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.

After working as Curatorial Specialist at RULA, Alison Skyrme was recently appointed to the position of Special Collections Librarian. Alison holds a BFA in Photography Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University (2002) and a Master of Information from the University of Toronto (2015). Alison is also a 2007 alumnus of the Photographic Preservation and Collections Management (PPCM) graduate program, and has been an active instructor with the program for several years. She specializes in collections management and documentation in the heritage sector and has over 15 years of collections experience in galleries, libraries, archives and museums.

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 Sethlina Adusei (left), Leyan Saleh (middle) and Jason Chow (right) display their requested titles, now part of the Library collection.

Requested titles include Unspoken Feelings of a Gentleman (2014), Mornings in Jenin (2010), and Food Inc. (2009) (DVD).

Congratulations to Chief Librarian, Madeleine Lefebvre, who was recently elected to the OCLC Board of Trustees during the OCLC Global Council earlier this month.  OCLC is a global library cooperative that provides shared technology services, original research and community programs for its membership and the library community at large. As an elected member of the Board of Trustees, Madeleine will be working on behalf of participating libraries worldwide to ensure that the cooperative meets the needs of individual institutions, and the profession at large. In addition, the Board is responsible for recruiting and working with the OCLC President and CEO, and for monitoring the cooperative through a dedicated audit process. Madeleine is the first Canadian to be elected to the Board of Trustees.

Once again, the Library will participate in the LibQUAL+ survey, along with several other Canadian university libraries. The Library participated in LibQUAL+ in 2007, 2010, and 2013. Please visit the Library website to view results from the previous survey.

Starting the week of April 4th, a random sample of students, faculty and staff will receive an e-mail invitation to complete the web-based survey.  Participation is completely voluntary and the process is entirely confidential.  Students may choose, if they wish, to submit their email for a chance to win one three $50 Starbucks gift cards. Neither the email address nor any other personal identification will be transmitted with the survey responses.

Your participation in LibQUAL+ 2016 will be particularly valuable as we now have the Student Learning Centre as part of our space.  We sincerely hope that you will complete the survey if you receive an email invitation.

Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, please email: libqual@ryerson.ca