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  • Meet the Teaching & Learning department

    Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | By

    Brock University Teaching and Learning Librarians

    With the fall term approaching, we invite faculty and instructors to reach out to our department to learn more about how we can help your students develop the skills and confidence to navigate an increasingly complex information landscape. Our approach is informed by our Information Literacy Curriculum, and is focused on developing critical thinking skills and a passion for lifelong learning.

    We work as a team to offer:

    Information Literacy Workshops (course-specific and standalone)
    LIB101: Library & Research Foundations (our popular tutorial, available within Brightspace)
    Research Consultations for upper-year and graduate students
    Discipline and Course-specific Research Guides

    Find out more by reaching out to our team members – we look forward to connecting this year!

    Justine Cotton, Acting Department Head
    Nadia Al Hashemi, Math and Science, Applied Health Sciences
    Kymberly Ash, Business & Education
    Vanja Stojanovic, Learning Strategies
    TBD, Humanities & Social Sciences (please contact Justine Cotton)

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  • New Course Readings Platform is LIVE!

    Wednesday, August 06, 2025 | By

    Calling all Instructors! The new Library Course Readings Management platform, Leganto, is now live across Brightspace!

    Leganto is fully integrated with Omni (the library catalogue). This allows easy discovery and access to library materials and functions as a one-stop tool to bring together any and all course texts into one place.

    Find Leganto under the ‘Course Tools’ menu in Brightspace.

     

    Is your Fall reading list ready? You can send us your reading list directly through Brightspace! And our team will let you know when it’s ready!  We also have this handy how-to guide to help get you started!
    send your list to the libraryOr explore new options for developing your list yourself! You can reuse an existing course reading list from a course previously supported through the Ares platform, or create a brand new list from scratch!

    Want to learn more? Watch this video for an overview of Leganto and how it can support course planning.

    If you have any questions about Leganto or the Library Course Readings Service, please reach out to [email protected].

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  • Library Course Readings service is getting an upgrade!   

    Wednesday, July 02, 2025 | By

    ExLibris Leganto corporate logo

    Starting this Fall, we’re moving to a new platform: Leganto.

    What’s new?

    While library staff will still be able to upload and link to course materials in Brightspace, Leganto also allows instructors to build and manage reading lists, engage students, and easily update and reuse content.

    With Leganto, instructors can:

    • Build course resource lists independently or collaborate with others
    • Add any kind of content, including print or electronic Library resources, streaming video, websites, textbooks, journals, OER, and more
    • Allow students to easily access course resource lists in Brightspace
    • Structure lists with weekly, monthly or topic-based sections
    • Easily roll over course resource lists from term to term, adjusting as needed

    Want a sneak peek?

    We’re still configuring things behind the scenes, but you can watch this video for an overview of Leganto and how it can support course planning.

    Is your Fall reading list ready?

    Early submissions will give us the time we need to get everything set up smoothly while we navigate this new system together.

    If you have any questions about Leganto, please reach out to [email protected].

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  • Breaking down barriers through learning: accessibility in higher education

    Tuesday, May 27, 2025 | By

    Symbols for closed captioning, listening, braille and vision represent the concept of accessibility

    Brock Library thanks Mark Castrodale, Student Accessibility Case Manager in the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre for this exhibit and blog post. Visit the display in the Matheson Learning Commons until June 27. A featured collection of supporting literature is available through Omni.

    Access to education is a fundamental right for all persons. “Access is not just a word that indicates a lack of inclusion; it is also a way of perceiving, talking, and acting…As a perception, as talk and conduct, as a form of consciousness, access leads us to ask how access can be an interpretive move that puts people into different kinds of relations with their surroundings. Anything said about access can be read for how it reflects a host of questions: Who has access? Access to where? Access to what? When?” (Titchkosky, 2011, p.13). As such, access to higher education represents a collective responsibility, and ethical imperative. Considering issues of access can enhance the quality of education, deepen curriculum and pedagogy, and open paths for often marginalized persons to meaningfully participate and engage in teaching and learning opportunities. While there are advisable practices to improving access, accessibility in higher education represents an ongoing process, and a shared journey.

    Reference:
    Titchkosky, T. (2011). The Question of Access: Disability, Space, Meaning. U of Toronto Press.

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    Categories: Learning Commons, Main

  • Join our team as a Library Assistant, Acquisitions

    Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | By

    Icon of a person inside a magnifying gl

    Brock Library is currently recruiting a Library Assistant for the Acquisitions department.

    In this role you will:

    • support the acquisitions process for all digital media, as well as print and electronic monograph resources,
    • complete financial processes,
    • coordinate and process all donations, and
    • provide operational support for the department.

    You have:

    • a Bachelor’s degree, and
    • a minimum of two (2) years working in procurement for an academic, special, or public library.

    Learn more about this role and apply by May 21, 2025.

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  • Join our team as a Teaching & Learning Librarian

    Monday, May 12, 2025 | By

    Icon of a person inside a magnifying gl

    Brock University Library invites applications for the full-time, 18-month limited term appointment position of Teaching & Learning Librarian, Social Sciences and Humanities.

    You will support the teaching & learning mission of the Library by:

    • delivering in-person and online instruction
    • providing consultations to students and faculty
    • providing leadership for instruction and course support to programs within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

    Learn more about this position and required qualifications, and apply by June 8, 2025 (12:01 am)

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  • Big changes coming to the Map, Data & GIS Library this spring

    Friday, April 11, 2025 | By

    Text reading By appointment Only overlays an old map. A stylized badger, reminiscent of Boomer adorns one corner

    Starting April 28, 2025, the Map, Data & GIS Library will be shifting to a by-appointment-only service model. This means that if you need access to our collections or staff expertise, you’ll need to book an appointment in advance by emailing [email protected].

    This new model will be in place throughout the next academic year and will be reassessed for the Fall 2026. Our goal is to provide more personalized support while ensuring that we continue to meet the needs of our users effectively.

    If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out – we’re here to help!

    Contact us: [email protected]

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  • Exhibit: The Body is Home: In Motion

    Friday, April 04, 2025 | By

    Women stretch their bodies in preparation for a run.

    Brock Library thanks Asha Edwin, Research Assistant at the IDEAS Research Lab, and PhD student in Applied Health Sciences for this exhibit and blog post. Visit Asha’s display in the Matheson Learning Commons until May 9.

    The Body is Home Initiative explores the feeling of being at home in our bodies through movement and community. Through this project, we reflect on how we perceive ourselves through movement, how various sports and spaces impact our identity and how we cultivate and strengthen our communities through movement and sport.

    The exhibition includes photography by two Black women photographers, Chrris Lowe and Britney Holung. The photography captures visual representations of Black women runners in Toronto as counter-narratives to Black women’s representations and experiences. The research and photography took place over the summer and fall of 2024, documenting the women’s running journeys.

    The exhibit also has an interactive component where observers can participate in individual and collective imaginings of healing, health and wellness. We are currently only accepting online submissions at this time. To participate, please can scan the QR code at the end of the exhibition or use this form to submit a response online.

    Ryan Antooa, Creative Director at Form, designed the initiative’s branding.

    Project I – Run to You
    The Body is Home’s first project with Hill Run Club followed the experiences of 15 Black women runners in Toronto. Two creatives worked on the project to visually capture and represent the women’s unique stories.

    IDEAS Research Lab Project
    The Body is Home Initiative is a project facilitated by Dr. Janelle Joseph’s IDEAS Research Lab.

    Exhibition Curator
    As creator of the Body is Home, Asha Edwin started it as a passion project based on her experience with movement and community. Wellness has always been a prioritized practice for Asha, and her experiences as a yoga teacher and runner allowed her to develop a deeper and more intimate connection with herself and, through her work, others. Yearning to learn more about what it means to be at home in our bodies and how movement and community impact herself and others, she birthed the Body is Home. Since its inception, the Body is Home has evolved into a research initiative focusing on the experiences of Black, racialized and marginalized groups and their experiences in reimagining healing, health and wellness.

    Asha Edwin is an interdisciplinary Black Feminist researcher. She is currently a student and research assistant at the IDEAS Research Lab, where her work primarily focuses on Black women’s wellness. Asha is passionate about community engagement and individual and collective well-being. She is a twice-certified yoga teacher with additional somatics training and enjoys music, culture, travel and art.

     

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  • Exhibit: Community Organizing 101

    Friday, April 04, 2025 | By

    People protest on a city street as part of the Black Lives Matter movement

    Brock Library thanks Dorothy Sierra-Gutierrez, Social Issues Researcher at Future Black Female, and fourth-year Sociology student for this display and blog post. Visit Dorothy’s exhibit at the Thistle entrance to the Matheson Learning Commons until May 9.

    Discovering the Heart of Organizing

    When I first heard the phrase “community organizing,” I wasn’t quite sure what it meant. I was completely unaware of the key foundations of labour studies and organizing. That changed when I took LABR 4P21: Social Justice Organizing instructed by Dr. Simon Black, that introduced me to the history and important work that is organizing.

    My introduction to organizing was both academic and personal. Through course readings, discussions, and reflections, I came to understand that community organizing is about building collective power to address systemic injustices. It’s about shifting from isolated frustration to strategic, people-powered change. Referencing the work of Marshall Ganz, organizing isn’t just about leading others—it’s about helping communities recognize the power they already have.

    Ganz’s concept of the “public narrative” resonated with me deeply. He encourages organizers to share their “story of self, story of us, and story of now.” This structure helped me articulate why I care about justice, connect with others over shared values, and envision how change can happen in the present. It’s a tool that turns personal experience into collective action—and it became a core inspiration for my project.

    What I Learned in the Classroom

    The class offered a strong foundation in both theory and practice. We explored frameworks from Progressive Community Organizing by Lori Pyles (2009), which emphasized the importance of intersectionality, long-term community commitment, and disrupting systems of oppression. Pyles explained that community can be built through shared identities or shared goals, but either way, the goal is the same: to dismantle oppressive power structures and uplift the voices of those most affected by them.

    We also examined key concepts of power through the work of scholars like Frances Fox Piven and Joan Kuyek. Piven’s theory of “disruptive power” was especially important to me—it reframes power not as something that’s held by the elite, but as something ordinary people can wield through collective action. Kuyek, meanwhile, introduced the distinctions between “power-over” and “power-with.” These terms helped me understand how organizing should always center empowerment and solidarity rather than hierarchy.

    Intersectionality at the Center

    A critical theme in my work is intersectionality—the idea that systems of oppression overlap, and that we need to address racism, sexism, colonialism, and other forces together. The Combahee River Collective Statement (1977) shaped my thinking here. Their Black feminist perspective emphasizes that liberation must be inclusive and that movements must be built by and for those most impacted by injustice. This intersectional lens isn’t just a framework—it’s a commitment to justice that informed every page of my booklet.

    Visit My Display!

    For my final project, I created a photo booklet that explores community organizing through an intersectional lens, using visuals and text to highlight key theories and practices I engaged with during the course. The photographs—shot on 35mm film—were taken during a Black Lives Matter protest, capturing moments of resistance, solidarity, and collective action. The project was a way to combine my academic learning with creative expression, and to document a powerful moment in the fight for racial justice.

    If you’re at Brock, I invite you to visit my display at the Brock University Library and engage with the materials I’ve curated. Whether you’re new to organizing or already involved in social justice work, I hope it offers you new insights and inspiration. As Jane McAlevey (2016) and Astra Taylor (2016) argue, we must move beyond performative activism and into the slow, meaningful work of building movements from the ground up!

    Community organizing is not just an academic topic—it’s a way of building the world we want to live in.

     

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  • Annual GIS scholarship returns to Brock

    Monday, March 24, 2025 | By

    Digital map showing locations of long-term care homes in Niagara

    Attention all Brock GIS users! It’s time for the annual Esri GIS Scholarship Competition. Eligible students (current students from undergrad to grad) can submit a ~500 word ESRI GIS project proposal with their resume to [email protected] by April 21st at 11:59 PM.

    Geographic Information Systems is mapping and analysis software. Esri is the industry standard for GIS across all sectors. GIS is used at Brock in Health Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, History, Literature & Language, Political Science, Earth Sciences, Recreation and Leisure Studies and Geography/Tourism.

    The deliverables for the successful candidate will include a poster and report in the form of an Esri StoryMap due by June 1, 2025. Prizes include $1,500 cash, software access, books, networking opportunities and more!

    Details: https://scholars.esri.ca/profile/?uid=Brock%20University
    Student FAQ: https://scholars.esri.ca/students/faq-students/

    Submissions and questions should be directed to Sharon Janzen, [email protected] in the Map, Data & GIS Library, MC-C306

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