Political correctness and society—have we really gone mad?
It seems entirely proper that people about whom the words are used can also have a say in how they like to be described and referred to.
Canada 150: Library work as a profession for women
B. Mabel Dunham (1881-1957) was the president of the Ontario Library Association in 1920. In her presidential address, she spoke bluntly about the opportunities…
Connect, converse & unite: IFLA’s Global Vision
We can find it challenging to have a meaningful conversation with a colleague who sits in an adjacent cubicle—life is full of everyday responsibilities that take our time and attention. So the idea of talking with library folk from around the world about our collective future seems daunting.
Factors in Academic Librarian Research Success
"Research" by Nick Youngson / CC BY-SA 3.0 Canadian academic librarians are increasingly conducting original research as part of our work. Across the country,…
Academic librarians and the PhD: Introduction
Academic librarians typically have academic status, freedoms, and responsibilities.
Class and librarianship
The current crisis of capitalism has led to the renewed interest in Marxism and its core categories of analysis such as class and exploitation…
New Librarians Symposium: Special Issue
The New Librarians Symposium (NLS) happened on Friday, June 24th at Ryerson University. In this special issue of Open Shelf, we (the event’s co-organizers)…
Notes from the Field: Examining Issues in the Profession
As part of NLS’s registration process we invited attendees to choose a few topics that they would be interested in discussing during the Birds…
NLS: By the Numbers
This Special Issue of Open Shelf consists of eight articles reflecting on the New Librarians Symposium held in June 2016. The Symposium focused on…
NLS Revealed: Our Top Five Surprises
It was challenging to parse through all of the ideas and conversations from NLS and distill them into bite-sized chunks. Naturally, this difficulty is…
“Honest and Relatable in a Sincere Way”: Reflections from NLS Attendees
We asked three NLS attendees to reflect on their day. Here is some of what they said: What was the biggest surprise of NLS?…
“Nobody Dies”: Some Advice for New Professionals
We asked mid- and late-career information professionals what advice they would give themselves as a new librarian. Here is what they said: “Sometimes you…
