Collections

The University of Alberta Library subscribes to numerous databases that are core for certain disciplines, but also really deserving of wider attention. Here is just one of those gems… Birds of the World is primarily considered a Sciences database. But you don’t have to be a scientist, or a Birder, to use it! “Every bird has a story – Take a deep dive into the remarkable lives of birds with this dynamic…

This year the University of Alberta’s Winter Closure will span from December 25, 2020 to January 3, 2021. Here is where you can find dates of closure and resumption of our library services. PANDEMIC — is the word that defines the year 2020. I know I am not alone when I say this year has been HARD. That is why I propose that we take the 10 days of Winter Closure as…

* Updated since provincial COVID restrictions announced on Dec 8, 2020 * We are taking a winter break and looking forward to the end of 2020 (who isn’t?) and a brighter New Year! With most University of Alberta classes starting January 11th, and with new Provincial restrictions in place, we too have adjusted our opening hours. These are the details! Curbside Pickup Service Rutherford Curbside Pickup & Book Return: NEW (Dec 10,…

Last time you had a look behind the scenes of our Curbside Pickup the sun was out, we were wearing t-shirts and you picked up your books from a table outside Rutherford Library. As the seasons change and the demand for our library material continues, here is how we have evolved our pickup service into what we at University of Alberta Library call Curbside 2.0. The use of lockers is the main…

The University of Alberta Library subscribes to numerous databases that are core for certain disciplines, but also really deserving of wider attention. This is one of those gems… Artstor is a collection of more than a million high-quality digital images of works of art from the collections of galleries, museums, and libraries around the world. It is used most often by researchers in the Arts and Human Ecology: Clothing, Textiles & Material…

On November 11 we will pause to honour the soldiers that have fought for Canada and to support the Canadian Troops. In addition to pausing for a day to honour the soldiers, I thought another way to appreciate the Canadian soldiers would be to showcase photos of the University of Alberta’s connection to World War I (WWI). With the help of my colleague at University of Alberta Archives (UAA), Marissa Fraser, here…

Happy World Digital Preservation Day! Today, November 5, is the day those of us in the library and archives community celebrate the wonderful work done to ensure that items from the past and present will be permanently preserved on open access, digital platforms to be accessed for future use.  University of Alberta Library has a number of initiatives that involve digital preservation, including our ongoing work to preserve born digital resources (ie.…

With contributions by Alanna Scott The University of Alberta Library prides itself on its vast collections of print and digital material, and the materials available via our NEOS partners. Those of you who use the library typically find that we can fulfill a need for any kind of academic information: books, journals, reports, theses – you name it. But, what happens when we don’t have access to a specific item within our…

Cold fall air. Howling wind. Crackling leaves on the ground… Halloween spirit is in the air! Although these images weren’t created to scare, sepia has been generously applied by the passage of time… and they emerge as the perfect backdrop for spooky stories… Let’s start at the iconic Alberta Legislature Building, which looks like it’s holding a flashlight up to its face. A short glide away (if you’re a ghost), near the…

Is hindsight the best sight? For staffers seasoned in the library sciences, the answer is yes! We polled our multi-disciplinary team of library whizzes and asked, “What one library resource did you wish you knew about/had access to when you were a student?“ Almost immediately, David Sulz (Academic Librarian) replied back with the Oxford English Dictionary. While our holdings include physical copies, the most up-to-date edition is our online version. It contains…