After leading the Ryerson Library and Archives (RULA) through a decade of transformation, Madeleine Lefebvre is stepping down as Chief Librarian. When Madeleine arrived at Toronto Metropolitan University for the first of two five-year terms, the library was on the cusp of evolutionary change. During Madeleine’s tenure, innovative services and technologies put RULA at the forefront of support for digital literacy, e-learning and entrepreneurial skill development at academic university libraries.

Madeleine’s vision took the library beyond existing boundaries – physically, intellectually and creatively. Her role in the conceptualization, design and development of the award-winning Student Learning Centre enhanced technology-enabled learning at Ryerson. Madeleine encouraged digital innovation at RULA and Ryerson by supporting opportunities to move beyond traditional information management to participate in the creation, mobilization and sharing of knowledge. RULA embarked on numerous academic collaborations that have included the augmented-reality app created in conjunction with the Discover St. Clair website (http://apps.library.torontomu.ca/stclair/) and a partnership with the Ryerson Image Centre in unveiling the real-life inspiration of Winnie the Pooh (https://therealwinnie.torontomu.ca/). Other partnerships under Madeleine’s guidance have resulted in initiatives with significant impact for student and faculty academic success, including the highly popular One Stop Course Readings and open access publishing.

With the opening in 2015 of the library’s Isaac Olowolafe Jr. Digital Media Experience Lab, and the brand new Ryerson Library Collaboratory, RULA has come to play an important role in promoting digital literacy and supporting technology in learning and teaching. Madeleine’s vision is now RULA’s continuing legacy.

Madeleine will be on post admin leave until January 10, 2019, when she will return to the Library in another capacity.

Clive Powell, who was instrumental in bringing The McGraw-Hill Ryerson Press Collection to the Ryerson Library and Archives, was recently awarded an inaugural G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer Award in recognition of his role.

As a retired McGraw-Hill senior executive, Clive has dedicated himself since 2011 to documenting the Ryerson Press Collection, acquired by McGraw-Hill through its purchase of Ryerson Press in 1971. The collection, which includes almost 3000 book titles and more than 2000 related archival documents, has been donated to the Special Collections unit of Ryerson Library and Archives. Clive has conducted extensive research into various aspects of the collection, has produced a video and writes a blog.

Clive presented a paper about his work on the collection at the 2017 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences on May 30 at Toronto Metropolitan University. He was one of four presenters in a joint session of the Bibliographical Society of Canada and the Canadian Association for the Study of Book Culture. His talk, The Ryerson Press: An Enduring Legacy, was part of a panel on Writing, Printing and Publishing for Markets at Home and Abroad.

The first annual G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer Awards program was launched to recognize the many ways that volunteers contribute to life and learning at Toronto Metropolitan University. The awards are named in honour of the late G. Raymond Chang, former chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University, for his deep belief in the importance of volunteering.

Congratulations to our graduating student employees!  The Library annually recognizes their contributions by giving them the opportunity to suggest items to add to the collection.  The items selected by the students have been purchased and are now available at the Library, with a mention of the contributors in the catalogue records, as well as in each of the chosen items themselves.

In the photo, recent graduates Charles Ko (upper left), Maham Hijazi (upper right), Zobia Qureshi (lower left) and Monique Aaron (lower right) display their requested titles, now part of the Library collection.

Requested titles include Tools of Titans (2016), X-Men: Magneto Testament (2015), Planet Earth II (2017), The Giving Tree (1992).

Frontier Life is now available. This digital collection of primary source documents helps us to understand existence on the edges of the anglophone world from 1650-1920. Discover the various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia through documents that reveal the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in these areas.

March 22 is World Water Day, an annual international event, officially designated by the United Nations in 1993 to create awareness about the importance of freshwater, freshwater resources and sustainability. See the Statistics Canada report, World Water Day… by the numbers here

Today, March 21st, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Read the message from the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston here.

Congratulations to Madeleine Lefebvre, Chief Librarian of Toronto Metropolitan University, who was the recent recipient of the Errol Aspevig Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership. The award recognizes individuals who have advanced the mission of Toronto Metropolitan University through outstanding academic leadership and who have contributed significantly to the enhancement of academic life at Ryerson and beyond.

Madeleine will receive this award at the Ryerson Awards Night, scheduled on Monday, March 27, 2017 from 4 p.m. at the Eaton Chelsea Hotel, 33 Gerrard St W.

Madeleine has been the Chief Librarian of Toronto Metropolitan University since 2007. She has previously held Chief Librarian appointments at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta. She is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, and an Associate of the Australian Library and Information Association. She was also the 2003/2004 President of the Canadian Library Association. In 2005, Scarecrow Press published her book, The Romance of Libraries. Madeleine has held a sustained interest in planning library space and new buildings that address the need for “congenial space” for students, and has played a major role in the design and development of Ryerson’s award-winning Student Learning Centre.

Learn more about Madeleine receiving the 2017 Errol Aspevig Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership award here.

The Library is pleased to announce the 2016 inductee to our Open Access Wall of Fame, Professor Catherine Middleton from the Ted Rogers School of Information Technology Management (TRSM). The Wall of Fame honours researchers who have demonstrated a commitment to ensuring their research is open and available to all. Open Access material is scholarly work that is made legally available with no restrictions so the anyone can access the full text.

Professor Middleton is a current Canada Research Chair, and a consistent contributor to the Library’s Digital Repository, a space for collecting, preserving, and providing online access to research and teaching materials created by the Ryerson community. Available in the repository are theses, dissertations, articles, technical reports, working papers, conference papers, etc., which are freely available to anyone.  Upon her induction to the Open Access Wall of Fame, Professor Middleton made the following statement:  “Publishing work in open access venues like the RULA Digital Repository is crucial to make academic research accessible to broad and diverse audiences, including policy makers, students at all levels, and interested citizens.”  There will be a forthcoming event to celebrate Catherine’s contributions to open access.

Interested in demonstrating your personal commitment to open access?  Download these posters for your office or faculty area on Open Access Lingo Demystified, and Know Your Author Rights, or request a print copy from bcameron@ryerson.ca

The Library’s Digital Media Experience Lab (DME) was recently featured on both RyersonianTV and Daily Planet. See the clips here: RyersonianTV and Daily Planet and also visit the DME’s website to learn more about the lab and how it can improve both your teaching and learning experiences here at Ryerson.