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This year we have been taking a different approach to Black History Month at the library, by shifting our focus from the past to looking towards a Black Future. The road towards a Black Future can seem long and impassable, but there is reason to embrace optimism! This collection features works on contemporary activist movements that can serve as both a map and inspiration on our journey towards an equitable society. Activism…

Do you need a break from your studies? Why not curl up with a good book! Take a mental health break and escape into the pages of one (or more) of these suggested books from our library staff. Happy reading! Click on the “Link to catalogue” caption below the book covers to check on availability and place a hold. Some of these titles also have either e-books, or movie versions and we…

From the moment the pandemic forced libraries to close their locations across the province, UAlberta Library started doing its best to help patrons get the library items they needed, and to support research and learning efforts at the University. Usage of online access to materials went through the roof, but still there was a constant demand for access to our physical collections. The library launched its curbside pickup at Rutherford library in…

Understanding the past is a powerful way to help keep it from repeating in the future. In trying to be a better ally to those in the Black community, I’ve found it particularly enlightening to learn and understand the fraught road towards equity and civil rights, which is sadly still being traversed. If you’re like me and seek to understand how we have gotten to this point we have some resources for…

In our final interview of IOR Where are They Now? we catch up with Katrina Aranas. Images of Research is accepting submissions for the 2021 competition and exhibition between January 25 and February 12, 2021. See IOR’s website for official rules and FAQs. What did you learn about yourself or your research while you created your IOR image?  Creating my image for IOR reminded me that research has an impact on the…

Culture aficionados rejoice – today, we’re talking Afrofuturism as part of our look at Black Futures for Black History Month. Afrofuturism is special as it reimagines the future but it also reflects on the past of the African diaspora. Afrofuturism, a term coined by Mark Dery in 1993 in his interview article “Black to the Future“, has evolved over time in African American culture and describes creative works that focus on African…

Please join us as we catch up with Deanna Neri, a former Images of Research semifinalist and winner of the People’s Choice Award in 2019, to talk about what she learned participating in the competition and exhibition and where she is now. What did you learn about yourself or your research while you created your IOR image? I learned that research is more than just getting data and gaining more knowledge. I…

Welcome back to our simply spectacular staff-sourced series on scintillatingly stupendous stories…sorry. I mean, Welcome to the second instalment of our staff-recommended podcasts intended to brighten up your 2021 playlists. We are lucky to have such great suggestions from our folks; and some have offered up more than one podcast! If you need to catch up on Part I from last week, we have it here. Doris Wagner, Librarian (Law, Sociology, MLCS,…

The University of Alberta Library subscribes to numerous databases that are core for certain disciplines, but also really deserving of wider attention. Here is one of those gems… The Teaching Professor may be best known to those in Education. But, the changes brought about by the pandemic have prompted more people than ever to think about how to teach well and create great learning opportunities. From the Library catalogue link, click on…