Students: Help Us Improve the Textbook Reserve Service

The UAlberta Libraries want to learn more about your experience with course textbooks overall as well as learning about how (and if) you use the Libraries' textbook reserve service. We are looking for undergraduate students to participate in an interview with a librarian.

We expect that the interview would take no more than 45 min. Information gathered during these interviews will be used to improve and develop the textbook reserve service.

By participating in this study, you will receive $20 in ONECard cash.

To apply, please complete this form and you will be contacted if selected. Application deadline is January 31, 2018.

Application form: https://goo.gl/forms/h1k0WzMa6NJqI6WA3

Questions about this project can be directed to Angie Mandeville at afm1@ualberta.ca.

Making Sense of Immigration and Migration Around the World

• Canada

Cover photo: Viergemene Toussaint and her family, Parc Cadeau 2, April 2016. Viergemene was deported from the Dominican Republic despite having registered under the regularization plan. Her husband and eight children, all born in the Dominican Republic, followed her in Haiti a few days later. © Amnesty International

• The United States
• Mexico
• The European Union
• Haiti
• Korea
• Syria
• African nations such as Angola, Botswana, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania.

The Dogs and Cats are Back!

Percy, Gus, and the rest of the gang are back to brighten the dark days of winter. Once again, uAlberta Libraries and CAAWLS are partnering to bring Dogs in the Library and Cats in the Library to North Campus libraries throughout the winter term. Here’s where and when you can get some canine or kitty cuddles.

	Dogs in the Library Coutts Library: January 24, 12:00pm Rutherford Library: January 31, 2:00pm Rutherford Library: February 9, 2:00pm  Cameron Library: February 15, 12:00pm Coutts Library: February 27, 12:00pm Scott Library: March 1, 12:30pm Cameron Library: March 2, 12:00pm Rutherford Library: March 8, 2:00pm Scott Library: March 15, 12:30pm Coutts Library: March 22, 12:00pm Rutherford Library: April 5, 2:00pm Cameron Library: April 11, 12:00pm Scott Library: April 19, 12:30pm
	Cats in the Library Cameron Library: February 13, 12:30pm Cameron Library: March 27, 12:30pm

Interlibrary Loan Survey

The University of Alberta Libraries is conducting an online survey regarding our Interlibrary Loan Services, and we would love to hear from you!

All University of Alberta students, faculty and staff are invited to respond to this survey - regardless of any previous experience with using Interlibrary Loans.

Your feedback will give us valuable insight into how our services can be improved, as well as address any concerns that users currently have while requesting Interlibrary Loan material. The survey will remain open until February 7, 2018.

To complete this survey, please follow the link below:

https://libraryualberta.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9KRgDT4IwLrtkLb

If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Victoria Wong at vlwong@ualberta.ca, or at 780-492-7905.

Making Meaning Through Metadata: Are We Being Culturally Appropriate?

Metadata… that’s a scary word, isn’t it?



































It’s information about a material within the library. This can be anything from the title of a work to how many pages it has (which is especially important if you have a book review due in 3 hours).

Metadata seems innocent at first glance, but it can be very slippery. Look again at the image above. Do you see the “Subjects”? Here’s a blown-up view:


Subject Headings are used to connect similar resources together. These headings are actually created by a larger group of librarians within North America called Library of Congress (LOC). The purpose of LOC and other classification schemes is to make sure that all our libraries are speaking the same language by creating a controlled vocabulary so that students, faculty, and staff can travel from one University to the next and still be able to search. Plus, sharing this information makes it easy for us too -- we don’t have to create new catalogue records from scratch!

Now that you know that Subject Headings are, you may see some holes in the system. One of the biggest problems with this system is that changing it is a slow process. Language is changing so quickly everyday, that it’s tough to keep up!

At this point, we’re no longer making excuses.

With reconciliation in the air, we are asking ourselves whether or not we are appropriately and responsibly describing certain items in the library. Looking at our subject headings for Indigenous material, it’s clear that we have some work to do -- but we can’t do it alone.