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New! Sign in to ORCID with your Dal Credentials

You can now log in to ORCID using your NetID and password – one less password to remember! 

Why an ORCID? Why a researcher profile? 

ORCID provides a unique, personal identification number (like a DOI, but for you as an author) as well as the option to have a publicly available web profile highlighting your professional activities. An ORCID is useful for many reasons: 

  • Many funding agencies require it. 
  • Journals often require authors to submit their ORCIDs with their manuscripts – in fact, some journals accept ORCID login in as part of their submission process. 
  • ORCID numbers can be useful for ensuring all of your work is attributed to you, and not someone with a similar name. 
  • You can use ORCID to feed and display your research on your faculty website, lab, etc. 
  • Your public profile can be adjusted to reflect publications, grant awards, and other professional contributions that you want to highlight for prospective employers, funders, or collaborators. 

Sign in to ORCID with Your Dalhousie Credentials 

How to Register or Link an Existing Account to Your NetID 

Registration for an ORCID identifier is free and fast: 

1) Go to https://orcid.org/signin and you and select “Access through your institution.”  

2) Identify your institution as Dalhousie University and log in using your NetID and password.

3) If you are brand new to ORCID, select “Register now” and it will walk you through the short steps to create an account.

4) If you are not new to ORCID, enter your ORCID number and password where indicated to link to your existing Dalhousie NetID for easier logging in.

For more information on ORCID, please see the Scholarly Communications LibGuide. 

Please contact the Scholarly Communications team at scholary.communications@dal.ca if you have any questions about ORCID or the sign-on options. 

January is Tamil Heritage Month

January is Tamil Heritage Month in Canada – it’s a month to celebrate and learn more about the history, culture, resilience, and strength embodied by Tamil communities nationwide.

The theme for this year’s Tamil Heritage Month is Our Memories, Our Truths, Our Paths Forward: Tamil Identity.

இந்த ஆண்டின் தமிழ் மரபு மாதத்திற்கான கருப்பொருள், “எங்கள் நினைவுகள், நமது உண்மைகள், நமது முன்னோக்கி செல்ல வேண்டிய பாதைகள்: தமிழர் அடையாளம்.”

From the statement from the Government of Canada: “Canada’s Tamil community is one of the largest outside Asia, thanks in part to the Canadian government’s initiatives and policies, starting in 1983, that helped people fleeing violence find safety and security here in Canada. Ever since, Tamil Canadians have helped build the Canada we know and love today. They saw Canada as a place of opportunity, and got right to work opening businesses, starting media outlets and running grassroots organizations to serve their communities and strengthen our country. Their contributions in academia, literature and science have made our communities and our country stronger.”

Reading Recommendations

Learn more about Tamil Canadian communities and culture, and how a significant number of Tamils arrived to Canada as refugees in this year’s Dal Read’s selection The Boat People by Sharon Bala.

We have also created a book display at the Killam Library across from the service point desk with books about Tamil culture, language, and heritage. Check it out in person or visit our the Tamil Heritage Month resources in our catalogue.

 

Health Sciences Study Tools at the Library

By Catherine Gracey and Hailey Wills

Now that the school year is well underway, the W.K. Kellogg Health Science Library is pleased to highlight resources that can help you prepare for learning and clinical placements, as well as practice for upcoming licensing exams. The Clinical Specialties Guide contains a study tools section that details many of the key resources across the Health Sciences, including media resources, a list of reference books, calculators, fast facts, and clinical practice guidelines. Listed in the guide is The Secrets Series, comprised of books containing question-and-answer content on numerous clinical specialties and topics. In our print collection, there are several physiology and anatomy-focused colouring books that can supplement your studying. These can be found by searching the Novanet catalogue for “colouring book” and narrowing the search to “DAL Health Science Library” using the filters on the left side of the screen, or by visiting us in-person at the Tupper Medical Building.

Acland’s Video Atlas and Anatomy.tv are both tools that can be useful for studying anatomy. Acland’s has 5 volumes of anatomy videos that feature real human cadavers, and an affiliated quiz for each volume. To access the quizzes, simply create a personal account using your Dalhousie email. Anatomy.tv has an extensive and interactive 3D atlas of the human body and a quiz with various settings for question types and difficulty. You can also download a variety of Health Mobile Apps, including Medscape, which contains simulations and quizzes.

Of particular interest to students in Medicine, you have access to BoardVitals, an effective medical exam review tool. After registering register with your Dalhousie email address, browse questions by clicking on “My Dashboard” on the top right-hand corner of the screen and select either USMLE Step 1, 2, or 3, or choose from specialized question banks in various specialties. Once you have selected your question bank, you can browse, start a quiz, and track your performance.

Access Medicine is another popular resource that also offers practice questions. With its Clinical Practice & Board Review questions and flashcards on multiple topics (found under the Study Tools dropdown menu), there are a variety of options to help with your studies. You can design custom questions based on Katzung & Trevor’s Pharmacology: Examination and Board Review, a key textbook in Pharmacology, among many other core texts. To do this, navigate to the book and locate “Go to Review Questions” under the title. From there, you can generate a random quiz, or build a custom version by selecting the number of questions you would like from various topics.

Bates’ Visual Guide and Jarvis Physical Assessment Video series can also support your studies, specifically in physical examination and assessment preparation, including for OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations). Finally, Mosby’s Video Series and Films on Demand will be of particular interest to those in nursing, as they contain useful nursing skill demonstrations.

No matter your program or year of study, we are here to support you in your learning and research endeavours. Don’t hesitate to contact us by email at kellogg@dal.ca, by telephone at (902) 717-5244, or by stopping into our locations in the Collaborative Health Education Building or the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building. Happy studying!

 

From UNIWeb to ORCID

As of December 31, 2023, Dalhousie ended its subscription to UNIWeb. UNIWeb was implemented in 2019 as an information repository for researchers’ academic activity, intended to simplify the management of curriculum vitae (CVs including CCV), annual reports, promotion packages, and funding applications. It also allowed researchers to connect with colleagues and collaborators on topics of interest and to share information about their research.

Following a procurement and consultation process in 2022-23, Dalhousie decided to end its subscription to UNIWeb and encourage the use of other tools to maintain researcher profiles, such as ORCID iD, a permanent digital identifier system supported by Dalhousie through our membership of the ORCID Consortium in Canada.

“I am pleased to support Dal Libraries’ recommendation of the full use of ORCID as an alternative platform for our research community,” says Dr. Alice Aiken, Dalhousie’s vice president, research and innovation. “ORCID provides flexibility that allows scholars of all disciplines to choose how they share their activities and achievements, ensuring recognition for their work effectively and consistently over time, and it is recognized and used worldwide, including by Dalhousie scholars.”

More about ORCID and other tools that provide similar features:

1) ORCID iD – A unique identifier that ensures your research is correctly attributed to you, ORCID also provides a space to collect your research outputs, grant awards, different professional activities and links to social media and web profiles.    

ORCID makes it easy to add works to your profile and determine their level of visibility. ORCID’s auto-update feature allows you to link your ORCID profile to trusted third-party sources to have it updated automatically with information from those sources to save you time.   

If you don’t have an ORCID iD, registration is simple, and free.  Find out more about the benefits of ORCID, and how to register or link an existing ORCID account to your Dalhousie NetID in our LibGuide. 

We will also be holding an Introduction to ORCID webinar in January 2024, so stay tuned and watch our events calendar.   

2) Google Scholar – If you have published in an electronic journal, information about that article, including your name as author, is probably available in Google Scholar. Google Scholar groups works by the same author together, but these profiles may be inaccurate or incomplete as Google doesn’t read the bibliographic metadata the way databases do. Because this information is already available to searchers, authors are advised to claim their Google Scholar profiles to ensure their information is accurate.  

3) Scopus – Like Google Scholar, if you have published articles they are indexed in Scopus. The database creates a profile and list of your articles which may not be fully accurate. These profiles are not publicly available but they are widely consulted within academia. If you are thinking about your publicly available web profiles and haven’t already claimed and cleaned your Scopus profile, now is an ideal time. Information on how to update your Scopus profile so it is accurate and complete is available on the Author Profiles/IDs LibGuide. 

As always, the Scholarly Communications team is happy to assist with any questions at scholarly.communications@dal.ca. 

Libraries Exam & Holiday Hours

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:

  • December 21: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  • December 22 until January 1: Closed
  • January 2: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Monday to Friday)

Dal Reads Title Announcement!

We are excited to announce that the 2023-2024 book title for Dal Reads is The Boat People by Sharon Bala!

  • Free copies of the book will be available at Dalhousie Libraries next week – look for our book stations to grab your copy.
  • eBook and audiobook copies are available by searching Novanet or the Libby app. To borrow materials, log in with your Dalhousie NetID and password. Get more information and guidance about borrowing eBooks.

About The Boat People:
In the tradition of Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal, Chris Cleave’s Little Bee, and Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, and inspired by a real incident, this high-stakes and increasingly timely novel powerfully evokes what it means to leave behind everything you have ever known to seek out a better life in a strange land.

When the rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and five hundred fellow refugees reaches the shores of British Columbia, the young father is overcome with relief: he and his six-year-old son can finally put Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war behind them and begin new lives. Instead, the group is thrown into prison, with government officials and news headlines speculating that hidden among the “boat people” are members of a terrorist militia. As suspicion swirls and interrogation mounts, Mahindan fears the desperate actions he took to survive and escape Sri Lanka now jeopardize his and his son’s chances for asylum.

Told through the alternating perspectives of Mahindan; his lawyer Priya, who reluctantly represents the migrants; and Grace, a third-generation Japanese-Canadian adjudicator who must decide Mahindan’s fate, The Boat People is a high-stakes novel that offers a deeply compassionate lens through which to view the current refugee crisis. Inspired by real events, with vivid scenes that move between the eerie beauty of northern Sri Lanka and combative refugee hearings in Vancouver, where life and death decisions are made, Sharon Bala’s stunning debut is an unforgettable and necessary story for our times.

About Dal Reads:
Dal Reads is designed to encourage people in the Dalhousie community to share their love of books. Launched in 2009, the program brings the Dalhousie community together through the shared experience of reading the same book and taking part in programming related to the book.

Killam Retrofit Update: Second Floor

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.

  • Closures: The book stacks, the map room and area with compact shelving, and room 2902 will remain closed until the end of January. 
  • Borrow requests: Please use Novanet Express or speak with staff at the Killam Library Service Point (KLSP) for requests from areas that are closed.

Music Room Reopening 

  • The Music Collection room will reopen on Friday, December 1.

Noise and Construction Outside

  • Outside the Student Accessibility Centre, MCW will be replacing a concrete slab. Jack hammering, vibrations, and noise are expected between December 20 and January 6, 2024.

Main Stairwell Closure (Phase 2.2) 

  • To reduce disruption, the Killam’s main stairwell will close over the Christmas holidays. The closure is scheduled from December 23 to January 8, 2024. More information on the logistics of this will be coming soon.

Layers Newsletter 2023 – Issue 10

Check out the November 2023 issue of Layers: A Dalhousie newsletter about Data & GIS.

In this issue:

  • GIS Day
  • 2021 Census of Population PUMFs and Other Census Releases
  • News for the Data Community
  • News for the GIS Community
  • Educational Resources
  • Dates and Events

Layers is produced by James Boxall, Jen Strang, Julie Marcoux, Sai Chua, Thomas Zuberbuehler, and Julie Marcoux.

Killam Library Floors 2-5 Closed on Nov 14 & 15 

On Tuesday, November 14, and Wednesday, November 15, floors 2-5 must be closed to remove the vertical plumbing stack that connects those floors.

Students cannot access floors 2 through 5 for those two days. The Killam main floor will remain open. Archives and Special Collections and the GIS Centre will be closed.

Signage will be posted to indicate students can find alternative study space at the Wallace McCain Learning Commons, Kellogg Library or Learning Commons, Sexton Library, or Dunn Law Library.

  • Students are urged to use Novanet Express to request to borrow materials.
  • If your request is urgent, please see staff at the Killam Library Service Point (KLSP).
  • Email archives@dal.ca if you have archival research questions.
  • Email spcoll@dal.ca with Special Collections questions.

 

A Glimpse into Canadian Soldiers’ Educational Journey During WWII

A Canadian Legion Educational Services publication series was identified while processing historical government documents at the MacRae Library. They appear to be unique, with very few copies found elsewhere in Canada.

The University of Fraser Valley’s online resource, The Encyclopedia of Canadian Adult Education, indicates that these items were under the care of the Canadian Legion Educational Services from 1939 to 1946. The series at the MacRae aligns with the Encyclopedia’s records, with imprints of 1945 and 1946.

The text on the back of the series instructs students enrolled in courses to carry their textbooks with them while traveling overseas. Upon arrival at their new stations, they were encouraged to promptly connect with the Education Officer or Naval Schoolmaster.

These agricultural textbooks were not just academic resources; they were intended to travel with soldiers during the peak of World War II. They provide powerful insight into the hopes and dreams these students had for their futures.

Visit the MacRae Library to view this publication series.

National Medical Librarians Month

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:

  • the W. K. Kellogg Library on the first floor of the Tupper building, or
  • the Kellogg Library Learning Commons on the second floor of the Collaborative Health Education Building (CHEB).

To contact us, you can:

  • call our reference desk at 902-717-5244 – our hours are 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. with voicemail after hour,
  • email kellogg.library@dal.ca to request help or be connected with your liaison librarian, or
  • book a virtual meeting with a specific librarian through our website.

New Hand-Crafted Table in the Ko’jua Okuom

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.

Join us for Scary Stories at Shirreff Hall

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.

Free! Two-Part Workshop: Make a Poppy Pin

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.

  • Free! All materials are supplied.
  • Sign-up required: You must attend both workshops in person in the Ko’jua Okuom at the Killam Memorial Library.
  • Beginners welcome! It is also very helpful if you have sewing or embroidery experience.
  • Tools to bring: (Suggested) Due to the bead size, it may be helpful to bring a pair of magnifying glasses.

When? October 26 & November 2, 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 

REGISTER NOW!

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation

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.

We encourage you to learn more and read about events and resources available for the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation.

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:

  • Ko’jua Okuom at the Killam Memorial Library: 1–8 p.m.
  • Indigenous Community Room at the MacRae Library: 12–5 p.m.

 

New! Sign in to Borealis Data Repository with your Dal Credentials

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:

  1. Select Dalhousie University from the Your Institution drop-down menu.
  2. Follow the instructions to log in via Dalhousie’s authentication page (single-sign-in).
  3. Enter your standard account details when prompted.
  4. Review the terms of use.
  5. Click the Convert Account button.

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.

Free Two-Part Workshop – Make an Orange Shirt Day Pin

In recognition of and preparation for Orange Shirt Day and the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation on September 30, Dal Libraries presents a free two-part workshop to make Orange Shirt Day pins.

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 pin.

  • Free! All materials are supplied.
  • Sign-up required: You must commit to attending both workshops in person in the Ko’jua Okuom at the Killam Memorial Library.
  • Beginners welcome! It is also very helpful if you have sewing or embroidery experience.
  • Tools to bring: (Suggested) Due to the bead size, it may be helpful to bring a pair of magnifying glasses.

When? September 21 & 28, 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 

REGISTER NOW!

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