First entrepreneurial project for the library: Bibliometrics workshop

On 30 November 2017 Sean Kruger, Elsabe Olivier and Sunette Steynberg launched the first entrepreneurial project for the library.  It took the shape of a two day bibliometrics workshop, presented by Sunette Steynberg in one of the computer training rooms of the Merensky library.

The program covered the theory of bibliometrics, author evaluation, journal evaluation, analytical benchmarking and cooperation reports.  The following tools were used in the practical examples and exercises:  Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and Clarivate Analytics InCites. On the last day, an in prompto brainstorming session was included on library support to researchers with NRF applications. 

The attendees were taken on tours of the Research Commons, MakerSpace and the campus buildings surrounding the library.  They were very impressed and found this refreshing in between sessions.  At the end of the workshop, each attendee received a formal certificate of recognition from the Department of Library Services, signed by Mr Robert Moropa and the presenter.

The workshop was attended by delegates from UNISA, WITS, CSIR, HSRC, TUT, VUT, WWIS and the University of Venda.  The feedback was very positive and attendees agreed that their skills and knowledge had increased because of this workshop.

Although the workshop went smoothly, there were a few hiccups before the time, especially with the invoicing and payments made by the attendees.  Thanks to Louis Leonard and Monia Johnson this was sorted.  Una Mgwenya and Zenzi Msweli took care of all administrative tasks and communication with the attendees, which gave the presenter time to prepare the training material.

On a personal note, I would like to thank the Library Management for giving me the opportunity to present this workshop.  My skills were broadened and I think everybody attending felt a sense of solidarity.  We are all involved in bibliometric analysis at our various institutes, but in most cases, it is a solitary road.