Features & columns – OPEN SHELF

Valuing social institutions: Northern libraries have bang for their buck

Quantifying the social value of public institutions can be challenging and contentious given that standard business metrics may not capture the value of intangible social rewards.

Teacher with a press: Hands-on learning for arts and social science students

Larry Thompson is the master printer in the Carleton University Library Book Arts Lab—a professional doing non-traditional work in an academic library.

Genealogy 101: Finding your roots to find your skill set

Helping others discover their familial roots had exposed an issue in my own family that I realized I needed to address: Finding my own roots.

“The lakes could teach me what the mountains could not”: A conversation with Ktunaxa poet Smokii Sumac

Smokii Sumac is a talented Ktunaxa poet and recently we talked about gender, the land and more.

Starting a library job: Do you have the right hairdo?

The characters from the 1968 musical Hair send us a clear political message: My hair, your hair, our hair belongs to us alone. And yet in public spaces such as the workplace, our hair seems to belong to others. In this article, Rhea talks about the unique challenges she has as a woman of African descent, regarding how she wears her hair at work.

Free speech and hate speech

Can we open our doors to all points of view and also say that our libraries are safe spaces? I think not.

La francisation de Scholars Portal : Progrès vers le bilinguisme, première partie

Scholars Portal est un regroupement de services et d’infrastructures technologiques créés par et pour les bibliothèques universitaires de l’Ontario.

Are publishers that short-sighted? Questioning Macmillan’s new ebook guidelines

“Beginning November 1, Macmillan Publishers is restricting library access to new e-books, causing long wait times for some titles.”

A walk in the snow

My husband and I have taken to walking up and down our road once a day—morning or evening. We’re lucky because we live in…

A Christmas wish for library job seekers

It’s been six months since I finished my master’s degree and I’ve been applying for work ever since. Recent job vacancy stats indicate, however, it can be hard to find work in the information sector.

New Year’s resolutions in November

Worried about your New Year's resolution? Maybe these tips can help you.

2019: Advocating on behalf of school libraries

This year, the OSLA council has dedicated much of its work to advocacy, including sending a letter to the minister of education.

Good tidings from Ontario libraries

Enjoy a little festive cheer, shared with you by folks at school and academic libraries in Ontario.