Stay safe everyone!
We’re pleased to announce that David Ryan is the new Library Services Supervisor, based at the Sexton Library. David will be a familiar face to many as he’s been working in term positions with the Dalhousie Libraries since 2018, having worked at both the Sexton and Kellogg libraries.
David graduated from Dalhousie with his MLIS in 2008. Since then, in addition to the Dalhousie Libraries, he’s worked at Mount Saint Vincent University and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in roles such as reference and instructional librarian, cataloguer, and lecturer. David also has a background in communications. Over the past year, in addition to providing front line service at the Sexton Library and Resources support on the streaming video initiative, he’s written graduate and online teaching faculty profiles for Dal News on behalf of the Dal Libraries and the Academic Quality Team.
Join us in welcoming David as the newest permanent member of the Dalhousie Libraries team.
The Hill Times is a Canadian newspaper and news website which covers the Parliament of Canada, the federal government and other federal political news. To access Dalhousie’s subscription, go to: https://ezproxy.library.dal.ca/login?url=https://hilltimes.com/
All locations of the Dalhousie Libraries will be closed from December 24–January 3. Some spaces will be closed prior to December 24. Hours are listed by locations below. Happy holidays everyone! 
Sir James Dunn Law Library
Last day open for bookable appointments is December 18.
Curbside pick-up available on December 21, 22, 23 from 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
Kellogg Library Learning Commons (CHEB)
Will be open for bookable appointments from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. December 21, 22, and 23.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library (Tupper)
Last day open for bookable appointments is Sunday, December 20.
Curbside pick-up available on December 21, 22, 23 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
Killam Memorial Library
Will be open for bookable appointments and curbside pick-ups from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. December 21, 22, and 23.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
MacRae Library
Will be open for bookable appointments and curbside pick-ups from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. December 21, 22, and 23.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
Sexton Design & Technology Library space
Last day open for bookable appointments is Friday, December 18.
Curbside pick-up available on December 21, 22, 23 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
Wallace McCain Learning Commons
Will be open for bookable appointments from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. December 21, 22, and 23.
Closed December 24–January 3.
Will reopen January 4.
Masks that cover the nose and mouth must be worn at all times while in Dalhousie Libraries spaces. Anyone not wearing a mask, except for a few seconds while taking a drink, will be asked to leave immediately.
This means there is no eating in the libraries effective Thursday, November 26.
Thank you for respecting this rule for the safety of our staff and all library users.
THE reports on news and issues related to higher education.
To access Dalhousie’s three-year subscription to the Times Higher Education (THE), go to the THE website via this link and create an account using your Dalhousie email address. If you’re having trouble creating your account, please see these detailed directions: setting up THE newsletter access
Once registered, you can subscribe to various THE newsletters. Topics covered by THE include:
Thanks to the Strategic Initiatives Fund for this subscription.
The Dalhousie Libraries are here for you during Reading Week. You can book a computer or a space to study, borrow materials through our curbside pick-up service, get assistance through LiveHelp, connect with your subject specialist, borrow a laptop for an extended loan, get IT Help Desk assistance, and more!
Please note the Dal Libraries will be closed on Wednesday, November 11. This includes the LiveHelp service. The IT Help Desk will be OPEN from 1–9 p.m.
Since July 2020, the Dal Libraries has invested over $150,000 in streaming media to support the online curriculum.
If you plan to include streaming video in your winter term courses, please check the film titles in the Libraries’ streaming subscriptions before submitting a request. These subscriptions are listed in the Libraries’ Streaming Video Guide. These collections include thousands of documentaries, feature films, and educational content, all of which are licensed for use on the Brightspace course management platform.
In addition to the video subscriptions available through the Dalhousie Libraries, Dalhousie/King’s students also have access to the contents of Hoopla and Kanopy subscriptions through Halifax Public Libraries using their public library card. Students without a public library card can register for a digital card at this site: https://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/membership/card/
Dalhousie University students should indicate Dalhousie University as their address, Halifax as their city, and B3H 4R2 as their postal code. King’s students use University of King’s College as their address, Halifax as their city, and B3H 2A1 as their postal code.
If you cannot meet the requirements of your syllabus with these resources, please place your film request using this form: https://util.library.dal.ca/StreamingVideo/ Please note that it can take as long as a month to locate a single title and obtain a license.
Videos found on the open internet (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
With proper attribution/citation, you may link to legitimately posted works found on the Internet.
If you choose to use a video you find in services such as YouTube or Vimeo in your online course, you should be aware of these potential limitations:
Instructors should refrain from linking to videos if any of the following are evident:
To identify information on permissible uses or for contact information for requesting permission, you may need to explore the website for pages that deal with “Terms of Use” or “Legal Notices” or look for a link to a specific license.
Popular commercial video streaming services
In most cases, videos available on commercial services like Amazon Prime, Crave, HBO, Hulu, and Netflix are not available for use in online educational settings because the providers of these services base their service model on selling subscriptions directly to consumers.
Section 29.5(d) of the Copyright Act allows instructors to show legally obtained videos in class. However, in order to access content on commercial streaming video services such as Netflix, users must accept user agreements which indicate that the services are limited to “personal use” or “household use.” These agreements prohibit the display of these films in classrooms or public screenings and may override copyright exceptions available to users under the Copyright Act. These types of licenses/agreements also prohibit making recordings of the films — short clips or otherwise — since this often involves breaking digital locks or violating terms of use.
Netflix
Netflix does offer some films for online education use through their YouTube channel. Netflix also offers in-person classroom exceptions for educational screenings, but has not made it clear whether or not these exceptions would apply to online classroom settings.
Finally, videos in commercial streaming services are not available in all countries. Content available in Canadian Netflix, for example, may not be available in the United States. Similarly, videos available in other countries may not be available in Canada. Content may also be removed at the discretion of the commercial service without notice or recourse.
We are pleased to welcome Samantha Adema to the Dalhousie Libraries. Sam started with us in this role on September 1.
Sam (L’nu/Mi’kmaw) is a member of Sipekne’katik First Nation. She has a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) from Dalhousie (2019) and a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s, where she majored in history and classics and spent time at the Basentello Valley Archaeological Field School in Italy.
Sam is a familiar face to many of us in the Dalhousie Libraries because she worked as an intern in the Sexton Library while she did her master’s degree. She has also worked at Halifax Public Libraries as both a community assistant and a library assistant. At HPL, Sam’s primary responsibilities included building relationships with community members; building an inclusive, welcoming atmosphere; and providing services to library users such as one-on-one technology instruction and assistance with reference and research questions.
Sam has done research projects about unemployment among Nova Scotia’s Indigenous youth and the potential for the public library to forge additional community partnerships to better serve the urban Indigenous population in North-End Halifax. She worked with community members and staff at the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre and staff at the Museum of Natural History to show how community-led principles had a positive effect in boosting Indigenous attendance and involvement with the museum.
As Dalhousie’s Indigenous Services Librarian, Sam is currently working remotely due to current on-campus restrictions related to COVID-19, but she is available to answer research questions via email and is available for remote consultations via Microsoft Teams for more in-depth research questions. When we return to campus, Sam will be based out of the Killam Memorial Library, but she is available to work with people from all campuses.
Sam works closely with faculty, researchers, staff, and students to support learning and research on Indigenous topics in all disciplines. She will also coordinate reference support, programming, and other services to users of Dalhousie’s National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation Hub in the MacRae Library.
“Indigenous Services is a priority within the Dalhousie Libraries and we are thrilled to have Samantha join our team. These services are for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, staff, and faculty but also for the local Indigenous communities,” said Elaine MacInnis, Associate University Librarian Services and Head, MacRae Library.
Welcome, Sam!
Criterion on Demand website pages are loading slowly and/or occasionally giving a connection error message.
This issue has been reported and their database management team is investigating and will fix the problem as soon as possible. Criterion on Demand will confirm when this issue is resolved.
A message has been placed on their home screen advising users of this issue. Criterion on Demand apologizes for the inconvenience.
UPDATE, Nov 2, 2020: The vendor has advised that this problem has been resolved.