Please note that all locations of the Dalhousie Libraries will be closed for a two-day university holiday this week on Thursday, July 1 and Friday, July 2. Our spaces will reopen on July 5, some with expanded hours.* We wish everyone a restful and reflective break.
*Spaces opening with more hours starting July 5:
Kellogg Library Learning Commons
Killam Memorial Library
MacRae Library
Wallace McCain Learning Commons
Please join us in welcoming Thomas Zuberbuehler to the Dalhousie Libraries.
Thomas is the new Library and Geographic Information System Developer; he will be a part of the Academic Technology Services unit and will work very closely with the Data & GIS team.
Thomas has previously worked as a GIS Developer for a consulting company in Halifax and before moving from Switzerland to Canada in 2017, he worked for eight years as a software engineer. He holds a master’s degree in Geographic Information Science & Systems (UNIGIS MSc) from the University of Salzburg in Austria as well as a Diploma in Geographic Sciences – Cartography from the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS), Nova Scotia Community College.
Thomas’s first day with us was June 21.
June is National Indigenous History Month and today is National Indigenous Peoples Day. This year, National Indigenous History Month is dedicated to the missing children, the families left behind, and the survivors of residential schools.
Below is a selection of books curated by Indigenous Services Librarian, Samantha Adema. Thank you, Samantha! Check out Sam’s LibGuide for Indigenous History Month 2021 for more resources.
| Black Indian by Shonda Buchanan
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Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
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| The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew
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One Drum by Richard Wagamese
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| Arctic Dreams and Nightmares by Alootook Ipellie
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Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
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| Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist
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| Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity by Pamela Palmater
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Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
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by Melissa Rothfus
Google Scholar recently released a new feature to the Scholar Profile section that tracks whether articles that are supposed to be open access under funder mandates are actually freely available. The feature is controversial. Some have decried the accuracy of the information and the suggestion to use Google Drive to make publications open (Google Scholar is not a repository and does not meet funder requirements). At the same time, there may be value in reminding funded researchers — and others — to ensure their work is open as required.
While the reminder might be new, the mandate is not. Publications arising from research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) since 2008 are required to be publicly accessible within one year of publication. In 2015, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) followed with the same requirement. (See Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications). Internationally, many agencies that award funding from public sources have similar policies. These are fueled by the expectation that research paid for by the public should be accessible to benefit the public. Publications in traditional journals that require subscription access are often unavailable to governments, practitioners, and the general public.
There are several ways in which publications can be made open access. One is through an open access journal, but that’s not the only option. Deposit in our institutional repository, DalSpace, offers a way to comply with funder requirements free of charge to authors and readers. This is possible because some publishers permit authors to make a version of their work available in a repository after an embargo period, even if the work was not published open access. Check the Making Published Work Open Access LibGuide page for more information for guidance on making previously published work available in DalSpace, or for tips to consider before publishing.
The new Google Scholar feature is a reminder that it is all too easy to forget about open access responsibilities when you’ve already got your sights set on the next project. But researchers should keep in mind that making work open does more than just comply with funder policies — when research is more accessible to a broader audience, it has the best chance for the biggest impact. The more people who can read it, the more people who can use it, implement it, draw on it, build on it, and cite it.
We are so excited to welcome you back to our library spaces!
All Dalhousie Libraries locations are opening for in-person bookings for Dalhousie and King’s students on June 16.*
Masks will be required to be worn by everyone on site and eating will not be permitted in the libraries at this phase in our reopening plan. The curbside pick-up and laptop loan services will continue. Stack access will not be available at this phase in our reopening plan.
There are also many library services still available through libraries.dal.ca:
–access subject guides,
–find contact information for liaison librarians,
— get eBooks, eJournals, and databases.
Contact support@dal.ca for Help Desk assistance and intech@dal.ca for online teaching assistance.
*The exception to this will be the Law Library, which will continue with providing curbside service only through June and is expected to reopen on July 5. The MacRae Library will have a slightly delayed reopening date, tentatively June 21, due to some much-needed and potentially excessively noisy elevator repairs.
Screenshot of the new OER LibGuide
by Melissa Rothfus
The costs of textbooks and other resources on top of tuition and fees can be an obstacle to student learning and academic success. The use of Open Education Resources (OERs) can address that problem while also allowing for course materials to be tailored to the class exactly the way the instructor wants to teach it.
To help with OERs, we are excited to share the news that a new Open Educational Resources (OER) LibGuide is now available. The guide presents new and updated content from a previous version on Open Textbooks.
The new guide is designed to orient faculty members interested in OER in the resources available. This includes suggestions of where to look for existing resources, an explanation of the difference between adopting and adapting OER, and information on copyright and licensing considerations. Instructors interested in OER are encouraged to consult the guide and make use of Dal Libraries’ many resources to help them get started.
Additionally, the Dalhousie Libraries and the Centre for Learning & Teaching, with support from Dalhousie’s Strategic Initiative Funding, offer a grant to support Dalhousie educators who are interested in adapting or creating an OER. Learn more about the 2021 OER grant recipients.
Congratulations to the 2021 OER grant recipients! These grants are offered in partnership by the Dalhousie Libraries and the Centre for Learning & Teaching through the support of Dalhousie’s Strategic Initiative Funding. The grant provides support for Dalhousie educators who are interested in adapting or creating an Open Educational Resource (OER).
More details, including project abstracts and grant amounts are available here.
The Web of Science™ and InCites™ will be removing support for Internet Explorer 11 on May 31, 2021.
If you are currently using Internet Explorer 11, the vendor recommends that you switch to Microsoft Edge or another supported browser.
The Dalhousie Libraries currently subscribe to two major multi-disciplinary abstracting & indexing databases: Web of Science and Scopus. After a careful comparison of content, functionality and cost, the Libraries will cancel Web of Science database in 2022, since it duplicates the content and functionality from Scopus and from other subject-specific databases.
In the lead up to the cancellation of this product, we want to know more about any unique researcher use of the product, in order to manage the transition and find solutions for instances where Scopus is not a viable alternative. Other than searching Web of Science as an abstracting & indexing database to locate articles, is there any other aspect of Web of Science that is critical to your research program? Please send your responses by Friday, May 21 to: Library.Collections@dal.ca
by Michelle Paon
Please join us in welcoming Carlina Gillis to the Dalhousie Libraries.
Carlina has accepted the position of Resources Licensing Manager. She will be responsible for collections budgets, the negotiation of electronic resource licenses and invoice processes, communication with consortial groups, and liaison with vendors. Prior to joining the Libraries, Carlina worked at Dalhousie University as the Department Administrator with the School of Biomedical Engineering, and as the Administrative Manager with the Centre for Collaborative Clinical Learning & Research. She has also worked as Manager of Operations for the Strategic Planning & Accountability Division of the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education – Safety Branch.
Carlina holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from St. Francis Xavier University as well as professional development certificates in Project Management; Innovation; and Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt. She is a candidate in the Master of Education program at Athabasca University.
