The Library and Archives Master Plan (LAMP) Steering Group invites everyone in the Queen’s community to attend an open information session on Friday, April 26 at 11:00 in Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 202. Attendees will learn more about the LAMP project including preliminary options that are being considered. The steering group’s planning partner, CS&P Architects, will give an overview of the work done to date, the feedback the group has received, and present the preliminary planning concepts and drawings for Stauffer and Douglas libraries. Visit the LAMP website to learn more about the project, to view the initial drawings and to share your feedback with the LAMP project team.

A set of proposed key principles and ideas to guide the development of the libraries and archives has been drafted by the Library and Archives Master Plan (LAMP) team. As well, high level drawings of Stauffer and Douglas libraries provide a first iteration of the emerging planning concepts that the LAMP team is considering. “I hope that these drawings and the key concepts that inform them will generate ideas and feedback from across the university,” says Martha Whitehead, University Librarian. “They are the result of our extensive consultation and information gathering process.” The planning team is focusing first on Stauffer and Douglas libraries and from the wealth of information gathered thus far, a number of key concepts have emerged. The LAMP drawings and key concepts, along with information boards about the campus master plan, are now on display on the first floor of Stauffer library. Everyone is encouraged to view them at the library or online, and to visit the LAMP website to submit your feedback. Over the course of April Ms. Whitehead and the other members of the LAMP project team will continue the consultation process as they meet with several student, faculty and staff groups. Everyone is invited to attend and ask questions at an upcoming information session on the LAMP project on Friday, April 26 from 11-11:45 am in Robert Sutherland Hall, room 202.

An accessibility café will take place on April 10 from 11:30 to 12:30 in Speaker’s Corner, Queen’s Learning Commons, Stauffer Library. The event will consider the accessibility barriers Queen’s students might face during their time at the university and feature a panel of students, faculty and representatives from university service departments in a discussion entitled “Creating an inclusive environment for students with disabilities: from application to graduation.” The accessibility café is hosted jointly by the Senate Library Committee and the accessibility framework’s Information & Communications Working Group. Martha Whitehead, University Librarian, sees this partnership as representative of the increased awareness of accessibility issues at Queen’s. She notes that “members of the Senate Library Committee were eager to participate in this café. There is recognition across campus that we all must actively ensure the work we do and the services we provide are accessible for everyone.” Heidi Penning, an Equity Advisor at Queen’s who is working with departments across the university to raise awareness and find solutions to accessibility issues states “We want to engage people in a discussion about how the university can better enable the success of all of its students. Queen’s academic programs, and the many other services the university offers, should be accessible to all students.”

For information on the Exhibit, see the Exhibit webpage.

On Tuesday, February 26, join us in Speaker’s Corner, Stauffer Library, to celebrate our Freedom to Read. Public readings drawn from a wide variety of works in a range of disciplines and formats will take place each day between noon and 1pm.

The readings represent material that is inspiring, provocative, sometimes enjoyable and sometimes challenging. Many readings represent challenged and banned works.

Recognizing the nature of academic inquiry and scholarship, please note that the reading selections do not necessarily reflect the views or values of the readers, the Library or the University.

An assistive listening device is available from the Circulation Desk in Stauffer Library for persons who are hard of hearing.

Additional information on intellectual freedom, censorship issues and the Freedom to Read is available from the following websites:

Freedom to Read Week (Book and Periodical Council, Canada Council for the Arts)
PEN Canada
Canadian Library Association Statement on Intellectual Freedom
American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom

Recess: Improve your productivity and reduce your stress.

There will be stress -relief activities in the libraries on campus starting Monday December 3rd. Activities such as drawing, puzzles and crafts will be provided.  These activities are sponsored by the QLC (www.queensu.ca/qlc)

It’s important to take a break from studying to give your brain and body a break. If you need help with studying, consult with Learning Strategies : http://www.queensu.ca/learningstrategies

Would you like to help Queen’s Library imagine and build its future? As part of the Library and Archives Master Plan process, focus group sessions are taking place this week and we’d like you to participate! The session for undergraduate students takes place Friday, November 30, from 1:30 – 2:30, and the session for graduate students from 2:30 – 3:30. Both are being held in the University Club at 168 Stuart Street. Pizza will be served. Please come and share your thoughts about the library of the future!

Research resources at Queen’s are extensive and there are several approaches to discovering what is available in your discipline. This workshop provides an introduction to searching research literature strategically and comprehensively using a range of tools including discovery layers, interdisciplinary and discipline-specific databases, article alerts, open access materials, and citation analysis. Support for e-thesis production and citation management will also be reviewed.

This workshop will be held on Thursday, 25th October, 4:00-5:30pm.

To register, or to see a list of all Expanding Horizons Workshops, go to http://www.queensu.ca/sgs/exphor/schedule.html

Single-use bottles of water are no longer available for sale or distribution on campus.  This includes all areas of university operations including food retail space, vending machines, catering, student-run events, athletic events and our commercial retail space. There are bottle filling stations located at:

• MacCorry cafeteria
• John Deutsch University Centre
• Stirling Hall
• Biosciences
• Dunning Hall
• Stauffer Library
• Engineering & Science Library

water bottle filling station at Stauffer Library

This session will provide graduate students and faculty with an introduction to RefWorks 2.0 bibliographic management software. Participants will have an opportunity for hands-on practice with importing and organizing references, creating bibliographies, and using the Write-n-Cite component of the software.

This course will be offered on two dates:

Thursday, October 11, 2012, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Register online.