All Dalhousie Libraries locations will be CLOSED on Monday, September 6 for the Labour Day holiday.
Enjoy the last long weekend of the summer. We can’t wait to see you again!
RESOLVED: Cochrane Library log-in is currently unavailable
UPDATE, September 9, 2021: This issue has been resolved.
The Cochrane Library log-in is currently unavailable. This means the “saved searches” feature cannot be accessed. Cochrane’s technology team is working to solve this as quickly as possible and we 
apologize for the inconvenience.
PsychiatryOnline error message
There is currently an error on PsychiatryOnline where you may see a “No Access” banner text display on book title pages, even if you do have access.
Access is still being granted to these titles and you can access content as usual by clicking into the chapter level of the book. The error is only with the access level banner text and this error is not affecting journal or book chapter content, only book title pages.
The publisher apologizes for the inconvenience and is working to resolve the access level banner text issue as soon as possible.
Intern Profile: Vinson Li
Name: Vinson Li
Pronouns: He/They
Hometown: Toronto
What is your favorite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?
Walking around town with friends or checking out a trail with friends.
What is your internship title? Which library (and archives!) location are you affiliated with?
Reference Intern; W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library
What brought you to the MI program at Dal?
I wanted to become a librarian and I liked the idea of a mandatory practicum (work experience is important) and I wanted to go somewhere new and interesting.
What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?
I’ve never been involved with academic libraries and I thought my experience with healthcare settings would provide a unique perspective.
What’s your educational background?
PharmD and 3 years in a Bachelor of Science, both done at the University of Toronto
What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?My daily roles include answering emails from patrons that need help with accessing library resources and helping the librarians with various research projects, but there is more that I’m involved with. We serve a variety of patrons including faculty, staff, learners, regional health professionals and researchers across the faculties of health, medicine, and dentistry.
My big project for the summer is renovating the Systematic Review LibGuide. This LibGuide sees tons of traffic from many students and researchers informing their knowledge synthesis projects and my job is to update the guide with current resources and to make it easier to navigate.
I’m also a part of a scoping review looking into how undergraduate medical education across the world has handled the shift over to online learning during the pandemic.
I’ve also been assisting the library with creating online tutorial videos using Camtasia. I also compile recommendations for acquisition of new textbooks and eBooks by looking at what’s available, what gaps we have in our current collection, and referring to trusted reviews of potential purchases. I assist the librarians when they do consultations with researchers to help them with refining their search strategy; this may involve having a conversation over a video conferencing program to better understand their needs.
The pandemic has made the internship more convenient since I can do things from home, but it’s been hard to get in the right headspace since I can’t come into the library to work.
Intern Profile: Kendell Fitzgerald
Name: Kendell Fitzgerald
Pronouns: She/her
Hometown: Aspy Bay, Cape Breton
What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?
My favourite summer activity is getting for a swim in the ocean! When I’m in Halifax, I love going out to eat with some friends and enjoying Argyle Street.
What is your internship title? Which library (and archives!) location are you affiliated with?
My internship title is Reference Intern, and I am affiliated with the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library.
What brought you to the MI program at Dal?
Someone mentioned the program to me, and the more I explored the MI program’s website, the more it seemed like the perfect fit for me and my future career goals.
What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?
I have no educational or professional experience with the health sciences, but I wanted to try something outside of my comfort zone. My Kellogg internship has introduced me to new ways to use my skills, and it has helped me build upon my practicum experience with evidence synthesis.
What’s your educational background?
I graduated from the University of King’s College with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, minoring in gender studies.
What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?My internship has been balancing both project work and answering reference questions through e-mails and video calls. Our reference services support students, faculty, staff, researchers, and regional health professionals, assisting with both general questions and evidence synthesis work. My projects were mainly Kellogg-based, although I had the chance to collaborate with other library interns on a project for the Dalhousie Archives, where we have been working on updating PDFs outlining the Dalhousie’s architectural history. I’ve also worked on projects which involved creating Opinio surveys and presenting their results, as well as updating a Libguide for the pharmacy department. My internship gave me opportunities to work in various steps of developing evidence synthesis such as scoping or systematic reviews. This involved developing and translating search strategies, deduplicating with Covidence, and helping researchers find full-text PDFs. The topics and skills I’ve been introduced to over my internship have been so varied that I feel confident in exploring challenging new topics and programs. Sadly, working remotely has prevented me from meeting my co-workers in person, and from becoming more familiar with the Kellogg library itself, but I’m excited to return to in-person this fall to help people face-to-face!
Temporary Disruption of Access to ASTM Digital Library (RESOLVED)
Update, August 19, 2:50 p.m.: This issue has been resolved.
ASTM has migrated its content to a new platform and is in the process of resolving some access difficulties. These access difficulties are affecting multiple libraries across North America. The vendor is working to resolve the issues as quickly as possible and apologize for the inconvenience.
The Dalhousie Libraries Are Here for You! Top 5 Tips To Stay Connected
by Sarah Jane Dooley, Louise Gillis, & Melissa Helwig
Did you know many of our services are available online, like access to thousands of e-journals and e-books? Start your search here: https://libraries.dal.ca. There you will also find the most up-to-date information on our services and spaces.
To make this as easy as possible for you, we created a Top 5 Tips to stay connected with us whether you are working on campus or at home.
Tip #1: Ask a Librarian
Did you know you have a personal librarian? Each program and faculty at Dalhousie has a subject librarian. You are welcome to email them directly at any stage of your research process. Your librarian is ready to help you and is accessible by email or by research appointment.
Start with the Subject Guides to search for your librarian by name or by subject area.
Or go to Ask Us to contact your local library.
We also provide LiveHelp (a chat-based reference service ideal for quick questions; find the link at the bottom of the Libraries’ homepage) as well as Brightspace support for faculty (intech@dal.ca) and IT HelpDesk assistance (support@dal.ca).
Tip #2: Start with Our Subject Guides
Overwhelmed or unsure where to start with electronic resources? Try a Subject Guide. These curated collections of subject-specific resources are an excellent starting point for your research. They highlight relevant databases, useful journals, e-books and more. Still stuck? Your librarian’s contact details are listed too!
Tip #3: Register Your DalCard
Why should you register your DalCard with the library? It allows you to access Document Delivery (see below for more important details). It also allows you to look at your library account info online and check due dates. See the online registration form here: https://libraries.dal.ca/borrow/library-cards.html
Tip #4: Document Delivery
How do I access journal articles and books that Dal Libraries doesn’t have?
Document Delivery (aka Interlibrary Loan) is a free service that delivers books in print, as well as journal articles and book chapters electronically.
You can use the patron request (aka order form) from the Document Delivery page or check our YouTube tutorial on using Get it@Dal to access Document Delivery. To log in you need to have your DalCard registered at the library (see above). Your login is the barcode on your DalCard and your username is the last four digits of the phone number associated with your library account.
Tip #5: Study Space
Are you looking for the perfect place to study?
Computer workstations, group meeting rooms or that little nook at the end of an aisle: everyone can find a great space to work in our libraries. For details and to book, click here: https://libraries.dal.ca/services/book-a-study-room-or-computer–new–.html
It’s Back! In-Person Assistance at the Killam Library Help Desk
Carl Harvey and his colleagues at the Help Desk in the Killam Library are ready to assist you!
Starting Monday, July 19 you can book a one-hour in-person appointment with a help desk technician in the Killam Library. Once logged into the booking system, choose “Killam Help Desk” in the drop-down menu. This service is for current Dalhousie and King’s students, faculty, and staff and is available Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. in the Downie-Wenjack Legacy Space, the Learning Commons space in the Killam Library, main floor.
If you prefer to receive remote Help Desk assistance, you can still reach us at support@dal.ca, 902-494-HELP (4357), or toll-free at 1-800-869-3931. Remote assistance is available Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m.‒9 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m.‒6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
New Associate Dean Research & Scholarly Communications and Head of the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library
Please join us in welcoming Melissa Helwig (she/they) to the role of Associate Dean Research & Scholarly Communications and Head of the Kellogg Library. Melissa has been with the Dalhousie Libraries since 2012, serving as an Information Services Librarian based in the Kellogg Health Sciences Library.
Melissa has worked as a health sciences librarian for just over 15 years. In her previous role with the Dalhousie Libraries, she was focused on supporting the College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, and the School of Health Administration. As an Information Services Librarian, she participated in a variety of initiatives like Research Bootcamp, the Scholarship at Dalhousie Libraries Series, and the International Student Support Strategy group.
As Associate Dean Research & Scholarly Communications, Melissa will be providing leadership to a portfolio that looks to support researchers, faculty, students, and staff through the research lifecycle including services and systems that enable scholarly communications, open science, data management and research analytics. This includes initiatives such as the Dalhousie Current Research Information System – UNIWeb.
As Head of the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library, Melissa will provide leadership in the development and provision of knowledgeable and flexible library services and scholarly resources at the local level for the two spaces under the Kellogg banner: the Kellogg Library Learning Commons in the Collaborative Health Education Building and the Kellogg Health Sciences Library in the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building.
Melissa is a member of the Maritime Health Libraries Association, the Aligning Health Needs and Evidence for Transformative Change: A JBI Centre of Excellence at Dalhousie University, and the AFMC Network on Libraries. She is a member and the Continuing Education Director for the Canadian Health Libraries Association.
Congratulations and Goodbye to Ann Barrett
Last week, our colleague Ann Barrett wrapped up a long and successful career at Dalhousie. As a tribute to the accomplished career Ann has had, we would like to share a few highlights with you; with thanks to colleagues Gail Fraser and Jan Pelley for providing many of the details.
Ann graduated with her MLIS from Dalhousie in 1981 and worked at the Kellogg Library as an intern from 1979–81. Before making the Kellogg Library her permanent workplace, she worked as hospital librarian at Tawam Hospital in the United Arab Emirates and at the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick.
In 1986, Ann returned to the Dalhousie Libraries, where she held a number of positions in public services, document delivery, systems, and for many years was the liaison librarian for the School of Nursing and for the Divisions of Pediatrics, Oncology/Hematology, and Obstetrics & Gynecology. Following several leaves from Dalhousie, working at the University of Papua New Guinea and later at the Institute for Marine Biosciences Library, National Research Council, Ann became Head of Public Services in the Kellogg Library, and supervised many staff and library interns over the years.
In her last role as Associate Dean Scholarly Communications and Head of the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library, Ann coordinated collections, liaison services, and communications and operations at the local level for the two spaces under the Kellogg banner: the Kellogg Library Learning Commons in the Collaborative Health Education Building and the Kellogg Health Sciences Library in the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building. As the Associate Dean Scholarly Communications, she led a team of librarians and staff from across the Dal Libraries in the development of Open Educational Resources production services, the consolidation of Dal Libraries services under the Research Commons umbrella, the implementation of the University’s research information system UNIWeb, and increased capacity for bibliometric analysis and services, Open Access support and digital preservation via our institutional repository DalSpace.
It would be impossible to list all of Ann’s impressive accomplishments and achievements from her 35 years with us, so we will share just a few where she was a trail blazer. In 1999, Ann initiated the first implementation of a proxy service for the Dal Libraries, and between 2003–2005 she coordinated the implementation of the Learning Commons in the Kellogg Health Sciences Library. Ann acted as project manager for the implementation of WorldCat Local in 2009, Dalhousie Libraries’ first discovery layer, and she coordinated the implementation and evaluation of a Single Service Point in the Kellogg Library, a first for the Dalhousie Libraries, in 2012.
More recently, Ann coordinated the planning for the move of the Kellogg Health Sciences Library staff and collections into new and renovated spaces in the CHEB and the Tupper Building. We will always think of Ann during our annual Research Bootcamp for RAs and TAs and the Summer Shine presentation event for MI interns, two enduring initiatives that were both conceived of by Ann.
Ann was truly dedicated to providing the best service to library users; she was always passionate about the education and training of staff, as well as mentoring library interns and early career librarians. She was a calm and measured voice on the Libraries’ senior leadership team and a source of inspiration and innovation.
Thank you Ann for your tremendous leadership, dedication, and unwavering collegial approach to your work, especially during the upheaval of the past year!