The Ryerson School of Interior Design recently had the opportunity to work with FELT studio on a felt wall installation in the library’s Quiet Study room on the 4th floor of the library. The seminar was conducted as a competition between students to determine who would design the final installation. We are pleased to announce that the winning design, by Valeria Gulia and Adriana Lychacz, has now been installed in our quiet study room. We encourage you to drop by the library and check out this beautiful felt installation on the West wall of the room above the study carrels.

Thursday, May 31st is Toronto’s first Digital Literacy Day! The Toronto Metropolitan University Library & Archives (RULA) is one of many partners providing free events and programming across the city to explore the ways technology has changed the way that we work, play, educate and teach. RULA is showcasing how we support digital literacy learning in our spaces through sponsorship of student projects, workshops, and hands-on demonstrations by Library staff.  The complete list of events available across this city is accessible on the City of Toronto website.

At the Toronto Reference Library from 9:30am-11:30am, RULA is showcasing innovative uses of digital technology by Ryerson students and Library staff, including:

Micropayment for Smart Sensors is a student project that enables payment features to any electronic sensor via an online dashboard, with use cases ranging from housing to retail to industry. Examples of potential use would include a fully-automated modular home with payment-enabled sensors that would be ideal for a new immigrant or a tourist looking for short-term rentals.

Facial Recognition Enabled Smart Door involves student design of a facial recognition device that will provide access to staff members into an equipment room as a pilot project for door security. This device will be capable of identifying visitors before they enter the room from a digital image using computer vision techniques.

ioTree: Community Gardens  is a garden monitoring system developed by students that allows users to track growing conditions, and prompts users when action should be taken to maintain the garden. The gardener will be prompted with a dry soil alert when watering is needed, and past trends in garden conditions can be used to predict the timing of future maintenance.

Remembering the Real Winnie Digital Project is a demonstration/showcase of how digital technology is bringing history to life, presented by Ryerson Librarian, Sally Wilson.

At the Agincourt branch of the Toronto Public Library, RULA is sponsoring Tetra Ryerson’s Exoskeleton Workshop from 6p.m.-8p.m., a hands-on STEM education workshop where attendees will learn how to build their own robotic exoskeleton. Participants will learn the history and importance of robotic exoskeletons, current technology, how they are built, as well as their various applications. They will be able to simultaneously apply this knowledge while building an actual robotic exoskeleton consisting of 3D printed parts, motors, sensors and other equipment. Please register online to participate in this workshop.

On-site at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Library’s Digital Media Experience Lab and Collaboratory, located on the 3rd floor of the Student Learning Centre,will have an open house from 10a.m. – 5 p.m.  Participants will view demonstrations and engage with VR and AR technologies including the Oculus Rift and HoloLens, 3D printing, and laser cutting of RULA keychains for participants.

Participants can also register for afternoon workshops on thematic aspects of digital literacy:

Trust and Bias in Digital Literacy (2:30pm-3:30pm in the Collaboratory, Library’s 3rd floor)
Ryerson Librarians will present on helping users and creators master the important skill of digital literacy. They will discuss why users need a higher-level critical lens when navigating the digital realm, and why the skill of evaluating information in a digital space is necessary.

What is Machine Learning? (3:30pm – 4:30pm in the Collaboratory, Library’s 3rd floor)
This talk will feature an introduction to artificial intelligence with a focus on machine learning (ML) applications, including the overall workflow of an machine learning program and common use cases in the industry. This talk will briefly touch upon the emergence of machine learning and neural networks in computer vision applications.

With Victoria Day unofficially kicking off the summer this weekend and RULA closed on Monday, we hope you have more time to relax and recharge. If you’re looking to relax by watching a film and can’t make it to the cinema, RULA has you covered. View our guide on online streaming services available to the Ryerson community and list of available documentary films.

Looking for a great film and not sure where to start? Below you’ll find lists of the top streamed films in the RULA collection.

Top 10 Streamed Films via Kanopy

10. Tough Guise 2
9. The Battle of Algiers
8. I Am Not Your Negro
7. Fall and Winter: A Survival Guide for the 21st Century
6. Flow: Psychology, Creativity, & Optimal Experience
5. Not Just a Game
4. Killing Us Softly
3. Class Dismissed
2. The Codes of Gender
1. Stuart Hall: Race – the Floating Signifier

Top 10 Streamed Films via the NFB

10. We Were Children
9. Toronto Boom Town
8. Flemingdon Park: The Global Village
7. Invisible City
6. Hi-Ho Mistahey! (Short Version)
5. Smudge
4. First Stories – Two Spirited
3. Last Chance
2. Journey to Justice
1. We Regret to Inform You…

In support of Global Accessibility Day on May 17, Access Ryerson and RULA will be hosting a week of workshops on digital accessibility and inclusion. These workshops will focus on creating accessible documents, presentations and websites. The workshops will take place in the Collaboratory on the 3rd floor of the library and are open to students faculty and staff. Registration is now open.

On Thursday, May 17, there will be sessions available exclusively for faculty and instructors participating in the 2018 Learning & Teaching Conference. Please refer to their website for session times and more information.

RULA is committed to accessibility for our students and community. Students registered with Academic Accommodation Support can get their course content and research materials in accessible format with our accessible formats service. We also provide captioning services, research assistance for students with academic accommodation needs, and book retrieval and extended loans. Instructors who wish to make their documents accessible can access our free online OCR tool which performs optical character recognition (OCR) on documents in an effort to improve their accessibility.

We hope to see you in the Collaboratory for Global Accessibility Day events.

Summer is a great time for relaxing outside with a book. At RULA, we have a popular reading collection specifically designed to help you do that! Our popular reading collection is available year round on the first floor of the library, in between the check out desk and the elevators.

Picks include popular and bestselling fiction, biographies, comedy, graphic novels, and lifestyle guides.  Books are available to check out for two weeks at a time.

We add books to the collection every semester, so come by and see what’s new!

HotDocs, North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, will be making its annual arrival in Toronto from April 26 to May 6.  As recently reported, the Library’s Archives and Special Collections received a donation of assets from past Hot Docs Festivals and year-round activities.  This collection is now accessible on the Library’s 4th floor, and includes:

• HotDocs schedules and guides,
• Promotional materials,
• Administrative records, such as annual reports, and
• a DVD collection of 72 documentary films, with many items available for borrowing from our AV collection located on the 5th floor.

The Library’s audio-visual collection includes many other documentary films available for borrowing, as well as films that are viewable through online streaming sites such as Kanopy, Curio and the National Film Board of Canada.

We’re about to begin the most stressful time of year for many students – exam time!

In addition to being your space for studying, RULA wants to help you take your mind off of exam stress with some fun new stuff. We now have board games, puzzles, cards and pencil crayons/marker packs available for four hour loan periods. Come by the circulation desk in the library and ask us what’s available – games include Scrabble, Jenga, UNO, and Settlers of Catan. You can also search for games by title in our library catalogue if you’re looking for a specific game. These items will be available all year round, and you can take them anywhere on campus for a break between classes or exams.

Starting next week and for the entire exam period, we’re also going to have candy, snacks, stress balls, and colouring pages available at all of our help desks in the library. Come by anytime for a little fuel to keep you going. Happy studying!

Looking to learn a new skill, and meet new people? Maybe relieve some stress as we get closer to the end of term? The Library is hosting a series of free Crochet Workshops where you will learn basic crochet skills, and create an amigurumi crochet hot cocoa mug that unrolls to become a cozy scarf.

This design can be found in  Make: fabric and fiber inventions, a print title from the Library’s collection. Crochet workshops will take place on Tuesday, April 3^rd and 10th, from 10:30 am – 12 p.m. in the Library’s Digital Media Experience Lab (DME), located on the 3rd floor of the Student Learning Centre.  Materials will be supplied by the DME.  Please register by sending an email to Librarian Trina Grover at tgrover@ryerson.ca

To keep up with our crafty adventures, please follow us on Instagram: @rulaknithappens

This is a very busy time of year for our community, and with exams being right around the corner, we thought it would be a good time to highlight some of our options for de-stressing around campus.

The Ryerson Students’ Union has a new Wellness Centre where you can focus on your mental wellbeing and overall wellness on campus. There are various programs and resources which provide the ability to relax, decompress, and talk. Programs include peer-to-peer counselling, creative workshops, Netflix marathons, and puzzles and board games. A full list of programs can be found here.

Did you know that you can cuddle with RU Therapy Dogs every Wednesday on campus? It’s amazing what a cuddle from a sweet pup can do for your wellbeing. Stay up to date on when and where the therapy dogs can be found by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Ryerson Recreation offers yoga and meditation classes for beginners and experts alike at the RAC. There are 5 free group fitness classes a week (highlighted in yellow on the schedule) as well as the the option to pay a flat fee for the full range of classes.

You may just want to curl up in your favourite spot in the library or SLC with a good book. We have many books in the library on managing stress. Or you may want to pick up one of the books from our popular reading collection, located on the first floor of the library near the elevators. We curate these books with the intention of allowing you to escape the real world with a good read.

However you choose to take care of yourself at this time of year, RULA wishes you all the best with your final projects and exams!

Seven days a week, the Library is open to 1:00 a.m. We couldn’t do this without the help of our trusty Student Library Assistants.

They’re here late into the night and on the weekends. Maybe they’ve helped you find a book after class or you’ve seen them take headouts in the Library. Maybe they’ve help you with printing after CCS Tech Help has gone home or you’ve seen them tidy up study spaces after most people have left. Our Student Library Assistants are an integral part of the RULA team and we consider them student experts on using RULA. Today, we feature three of our student staff as they share tips for using the Library and exploring the city.

Lia, Psychology

Favourite Spot in Toronto: My favourite spot would have to be Kensington Market. I love the vibrant colours and the wall art as well as the little restaurants. It’s an inspiring neighbourhood for creatives.
Advice for Library Patrons: An advice would be to respect the space, throw away your garbage, and leave your station clean for the next person using it after you.

Hana, Industrial Engineering

Favourite Spot in Toronto: My favourite activity in the city is taking the ferry to Centre Island.
Advice for Library Patrons: A tip I have for students is to not give up when a book you need isn’t available at the Ryerson Library. Through RACER you can request a book from other university libraries. So before buying a book outright, try your luck by making a request through the RACER program.

Matthew, Psychology

Favourite Spot in Toronto: The Scarborough Bluffs are amazing!
Advice for Library Patrons: In the Library, quiet is key. Most of us here in the evening are trying to finish that paper due at 11:59 p.m. on D2L, and a stress-free work environment can be the difference between a pass and a fail, so I’d say quiet helps you and everyone around you.

For details about any of the policies and resources mentioned, check our website or speak to Library staff!