degree from Dalhousie University,1986. He has served on management and task groups for the NOVANET library consortium, the Council of Atlantic University Libraries (CAUL-CPUA), the Canadian Research Knowledge Network(CRKN), Statistics Canada’s Data Liberation Initiative, and Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Peter has presented at conferences, including the IASSIST, EDUCAUSE, Computers in Libraries, Library and Information Technology (LITA) Forum, ACCESS.
A selection of his publications and presentations include:
AI and the problem of identifying concepts from keywords in scholarly article search. Information Today Europe. 2024-05-07.
Integrating Discovery and Access to Canadian Data Sources. Contributing to Academic Library Data Services by Sharing Data Source Knowledge Nation Wide. IFLA Conference Proceedings. 2019
Research Data Repositories: Review of Current Features, Gap Analysis, and Recommendations for Minimum Requirements. with C Austin, S Brown, N Fong, C Humphrey, A Leahey, IASSIST Quarterly 39 (4), 24-38. 2016
Interconnected and Innovative Libraries: Factors Tying Libraries More Closely Together. Library Trends 54 (3), 382-393. 2006
Gaining the Benefits of Scholarly Social Networks. International Association of University Libraries(IATUL) Conference Proceedings, 2016
Panel Talks
Museums Panel
A dedicated museum professional, Joanne Pepers is the Regional Coordinator for Uniacke Estate Museum Park (UEMP) and Fisherman’s Life Museum. Joanne has nearly 20 years experience working in community museums in Ontario, Alberta, and Nova Scotia, predominantly in an educational, public facing role. Almost 10 of those years have been spent at UEMP. Joanne worked at UEMP as a Heritage Interpreter and then Senior Heritage Interpreter from 2014 to 2022. She also held the position of Manager-Curator at the Dartmouth Heritage Museum for two years before returning to Uniacke Estate full time.
Mike is the Nova Scotia Museum Regional Coordinator for the Annapolis Valley, working with Prescott House Museum, Clifton Museum Park, and Shand House Museum. Over a decade as Site Manager at the former Haliburton House, he led interpretive renewal, supported the site’s renaming, and strengthened community partnerships. As a member of the NSM Accessibility Advisory Committee, he is passionate about making museums inclusive, accessible, and welcoming for everyone.
Sandi is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History & Politics at the University of New Brunswick (Saint John). She holds a MA in Folklore from Memorial University. As a part-time instructor at Dalhousie University, she has been given the unique opportunity to develop and teach a museums graduate course for the MI program. A core component of this course is community partnership, and she is greatly appreciative of the Nova Scotia Museum’s ongoing support. Her studies, research, and career have created pathways to pursue her passion of supporting heritage in Atlantic Canada through museum and archival work.
Maggie MacIntyre is Manager of Rural Sites for the Nova Scotia Museum, supporting museums from Yarmouth to Cape Breton. She started as an intern with the Nova Scotia Museum over 20 years ago and has worked in most aspects of museum operations – frontlines, interpretation, collections, and management. Her passion is the power of museums for change, especially in local community. Maggie served as Executive Director for the Association of Nova Scotia Museums for 2 years and is currently on the Canadian Museum Association Board of Directors. Maggie lives in HRM with her young daughter and husband. She is one of Atlantic Canada’s oldest competing highland dancers.
ARMA Panel
Kurtis MacEwen is the Owner, & CEO of Precision Digital Imaging, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He brings 15 years of experience in the Document Management and Digital Transformation industry. Throughout his career, Kurtis has led countless organizations through both small- and large-scale digital transformations, helping small to medium-sized businesses, universities, legal firms, government organizations, and large corporations transition into efficient, paper-lite operations. His work focuses on improving transparency, streamlining workflows, and ensuring organizations have secure, immediate access to the information they need—when they need it.
Courtney Bayne is the Team Lead for the Corporate Information Management unit at Halifax Regional Municipality. With 20 years of experience in the records and information management (RIM) field, Courtney’s career began at the Nova Scotia Public Archives while completing a Library and Information Technology (LIT) diploma, which inspired further studies leading to a Master of Information Management for Dalhousie University (MIM) and an Information Governance Professional (IGP) designation. Prior to joining HRM, Courtney has held RIM related roles in multiple Nova Scotia Government departments, served as Dalhousie University’s first University Records Manager, and taught in Dal’s Faculty of Management and for NSCC.
Amanda Hatfield is the Information Management Coordinator at the Municipality of East Hants. She is responsible for the organization’s records and information program and leading the transition from paper to electronic records. She is also the Chairperson of the Association of Municipal Administrators, NS Records Management Committee.
Guy LeLievre has served as Records Management Services Assistant at Dalhousie University’s Records Management Office since 2018. He has worked in public, academic, and specialized libraries in a range of roles. A graduate of NSCC’s Library and Information Technology program, Guy currently serves as Vice-President of the ARMA Nova Scotia Chapter.
Lightning Talks
Gil Ungar
Gilanders Ungar (he/him) graduated from the MI program in 2021. Since then, he has held several analytics roles in healthcare and currently works at IWK Health within the Transformation Office. Previously, Gil has held positions under several research teams, including Pediatric Pain and Perioperative Research and the Aboriginal Children’s Hurt and Healing Initiative.
Clara Riga & Laura Chandler
Laura Chandler and Clara Riga are second-year Master of Information students at Dalhousie University, who also have experience working in public libraries. Together, they recently completed a research study into the skills and competencies necessary for working in Canadian public libraries as well as the ways that masters-level library education can prepare students for that work.
Alexandre Legault
Alexandre Legault is a third-year Master of Information/Master of Resource and Environmental Management (MI/MREM) student at Dalhousie University. He studies the social and political dimensions of climate change adaptation in rural communities, with a focus on how coastal municipalities use information in the development and implementation of flood risk policies. He is a member of the Environmental Information: Use and Influence (EIUI) research program, the Sherren Lab, and the Quantitative Science Studies (QSS) Lab. He is an alumnus of the nationwide NSERC ResNet research network and currently serves as Research Associate at Rochelle Owen Consulting, where he is involved in a variety of practitioner-led climate adaptation projects.
Drew Fitzgerald
Access as Community: Reframing Library and Information Science through Disability Justice Principles
Drew Fitzgerald (they/them), PhD Student, Dalhousie University
As a disabled Indigenous person, I navigate the world as a student and employee with and without recognized accommodations, as an advocate, and as an outsider. My experience studying educational pedagogy, with a focus on Universal Design for Learning, and subsequent work in a range of information fields and cultural heritage, informs my focus on translating individual experiences into informational models that benefit all users. My background in public librarianship, cultural heritage data, and quantitative research give me unique insight into systems of information interaction and power structures, to best allow me to improve the experiences of future disabled university students.
I believe that that the world is built upon the stories we preserve and share by, for, and about each other. To make a better world, you have to listen to the authentic narratives of those around you and build those lessons into your life and practice. As an information management professional, my work is built on and around the stories of the communities I serve and the lived experiences that guide them. I believe in stories, and stories will forever be the foundation of my work.
Ellen Sawatzky
Ellen (she/her) is a second year Master of Information student at Dalhousie University. She holds the roles of Academic Co-Chair of the Information Science Student Association (ISSA) and Editor of the DIS Newsletter. Ellen also works as a Research Assistant on the Respectful Terminology Platform Project (RTPP) exploring metadata and ontologies.