In a new blog series created by Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC), archivists, librarians and library staff share items from their personal collections of documents, books and ephemera. Show and Tell: Selections from our Personal Archives and Libraries is a journey through heirloom recipe books, salvaged wallpaper, childhood sketches, World War II diaries, and many more items of deeply personal significance. The stories are by turns entertaining, compelling and nostalgic in a way that makes you want to settle in with a mug of tea to hear more.

The series takes its inspiration from “Museum of Me: Stories From Our Homes,” an initiative created by the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) in June 2020, in which MOA staff took snapshots of objects, photos and artworks from around their own homes to pair with thoughtful captions describing the item’s personal significance.

UBC Library Archivist Krisztina Laszlo thought MOA’s concept, which she described as “brilliant,” would translate well to a personal library and archival setting. “In the early months of the pandemic and with the uncertainly surrounding what was happening, I felt it was a good way for those who wanted to participate to reflect on what was meaningful and significant to them at a time when we felt adrift. It was a way to ground us and remind us of what was truly important.”

With seven instalments and counting, the Show and Tell series is an ongoing project, with contributions from Jacky Lai, Chelsea Shriver, Hiller Goodspeed, Claire Williams, Barbara Towell, Krisztina Laszlo, Stephanie Plumb, Weiyan Yan, Natalie Trapuzzano, Eleanore Wellwood, and Dr. Susan E. Parker. The first few instalments, published in June, capture stories from the RBSC team, but expanded over the summer to include voices from other Library teams.

Those interested in contributing their own entries can contact Krisztina Laszlo (krisztina.laszlo@ubc.ca) as the series aims to expand further. “We’ll keep adding instalments as long as we keep getting submissions.”

Read the full series on the RBSC website.

On 14 December 2012, the annual BCLA ALPS December meeting was held at the Langara College campus. The panel speakers represented their academic institutions – Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia, Vancouver (both located in the Greater Vancouver area) and the University of British Columbia, Okanagan (situated in the Kelowna southern interior area) in British Columbia.

One theme focused on two main areas academic libraries are currently facing – library service reviews and assessment. The library service reviews’ discussion drew attention to the trends, challenges, opportunities and implementation solutions that are changing the academic library landscape. The other theme highlighted was UBC Library’s Strategic Plan 2010-2012 and how one of its core goals is to enhance student learning by “deliver(ing) a responsive, integrated program of services and create(ing) exceptional learning and research environments” as it relates to assessment practice and implementation in academic libraries.

Without further ado, we are pleased to announce that the videorecording and slide presentations are now available in cIRcle, UBC’s Digital Repository!

Title: Academic Librarians in Public Service (ALPS) December Meeting 2012 [videorecording]

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43866  – Click on “View/Open” to view and/or download the videorecording and accompanying slide presentations.

Did You Know?

UBC Library subject and reference liaison librarians received two distinguished BCLA ALPS awards – one in 2009 and the other in 2010. Read more about these accolades seen at: http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/12/09/ubc-this-week-50/ and also at: http://about.library.ubc.ca/2010/12/07/ubc-library-excels-at-alps-link-awards/. For other UBC Library events and presentations, be sure to visit cIRcle, UBC’s Digital Repository at: https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/81 or the cIRcle homepage at: https://circle.ubc.ca and click on ‘Library’ under “Who’s contributing to cIRcle?”

Assessing and incorporating teaching and learning resources by and about First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples is critical for librarians, educators and parents. Awareness of diverse epistemologies, notions of cultural authenticity and historical accuracy, and the influence of colonialism, are essential when considering books, films and interactive media for library and classroom collections. This panel will address challenges facing Indigenous and non-Indigenous librarians, educators and parents when drawing upon materials representing Indigenous peoples and cultures. They will offer insights about such issues as cultural appropriation, stereotypes, addressing colonialism and what to do with dated resources. This session is ideal for teacher candidates, classroom teachers, teacher-librarians, youth librarians and parents.

Convener: Jo-Anne Naslund, UBC Education Library
Moderator: Lisa P. Nathan, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the First Nations Curriculum Concentration, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
Panelists: Debra Martel, Associate Director, First Nations House of Learning;
Allison Taylor-McBryde, Adjunct Professor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies.

About the Speakers

Jo-Anne Naslund is the Instructional Programs Librarian at the Education Library at the University of British Columbia. Her subject specialties are in Canadian children’s literature, children’s literature, and education.

Lisa P. Nathan is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. She is also currently serving as the Coordinator for the school’s First Nations Curriculum Concentration. For more information about Professor Nathan, please visit: http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/lnathan/

Debra Martel is the Associate Director of the UBC First Nations House of Learning. Debra has dedicated over 22 years working in the public K-12 school system in a variety of teaching and administrative positions before joining UBC in August, 2011. She is passionate in her work and strives to create learning environments that are both inclusive and rewarding.  She is proud of her Cree, Metis, Irish and Scottish ancestry.

Allison Taylor-McBryde is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia. She is also Coordinator for Children’s & Young Adult Services at the North Vancouver District Public Library.

Select Articles Available at UBC

Naslund, J.A. (2010). Celebrate Science Fundraiser for CCBC. Canadian Children’s Book News. 33(3). p. 6. [Link]

Naslund, J.A. (2010). Inuit Publisher. Canadian Children’s Book News. 33(3). p. 6 [Link]

Nathan, L.P. (2012). Sustainable Information Practice: An Ethnographic Investigation. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 63(11). pp. 2254-2268. [Link]

Hourcade, J.; Bullock-Rest, N.; Jayatilaka, L.; Nathan, L. (2012). HCI for Peace: Beyond Tie Dye. Interactions. 19(5). pp. 40-47. [Link]

Taylor-McBryde, A. (2011, April). Poetry and Pictures Capture Imagination. North Shore News. p. 21. [Link]

Taylor-McBryde, A. (2011, Feb. 16). Librarians Share the Love. North Shore News. p. 20. [Link]

UBC Research Guides

Aboriginal Studies

Indigenous Librarianship

Library, Archival, and Information Science

SSRN.com President Gregg Gordon sees building learning communities as a core mission of libraries today. In his blog, Gregg says, “Librarians have a wealth of knowledge and specifically know:
• How to research & evaluate content
• How to use different resources for different purposes
• How to determine validity and appropriation
• How to think critically.”

Rather than making libraries irrelevant, the overabundance of information today makes it more important than ever for students to access the skills and knowledge of librarians to learn to manage information – both to save time and to acquire the best information available.

Together with library collections and services, library space is a key core mission. Libraries today are hubs for a variety of uses, from teamwork and collaboration to building a sense of shared mission among users. The Canaccord Learning Commons, currently under construction at Sauder School, is a good example of how we are expanding the notion of the library beyond its traditional borders – incorporating new technologies and innovative physical spaces.

Thanks to Lindsay Ure for pointing out Gregg’s blog.