Queen's University - Utility Bar

Queen's University Library

Queen's University Library

Library News 2015

Thank you to Seymour Schulich and Principal Daniel Woolf for a most generous gift

Posted: December 18th, 2015

We are thrilled to announce a joint gift of rare books dating back to the 16th century that will make up The Schulich-Woolf Rare Book Collection at Queen’s University Library.

Seymour Schulich, one of Canada’s foremost philanthropists, has partnered with Queen’s Principal Daniel Woolf to make a donation of rare volumes. In addition to this, Mr. Schulich has made a $1-million gift to help the library preserve and expand the collection.

“We are honoured to receive these gifts from Mr. Schulich, Principal Woolf and the Schulich Foundation. We are fortunate at Queen’s to have strong special collections, and this donation raises them to a new level” says Martha Whitehead, Vice-Provost and University Librarian.

These treasured works will enhance research, teaching, and learning, both at Queen’s and within our academic community. Queen’s Library staff members are currently preparing the collection and intend to offer the public access to the volumes in spring 2016.

For more information on this exciting gift, please see the article in the Queen’s Gazette.

To view the rich and diverse materials currently held in our Special collections, please see: http://library.queensu.ca/webmus/index.htm

Philanthropist, principal establish rare book collection

Posted: December 18th, 2015
New rare book collection

New rare book collection

Read more about this generous gift here

A Dickensian Holiday, Dec. 16 – Jan 4, 2016

Posted: December 17th, 2015

A Christmas Carol is arguably Charles Dickens best Christmas story, but he wrote several other Christmas stories including two more novellas: The Chimes and A Cricket by the Hearth. Dickens’ other Christmas stories appeared in his literary magazine Household Words. On display we have few early editions of Dickens’ novellas, a first edition of A Christmas Carol, and some finely illustrated 20th century editions. These works are all part of our larger Dickens Collection which contains over 700 volumes.

dickens

Curated by Jillian Sparks, W.D. Jordan Special Collections and Music Library

2015 Principal’s Teaching and Learning Awards

Posted: December 14th, 2015

The inaugural winners of the Principal’s Teaching and Learning Awards were announced today, and we congratulate all recipients, including the winner of the library sponsored award, and two members of our staff who were recognized by an award.

Library staff members, Suzanne Maranda and Sandra Halliday received The Curriculum Development Award, sponsored by Centre for Teaching and Learning. With fellow team members, Dr. Heather Murray, Department of Emergency Medicine; Dr. Melanie Walker, Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology; Dr. Linda Levesque, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research; and Ms. Sheila Pinchin, School of Medicine, they developed a new curriculum for the Undergraduate School of Medicine’s M.D. program. Working alongside students and researchers, the team developed an innovative new curricular plan for the four-year program, introducing students to evidence-based medicine and research.

The library sponsored and co-ordinated award, The Promoting Student Inquiry Teaching Award recognized Dr. Gabor Fichtinger, of the School of Computing. Dr. Fichtinger teaches his students the rigors of scientific inquiry, encouraging students at all levels to conduct research in his laboratory. Over the past six years, undergraduate students under Dr. Fichtinger’s supervision has authored and co-authored over 50 refereed research publications.

For a complete list of award winners, please see the Queen’s Gazette.

December 10: Nobel Prize Ceremony

Posted: December 9th, 2015

Nobel Prize Ceremony

Please join us as we honour Professor Emeritus Arthur McDonald as he receives the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on neutrinos at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. Dr. McDonald and his fellow Nobel laureates will formally receive their Nobel Prizes from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in a ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall.

The Office of the Vice-Principal (Research) is hosting a special celebration and viewing party in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy for the 2015 Nobel Prize ceremony in Stirling Hall (Theatre D), starting at 10:30 am EST.

For those unable to make it to Stirling, we will also be broadcasting the live streaming of the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Speaker’s Corner at Stauffer Library.

January 16, 2016: Poster ACTION. A Poster Making Workshop led by Mary Tremonte

Posted: December 9th, 2015

poster making

Conference Board of Canada’s report on career prospects for PhDs now available

Posted: December 9th, 2015

Inside and Outside the Academy: Valuing and Preparing PhDs for Careers
The Conference Board of Canada, 131 pages, November 24, 2015
A report by Jessica Edge, Daniel Munro
A PhD is a prerequisite for an academic career, but fewer than 20 per cent of Canada’s PhDs are employed as full-time university professors. The majority of PhDs are employed in a wide range of rewarding careers outside academia. This report examines the employment opportunities and outcomes of PhD holders both inside and outside academia. It characterizes the challenges that some PhD graduates face when transitioning to careers beyond post-secondary education, as well as the state of demand and receptor capacity for PhDs among Canada’s employers.

For the full report, access the Conference Board of Canada e-Library.

Stress-relief activities for exams

Posted: December 8th, 2015

Each December we see many students putting in long hours here at the library. We know how hectic this time of year can be for you, and so the library and Queen’s Learning Commons (QLC) are hosting stress relief activities in all library locations during the exam period. We hope you will join us on Tuesday December 15 at 10:30 for a Hot Chocolate break!  You are invited to enjoy hot chocolate at the library location of your  choice: Stauffer, Douglas, Bracken, Law or Education library.

Be sure to check out our other fun activities, such as:

  • Stauffer Library, room 121: Stress-relief activities, including large colouring posters, a puzzle, and healthy snacks.
  • Bracken Library, main floor: A bookmas tree! There will also be a table with craft supplies for students to make a decoration to place on the tree or to take home. Other activities include a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle, and a doodle pad for drawing or writing. On December 8 there will be food for students to enjoy.
  • Law Library: Healthy snacks
  • Engineering and Science Library: A stress-relief coffee break on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 8th.

We know you have been studying hard, and hope you will join us for a break.

The Alma Mater Society will also be hosting 12 days of Exam De-stressors. For more information, please see: https://www.facebook.com/queensams/

2015 Staff Recognition Awards

Posted: December 7th, 2015

We are pleased to announce that Kimberley Bell, Services Coordinator at W.D. Jordan Special Collections and Music Library, has been selected to receive one of eight annual Queen’s University Staff Recognition awards. Kim will receive her award from Principal Daniel Woolf at the Principal’s Holiday Reception on December 8, 2015.

Congratulations Kim!

From Student to Scholar: New online learning initiative prepares students to be researchers

Posted: December 3rd, 2015

Western University, the University of Toronto, and Queen’s University are pleased to announce the release of Student2Scholar, a series of 10 self-paced, interactive, openly available online modules designed for graduate students in the social sciences.

Modules will help students develop their critical thinking, organization, research, and communication skills, enabling them to participate more actively and confidently in their communities of research. The learning experience is intended to be flexible: students may complete the entire series or most relevant modules and activities at point of need. Module design is closely aligned with the Association of College & Research Libraries’Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance  Graduate Degree Level Expectations.

Visit Student2Scholar, or  eCampus Contario in the coming weeks. All content has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Production of the modules was funded in 2014-2015 by the Council of Ontario Universities’ Ontario Online Initiatives Shared Online Course Fund. University of Toronto Chief Librarian Larry Alford expressed his thanks for the funding, “We are grateful to the Council of Ontario Universities’ Ontario Online Initiatives for the funding of this project.” He then praised the project saying,  “The Student2Scholar online learning modules are a great example of the kind of scalable and sustainable instruction tools that libraries are building to support teaching and learning. Student2Scholar will be able to reach more students than is possible with in-person library instruction.”

Dr. Cory Laverty, Teaching & Learning Specialist at Queen’s University commented, “Student2Scholar is a wonderful example of cross-institutional creation and collaboration. The team evolved as a community of practice and this invigorated our efforts and enabled us to meet our challenges.” The  full list of Student2Scholar team members and contributors is available on the Student2Scholar website.

« Previous Entries