As the book trade expanded in the early nineteenth century, new technologies and materials began to be used in bookbinding, this included the invention of machine-made bookcloth in the 1820s. This early bookcloth was made from thin cotton or linen, and was coated with a mixture of starch, fillers, and colourants to impart a brilliant eye-catching hue to the covers. This new type of bookcloth was less expensive to use than traditional leather and quickly became the standard for mass-produce...

Welcome and opening remarks from Christine Smith, chair of the Concordia Library Research Forum committee. Recording: https://youtu.be/2YKgLVSJtvQ

Our CARL-funded research project aimed to understand how marginalized graduate students at our institutions adapted to the pandemic situation, particularly in their research activities, with the goal of providing recommendations on policy enhancements to create more inclusive research environments. The focus of our presentation would be on discussing lessons learned from the study, and the resulting policy recommendations. The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to the ed...

Recent library literature conveys an increasing interest in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) practices for improving library services. How does the literature explore DEIA education practices and training initiatives for library employees, including those who provide frontline reference services? What are examples of strategies for increasing awareness of DEIA topics among frontline reference workers, training reference staff to provide more inclusive or accessible se...

This session will present the findings of research into the types of questions posed by patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic on AskAway, the post-secondary consortial chat reference service in BC and the Yukon. The fourteen-member research team, representing eight post-secondary institutions in BC and the Yukon used an iterative process and multiple methods of analysis to examine over 70,000 chat transcripts from September 2019 through August 2021. Utilizing the tools R, Python Pandas, Voy...

Closing remarks from Pat Riva, Interim University Librarian, Concordia University. Recording: https://youtu.be/D0jUMPnm2nA