A heads-up to all library users who may be feeling a tad burdened with book fines: the Dal Libraries will be running our annual Food For Fines drive from January 18 – 27. During that time you can reduce or eliminate those pesky fines by donating items for the food bank. We’ll take $2 off for every non-perishable item donated, to a maximum of $20. More details later!
Libraries Score Turtle Triumph
The turtle passes...from Tom Boran (l) to Bill Maes
The winner of this year’s United Way Deans’ Challenge and accompanying turtle trophy is (drum roll)–the Dalhousie Libraries!
On December 16 Dean of Dentistry Tom Boran graciously conceded the United Way turtle, which has resided in his office for the past year, to University Librarian Bill Maes at an official “Turtle Transfer” ceremony in the lobby of the Killam Library. The Libraries’ win was calculated based on a complex formula devised by Keith Taylor of the Mathematics and Statistics Department to ensure a level playing field regardless of Faculty size.
Bill Maes came up with the idea of the Dean’s Challenge in 2008 as a fun way to increase participation in the United Way campaign at Dal. When asked “Why a turtle?” Bill replies, “Slow but steady progress towards our goal!”
The Libraries are proud to have the as-yet-unnamed 20 pound amphibian on our premises and will be touring it through each of our four libraries. We would also like to thank Dean Boran and the Faculty of Dentistry for taking such good care of the turtle, especially its dental health. We understand the Libraries are free to bring it in for checkups anytime.
The Dalhousie Libraries have raised the bar–prepare to meet a whole new turtle-powered challenge at next year’s United Way campaign, Dalhousie!
Happy Retirement IL Coordinator!
On December 10 the Dal Libraries threw a party to celebrate the upcoming retirement–and the many achievements–of Fran Nowakowski, Information Literacy Coordinator.
Fran began working as a Social Sciences and Humanities Reference Librarian at the Killam Library in 1981, when staff filed cards in the card catalogue and there wasn’t a computer to be seen. After many years spent doing bibliographic instruction using increasingly sophisticated tools–from literally copying and pasting typed handouts to creating videos with Camtasia–Fran was appointed Information Literacy Coordinator in July 2005. Her responsibilities have included teaching RefWorks, conducting workshops for faculty on incorporating research tools into Blackboard, developing a series of Libcasts (instructional videos), providing support for the creation of Libguides, and managing Dalhousie’s Academic Integrity website, as well as supervising projects (such as Killam Quest virtual tour) carried out by IL interns and working on the Reference Desk.
And now Fran is eagerly planning the next chapter in her life. Lots of travelling—to New Zealand, Australia, BC, England, France and possibly Israel; exploring new ways of keeping fit like yoga and Zumba; weaving and crafts; and the fun of learning even more technologies. She has a brand new iPhone (“It’s fun, I love it!”) and has started a blog to keep friends and family up to date on her travels.
Those who know Fran best will not be surprised at her take on retirement: “I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons.” Congratulations Fran, and best wishes from all your Dalhousie colleagues!
H1N1 Vaccine Clinics on Campus
Open to all students and Dalhousie employees, Dalhousie H1N1 flu vaccination clinics will be held on campus Nov. 30th – Dec. 2nd. No appointment is necessary. Clinics will be held at the following times/locations:
Monday, Nov. 30, 9:00am to 5:00pm (McInnes Room, SUB)
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 8:30am to 5:00pm (McInnes Room, SUB)
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 1:30pm to 9:00pm (Dentistry Building – Level 1 Clinic)
Remember to bring your Dalhousie ID card and your provincial health card and to wear clothing that allows easy access to receive the shot. If you are unable to present a health card, you will not be turned away.
Currently, clinics are reserved for students, faculty and staff (this includes international and out-of-province students); however, families are encouraged to get vaccinated at a public clinic.
For updates on clinics and information about H1N1, visit flu.dal.ca.
Hockey Night in the Library
Randall Maggs, Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems
November 24, 7:30 pm
Special Collections Reading Room
5th floor, Killam Library
Interdisciplinarity at its best! The English Dept. and the Dalhousie Libraries are co-sponsoring this special evening with Randall Maggs, bringing together poetry and hockey for a unique campus experience. All are welcome to attend.
Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems (Brick Books, 2008) is a series of compact poems that build into a long narrative. A gripping hockey saga that wraps the game’s story in the intense and contradictory character of Terry Sawchuk, one of the greatest goalies of all time, Night Work “seems poised to become a Canadian classic” (Dave Bidini, Globe and Mail). A short film has also been produced by Bookshorts entitled Night Work: A Sawchuk Poem, shot entirely on location in Beachy Cove Nfld. and featuring Des Walsh and Phil Churchill.
Randall Maggs is the author of Timely Departures (Breakwater, 1994), and co-editor of two anthologies pairing Newfoundland and Canadian poems with those of Ireland. He is artistic director of Newfoundland’s March Hare festival of music and literature, and teaches literature at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Memorial University. Randall has played a lot of hockey himself, but the Maggs who made it to the NHL was his brother Darryl.
Visit our CLCP Public Reading Series page for more details.
Graduate Students Centre Launched
On Friday November 20 a crowd of Dal Grad students celebrated the official opening of their Graduate Students Centre, a brand new study space housed on the 4th floor of the Killam Library. The Centre features a lounge, kitchenette, two bookable group study rooms, a large seminar room and a quiet study area. The wireless Centre also offers 90 lockable lockers, which will be assigned by Grad Studies on a first-come-first-served basis.
Large seminar room
It’s Movember. Support the Moustache!
Movember (the month formerly known as November) is an annual, month-long global celebration of the moustache, to highlight men’s health issues and specifically to raise money for prostate cancer research.
Here at the Libraries our own Geoff Brown has been growing a “mo” (Australian slang for moustache) all month to support this cause, and he’d really appreciate YOUR support (as you can see face fungus does not come naturally to this guy…). Donate online at the Movember site his wife Jennifer Gray has set up, or come to the Library Administration Office on the ground floor of the Killam, drop your donation in the box and check out the awesome Movember moustache style guide.
Geoff and all the Movember Bros thank you in advance for your generosity!
The Poets Are Coming!
November 17, 730 pm
Special Collections Reading Room
5th floor, Killam Library
Hooked on poetry? The Killam Library and the Dalhousie Creative Writing Program are co-sponsoring a poetry-times-3 reading featuring Carolyn Smart, Sue Goyette and Carole Langille.
Carolyn Smart’s fifth collection, Hooked: Seven Poems, has just been published by Brick Books. Hooked is about seven famous or infamous women: Myra Hindley, Unity Mitford, Zelda Fitzgerald, Dora Carrington, Carson McCullers, Jane Bowles, and Elizabeth Smart. Each of these women was hooked on, and her life contorted by, an addiction or obsession; each speaks articulately through the poems of their struggles and failures.
Several selections from Carole Langille’s most recent book of poetry, Late In A Slow Time, have been adapted to music by renowned Canadian composer Chan Ka Nin. Undone, Sue Goyette’s latest book of poems, is a hard hitting, highly personal collection that features Goyette’s typically expressive verbal energy and creative flights of metaphor. Carole and Sue are instructors in Dal’s Creative Writing Program, and will bookend Carolyn’s presentation with readings of their own poems.
Please phone 494-3907 for more information, or visit our website!
Donate Personal Care Items For United Way
Dalhousie’s United Way Campaign is asking us all to help provide local residential facilities with UNOPENED personal care items on Friday October 30th. Donations will go to agencies supporting people determined to overcome addiction; women and children putting their lives together in safe, supportive housing; and providing basic personal care items to the homeless population.
The Libraries are participating with bins for these items, which will be set up at the Killam and Kellogg Library Circulation Desks on Oct. 30. The most needed items are:
- talcum powder (non-allergenic)
- soap
- deodorant
- tooth brushes & toothpaste
- dental floss
- mouthwash
- feminine hygiene products
- hand and body creams
- tissue
- shampoo
- combs & brushes
- disposable razors
- shaving cream & shaving bags
- emery boards & nail clippers
- shower kit bags
To make a financial donation to Dalhousie’s United Way Campaign, go to www.unitedway.dal.ca/donate, or contact your Area Coordinator for a paper pledge form. The goal this year is to raise $200,000, which will be used in the Halifax Regional Municipality to support many very deserving causes.
Award Winning Author To Read at Killam
DOUGLAS ARTHUR BROWN
7:30 p. m., October 14, 2009
DUASC Reading Room
5th floor, Killam Library
494-3615 for more info
Douglas Arthur Brown, whose latest novel Quintet was the winner of the 2009 Thomas Head Raddall Fiction Prize, will be reading at the Killam Library on October 14 as part of our CLCP Public Reading Series.
Brown is the author of five books including two novels (Quintet and A Deadly Harvest), a collection of short fiction (The Komodo Dragon and other Stories), and two children’s books (The Magic Compass and Archibald’s Boo-boo). The Globe and Mail called his novel Quintet, published by Key Porter in 2008, a masterfully written book.
This reading is hosted by Dalhousie University Archives & Special Collections, holders of the Thomas Head Raddall Collection, and is sponsored by the Canadian Literary Collections Project (CLCP). All are welcome!
For more details please visit the CLCP Public Reading Series website.