About Consultant

LINDA FARMER, MLS

Tel: 905 465-3387     Mobile:  416 795-3387
e-mail :   lfarmer@k2s.ca

LINDA FARMER is founder of Second Knowledge Solutions, a consulting business crafting knowledge frameworks for digital content. Linda has over 20 years experience in the library automation and data base publishing industries. She advises educational, business and cultural organizations on categorization and vocabulary control strategies for rendering digital content accessible.

Core Expertise

• Assists organizations in making strategic decisions on structuring and categorizing their digital content employing:
• Taxonomies & classification
• Vocabulary control & thesauri
• Metadata schemas
  

• Surveyed auto-categorization software tools for the Cultural Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and Library and Archives Canada. Explored the utility of these new tools for organizing a digital repository of Canadian museum artifacts. [2006]
• Undertook a strategic marketing plan funded by CANARIE for the establishment of a digital content management service for the Canadian education community [2004] (Bibliocentre, Metadata Content Group – resource processing centre for the Ontario community colleges)
• Developed the content for the Taxonomy Guide: Online Resource and Learning Tool, a web-based learning resource on the design of enterprise taxonomies [2003 – 2007](Professional Learning Centre, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto http://plc.fis.utoronto.ca/coursedescription.asp?courseid=33)
• Designed a taxonomy and thesaurus for a repository of documents on internet architecture. Established an authoring and maintenance process. (Bank of Montreal - 2001)

Other Professional Experience

• Executive Director of Novanet, a consortium of nine Nova Scotia academic libraries
• Over ten years experience designing user documentation and delivering training programs for major Canadian database and library management system vendors including Geac, a-g Canada Ltd (formerly ISM Library Information Services), Financial Post Online, CAN/LAW and Infomart Online
• Delivered university credit courses at Dalhousie University, School of Library and Information Studies and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute
  • Electronic Text Design
  • Library Automation and Networks
  • Documentation and Training for Information Systems

Professional Appointments

Member of the Taxonomy Project National Review Committee and the Advisory Group for InformCanada, a pan Canadian bilingual taxonomy for 211 community services ( www.211.ca) (http://www.211taxonomy.org/ 2005

Member of the Knowledge Management cluster of the Dean's Advisory Board, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto (2001 – 2003)

Adjunct Professor, Dalhousie University, School of Information Studies (1998-2001)

Selected Publications

“Automatic Categorization – What’s It All About?” (Serials Librarian, Vol. 51, No. 2, 2006)

Describes text processing technologies employed by auto-categorization tools, outlines features of the tools and discusses the human/machine interaction required to execute an effective categorization process. Based on a presentation given at the Canadian Metadata Forum, Ottawa, September 26-28, 2005.

“XML and Taxonomies; A partnership cure for digital sprawl” Information Highways, January-February, 2002

http://www.econtentinstitute.org/issues/past_issues.asp

“That Thing We Do: Retooling Librarians for the Digital Age”
Feliciter, Canadian Library Association. November/December, 1997, pp. 56-58, 64

Education

Bachelor of Arts, McGill University

Masters of Library Science, University of Toronto