February is Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and of course, the month of valentines. We are debuting cryptic crosswords for all of you who love puzzles with our new column 793.73. This month, we are featuring eight clues that challenge readers to identify eight Black authors whose work is worth celebrating. And we are also featuring articles from women co-edit books, find more respectful ways to describe people and their work, want to live in good relationships on Turtle Island, and land the right job because they know how to make the most of the interview process.

What’s New in Open Shelf: February 15, 2015
What’s New in Open Shelf? is a Table of Contents of sorts. Open Shelf publishes when we have compelling new material. Every two weeks is our plan.
In this release it’s all about Bill C-51, newbies, zines, Digital Library North, services, and the February issue of InsideOCULA.
The recently tabled Anti-Terrorism legislation (Bill C-51) introduces new and broad powers for many security agencies in Canada. There are enormous implications for libraries. Todd Kyle, as part of his Policy Wonk column, explores this in Painted Into a Corner: Libraries and Bill C-51.
On a happier note, we were all newbies once. We all had to learn the roles in our first professional job. Denise Smith sympathizes and provides some advice in You’re a New (and Employed) Librarian, Now What?
If you thought zines disappeared with blogs … think again. The Chattanooga Public Library Zine Library, as described by Mary Barnett, is an archive, a workshop, and the basis for a festival. Very cool.
Paulette Rothbauer’s Research for Practice column features academic perspectives on the work we do. In Digital Library North, Ali Shiri and Dinesh Rathi discuss their project to implement a robust and responsive digital library in the Canadian north. The challenges are many but the opportunities are significant.
Open for All? explores some of the core concepts in public libraries. John Pateman’s column continues in this release with Services. How are public library services determined? By whom and for whom? As with previous columns, Pateman suggests some strategies and some concerns.
And finally, this release of Open Shelf includes InsideOCULA for February 2015. The newsletter of the Ontario College and University Libraries Association includes stories about government documents, unpaid labour in academic libraries, and the reflections of the OCULA Librarian-in-Residence.
As always, let us know what you think of Open Shelf.
…Mike Ridley
Editor-in-Chief, Open Shelf