In celebration of Black History Month, the Library has several books from the collection on display in the glass case near the Reference area on the main floor, and in the New to the Collection section of the Library homepage. More books on this topic are viewable in the Library catalogue, or ask for help at the Reference Desk.

To learn more about Library resources relating to Black History, please see the following research guide, The Black Experience in Canada.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has also identified many films in its collection relating to Black History Month, which can be viewed online, and even from your iPhone. These are freely accessible, and can be used for both recreational or educational purposes.

As many of our users have indicated a need for more silent study space, the Library has recently initiated a pilot project to designate the 10th floor as a Silent Study Floor, with the following rules now in place:

No talking or whispering
No group study
No use of cell phones – turn cell phones off
Minimal and quiet keyboarding
Mute all audio – no headphones
No eating

Let us know what you think about the silent study floor by posting comments.

Discover what your Learning Commons has to offer at My Learning Commons Is… on Wednesday, January 27th from 1-3 p.m. on the Library main floor! This event, hosted by the Library and its Learning Commons partners, will highlight many of the services available to students to help you achieve your learning goals.

Students will have the opportunity to visit different zones in the Commons, sample some free food and enter a draw to win fabulous prizes, including a Netbook! You can also provide us with valuable feedback to help shape the future development of the Learning Commons – so come out and tell us what you want from your Learning Commons!

Do you love AskON, our chat reference service? If so, we need your help! Knowledge Ontario, which provides the AskON chat service, as well as access to a number of online databases, is made possible through government funding.

In this time of economic restraint, Knowledge Ontario must ensure it can demonstrate the strongest possible case to potential funders of the value of its work. They have launched a campaign to show the government how its services are making an impact on communities across the province. Please show your support for Knowledge Ontario by filling out an e-postcard and sharing your story.

The Toronto Metropolitan University Library and Archives (RULA) was selected to receive up to 100 books from the Nippon Foundation as part of its 100 Books for Understanding Contemporary Japan initiative. In October of 2009, we received 73 new titles on Japanese politics, government, international relations, economics, business, society, culture, literature, the arts, and history. The books have been chosen to help non-experts gain a basic understanding about Japan.

Several of these titles are on display in the glass case near the Reference area on the main floor. Many of them are available for borrowing, and can be viewed in the Library catalogue.

Submit photos of yourself, friends, family members, pets, co-workers and acquaintances having a ball to be entered to win one of TWO prizes this year: a $50 bookstore gift certificate or a $25 Starbucks gift card. This contest is open to all Ryerson staff and students and photos will be posted to Flickr. The winning photo will be featured in Ryerson Today!

The deadline has been extended to Friday, January 8. Contest submissions can be made online.

The Special Collections Holiday Photo Contest is having a PARTY this year! Submit photos of yourself, friends, family members, pets, co-workers and acquaintances having a ball to be entered to win one of TWO prizes this year: a $50 bookstore gift certificate or a $25 Starbucks gift card. This contest is open to all Ryerson staff and students and photos will be posted to Flickr. The winning photo will be featured in Ryerson Today!

Contest submissions can be made online until January 4, 2010.

Take your library research skills to the next level. This session will provide an overview of traditional journal databases, federated search engines (including open access portals to research/institutional depositories) and cited reference searching. An advanced RefWorks presentation will also be included. This session is highly recommended for graduate students who are planning to complete a major research paper (MRP) or thesis. A basic knowledge of Library research and RefWorks is required.

The session will take place on Thursday, November 26th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the ILC Lab on the main floor.

Please register online.

The Fall issue of NEXUS, the Library newsletter, is available online.

This is an electronic issue only, with embedded links to additional content – click on any of the underlined text and you can connect from within the document.

Highlights include the launch of Digital Commons @ Ryerson, an update from the Chief Librarian on the Strategic Plan, and much more.

Enjoy the read!

To accommodate widespread global interest in the movement towards open access to scholarly research results, SPARC has declared October 19 – 23 to be Open Access Week.

As part of Open Access Week, the Library is launching its open access institutional respository, Digital Commons @ Ryerson. Please join us for a demo of the repository and a discussion on open access and its impact on scholarly publishing on Thursday, October 22 at 10-11 a.m. in LIB489B, on the Library 4th floor. Please e-mail bcameron@ryerson.ca if you would like to attend. Refreshments will be served.