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What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Agriculture

A Reliable Guide to COVID-19 Resources

With so much misinformation about COVID-19 at our fingertips, where do we turn for reliable information? Information professionals are here to help! Robin Parker, a librarian whose subject specialties include family medicine, surgery, and internal medicine has created a guide to COVID-19 resources. 

“This guide is a compilation of reputable sources of data and research relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resources and information linked here come from a variety of lists and social media sources, including the Medical Library Association COVID-19 Resources for Medical Librarians and other Information Professionals,” says Robin.

Included in the guide are links to pages from a variety of local, national, and international sources. Lists of COVID-19 primary and secondary (evidence synthesis) resource sources are included on the Research tab. Freely available COVID-19 academic resources also included.

The COVID-19 guide will be updated as new resources become available, but may not be exhaustive in all areas. Other similar guides and resource lists are linked in the Other Resource Lists tab. The Evidence Synthesis Specialist at the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit (MSSU), has also compiled a list of useful links here.

For resources especially for Nova Scotia clinicians, check the NSHA library COVID-19 Research Guide.

Robin welcomes suggestions on additional resources that can be included in the guide. She can be contacted at robin.parker@dal.ca

 

New Library Database – Sustainable Development Goals Online

In 2018, Dalhousie launched Impact Together: Dalhousie’s Research and Innovation Strategic Direction, 2018-2023. This strategic direction is grounded in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), of which there are 17, including no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, and gender equality.

Want to know more about the SDGs? The Dalhousie Libraries have got you covered! We’ve just purchased Sustainable Development Goals Online (SDGO), an interdisciplinary collection of digital content, including Taylor & Francis’s books and journals across all disciplines, themed around the SDGs.

SDGO includes more than 12,000 selected articles and chapters in an online library covering the 17 SDGs, plus teaching and learning materials (presentations, videos, case studies, teaching guides, and lesson plans). It was created in partnership with United Nations agencies and guided by an international advisory board comprised of academics, policy-makers, government, NGOs, and more. It is updated twice a year, in April and September. Access it here: https://dal.ca.libguides.com/SDGO

Notice About Accessing Brightspace (Sun., April 26)

Update: Sunday, April 26, 1;38 p.m.: The issue has been resolved. Thank you for your patience.

To access Brightspace today, go to dal.ca/Brightspace or go through my.dal.ca. Access through dal.brightspace.com is not working. We are working on fixing this. Thank you for your patience.

 

 

World Book & Copyright Day 2020

April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day!

This is a day to celebrate books for their role in creating inclusive and knowledge-rich societies, and to reflect on the publishing world from multiple angles: “books as vectors of values and knowledge, and depositories of the intangible heritage; books as windows onto the diversity of cultures and as tools for dialogue; books as sources of material wealth and copyright-protected works of creative artists” (World Book and Copyright Day website).

It’s important for all students, staff, and faculty to have some familiarity with copyright, especially Dalhousie’s Fair Dealing Guidelines. Copyright encompasses restrictions on how creative works can be used, but also important exceptions that benefit education, research, and study. Copyright applies not only to the use of other works, but your own creations. Whether you’re creating a video, or writing a thesis, copyright will be a defining component of the final product. You can find out more about copyright restrictions and exceptions on Dalhousie’s Copyright Office website, or e-mail copyright.office@dal.ca

Dal Libraries COVID-19 Update #3: Kellogg Library Learning Commons CLOSED & Laptop Lending

Due to new measures announced by the Nova Scotia government restricting groups of people to no more than five at a time, the Kellogg Library Learning Commons (CHEB) is now CLOSED. All other Dalhousie Libraries locations remain closed.

We will loan laptops to students without alternative access to computers. Contact library@dal.ca or (902)494-4089. Students on the Agricultural Campus who need a laptop can contact MacRae.library@dal.ca or (902)956-2708.

Visit libraries.dal.ca to access LiveHelp (via chat) eBooks, eJournals, databases, and more. For HelpDesk and remote learning and teaching support, contact support@dal.ca

Dal Libraries COVID-19 Update #2

Starting Wednesday, all Dal Libraries locations will be closed for three weeks, with the exception of the CHEB Learning Commons.

 Today (Tuesday), all of our libraries will be moving to reduced hours, closing at 5 p.m. and reopening at 9 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) morning

Going forward, the Kellogg Library Learning Commons in the CHEB will be open from 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday–Friday, to provide access to computers and internet-based scholarly resources for students. We recognize that not every student has a computer or internet access.

Library Collections

  • Online collections are available from the Dal Libraries website.
  • Guides to library resources by subject are available (LibGuides)
  • All physical collections (print books, music, etc.) are unavailable while we are closed.
  • Print materials are not available at this time. We are working on providing print materials in digital format by request, while adhering to Canadian copyright legislation and for as long as it is possible to obtain content from other libraries. As other libraries start to close, this could become more challenging.
  • Inter-Library Loan requests will continue with delivery in digital format to the extent possible. Please continue to submit your requests at: https://libraries.dal.ca/borrow/documentdelivery.html
  • Equipment lending (laptops, headphones) will not be available

Library Hours and Spaces

  • The Kellogg Library Learning Commons in the CHEB will be open 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday–Friday. All other locations will be closed for three weeks.
  • Group Study Rooms will be unavailable in the CHEB
  • Some computers will be removed in support of social distancing
  • Use the LiveHelp chat box on libraries.dal.ca for asking quesitons

Due dates and late fees

  • All due dates have been moved to May 30. This is Novanet-wide, so items borrowed from other university and college libraries in Nova Scotia and from Mount A are not due until May 30.
  • Overdue notices will stop as of March 17.
  • You can still return items in our book drops during the closure. If you are self-isolating, please do not return your items until more information can be provided.
  • If you know how to renew online, you can do that. If you have problems renewing, please ask us.

Dal Libraries COVID‑19 Update # 1

Starting Wednesday, all Dal Libraries locations will be closed for three weeks, with the exception of the CHEB Learning Commons.

For today and Tuesday, all of our libraries will be moving to reduced hours, from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. each day.

The health and wellness of the staff and users of the Dal Libraries is our top priority. The difficult decision to close is based on advice from the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Dr. Theresa Tam, who has said that our opportunity to “flatten the curve” is now.

From Wednesday, March 18th onward, the CHEB will be open from 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday–Friday, to provide access to computers and internet-based scholarly resources for students. We recognize that not every student has a computer or internet access.

We will increase our capacity to engage students and faculty members virtually and encourage our users to switch to online/remote services as much as possible to minimize the need to come on campus. We will continue to offer our full array of online services during the closure, including research and reference assistance through LiveHelp, and extensive support for Temporary Remote Teaching through Brightspace. We know these services are critical to many of you and we will do all that we can to serve our users as best we can while most of our Dal Libraries locations are closed.

Over the coming weeks, the Dal Libraries will be assessing the situation and we will communicate our plans for going forward after that. To stay up-to-date with news from the Dal Libraries during the closure, please continue to visit this page.

Thank you for your patience as we do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. Please send questions or comments to library@dal.ca and we’ll reply as soon as we can. Please note that most staff are currently adjusting to working from home, so a response may be delayed during this initial period of transition.

All Dal Libraries Locations Closing at 5 p.m tonight (Monday, March 16)

The Dalhousie Libraries are closing Monday, March 16 at 5 p.m. and will reopen from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.

This reduction in hours is due to precautions we are taking as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

More information about our hours will be forthcoming. Thank you for understanding.

Night Owls CANCELLED for Spring 2020

Night Owls at the MacRae, Killam, and Kellogg Libraries has been CANCELLED for this term to reduce the cleaning workload on custodial staff, who are focusing their efforts on extensive cleaning related to COVID-19.

Please consult the hours widget on libraries.dal.ca to stay up-to-date with our hours.

Welcome, Jason Flynn

We are pleased to announce that Jason Flynn is our new Manager of Academic Technology Operations for the Dalhousie Libraries. This position reports to the Director of Academic Technology Services.

Jason has worked at Dalhousie for the past 11 years, spending five of those years as a Systems Administrator for the Dalhousie Libraries in the Academic Technology Services unit. He has also worked as a Senior Storage & Systems Technologist for Information Technology Services at Dal. He has led two virtualization initiatives and was on the Dalhousie Research Data Management Planning Committee and was a member of the national Dataverse North Working Group.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Information Technology from Mount Saint Vincent University. He will be responsible for overseeing the Libraries’ technical infrastructure, providing management and leadership to the operations team (system administrators, developers, and statistical computing), implementing technology-enabled learning projects, and maintaining the academic software life cycle.

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