Borrowing

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…

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…

On June 22 we launched our Curbside Pickup Service. Curbside Pickup is our contact-less borrowing service aiding the University of Alberta’s ongoing research. In the month of July, our users placed 3,436 holds and picked up 2,122 books. Because of the high demand for this new, pandemic driven service we thought you might like to see what happens after you place your hold. You may already know the 4 steps to take to…

This truly is a school year like no other, and we know that many of you have questions about what accessing the library will be like in the coming year. While the majority of our physical libraries remain closed, so many of our great resources remain available online, or through our curbside pick-up service. To help you sort through all the ways University of Alberta Library can assist with your unique needs,…

Even though our favourite festivals have been canceled this year, Edmontonians are keeping the Festival City spirit alive with socially distant celebrations. This weekend would have been the summer mainstay, Edmonton Folk Music Festival (EFMF). The festival has gone online this year with The Hill at Home, but we also found some ways to get folky with library resources! The University of Alberta Library has many digitized collections, including the Edmonton Folk…

As promised, the sequel to our epic list of staff reading recommendations is here! These picks go great with long sunny day on the patio – hammock recommended, but not required – and a nice, cool beverage. Mireille’s Pick Garden Bugs of Alberta by Ken Fry, Doug Macaulay, Don Williamson – Curbside pickup “My pick is Garden Bugs of Alberta. Not something you would read cover to cover, but useful and instructive.…

On an ordinary day, HathiTrust is one of a number of trusted archives that front-line library staff use as a part of their secret arsenal when finding obscure sources for our users. I myself have used it numerous times, for example when trying to locate a digitized version of an older publication, or when trying to find the source of a quote that needs to be cited directly rather than second hand.…

Congratulations to you, University of Alberta graduate! The last couple of months have been strange, to say the least, but don’t let that diminish your achievements. You’re ready to hit up the real world with your brain full of academic wonder, but what happens when someone tries to challenge your knowledge base once you’ve left the U ofA ’s bunny-frolicked campus grounds? Which academic resources can you use as an alumni to…

We know that books can be meaningful, important, and can even change lives. For those of us who have lived with a foot in the closet, stories can be a means to escape, or a confirmation that better worlds exist out there. For many of us, books have been paths to empathy, understanding, and connection. Even though Pride Week has ended and the library’s physical spaces are closed, we wanted to leave…