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What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Archives & Special Collections

New archival resource illuminates Nova Scotia’s industrial history

Newfoundland Railway: [75 ton flatcar]

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new archival resource.

The University Archives recently published a guide to the TrentonWorks fonds, a significant collection of archival material related to the TrentonWorks factory that operated in Trenton, Nova Scotia, from the late 19th century through the late 20th century.

The Archives acquired this material through donations from the 1970s to the early 2000s. While an inventory of the collection has been available for years, a recent grant from the Provincial Archival Development Program enabled the Archives to fully process the collection and publish a detailed online finding aid.

The finding aid to the TrentonWorks fonds brings together over 20 linear metres of textual records, photographs, technical drawings, and other material that documents the industrial history of Pictou County and Cape Breton. Highlights include records that document:

  • Coal mining in Pictou County and Cape Breton, and iron ore mining in Newfoundland and Brazil
  • Nova Scotia’s production of munitions and other supplies supporting Canada’s WW1 and WW2 efforts
  • The manufacture of railcars sold by Eastern Car Company and Canadian Car and Foundry Company

The TrentonWorks fonds provides extensive information about Nova Scotia’s labour history and the finances and operations of national and multi-national businesses that led the industrial development of Nova Scotia.

Explore the online finding aid here: https://findingaids.library.dal.ca/trentonworks-fonds

Email general questions to archives@dal.ca or schedule a research consultation with archivist Creighton Barrett.

 

Killam Retrofit Update: Fifth Floor Closed February 17-21

A long hallway featuring shelving and boxesPlease note: The fifth floor will be closed from February 17-21, 2025, for electrical panel upgrade work.

The GIS Centre and the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room will be closed but you can still book appointments:

2024 Dal Libraries Survey Results 

At Dal Libraries, we hold ourselves accountable to the university and the community we serve and measure our progress regularly. In January, we surveyed Dal students, faculty, and staff to assess our services and measure our impact. In March, we shared a brief note thanking you for your feedback and announcing the prize winners. 

5,125 people responded to our survey – we are delighted and grateful for such an enthusiastic response. After reading and analyzing the feedback, we are happy to share the following results with you.   

Areas Rated Highly Important Where We Are Doing Well 

  • Wireless access
  • Information resources are meeting needs and helping students and faculty to be successful
  • Students feel comfortable asking staff for help
  • Help is available when needed
  • Staff provide accurate answers to questions

Priorities for Improvement 

  • Improving access to quiet study areas
  • Improving access to group study areas

Other Areas for Improvement 

  • Electrical outlet accessibility and maintenance at specific locations
  • Ease of use of printers at specific locations
  • Hours at specific locations
  • Laptop loaning for specific groups of students
  • Students with disabilities & Faculty: Accessing library resources through mobile devices
  • Faculty: The Libraries’ website and search box

Actions We are Taking 

  • After careful review, the silent, quiet, and conversation-friendly study spaces at the Killam Library, the Kellogg Library Learning Commons at the CHEB, and the Law Library have been rezoned. We are monitoring these areas to ensure they meet users’ needs.
  • We are conducting usability and accessibility studies in preparation for a reimagined Libraries website in 2025. We will seek input and feedback from both students and faculty.
  • While our current budget does not enable us to extend our current building hours, we regularly consult our usage and foot traffic data to optimize our hours of operation.
  • We will be reviewing our laptop loan program in the near future.

We will provide updates on these items as we make progress. 

We were bolstered by messages of support and enthusiasm for our libraries and our staff. One user said, “I am extremely happy with the library system. The staff are helpful, and a lot of thought and effort has clearly gone into setting things up to make it easy for students.”  

Again, we are grateful to all who took the time to respond to our survey and we look forward to making improvements and adjustments to serve you better. If you have questions about the survey and results, please contact Assessment Coordinator Linda Bedwell.

Michael Vandenburg
Dean of Libraries 

Updated! Killam Retrofit Update – Atrium Closure

The Killam Atrium will be closed from May 6 – August 12 as part of the Killam Library Deep Energy Retrofit Project.

There will be no access to the atrium and food services in that area (Second Cup, Subway, and Bento) will be closed.

Closure of the atrium will enable:

  • Window cleaning (🎉)
  • Replacement of broken windows
  • Lighting improvements
  • Fans and ductwork (to help distribute heat back down to the main floor in winter)

A large swing stage will be erected and will move clockwise around the atrium to enable window cleaning and replacements. This work is primarily why the atrium must close.

A covered walkway will usher people through the Atrium from the main entrance to the Killam Library. Additionally, staff and library users can use the back entrance (Howe Hall side).

Thank you for your patience during this significant phase of the retrofit!

Killam Retrofit Update: Fifth Floor Closure

Please note, the GIS Centre and the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room will be closed for renovations from June 10 to September 2024.

GIS Centre – Book an appointment online or visit www.dal.ca/gis and click Book an Appointment.

In-person help can be arranged by email (with advanced notice)– jennifer.strang@dal.ca or james.boxall@dal.ca.

A long hallway featuring shelving and boxesArchives and Special Collections Reading Room

A temporary reading room will be available on the 3rd floor of the Killam Memorial Library. Access to the collections will be by appointment only. Requests must be made 24 hours in advance.

To make an appointment to view archival material, please contact us at archives@dal.ca.

Contact spcoll@dal.ca to make an appointment to view special collections material.

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.

Killam Library Front Entrance Closure May 6 & 7

The Killam atrium will be closed from May 6 – August 2 as part of the Killam Library Deep Energy Retrofit Project.

There will be no access to the atrium and food services in that area. Second Cup, Subway, and Bento Sushi are now closed and will remain closed until August.

The front entrance of the Killam Library will be closed on May 6 & 7 to construct a tunnel that will provide safe access to the library during the atrium renovation. 

  • The fire exit door in the Downie Wenjack Legacy Space will be open during these two days of tunnel construction.
  • The back door facing Howe Hall will be used as an alternative accessible entrance for those two days.

The front doors will become accessible again from May 8 on, and the tunnel can be used to access the Student Accessibility Centre and Killam Library.

Thank you for your patience during this significant phase of the Killam Library retrofit.

Register for Research Camp

Are you a graduate student, research assistant, or teaching assistant looking to develop your research skills? Research 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.

Research 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 13, 2024. You also have the option to register for sessions in the program that will be delivered live (online) in May and June.

Students receive badges for completing modules in Research Camp and badges accumulated toward certificates. For a full list of available certificates, see the Certificate page on the Research Camp website.

Registration is open now, and access starts on May 13, 2024. 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 Research Camp 2024-2025

To register for live sessions, visit the Dal Libraries events calendar.

Visit the program website for the schedule, module descriptions, and FAQs.

Alternative Quiet Space for Meditation/Prayer During Construction

From April 15 to June 24, 2024, the designated quiet space (room 3105) in the Killam Library will be closed due to construction related to the Killam Retrofit project.

Below are some alternative designated quiet spaces for students and staff:

Studley Campus

  • LeMarchant Place (Room 2302)
  • Student Union Building (Room B22)

Sexton Campus

  • Next to Sexton Gym (Room J125A)

Non-designated quiet spaces might include the study rooms in the Life Sciences Centre (LSC), or the study commons in the Mona Campbell building and the Wallace McCain Learning Commons. 

Visit Dal’s Multi-Faith Services website for more information.

New! Dal authors can publish for free in eligible Oxford University Press journals

By Hailey Wills

We are pleased to announce that, through our ongoing partnership with the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), Dal authors can access discounted or no article processing charges (APCs) when publishing in eligible Oxford University Press journals.

Because the cost of open access (OA) publishing is packaged with the Libraries’ subscriptions, there are no additional costs to Dalhousie authors. Dal authors can benefit from unlimited OA publishing in over 350 Oxford University Press hybrid journals with no article processing charges. There is also a 10% discount on article processing charges when publishing in Oxford’s gold open access journals. The agreement extends from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026.

More details, including eligible journals and how to apply for the waiver or discount, are available on our Open Access LibGuide page.

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