InsideOCULA

The York University Scholarly Communications Initiative held the inaugural event in the Scholarly Publishing Speaker Series on Wednesday April 16, 2008. The speakers, Jean-Claude Guédon from the Université de Montréal and Leslie Chan from the University of Toronto at Scarborough presented on the topic “Open Access: what it means for research, teaching, and one’s career.” Jean-Claude Guédon and Leslie Chan explored the open access movement in the scholarly context. In particular they discussed how the open access movement challenges traditional models of scholarly publishing and provides opportunities for new forms of evaluation, discourse and discovery. The main goal of open access is to improve research usage and enable scholarship in a networked environment. The Scholarly Communication Initiative at York University was established to promote alternative publishing models such as open access and to address issues related to scholarly publishing like authors’ rights to the York University community. This event was well attended by members of the York University community, including university officials, faculty, graduate students, librarians and staff. Sixty-one percent (61%) of attendees were faculty and graduate students. Comments on the presentation were enthusiastic and favourable. The group is now planning to build on the success of this event with a second talk tentatively scheduled for September 2008.

From Left to Right: Jean-Claude Guédon (Speaker), Stacy Allison-Cassin (Co-Chair Scholarly Communication Initiative), Andrea Kosavic (Co-Chair Scholarly Communication Initiative), Leslie Chan (Speaker)

McGuinty Government Supports Students And A Strong Economy TORONTO — Ontario is investing in a new library and student centre at Ryerson University. The new Student Learning Centre will feature the new technologies and tools students need to help Ontario compete globally. Ontario will invest $45 million in the project. “Ontario’s highly skilled people make our province one of the best places in the world to invest,” said Premier McGuinty. “By investing in the skills and knowledge of students at Ryerson and across Ontario, we can help Ontario compete and win.” This project is part of the $1.4-billion infrastructure investment outlined in the government’s fall economic statement. The investment will help improve Ontario’s competitiveness and stimulate job creation and economic growth. “Ryerson’s new student centre is a perfect fit for this neighbourhood — it will give the school an exciting gateway to Yonge Street and help revitalize Toronto,” said Toronto Centre MPP George Smitherman. Ryerson’s new student centre will be located at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets. Once built, the new centre could help more students attend the university. The demand for first-year spots at Ryerson is increasing faster than the provincial average. More than 30,000 students attend Ryerson in over 95 PhD, master’s and undergraduate programs.

Dedication of W.P. Scott Study Room
Over the course of the summer of 2007, the Scott Library at York University underwent several major renovation projects. This included the redesign of the 3^rd floor of the library and the creation of new student study spaces. A generous donation by the W.P. Scott family helped make possible a study room renovation on the 3^rd floor of the library that proudly showcases 220 laptop-enabled new and upgraded study spaces at tables and carrels. W.P. Scott was one of the founding members of the York Board of Directors and the Scott Library was named in his honour when it was built in 1971. On October 10^th this study space was dedicated to the Scott family and named the W.P. Scott Study Room. The dedication ceremony was attended by members of the Scott family and University officials, including the new President of York University, Dr. Mamdouh Shoukri, University Librarian Cynthia Archer, and representatives from the York Foundation. The Scott family was delighted to find that the new study room was full of students when they arrived for the dedication ceremony. The student comments on the new 3^rd floor study room have been enthusiastically favourable.

Bronfman Library Celebrates its One Millionth Visitor

A moment in history, captured by a York University History PhD student.When History PhD student Ian Milligan entered the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library on Tuesday September 5^th, he was not aware that he was about to make history. The Bronfman Business Library, located in the Schulich School of Business, opened for business in September 2003 and on September 5^th, 2007 celebrated the 1 millionth person to enter the library. When asked why he choose to visit this Library, Ian remarked that it was his first visit to the Library and that he wanted to borrow two books from the collection. Not only did Ian get the two books he wanted, Elizabeth Watson, Head of the Library, presented him with Seymour Schulich’s best selling book Get Smarter which was recently published and is a “mentoring book for 20 to 40 year olds with entrepreneurial aspirations”. When the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library was opened it set a new benchmark for library buildings. The design is graceful and beautiful while meeting the many varied needs of students at York; group study, wired study, silent study, connections to collections around the globe and great staff.

PALS (Public and Academic Libraries Sharing)

The Blue Sky Region Community Network (BSRCN), a consortium of 9 libraries in the area of Northeastern Ontario surrounding North Bay (North Bay Public Library, Powassan & District Union Public Library, Callander Public Library, East Ferris Public Library, Bonfield Public Library, West Nipissing Public Library, Nipissing First Nation Public Library, John Dixon Public Library (Mattawa) and Temagami Public Library) has partnered with Nipissing University and Canadore College’s Education Centre Library to revolutionize services to local residents and college/university library users by creating a reciprocal borrowing partnership called PALS (Public and Academic Libraries Sharing).

For the first time ever, local public library cardholders will be able to freely borrow books from the Nipissing and Canadore Education Centre Library, and college/university library cardholders, from local public libraries.

This partnership creates a library of several hundred thousand books, periodicals, newspapers, videos, DVDs, public computers with Internet access, audio books and much more that can be borrowed from all libraries.

PALS (Public and Academic Libraries Sharing) is the first partnership of its kind in the region. It provides free, quick and easy access to library resources for many thousands of students, educators and the reading public. Borrowers can request books in a wide range of subjects, from popular fiction in the public libraries to scholarly and research materials in the Education Centre Library.

Further details can be obtained from the Education Centre Library, North Bay, Ontario P1B 8L7.

posted on behalf of Brian Nettlefold

Kresge Challenge a Success

We did it! Thanks to the unfaltering support of the UW community including students, staff, faculty, retirees, alumni and parents. The Kresge Challenge has come to a successful close.

In just under 24 months, the UW Library raised $2.8 million and as a result, we have received a $600,000 US grant from the Kresge Foundation, the largest grant that Kresge has ever awarded to a Canadian library.

The money raised during the challenge has and will continue to enable us to make truly dramatic changes within both the Davis and Dana Porter libraries. In addition, the challenge has helped create a stronger, more diversified base of support. Gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations have all played an important role. Leadership gifts have allowed us to:

• Install a state-of-the-art RFID security and collections management system in both the Davis and Porter libraries
  (3M Canada gift)
• Renovate the 3rd floor of the Porter Library which now includes the Peter and Betty Sims Reading Room, a computer research area, and new study carrels throughout the floor
  (Peter and Betty Sims gift)
• Provide high speed workstations throughout the libraries (IBM Canada gift)

The Kresge Challenge was spearheaded by our spirited library staff.  To everyone who made this feat possible, our sincerest thanks.

Jackie Stapleton

Ryerson Library wins a Be Innovative! Award for Patron Empowerment

Ryerson Library was honoured by the Innovative Users Group (IUG) with a Be Innovative! Award as part of their annual awards program for libraries using the Innovative integrated library system.  Ryerson received the first-place award in the Patron Empowerment category for “Simplified Citation Links with RefWorks”, a script which allows users, in one mouse click, to save citation information from a bibliographic record in the library catalogue to the RefWorks web-based bibliographic citation manager software.  This has allowed for a more seamless transfer of bibliographic information from the catalogue to RefWorks for library users.  Award winners were celebrated at the IUG All-Conference Luncheon in May 2007, and received a “Starfire” crystal trophy and a monetary award for first- and second-place winners of $1,000 and $500 respectively. Mary Chevreau, Innovative’s Vice President of North American Sales, presented the award and cheque to Madeleine Lefebvre, Ryerson’s new Chief Librarian.  “Ryerson has always been linked with innovation in education, and it’s one of the main reasons I chose to come to here”, explained Madeleine.  “This award is very characteristic of our library’s commitment to developing innovative library services which empower our users.”

To learn more about IUG and the Be Innovative! Awards program, please visit www.iii.com

The University of Ottawa is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kenneth-Roy Bonin as the director of the School of Information Studies which the Faculty of Arts intends to establish by September, 2008.

Dr. Bonin began his career as a teacher-librarian after completing an Honours degree in Arts and a Bachelor of Education. Following a graduate degree in History and a Master of Science, he worked at the Winnipeg Public Library. Appointments as Assistant Director (Administrative Services) with the University of Manitoba Libraries and Associate University Librarian at the University of Toronto preceded his terms as Director of the Laurentian University Library and of the libraries at Concordia University. Upon obtaining a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Toronto, Dr. Bonin also taught at Concordia, and was teaching at the Université Laval when he was recruited to join the Knowledge Management Practice of KPMG Consulting. That relationship continued with the Ottawa partners who founded the Kelly Sears Consulting Group, even as he fulfilled a five-year mandate as President of the University of Sudbury – which ended in 2005 – and subsequently assumed the responsibilities of Research Director for the Canadian Association of University Business Officers.

York University acquires Mariposa Folk Fest archives

TORONTO, June 6, 2007 – York University is the new, permanent home to the archives of the Mariposa Folk Festival – one of the longest running and most important music festivals in Canadian history.

“We are thrilled with the treasure trove of historical artifacts that the Mariposa archives offer,” said Michael Moir, head archivist at York University. “Students and faculty will be able to do a wide variety of interdisciplinary research with this high-quality, very relevant material.”

York University acquired the records to this premier international folk festival following a search of more than a decade by the Mariposa board of directors that resulted in a donation-in-kind through the York University Foundation. The Mariposa archives will now occupy a vibrant and public home within York University’s Scott Library where they will be available to the public and used by a variety of disciplines for research.

“We now hope that others will be inspired to donate valuable Mariposa memorabilia to this collection with the confidence that they will be well-preserved and put to valuable scholarly use,” said Chris Lusty, president of the Mariposa Folk Festival. “We are pleased that York University will not only provide the necessary physical setting to house the artifacts but also public access for this great historical collection.”

Until recently the Mariposa collection – conservatively valued at more than $1.5 million – was locked away in storage in a downtown Toronto basement. A properly-maintained environment was vital to protect the material. York will provide that and more as it makes the included recordings, primary documents, images and other memorabilia available for education and research.

“This truly is a gift that will keep on giving long into the future for the entire York community and beyond,” said Phillip Silver, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at York. “This material can be seen as one of the greatest collections of Canadian folk music in existence and we are proud to play a role in breathing new life back into this important element of Canada’s cultural history.”

The Mariposa Folk Festival, an annual event that began in Orillia, Ontario, in 1961 helped to launch the careers of Canada’s most notable recording artists including Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and Murray McLaughlin.

The wide range of material in the collection, including a large quantity of sound recordings and publicity documents submitted to the festival’s organizers annually, offers astounding research potential for the study of folk music in North America during the second half of the twentieth century.

“Gifts such as the Mariposa collection help to fortify York’s growing strength in the area of research. We recently launched ‘York to the Power of 50’ to celebrate nearly 50 years of exponential growth and dynamic achievement as we approach York’s 50th anniversary in 2009. To date we have $125 million in commitments towards our $200 million campaign goal. This gift helps to support York’s vision to become a leading international centre for interdisciplinary research and teaching, ” said Paul Marcus, president and CEO of the York University Foundation.

The Mariposa archives will be available as a fully-accessible reference collection at Scott Library in September, in time for the fall semester at York. York University’s Keele Campus will also be the new home of The Archives of Ontario beginning in the spring of 2009.

About York U
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

Contact:
Keith Marnoch
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 22091

The Challis Resource Library celebrates it’s 40th!

Proper etiquette dictates that rubies are both the traditional and modern gift to present for a 40th anniversary celebration. Instead, the library received a diamond. Well, Emily Post may not have approved of the gift we received, but our Director, Laraine Tapak, was more than willing to forgive the faux pas. You see, our diamond wasn’t just any diamond, in fact, it was even more valuable (to us) than the Hope. Ours was Diamond and Schmitt Architects – retained to develop drawings for a renovated Library Learning Commons. And if diamonds are a girl’s best friend, well DeBeers move over because we just made a new one. The announcement came in late February that the project for the major library renovation was a go, and that the planning, renovation and move was to be completed by the end of August. The clock immediately began ticking.

After much debate, many a late night~early morning, too much coffee, a handful of Tylenol, and a trip or two back to the drawing board, the plans are close to final. The work is scheduled to begin immediately after classes end this May. The library will remain in its current central location as it symbolically fits into a bigger college vision for a state-of-the-art, open learning space “Commons.” Plans to-date show the renovated library on two levels and divided into three major zones- a Quiet Zone, a not-so-quiet Social Zone and finally, a Group Study zone. Other staff favourites include a new information literacy/teaching classroom fully equipped with laptops, new shelving and furniture, group study rooms and most importantly light. Yes, three of the four walls will be comprised of glass. Beautiful open, reflective glass. As a result, we will be forced to say goodbye to our well-worn 60’s “learning bunker” look. A look that has raised many an eyebrow and elicited many a comment from incoming faculty and students during the last twenty plus years. Retro-chic or not, brick, brown, orange and blue just don’t convey state-of-the-art facility. Who says 40 is too young for surgery?

Needless to say, this summer will be interesting and might be comparable to a “While You Were Out” episode. Again, everything must be completed before the students return in September, and we haven’t even ordered the shelving… Always the optimist - we are scheduled in late August to host our annual Start Smart program in the new teaching classroom. Wish us luck and we’ll let you know how it all goes down in the next issue…

Finally, etiquette also dictates, the beverage of choice for this particular celebration, a birthday, and a makeover, is champagne. And I’m sure we’ll be much needing and raising a glass or two in the fall for our grand opening.

Cheers from Confederation

posted on behalf of Lisa Jack