Friday 25 April, 2025
Library dysfunction can manifest itself as a series of internal issues within libraries such as communication inefficiencies and management shortcomings that can affect work environment, employees and, consequently, services. The issue of library dysfunction has been discussed widely in the literature and it seemed fitting to conduct a scoping review to better understand the operational challenges that libraries face along with proposed solutions that can improve or address some of these ongo...
The open access movement has shaped current models of scholarly dissemination. With a growing number of Canadian funders (e.g., Tri-Agency, Fonds de recherche du Québec) adopting open access mandates, academic libraries are playing an increasingly active role in supporting scholars as they navigate these requirements. In the last decade, read and publish agreements, which package together library subscription fees and author article processing charges (APCs), have become an increasingly commo...
Granting agencies play a key role in advancing sustainable open access (OA) scholarship globally and in Canada. Plan S, a European initiative by cOAlition S, has catalyzed global shifts towards immediate OA. Its relevance to Canada grew significantly in 2022 when Québec’s granting agency, Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ), joined cOAlition S, mandating increased researcher compliance with open knowledge practices. This presentation builds on our previously published research to analyze the r...
This presentation examines the open access (OA) practices and policy clarity of academic law journals in which Canadian legal researchers have published over the past ten years (2015-2024). The study explores the current policies of these journals, offering insights into the accessibility and transparency of legal scholarship. In 2023, following the implementation of a new OA policy by the Fonds de recherche du Québec, librarians supporting law faculty research in Quebec observed that law jou...
Dr. Mariana Libertad Suárez, a Venezuelan university professor, is dedicated to researching Latin American women writers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who are absent from the literary canon. She has amassed a significant amount of information about early women writers from Venezuela, including primary-source out-of-copyright texts and manuscripts, correspondence, and images. This collection includes priceless items about Zulima (pseudonym for Lina López de Aramburu), the f...
The Osler Library of the History of Medicine opened in McGill’s Medical Faculty in May 1929. The library’s history and formation, however, extend back decades earlier. In this talk, I will share observations from archival documents that provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the library came together: from early book purchases and personal correspondence about book collecting, to discussions with McGill administrators about the building of the library. I will present items attesting to Osler...
This presentation summarizes the main takeaways from three parallel forensic projects in the context of technical memory work: one, housed at the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology, looks at what exactly made Hugh Le Caine's 1945-1948 electronic sackbut instrument special. Was it the first modular synthesizer? If not, what was it, exactly? The second, supported by McGill University's Center for Interdisciplinary Music, Media and Technology (CIRMMT), is a digital emulation of Gordon Mum...
In my presentation, I will focus on describing the social and educational impact that special collections can have on both the academic and non-academic communities. I will use at least one case study from McGill University, in which I was directly involved, revolving around a collection of Japanese prints (specifically ukiyo-e) and other related material, including books. This particular case study is important because there is growing interest in this collection, from professors arranging c...
Multiple approaches to electronic and print book collection development are employed by academic libraries, including individual title selection, approval plans, demand-driven acquisition, and evidence-based acquisition. These purchasing models may be analyzed in varied ways to assess the relevance, usage, and cost of titles acquired. However, comparatively little has been disseminated on evaluating thematic eBook collections or annual frontlist purchases using these criteria or comparing thi...
This work-in-progress presentation analyzes the current conditions of librarian labour via an analysis of Collective Agreements (CA) in Canadian university libraries. This research project follows in the footsteps of Highs and Lows: An Examination of Academic Librarians’ Collective Agreements by Harrington and Gerolami, published a decade ago. While that chapter focused on a subset of 15 universities across Canada, we are expanding the analysis to include a broader range of universities.
This presentation explores how the Fibre Arts Technology Club (FAT Club) at Concordia University promotes community engagement, creativity, and healing by integrating traditional fibre arts with technology. Since its founding in 2018, FAT Club has introduced tools like a motorized 3D-printed circular sock knitting machine (2019) and a mechanical punchcard knitting machine (2022), which pays homage to early computing. During COVID-19, FAT Club offered a necessary social connection and continue...
In December 2021, a joint agreement was signed between Concordia Library and the Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) to transfer the responsibility for the Visual Collections Repository (VCR) film collection to Concordia Library. The project aimed to transfer responsibility for acquisition and cataloguing to the Library and to establish a partnership for the management of the film collection for Film Studies classes through collaborative workflows, while maintaining physical access to the collection ...
