Stay tuned for more info about our upcoming author event!
Dal Libraries exam and holiday hours are now available on our website. Today’s Hours are highlighted on our homepage, and each location page has the current week’s schedule.
Please note: the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room hours:
November 27th marked the beginning of Phase 2 for the Killam Library Deep Energy Retrofit. The company doing construction, MCW, is now working on the second floor of the library.
Music Room Reopening
Noise and Construction Outside
Main Stairwell Closure (Phase 2.2)
Check out the November 2023 issue of Layers: A Dalhousie newsletter about Data & GIS.
In this issue:
Layers is produced by James Boxall, Jen Strang, Julie Marcoux, Sai Chua, Thomas Zuberbuehler, and Julie Marcoux.
It’s National Medical Librarians Month, and we want to take this opportunity to introduce our specialists and let you know how they can help you.
The library supports faculty and student research through consultation and reference services, and teaching and learning opportunities through workshops and seminars on effective literature search techniques.
Reference and research services are available virtually, by booking an appointment online, and in person at our service points:
To contact us, you can:
On Wednesday, October 18, a blessing took place in the Ko’jua Okuom at the Killam Library for the recently completed hand-crafted table created by Jim and Cheryl Walsh.
The bench-style, wood slab table was designed and constructed by Jim and Cheryl, who worked with raw materials from their own saw mill. They inlaid items in memory of past elders into the many natural crevices and contours, honouring and memorializing them into the wood slabs. It was a labour of love for Jim and Cheryl, and their dedication to the project is apparent in all its intricacies and details.
“This bench-style table was lovingly and painstakingly worked from raw materials cut with our saw mill, flattened using a router and router sled, and hand-sanded with an orbital sander using 40-grit sandpaper going up to 3000 grit. Then many items were epoxyed into the natural crevices in the wood. These items reflect the lives of past elders, immortalized into the wood slabs.
Knowing the depths of the honour they bestowed for the white birch tree, we could start with no other base. Some locally sourced items were meticulously layered into the wood: a feather, porcupine quills, pebbles from Partridge Island, a variety of shells, sweetgrass, and other stones and crystals.
The lightning figures were burnt into the wood to create the patterns using a tool known as a Lichtenberg wood burner. Here 10,000 volts of electricity travels from probe to probe, determining the path the figure takes. Research on Mi’kmaq Petroglyphs determined the symbols used. Then a storyline was wood-burnt along the Lichtenberg figures on each side of the table.
The painstaking process of protecting the wood with seven coats of polyurethane was next. Once the table was assembled, it was worked on tirelessly to ensure such a heavy object as this hardwood table with cast iron legs remains solid and sturdy. Many add-ons were added to ensure the table’s structural integrity. As we were working on the middle section of the table, we both saw a Mother Crane and under her is a faint image of a baby crane… all in the natural fibers of the wood.
This truly was a labour of love. We both were thrilled to have the opportunity to do such a project which reflects our love and appreciation for all the elders, current and past. I personally leaned into their support for the artistic component of this project. We do home to make them proud and bless all that sit around her. Wela’lin”
– Jim and Cheryl Walsh
Featured in the above photo: Nancy Melvin, Susan Hagen, Nellie Renzelli, Florence Walsh, Catherine Martin, Jim and Cheryl Walsh, Elaine MacInnis, Samantha Adema, Sarah and Malachi Knowles, Sandra Dwyer, and Michael Vandenburg.
In partnership with the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, Dal Libraries presents scary storytelling in the Victorian Lounge at Shirreff Hall, featuring professional storytellers Cindy Campbell-Stone, Dan Conlin, and Steve Vernon.
Join us for this spooky, free event on Monday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the Victorian Lounge at Shirreff Hall! We hope to see you there.
In recognition of and preparation for Remembrance Day and on November 11, Dal Libraries presents a free two-part workshop to make a poppy pin.
Instructional Support Technician Michelle McDonald, a beader from Sipekne’katik, is offering a two-part, in-person beading workshop where participants will learn how to bead their own pins.
When? October 26 & November 2, 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
REGISTER NOW!
September 30, 2021, marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day honours lost Indigenous children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. It is a day for national reflection on the historic legacy and present-day consequences of residential schools, which is critical to reconciliation.
Reconciliation is the process of healing relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians and addressing the wrongs of the past. This requires building meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities, embedding Indigenous needs and perspectives in decision-making, and recognizing Indigenous sovereignty and the inherent right to self-determination.
While there will be no classes and the university will be closed on Saturday, September 30, however, two locations of the Dalhousie Libraries that have Indigenous Community Rooms will be open:
On September 20, Dalhousie’s data repository (Dalhousie Dataverse @ Borealis) enabled institutional logins. This exciting development means you can log in with your Dalhousie credentials – so you have one less password to remember!
To make the switch, follow these steps:
The Borealis help menu provides additional step-by-step guidance on switching from a standard to an institutional account.
Please contact the Research Data Management Team at data.management@dal.ca if you have any questions.
