On April 18, the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH) and TMU Libraries celebrated the launch of the Yellow Nineties 2.0 (Y90s 2.0) scholarly website, an online resource dedicated to the study of late-Victorian ‘Little Magazines.’ In celebration of the project’s completion, CDH hosted a full day hybrid Symposium, that included panel discussions and a keynote by Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities,  Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Ottawa and TMU alumna Dr. Constance Crompton (ComCult ’12). This was followed by an evening reception hosted by TMU Libraries, which exhibited its vast and growing print collections in support of the Y90s 2.0 digital editions–collections that have been used for graduate and undergraduate research for over a decade.

Y90s 2.0, nearly two decades in the making, marks the culmination of work accomplished at the Centre for Digital Humanities by Professor Emerita Lorraine Janzen Kooistra and her interdisciplinary team of scholars, students, and librarians. Used in teaching and research around the world, Y90s 2.0 is an open-access resource featuring digital editions of eight late-Victorian little magazines known for their experimental formats, socially dissident art and literary contents, and sexually provocative themes. Produced between 1889 and 1905, the magazines, of which The Yellow Book is best known, were published in contrast to mainstream serial publishing practices popular during the Victorian era, and were distinguished by their design and high production standards. 

Within the magazines, articles, poems, stories and art were printed using “wide margins, decorative devices outside typographical lines, and blank pages separating images and text,” says Janzen Kooistra. And,  while some “titles were connected to trade publishers, others were self-published, or published by a firm formed expressly to bring out a counter-cultural magazine,” says Janzen Kooistra, adding that “Y90s 2.0 and the Libraries’ material collections allow students to learn about a publishing genre that emerged in the 1890s but continues to thrive today–for instance, TMU’s own little magazine of art and literature, The White Wall Review (1976-present).”

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The digital humanities project began the process of digitization and encoding the magazines’ images and texts from the Library’s collection of The Yellow Book–a 13 volume serial, in 2005. Five years later, phase one launched with the digital edition of volume one of The Yellow Book, hosted on the then newly released website, Yellow Nineties Online. With the launch “the Libraries, in addition to faculty use, offered graduate level research skill workshops specific to its print collection and online resource,” says Liaison Librarian Val Lem, adding that the workshops are ongoing. Further, the English department uses the Libraries’ collection of magazines and the Y90s site in its required undergraduate research methods course; this too is ongoing. 

Once the first volume of The Yellow Book was online, the remaining 12 volumes were encoded in digital editions over the following five years. As phase one was completed it was decided that TMU Libraries (then Ryerson Library) would take over hosting the site, bringing the entire project in-house. At this stage, the project was reconceptualized and reconfigured as Yellow Nineties 2.0.

Now, with the completion of Y90s 2.0, the project celebrates the late-Victorian Little Magazine as a distinct publishing genre situated on the margins of industrial capitalism and mass print media, and distinguished by avant-garde content, mode of production, and material form.  

Working in collaboration with Professor Janzen Kooistra and the CDH, TMU Libraries Special Collections staff and librarians have, throughout the past two decades, sought to acquire full print runs of a number of magazine titles to support scholarship of the period and the digital humanities project. A total of 8 titles, in their full run, are available in searchable digital editions on Y90s 2.0. Six of these journals are available at TMU Libraries’ Special Collections, an acquisition noteworthy in its rarity. They include: The Yellow Book, The Evergreen, The Venture, The Dial, The Savoy, and The Pageant, and most recently the acquisition of a full run of The Elf.  “Single issues of these magazines are difficult to find, and full runs are exceptional,” says Special Collections Librarian Holly Forsythe Paul, noting “researchers at TMU Libraries Special Collections have the rare opportunity to trace the entire material history of these publications from start to finish, hands-on.” 

The extensive and growing print collection and launch of the Y90s 2.0 digital project opens up exciting opportunities for scholarship and exploration. The online resource features biographies of writers, artists and publishers; includes a database of ornaments to discover artworks; and publishes born-digital research on the magazines. The print collections enable scholars to ground their studies in this avant-garde movement of artists and writers, as well as fin-de-siècle publishing by providing a material understanding of the publications and their modes of production.  

“By enabling scholars to see changes in format, arrangement,  or substrate, as well as editorial content, the Yellow Nineties Collection provides an important resource for understanding the genre and its context,” says Forsythe Paul. With the global outreach of Y90s digital editions and TMU Libraries’ exceptional print collection of late-Victorian little magazines, the University is at the forefront for the scholarly study of this avant-garde publishing genre.  “Students benefit too,” says Janzen Kooistra, “the combined digital/material resources allow them to develop original research projects, which they can publish in digital exhibits on the Y90s Classroom.”  

We hope everyone is having a successful exam period. The winter term is almost complete!

• Please clear any outstanding fines and return overdue items as soon as possible. Head to the renewals page to see if you have overdue items or fines greater than $25. Students with fines greater than $25 will not be able to view their grades until their accounts are cleared.
• All fines can be paid to TMU Libraries at the Circulation Desk either by VISA, MasterCard, American Express or with your OneCard. TMU Libraries also accepts credit card payment by phone. Please call: 416-979-2149. We do not accept personal cheques.

If you have questions or concerns about fines or overdue items, please contact Libraries Circulation access@torontomu.ca

Join us for a book wrapping event to honour all Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Men, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWGM2S). On March 19 and March 26, TMU Libraries’ DME is hosting drop-in book wrapping events as part of the Canadian Library art installation project. The Canadian Library (TCL) is a grassroots art installation project that acts as a memorial to all Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Men, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWGM2S). The project currently consists of micro galleries installed at various locations across Canada.

Wrapped books will be covered in Indigenous-inspired fabric, with the names of MMIWGM2S placed on book spines to respect and honour the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men and two-spirit people.

The event is in preparation for the installation a micro gallery at TMU Libraries on May 6. The book wrapping events are part of a series of learning opportunities for Red Dress Day organized by Rebirthed Teachings which are offered across campus from February to May.

At these drop-in events participants will have the opportunity to wrap books in fabric and attach a name. No experience is required. Supplies will be provided.

Location: TMU Libraries’ Digital Media Experience Lab (DME), SLC 308
Dates: Tues., March 19 and  26
Time(s): 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

International Love Data Week is a global event held annually in February to raise awareness of the importance of research data management, sharing and reuse. 

This year’s theme is “My Kind of Data” – a prompt to think about data equity and inclusion, disciplinary communities, and creating a kinder world through data. 

Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries is hosting the following workshops during Love Data Week 2024:

Intro to Research Data Management
Date: Mon., Feb. 12
Time: 12-1 p.m.:

Register

Wikidata 101
Date: Tues., Feb. 13
Time: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Register

Introduction to Scholars GeoPortal and SimplyAnalytics
Date: Wed., Feb. 14
Time: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Register

Anti-racism Data Resources
Date: Thurs., Feb. 15
Time: 2 – 3 p.m.

Register

Open Data and Analysis with Python
Date: Fri., Feb. 16
Time: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Register

Please join us if you love data!

Beginning January 1, 2024, students, faculty and staff will no longer be able to access the New York Times content through TMU email accounts created through the New York Times website. Access to New York Times content will continue to be available through the following TMU Libraries’ subscriptions:

• Global Newsstream (NYT Coverage: June 1, 1980 to Present) 
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times (NYT Coverage: September 18, 1851 to December 31, 2019) 

• Factiva (NYT Coverage: June 1, 1980 to Present) 
  
  How to search for NYT content on Factiva
  • On the search page, expand the category called “Source”
  • Select the yellow tab titled “Group: All Publications” and click on the “remove” option
  • In the open field within the “Source” filter option, type “New York Times” and select the title when it appears in the results list
  • You are now able to enter your search terms and see results only from the New York Times

• Nexis Uni (NYT Coverage: June 1, 1980 to Present)  

How to search for NYT content on Nexis Uni

• Under the search field at the top of the home page, select “Advanced Search”
• Once you are on the Advanced Search page, change the selection from “All” to “News” at the top of the page
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter “New York Times” into the “Source” filter field and select the publication when it appears in the results list
• You are now able to enter your search terms and see results only from the New York Times

If you are having difficulty gaining access to New York Times content through the recommended alternative resources, you can request assistance by emailing refdesk@torontomu.ca or access@torontomu.ca

Please note TMU Libraries is closed December 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024

The Canadian Community Cookbook Collection contains over 250 community cookbooks, culinary textbooks, and company publications related to food products dating from 1888 to the early 2000s. It was donated to Special Collections in 2021 by Dr. Ian Mosby, a faculty member from TMU’s Department of History.

TMU Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections are featuring an assortment of cookbooks on their blog, as well as in the display case on the 4th floor of the Libraries. The display and blog highlight the wide range of genres within culinary publications.

We hope that these windows into Canadian culinary history, and especially the festive recipes, will inspire you to try making a new dish, or watch the Great Canadian Baking Show during the winter break!

Read more about the collection

We hope everyone is having a successful exam period. The Fall term is almost complete!

• Please clear any outstanding fines and return overdue items as soon as possible. Head to the renewals page to see if you have overdue items or fines greater than $25. Students with fines greater than $25 will not be able to view their grades until their accounts are cleared.
• All fines can be paid to TMU Libraries at the Circulation Desk either by VISA, MasterCard, American Express or with your OneCard. TMU Libraries also accepts credit card payment by phone. Please call: 416-979-2149. We do not accept personal cheques.

If you have questions or concerns about fines or overdue items, please contact Libraries Circulation access@torontomu.ca

Presentation by TMU Libraries Immersive Technology Specialist Michael Carter-Arlt and Librarian Fangmin Wang for the Coalition for Networked Information, Pre-Recorded Project Briefing Series.

Extended Reality (XR) technology has been used in higher education and research for many years. However, there have been barriers for educational institutions to implement or adopt XR technology to support teaching, learning, and research. In this presentation, we will discuss how the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Libraries try to solve some of those challenges by implementing a shared immersive environment. Specific examples related to architectural science, documentary media, and interior design programs will showcase how the Immersion Studio is currently being used by faculty and students. In addition, the impact on educational experiences, the existing limitations, and future considerations will be discussed. The presentation will conclude with a summary of why a shared immersive environment can become an important resource and facility within academic libraries to enhance educational experiences.

https://library.torontomu.ca/services/facilities/immersion/