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What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Agriculture

Borrow a Blanket, Find Your Favourite Spot: Picnic Blankets Now Available at Dal Libraries

Looking for a new place to study, relax, or connect with friends between classes? Dalhousie Libraries is excited to support the Be Well @ Dal initiative by offering picnic blankets for loan from our library service points.

The picnic blanket loan project encourages students, faculty, and staff to spend more time outdoors, enjoy the university’s green spaces, and connect with nature and one another. Whether you’re enjoying the Alumni Gardens, reading on the quad, meeting classmates for a study session, sharing lunch with friends, or simply taking a well-deserved break, a picnic blanket makes it easy to turn any patch of grass into your own outdoor escape.

These Dalhousie tartan blankets can be borrowed just like other library materials. The initiative was inspired by a simple idea: making it easier for the campus community to step outside, get some fresh air, and support their well-being through time spent outdoors. So next time the sun is shining, stop by a participating library service point, borrow a blanket, and make the most of Dal’s beautiful outdoor spaces.

Stop by the service point at the following libraries or check our library catalogue:

  • MacRae Library (Truro)
  • Sexton Library
  • Kellogg Library
  • Killam Library

The picnic blankets were generously donated by the Bell Well @ Dal Physical Spaces action group. The Be Well @ Dal initiative supports individual and community well-being across the university through programs, activities, and spaces that help people thrive.

Changes to ProQuest: What You Need to Know

If you use ProQuest to find articles, reports, or other research materials, you might notice things look a little different. That’s because ProQuest (owned by Clarivate) has reorganized how its databases are grouped and accessed. Here’s a quick overview of what’s changed and what it means for you.

What’s New?

Our subscription to ProQuest Central has been upgraded to ProQuest Central Premium. This new version includes even more content than before. ProQuest has also bundled its databases into themed collections, which are now grouped under 8 broad subject areas called ProQuest One. For example:

  • ProQuest One Social Sciences
  • ProQuest One Health & Nursing
  • ProQuest One Business, and more.

Each of these includes multiple collections and databases, providing you with access to a broader range of materials in one place.

What Does This Mean for You?

  • More content: You now have access to additional resources that weren’t included before, like J.P. Morgan Research in the Business collection.
  • Fewer direct links: Some individual databases (like Sociological Abstracts) can no longer be linked to directly. Instead, they’re part of larger collections. You can still search them, but you’ll access them through the broader collection or subject area.
  • Updates coming soon: Our library team is updating links on our website (like the A-Z database list and LibGuides) to reflect these changes. You may also need to update any saved links or course materials that point to specific databases.

Need Help?

If you’re unsure how to access a specific resource or need help updating your materials, please reach out to us at library.eresources@dal.ca.

Call for 2025 OER Development Grant Applications

The Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries has called for applications for AtlanticOER Development Grants. Funding is provided by the four Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island).

AtlanticOER Development Grants provide financial support to instructors in the Atlantic Region creating and adapting new Open Educational Resources. The goal is to support instructors to increase the availability of quality, free, openly licensed resources to support student learning. You can apply for three different funding tiers, depending on the scope of your project. The tiers are:

Tier 1: Creating an Open Textbook (up to $7,000) – This funding is intended for the development of a new open textbook. The topic should not be covered in an already existing open textbook. This tier is meant for creation projects at a larger scale.

Tier 2: Adaptation of an Existing Open Textbook (up to $4,000) – This funding is intended for substantive adaptation projects. Sometimes it can be possible to find an open textbook that covers foundational knowledge but needs to be adjusted. For example, the textbook might require adjustments to ensure it adheres to local educational standards, or adjustments might be made to make it relevant to the local context (eg, an American business textbook may need adjustments to make it suitable for a Canadian business context), or new examples and interactive elements may be added to a book.

Tier 3: Creation of Ancillary Materials (up to $1,000) – This funding is intended for smaller creation projects. Ancillary materials can be defined as course materials that are meant to supplement and support a textbook. Examples of ancillary materials include: slide decks, interactive tutorials, and quiz and test banks. Often, ancillary materials can enhance student learning.

The application period closes on February 14, 2025.

Read more about the application process and who can apply.

 

Document Delivery During Canada Post Strike

The current Canada Post strike impacts our ability to borrow print books and other “returnable” items from libraries outside of Novanet.

We can still borrow from a limited number of libraries but many have suspended book lending.

What You Can Do for Efficient Processing

  • Please indicate the date you need the item when you submit your request.
  • If you only need part of a book, you can request specific chapters be sent to you electronically. You can request one chapter per form submission. Copyright regulations may prohibit us from filling multiple requests from the same book. We will assess each request as they are submitted.

Access the request forms by logging into your Document Delivery account.

Please contact us with questions at docdel@dal.ca or 902-494-3612.

Planned DalSpace Repository Updates & Outages

The DalSpace theses repository will undergo updates during October 15-22. These updates will address issues and ensure ongoing functionality. 

From October 15-22 users will experience outages. Please avoid uploads and deposits until the update is completed after October 22. 

If you have any questions about the update, please contact dalspace@dal.ca.

New Resource: 2023 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code

By Jenna Green 

A new edition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code is now available. 

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is the global source of standards. Founded in 1880, the ASME promotes collaboration and development across all disciplines of engineering. In 1914, the first edition of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, previously called ASME Boiler Code – Rules for the Construction of Stationary Boilers and for the Allowable Working Pressures, was issued in response to multiple boiler-related explosions that occurred in New England. 

The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code is the standard set of rules and regulations for the design and construction of power boilers. With access to the 2024 edition, mechanical engineering students, faculty, and professionals can be sure that they have the most accurate standard in the field. 

The 2024 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code is available in the Sexton Library Reserve Readings Collection for in-library use only.

May 5 is Red Dress Day

Seven red dresses hang on a line.

The Red Dress Day exhibit in the Ko’jua Okuom in the Killam Memorial Library.

May 5 is Red Dress Day,  a day of honouring missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Learn more about Red Dress Day.

Learn more about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) by reading the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Sexton Library Closure: Saturday, May 27

Due to a planned power outage on Sexton Campus, the Sexton Library will be closed on Saturday, May 27.

Facilities Management will be implementing a power outage from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. to complete critical high voltage electrical maintenance. The work will affect the entire campus, with the exceptions of: O’Brien Hall, Gerard Hall, Grad House, the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (Halifax Data Collection Site), Hart House (K Building), and Moren House(L Building).

Research Summer Camp

Are you a graduate student, research assistant, or teaching assistant looking to develop your research skills? The Research Summer Camp is a comprehensive program that will take you through the research process from literature searching and writing all the way to publication. The program is open to any student, faculty, or staff member at Dalhousie, but is specifically tailored to graduate students.

The Research Summer Camp will be offered as a series of online modules on Brightspace and live online sessions. Modules may include short video lectures and interactive exercises to help you brush up on your literature searching, writing, information management, and research skills. By registering for this program, you will have access to all of the pre-recorded modules beginning on May 15th, 2023. You also have the option to register for sessions in the program that will be delivered live (online) in May and June.

Starting in May 2023, we are also offering certificates for completion of Research Summer Camp sessions and modules. For a full list of available certificates, see the Certificate page on the Research Summer Camp website.

Registration is open now, and access starts on May 15th, 2023. To self-register for the program

· Log into Brightspace

· In the Academic Support menu, select Self-registration

· From the list of courses, find and select Online Community – Research Camp 2023-2024

To register for live sessions, visit the Dal Libraries Events Calendar: https://dal.libcal.com/calendar/events

Program website, including schedule, module descriptions, FAQs: https://dal.ca.libguides.com/ResearchCamp

DMP Assistant Platform Upgrade

The DMP Assistant will be unavailable from 9am to 6pm AST on February 22nd, 2023 for a system upgrade.

 

Any work that DMP Assistant users have completed prior to the shutdown will be migrated to the new 3.1.0 platform, along with any other existing data management plans (DMPs), templates and user data. Users should save and/or export any existing DMPs/data that they may require during the shutdown period. Once launched, users will be able to access the DMP Assistant 3.1.0 service at the same URL (https://assistant.portagenetwork.ca/) with their existing credentials, and new users may create accounts as normal. 

 

The upgraded version of the DMP Assistant will improve security and user experience, and come with several exciting new features, including a new “Research Output” tab that allows users to: 

  • Specify the type (e.g., dataset, software, image, etc.), name and a description of the output, size (if applicable), whether or not it contains sensitive information, what the initial access level will be (e.g., open, restricted, closed), and the anticipated publication date 
  • Select an appropriate license from the SPDX License List 
  • Select any metadata standards that will be followed from the RDA Metadata standards catalog 
  • Select the repositories they intend to preserve the object in from a dropdown list powered by re3data  

 For more information or any questions, please contact Shiloh Williams, Product Lead, Data Management Planning, Digital Research Alliance of Canada, at support@portagenetwork.ca.  

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