The Patrick Power Library is pleased to welcome Dan Phillips and Sarah West as the newest members of our Copyright Office team.
Dan and Sarah will lead efforts to ensure Copyright Act compliance and build awareness across campus, and provide support services to faculty, instructors, staff and students. To learn more about copyright services at Saint Mary’s University, please visit our Copyright Guide for Faculty & Staff or our Copyright Guide for Students.
Due to a system upgrade that occurred on May 17, the Novanet Classic search page has been retired and is no longer available to search for books in the Library’s collection.
You’re invited to hear the stories of women from the 16th-18th centuries who found themselves in broken marriages, and challenged a legal system that viewed them as subordinate to men and denied the option of divorce.
Dr. Lynn Jones has loved collecting and sharing stories about her community since she was a child. When she was around 8 years old, she became curious about the articles and other “exciting things” her mother collected on the kitchen table of their family home in Truro, Nova Scotia.1 The joy she found in exploring her mother’s collection quickly turned into a lifelong passion for scrapbooking and collecting material of her own interest.2 Now, after more than 50 years and a career as an athlete, politician, activist, and community worker, Dr. Jones has collected thousands of news clippings, meeting minutes, programs, reports and other material documenting Black life.
What are communities around the world doing to conserve their local environments? What motivates them? How do they handle things like decision making and power when working to create sustainable local solutions to global problems?
In honour of Open Access Week, we’re celebrating the recent publication of Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods, a freely-available book that explores how communities around the work balance conserving their local environment with sustaining their livelihoods.
Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods is the product of over a decade of work and meaningful collaboration on the part of the Saint Mary’s-based Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN), an “international initiative to study and support local communities in their efforts to engage in environmental conservation that sustains local livelihoods, and to encourage best practices of governments to support these community initiatives.”
This book also takes us on a journey around the world, showcasing real initiatives in real communities who are working to address challenges and strike a balance between the economy and the environment.
Join us online or in the Library Classroom next Wednesday, October 27 at noon to hear from Dr. Charles on how this book came about and the research behind it; what it was like to work with so many collaborators across the globe; and how they and why the contributors decided to make it a freely available ebook.
Every Tuesday and Thursday evening throughout October, starting October 14th, students can once again tune in to the popular Research Toolkit workshops to learn advanced research tactics.
Facilitated by librarians from the Patrick Power Library, and delivered via Microsoft Teams, the Fall 2021 Research Toolkit workshops are a great opportunity for research assistants, teaching assistants, and graduate students to connect with one another and with information experts, ask questions, and expand their research skills and knowledge.
“The Research Toolkit is designed to provide a solid foundation for students who need to develop advanced research skills,” explains Heather Sanderson, Information Literacy Librarian and co-creator of the workshops. The sessions are geared towards research assistants, teaching assistants, graduate students, honour students and anyone who is ready to move on to more advanced search techniques.
The sessions include key topics such as citation searching; effective searching of Google and Google Scholar to find grey literature, and finding and using data and statistics. Students will also learn the basics of copyright in academia.
Whether you are interested in one session or all five, you only need to register once! Students who attend any one session will receive access to all recordings.
For more information, please contact Information Literacy Librarian, Heather Sanderson (heather.sanderson@smu.ca) or Instructional Development Librarian, Cindy Harrigan (cindy.harrigan@smu.ca).
Research Toolkit – Fall 2021 Schedule
Thursday, October 14, 2021
5:30 – 6:30 “Researching the Literature Review” with Heather Sanderson
What is a literature review, and what do you need one for? Where do they appear, and how they are typically organized? We’ll cover several key tools and strategies for crafting your lit review, such as citation searching, to help you be more comprehensive and systematic in your literature searches.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
5:30 – 6:30 “Internet Expertise for Researchers” with Cindy Harrigan
This session will focus on how to find useful, quality information for academic or scholarly research, using Google and Google Scholar. Topics covered include grey literature, search strategies, and tips on how to evaluate search results.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
5:30 – 6:30 “Show Me the Numbers: Stats and Data Discovery Tools to Support your Research” with Joyce Thomson
This session will focus on key concepts and challenges in finding data and statistics for your research as well as several useful places and strategies to explore, particularly for survey data from Statistics Canada.
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
5:30 – 6:30 “Scholarly Journal Quality and Open Access” with Peter Webster
Can you identify the quality of a scholarly journal? This is a key skill for researchers and authors. Topics covered include various impact measures in use and strategies to identify the “best” articles in a subject area, as well as the benefits of open access and how to avoid predatory journals.
Thursday, October 28, 2021
5:30 – 6:30 “Copyright and You: What You Need to Know” with Amy Lorencz
How does copyright relate to your thesis/dissertation? Quite a lot, actually! Save yourself a headache later on by tuning in to learn about licenses, Creative Commons, using images, and what you need to know before you submit.
The iconic Patrick Power Library sign. Photo by @capturedbymoinak
We hope your first day of classes was amazing!
After a year of virtual operations, we’re so excited that you can now drop in to use the Library anytime we’re open. No more appointments needed (except for group study rooms!).
What does this mean?
Feel free to come in, study, browse the stacks, and check out books, anytime during open hours (you can find up-to-date hours info on the Library’s website).
You can even drop into the library for in-person Research Help from 1-5 pm, Monday to Friday, although Virtual Research Help is still offered:
Monday-Thursday: 9 am-7 pm
Friday: 9 am-5 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 1-5 pm
We are so excited to welcome you back to the Library!
What’s new?
We ask that you help us keep our campus community safe by complying with all health and safety protocols. Masks are mandatory in the Library until seated and 1-metre of physical distancing can be maintained, and you must fill out the check in form upon arrival.
For the latest Library updates and info, follow @SMUhfxlibrary on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to reflect upon and learn about the unique histories, cultures, and heritages of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities.
National Indigenous History Month is a call to action for settler-Canadians to improve our understanding of Canada’s colonial past and present. Additionally, National Indigenous History Month allows Canadians to express their genuine appreciation for the many contributions of Indigenous peoples and communities, and to celebrate the strength and resiliency of Indigenous peoples today, amidst the ongoing effects of colonization.
At the Patrick Power Library, we are fortunate to foster a learning environment on the traditional and unceded land of the Mi’kmaq. In awknowledgement of this, we’ve highlighted a list of suggested action items for settler-Canadians to consider.
Settler-Canadian Action Items
1. Whose land do you live on?
You’ve probably heard of land acknowledgments, which often take place at the beginning of an event. Genuine and well thought out land acknowledgments recognize the people upon whose land we live, work and play. Learn more about land acknowledgments and why they are important. Also, visit https://native-land.ca/ and use the interactive map to learn and explore!
2. Read the Truth and Reconciliation Report
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in 2008. It provided those impacted by the Indian Residential School system an opportunity to make their voices heard and detail how the Canadian government can enact change and facilitate reconciliation. The final report was released in 2015 with 94 calls to action. The Canadian government has so far completed only ten.
3. Do some research
The Patrick Power Library has plenty of resources and materials to help you research Indigenous history and cultures. You’ll find tons of great resources on the Indigenous Studies LibGuide. Here are just a few of many great resources you might explore, depending on your area of interest:
We know that finding information on a topic that may be new to you can be overwhelming. Don’t hesitate to contact the Library’s Research Help Team if you’re looking for information, even if it’s for general interest and not for an assignment.
4. Show your Support
Settler-Canadians are responsible for our personal commitments to working towards reconciliation. You can show this commitment by following the action items above, as well as donating to local Indigenous organizations or following local activists on social media. Below are some resources to help guide you on ways you can show your support.
It’s vital to keep listening and learning about Indigenous history, particlarly as settlers. National Indigenous History Month can help us celebrate Indigenous brilliance and success; recognize and acknowledge the realities of intergenerational trauma; and work towards a brighter, more just future for all.
Patrick Power Library Blog 