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Biography
M.J. D’Elia is the Head (Acting) of the Learning and Curriculum Support Team at the University of Guelph. He provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Learning Commons units: Learning and Writing Services, Information Literacy, Supported Learning Groups, and the Data Resource Centre. He is a co-conspirator in a number of interesting side projects, including Innovation Boot Camp, PIM Labs, and The Startup Library.
In addition to his library role, he also instructs the Entrepreneurship course for the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies. This course features a Dragon’s Den-like business pitch competition at the end of the semester. When time permits, M.J. doodles, plays with Lego and runs a small facilitation company that specializes in creative problem solving.
Industry Expertise (4)
Social Media
Research
Library and Information Management
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (9)
Information Literacy
Collection Development
Library Science
Virtual Reference Services
Curriculum Design
Educational Technology
Digital Libraries
Metadata
Library Research
Accomplishments (3)
Distinguished Librarian Award (professional)
2006-01-01
Awarded by the University of Guelph, 2006-2008.
Louis Vagianos Award (professional)
2004-01-01
Awarded by Dalhousie University.
Gold Medal Recipient (professional)
2001-01-01
Awarded by The University of Western Ontario.
Education (2)
Dalhousie University: MLIS, Library Scienec 2004
University of Western Ontario: B.A., Visual Arts, English 2001
Affiliations (4)
- Creative Education Foundation (CEF) : Member
- Ontario Library Association (OLA) : Member
- American Library Association (ALA) : Member
- University of Guelph : Instructor of Entrepreneurship
Links (1)
Media Appearances (1)
Gryphon's Den 2014
The Ontarion online
2014-12-04
Professor M.J. D’Elia began teaching MCS*4100 (Marketing and Consumer Studies) in the Fall of 2012 and was “looking for a high-impact experience to conclude the course.” Gryphons’ Den is just that – it began around “…the time, pitch competitions like ABC’s Shark Tank and CBC’s Dragons’ Den were jut taking off on television. There was something about the simplicity of the pitch format that appealed to me – and pitches are a common activity for new businesses as they look for investors and customers,” explained D’Elia...
Event Appearances (3)
Innovation Boot Camp: Learn Faster
OALT / ABO Conference King City, ON.
2012-05-04
Building a game layer on top of the library
OLA Conference Toronto, ON.
2012-02-01
Librarians are like detectives (and other generative analogies...)
CLA Conference 2011 Halifax, NS.
2011-05-25
Articles (2)
The Startup Library: Pitch Competition
The University of Guelph2013-07-04
In the winter of 2013 the University of Guelph Library funded an experimental staff development initiative called "The Startup Library." The goal of this program was to explore what libraries might be like if we adopted a Startup mindset. Course material was based on popular business books like Business Model Generation (Alexander Osterwalder), The Lean Startup (Eric Ries), and Change by Design (Tim Brown)...
Innovation: the language of learning libraries
References Services Review2010-01-01
The purpose of this paper is to describe an experimental staff training program called "Innovation Boot Camp" in which participants engaged in playful activities designed specifically to inspire, energize, and challenge them to become more innovative at work...
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