Articles by author: Evelyn Smith

• Instructors encouraged to submit winter course readings now

  Monday, November 21, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Reserve request processing for the winter term is underway at Brock University Library.

  To ensure your students have access to their fall course materials, we encourage you to submit reading lists as soon as possible. 

  If you normally email your reading lists to reserve@brocku.ca, please ensure you note which LMS you will be using in the winter term: Brightspace or Sakai. 

  An instructor self-serve option is also available, providing flexibility to instructors who wish to do this work themselves. All self-submissions will get a final check for copyright compliance, and will then be active for students.

  Questions? reserve@brocku.ca

  Tags: Faculty, Services
  Categories: Main

• Brock collections from World Wars help Niagara remember

  Tuesday, November 08, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  This article written by Jocelyn Titone, Marketing and Communications Officer, was originally published in The Brock News.

  As Remembrance Day approaches, Brock University’s archival collections bring history to the forefront.

  The Brock University Library’s Archives and Special Collections houses some of the most unique and valuable records representing all aspects of Niagara’s history, including a wide range of historical items related to the First and Second World Wars.

  David Sharron, Head of Archives and Special Collections, said although each collection is significant in its own way, the records that cover the World Wars and other modern conflicts evoke a different reaction.

  “There is an immediate reverence for both the individuals who fought the battles and those who supported the war effort from home,” he said. “These records remind us of a time when people and organizations made sacrifices and pitched in to do their part. It was difficult and often tragic, but as a community, Niagara made it through.”

  Collection highlights include a letter from a father serving oversees to his young daughter; a trench helmet and rucksack used in the First World War; documents on the City of St. Catharines’ war preparations and measures; photographs of fundraising parades to support the war; oral histories from the Niagara Mennonite community; and postcards from a military training camp in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

  Sharron said with some of the wars happening so long ago, many of the people who experienced them are no longer alive to share their story.

  “Their history and voices held in these records help us remember,” he said. “It’s why we preserve them and make them available.”

  While many of the collections are digitized and available online for anyone to access, including the records Sharron curated below, there are millions of documents and artifacts housed in the physical archives.

  “The online collections are just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “There is always more to the story; a fuller history unfolds as you sift through a box of documents or flip through books from that era.”

  Brock University’s Archives and Special Collections is open to the Niagara community as well as Brock students and researchers. The public is invited to access the physical collections on the 10th floor of the James A. Gibson Library in Brock University’s Arthur Schmon Tower Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Writing ahead of a visit to archives@brocku.ca is recommended in case a class is occupying the space or the reading room is full. Vaccination and mask protocols are in effect.

  Digitized records related to the World Wars

  Arthur Albert Schmon
  Arthur Albert Schmon, one of Brock University’s founders and the Schmon Tower’s namesake, fought for the United States Army during the First World War before coming to live in St. Catharines.

  • Arthur A. Schmon fonds
  • Documents related to Schmon’s service during the First World War
  • “Van-Guard”: A World War I poem

  Laura de Turcynowicz (nee Blackwell)
  Laura de Turcynowicz was a famous opera singer from St. Catharines who married a Polish Count and was living in Poland when the First World War began. The Prussian Army occupied her home for several months before she escaped to the U.S. She wrote a book about her ordeal and raised money for the suffering people of Poland. In 1918, de Turcynowicz was instrumental in promoting the training and education of young American women of Polish descent to help with war relief efforts in Poland. The group became known as the Polish Grey Samaritans.

  • Laura Blackwell de Turczynowicz (Note the top menu headings that lead to more information)
  • Laura de Turczynowicz fonds

  Percy Carruthers Band
  Percy Carruthers Band was a decorated First World War soldier who earned the Military Cross with two bars and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. He was also the former caretaker of the Brock Library’s Woodruff and Post Office collections. Among other records in this collection are letters from his sweetheart Margaret Woodruff from St. Catharines, photographs, military documents, a trench helmet and rucksack from the First World War, and medals he received for courage and determination.

  • Percy Carruthers Band fonds

  Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff
  The Woodruff family of St. Catharines came to Canada from the U.S. in 1795. They were an integral part of the Village of St. Davids and played an active role in the battles fought in Upper Canada. Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff was killed in action during the First World War as a member of the 116th unit of the Queen’s Battalion of the Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).

  • Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff and the Woodruff family
  • Photo of the last time Woodruff saw his mother and a photo of his tombstone
  • Woodruff Series XIV — Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff (1894-1918)

  Niagara Camp
  Niagara Camp was a military training camp in Niagara-on-the-Lake that was used as a summer training grounds for infantry, cavalry and artillery. Postcards of Niagara Camp were common. This collection features postcards from the early years of the First World War.

  • Niagara Camp photos and postcards (Note the top menu headings that lead to more information)

  Orville James (Jimmy) Manson
  Orville James (Jimmy) Manson was an amateur photographer from Niagara who brought his camera with him while serving for the Canadian Navy during the Second World War.

  • Niagara through the lens of Orville (Jimmy) Manson (Note the top menu headings that lead to more information)
  • Orville (Jimmy) Manson family fonds

  Mennonites of Niagara
  Oral history interviews of members of the Mennonite community who came to Niagara from Europe after the upheavals of the First and Second World Wars.

  • Mennonites of Niagara: pioneers (sound recording)
  • Russian-Mennonite immigrants of the 1920’s (Niagara Peninsula) (sound recording)

  Interesting parts included in large, digitized collections:

  • The Red Cross parade and fundraising during the Second World War (Anne McPherson family fonds)
  • A letter from father at war to his daughter (Anne McPherson family fonds)
  • War efforts of the English Electric Company of St. Catharines
  • Women and men employed at English Electric Company during the Second World War
  • Lake Lodge School of Grimsby during the First World War
  • Niagara Parks’ School of Horticulture efforts and projects during the Second World War
  • Catharines Photo Album c. 1913-1919 — Includes photos of people in uniform and in training among everyday photos of life
  • Several documents related to Estelle Cuffe Hawley — an educator, businesswoman and politician who became the first woman alderman on St. Catharines City Council — including:
    • War letters from her brother Ted:
      • Ted Cuffe to his mother
      • Ted Cuffe to Estelle Cuffe
      • Postcard from Ted Cuffe to Estelle Cuffe
    • Cuffe Hawley’s reflections on the First World War
    • Cuffe Hawley’s discharge certificate from the Royal Air Force Civilian Subordinates

  Tags: Archives and Special Collections, Digital Exhibits, Our Collections
  Categories: Archives, Main

• It’s contest time!

  Tuesday, November 01, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  The Brock University Digital Scholarship Lab is hosting their annual data visualization contest for Brock students this month.

  Students can choose from one of four datasets provided on the content website. Visualizations will be judged on comprehension, insight, and aesthetics, and the winning entry will be chosen on December 1st.

  For more details, view the contest website.

  Categories: Digital Scholarship Lab, Main, MDGL

• Photography

  Tuesday, November 01, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Our November book displays (online and in print) are on the topic of photography – a complement to the very special photography exhibit in our Library and Learning Commons display cases. We’ve chosen to include a wide array of sub-topics including the uses of photography to call attention to environmental degradation, to tell the story of child labour, and to bring Victorian history to life. Alongside these socio-historical topics, the collection includes practical handbooks and technical guides for the budding photographer.

  Browse this photography collection online and in-person at our book display shelves next to the Ask Us desk.

  Tags: Our Collections, Virtual Book Display
  Categories: Featured Collections, Learning Commons

• Contribute to a delicious data visualization

  Friday, October 21, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  GIS Day events return in-person this year after a two-year hiatus. In addition to quizzes, learning and laughter, a key part of the annual tradition at Brock is a GIS Day cake.

  Submit one of your map creations (in JPEG format) to Sharon Janzen, Map Library Associate and Geospatial Data Coordinator, for a chance to have it featured on this year’s cake.

  Contribute your JPEG to sjanzen@brocku.ca by November 9, 2022.

  Tags: ArcGIS Pro, Events, Faculty, Graduate students, MDGL, Students
  Categories: Main, MDGL

• Employment opportunity: Collections Coordinator

  Wednesday, October 19, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Brock University Library invites applications for the full-time position of Collections Coordinator. The incumbent will provide support to the Library’s Collections Services department by maintaining the library catalogue and collections, as well as gathering statistics to assist with the ongoing evaluation of resources. This role also has a front-desk service component which involves in-depth research support at our Ask Us desk.

  Learn more about this exciting opportunity and apply by Thursday, November 3 at 12:01am.

  Tags: Employment opportunity
  Categories: Main

• Join our team as Data Services Librarian

  Monday, October 17, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Brock University Library invites applications for the full-time probationary position of Data Services Librarian from qualified candidates who will thrive in a dynamic, fluid and team-oriented environment.

  Reporting to the Head of the Research Lifecyle department, the successful candidate will provide a full range of data services and help support services offered in the Map, Data & GIS Library (MDGL).

  Learn more about this exciting opportunity and apply by November 28 at 12:01 am.

  Tags: Employment opportunity
  Categories: Main, MDGL

• Food and Cookery

  Monday, October 03, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  This month we invite you to work up an appetite and don your aprons. We have amassed a multi-disciplinary collection of books on food history, science and chemistry, culture, and cookery. Our print cookbooks feature cost-saving resources such as Budget Bytes, simple recipe collections like The Best 3-Ingredient Cookbook, and Indigenous recipes from the far North.

  In addition to the books in this Omni Collection, we recommend a closer look at the Food and Drink in History database. This primary source collection includes cookbooks, advertisements, and government documents. The collection is global in scope and covers the 16th to 21st centuries. Brock University has access to Module 1.

  Browse the October Omni collection now.

  Tags: Our Collections, Virtual Book Display
  Categories: Featured Collections, Learning Commons

• The Wellness Book Club returns with an in-person option this October

  Friday, September 23, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Registration for the Autumn Wellness Book Club is now open.  Reading fiction has so many benefits for emotional wellbeing, from reducing stress to better sleep!  This term, we will be reading Delia Owens’ 2021 novel Where the Crawdads Sing.   

  Described by the New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature,” the book was also a feature film this past summer.   

  The Book Club will be hosted by Liaison Librarian, Justine Cotton, who is passionate about sharing the positive impact of reading and discussing books.  You can contact her with any questions at jcotton@brocku.ca  

  Meetings will be held in-person in October (with an option to meet virtually, if preferred).  As a part of the Club, members may choose to participate in a research study on the benefits of reading “for fun” on stress levels in university students. 

  Sign up at: bit.ly/autumnbookclub22 

  Tags: Book Club, Events, Students, Wellness
  Categories: Learning Commons, Main

• Resources to learn about the impact of residential schools

  Friday, September 23, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  In acknowledgement of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we are highlighting a selection of books, ebooks and streaming video to help us learn more about the impact of residential schools. We invite you to browse online as well as in person at the print book display adjacent to the Ask Us desk in the Learning Commons. 

  Additionally, all are invited to drop in to Learning Commons Classroom B on Friday, September 30 for a day-long screening of Indigenous short films. We invite you to watch, listen, learn and reflect.

  Tags: Our Collections
  Categories: Featured Collections