Learning Commons

  • The Value of reading

    Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | By

    Book cover image from the book Yesteryear

    A recent New York Times article, “Books Everlasting,” highlights the many ways that reading happens in our modern world and the optimism of the CEO of both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones about the future of books and reading.

    Books are everywhere these days, from edgy film interpretations of classic novels like Wuthering Heights to the BookTok community on TikTok. For every article that laments the loss of reading skills, books appear to be more popular than ever.

    A new display on the value of reading in the Thistle corridor relates to two reading initiatives happening this month. First, the Wellness Book Club will have its first fall meeting on October 26 to discuss Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke. Students are invited to sign up on ExperienceBU.

    On Wednesday, October 21, there will be an online workshop to explore reading strategies for higher education. “Reading like a Scholar” is part of the Research Ready workshop series and is open to all students.

    Heller, N. (2026). Books Everlasting. New Yorker, 102(33), 52–63.

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  • Fall Pastimes

    Thursday, October 01, 2026 | By

    This month’s Matheson Learning Commons display cases present indoor and outdoor fall pursuits courtesy of the Library’s collection.

    For the outdoor enthusiast:
    Discover local conservation areas and plan your visit.  Since 2022, the Brock Library has partnered with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) to offer NaturePlus membership passes for 7-day loan.

    For the reader:
    Browse autumnal and classic titles available for loan and see an expanded list of fall fiction.

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  • Exhibits in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

    Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | By

    Brock Library thanks Syerra Jasmin, Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre Operations Supervisor for this blog post. Visit the exhibit in the Matheson Learning Commons and at the Thistle entrance until October 5.

    Members of the Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Metis and Inuit Student centre team have created library displays to highlight the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The displays contain various cultural objects, along with books about the Residential School System, and the Calls to Action. Books on display are available for check-out at the Phyllis Webstad library located in TH145.

    Supporting the exhibit is the James A. Gibson Library’s featured collection Reconciling the History of the Residential School System in Canada.

    On Wednesday, September 30 Hadiya’dagénhahs is hosting two Every Child Matters lacrosse games at Alumni Field, a women’s match at 4:30 p.m. followed by a men’s match at 7 p.m. Both games will include drummers, an opening address followed by a land acknowledgement and the raising of the Every Child Matters Flag on the field, and half-time performances.

     

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  • Welcome to Brock and the Library

    Tuesday, September 01, 2026 | By

    Welcome and welcome back!

    This month, library exhibit cases are brimming with information about services and resources for new and returning users.

    View the cases at the Thistle entrance to the Library to learn about our Teaching & Learning librarians and the services they provide such as one-on-one support, and in-person and online workshops. Find out about the services offered to support your work with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and discover a cool treasure from the Archives & Special Collections department.

    The Learning Commons display cases guide the viewer to all the library resources needed for a successful start to the term including the basics of Omni, how to request books from other libraries, room-booking, printing, finding course readings, and wellness resources for loan.

    Welcome to Brock and the Library runs until Friday, September 18.

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  • Brock to the world and the world to Brock, one book and pdf at a time

    Monday, July 06, 2026 | By

    In 2025 Brock Library’s Interlibrary Loan Team sent over 6,400 items from our collection to partner libraries across the province and around the world. In return, our users received 6,930 books and digital files to support their coursework, research, and teaching.

    A new exhibit in the Learning Commons highlights the global (and local) impact our dedicated staff make on a daily basis.  Among the details we’ve included, you can read what your colleagues have to say about this service, get answers to your frequently asked questions, and read the charming thank-you notes we receive from across the globe. The exhibit runs to the end of July.

    Learn more about borrowing from other libraries on the library website.

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  • On display: National Indigenous Histories Month

    Wednesday, June 03, 2026 | By

    Members of the Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre set up a display at the Thistle entrance of the Library highlighting First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures and histories. This display marks National Indigenous Histories Month, and Indigenous Peoples Awareness Week.

    The display includes a variety of items including Wampum belts; a drum and rattle; beaded gloves and moccasins; seal and rabbit pelts; various Métis sashes; Inuit embroidery and carvings, and a variety of other tools and handcrafted items.

    Members of the Brock University and wider community are invited to a week full of learning, reflection and crafting during Indigenous Peoples Awareness Week, hosted by the Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre beginning June 23rd. Students, staff, faculty and community members can visit brocku.universitytickets.com to see a full list of events and reserve their tickets now.

    Be sure to follow Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre on Instagram and Facebook to be the first to hear about events, news and updates.

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  • On display: the works of Howard Engel

    Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | By

    Canadian mystery author, Howard Engel

    In 2022, the Archives & Special Collections in the Brock University Library acquired the personal library of Canadian mystery writer Howard Engel. Engel was born in St. Catharines and many of his books are set in Grantham City, a fictional pseudonym for where he grew up.

    Howard Engel has been termed by some as the father of Canadian mystery. From 1980 to 2015, Engel wrote 21 books, including 14 featuring Detective Benny Cooperman, his most famous character. Engel is credited with bringing international legitimacy to Canadian mystery writing and was a founding member of Crime Writers of Canada, inspiring new writers to take on the craft.

    When we opened the boxes from his estate, we found working copies, first prints off the press, and many of Engel’s books in various languages from across the globe. On display are selections from this collection, along with more details about Howard Engel, including the medical condition that threatened to end his writing career.

    Howard Engel items available for loan from Brock University Library.

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  • On display: Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

    Thursday, April 30, 2026 | By

    A cardboard castle represents Germany in the Modern Languages, Literature, Cultures display

    “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”  ― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad.

    The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MLLC) welcomes you to browse through its latest exhibit in the Library and at the Thistle entrance to the Learning Commons. The display exemplifies the languages and unique cultures explored by students in our courses. May your curiosity be piqued! Perhaps some of the questions rooted in the history of these cultures will be raised by the materials on display.

    The exhibit runs from May 4 to 22, 2026.

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  • Exploring Law, Policy, and Migrant Justice

    Friday, April 10, 2026 | By

    Senior citizens holding banners protest in a public space

    Brock Library thanks Dorothy Sierra-Gutierrez, recent graduate, Teaching Assistant, and Researcher for this display and blog post. Visit Dorothy’s exhibit in the Matheson Learning Commons and at the Thistle entrance until May 1.

    This community display is named after my directed studies project, Exploring Law, Policy, and Migrant Justice, supervised by Dr. Julie Ham in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. This project examines the legal, social, and cultural dimensions of migrant farmworkers in Canada, with a focus on the Niagara Region. It emphasizes research ethics, reflexivity, and the student-researcher experience, guiding learners through the creation of a practical toolkit for ethical engagement, alongside recommendations for how Brock students can better recognize and support migrant workers in the region.

    What began as an academic interest quickly became something much more personal, grounded in lived experiences, community relationships, and a deeper understanding of how essential yet underrepresented migrant workers are in Canada.

    Through my studies, it became clear that migrant farmworkers play a critical role in sustaining our food systems. Across Canada, many workers from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America labour in agriculture through programs such as the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). In regions like Niagara, their contributions include planting, harvesting, and pruning in agricultural sectors such as wineries. Yet despite their essential role, many face precarious working and living conditions, limited access to healthcare, and systemic barriers tied to their temporary immigration status.

    My interest in this topic deepened through my involvement with the Migrant Farmworkers Project in Niagara. While volunteering at the community hub, I supported the distribution of food, clothing, and hygiene products, and connected with workers in Spanish. These experiences allowed me to better understand the needs of migrant workers in the region, as well as the important role that local organizations and community partners play in supporting them.

    Through this directed studies project, I wanted to create something that was not only academic, but also accessible and practical. The result is an annotated bibliography and a Migrant Farmworker Justice Toolkit, now featured as part of the Brock University Library display. The annotated bibliography reviews key literature on migrant issues and policy developments, while also including prompts to encourage deeper student engagement. The Justice Toolkit brings together research, community knowledge, and practical resources to help students learn about migrant workers’ experiences and the broader systems that shape them.

    The toolkit explores key questions: Who are migrant farmworkers in the Niagara context? What challenges do they face? How can student researchers ethically engage with and learn from migrant communities? It also highlights local organizations and initiatives that support migrant workers. Importantly, the project centers both academic research and experiential knowledge, recognizing that meaningful understanding requires listening to those directly affected.

    One of my main goals was to challenge dominant narratives that portray migrant workers solely as vulnerable or passive. While vulnerability is an important part of the conversation, it is equally necessary to recognize migrant workers’ resilience, agency, and contributions. This project aims to move beyond simplified narratives and instead offer a more nuanced and humanizing perspective.

    Creating this toolkit also pushed me to reflect critically on my own role as a researcher. How do we engage ethically with communities? How can research be mobilized in ways that extend beyond the classroom? These questions shaped both the content of the project and its presentation in this display, designed to invite reflection, learning, and action.

    By sharing this work, I hope to contribute to a broader understanding of migrant justice and encourage others to think more critically about the systems that shape our agricultural food systems and immigration policies.

    If you have the chance, I invite you to visit the display, engage with the toolkit and annotated bibliography, and reflect on how Brock University, as an institution, can contribute to advancing migrant justice in the Niagara Region.

    Bio:
    Brock University Teaching Assistant, Dorothy Sierra-Gutierrez    Dorothy Sierra-Gutierrez

    Teaching Assistant
    NCLC Board Member
    Brock University
    Undergraduate Sociology (Honours) Co-op
    Concentration in Criminology
    Double Minors in French Studies and Women and Gender Studies

     

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  • Student Exhibit: Notions of Niagara

    Tuesday, March 17, 2026 | By

    This is a one dollar bank note from the unincorporated joint-stock Niagara Suspension Bridge Bank dated 1 July 1841. They issued bills in $1, $3, $5, $10, and $20 denominations. The pay on demand note is made out to C. Noble and it is signed by the bank’s President Joseph Hamilton and Cashier Gilbert McMicken. The Bank opened in 1836 and closed in 1841 amid a major recession. $62,384 in bills were in circulation at the time of closure.

    Brock Library thanks Dr. Keri Cronin and the students of HAVC 2P90 for this exhibit and blog post.  

    Notions of Niagara, a new exhibit in the Library and at the Thistle entrance to the Matheson Learning Commons, features a selection of items from Brock’s Archives & Special Collections chosen by Visual Arts students in HAVC 2P90 (19th Century Visual Culture).

    Each student selected an item from the collection to research for this exhibit. The selection of objects and images in this exhibit present a range of ways to think about the histories of Niagara. There are images relating to public spectacles (e.g. images of daredevils and “stunters”), items drawn from daily life (e.g. a bank note, a placecard used for a dinner party), and objects that give us a glimpse of the private lives of people who once lived here (e.g. photo albums, miniature portraits, and a collection of lockets of hair). Taken together, these items speak to the dynamism of this region’s histories and the ways that visual culture can help us explore these stories.

    You can learn more about this exhibit at the following website: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/notionsofniagara/

    Notions of Niagara will be on display until April 2nd.

    Categories: Archives, Learning Commons, Main

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