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What’s new 2022?

Friday, January 07, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

Welcome to the Winter 2022 term. Your library has the people and resources you can count on for academic success.

With classes running online this month, library hours and services have been adjusted. Read about the changes and keep up-to-date by monitoring the Library Resources and Services Amid COVID-19 page.

Have you made resolutions to try something new or, perhaps leave a habit behind? Get inspired by the Fresh Start book collection. A mix of print and online titles, topics include mindfulness, healthy eating, positive aging, friendship, and living sustainably.

If academic improvement is on your list, explore new content for Research Help On-Demand. Learn the mechanics of research with short videos and lessons on peer-review and compiling annotated bibliographies among other must know topics for success in your studies.

The Wellness Book Club returns this term with Liaison Librarian and Fitness Instructor Justine Cotton leading participants through a reading of Dr. John Ratey’s 2008 book Spark: The Revolutionary new Science of Exercise and the Brain. Sign up at: bit.ly/wellnessbookclubwinter2022

And, on the topic of wellness, Library Yoga with Liaison Librarian and Yoga Instructor Chelsea Humphries, returns this month with online sessions via ExperienceBU and an in-person event coming later this spring.

Best of luck on the term ahead!

Tags: Our Collections, Services, Students, Virtual Book Display, Wellness
Categories: Main
Winter wellness reading group forming soon

Thursday, January 06, 2022 | By Evelyn Smith

Registration for the Library’s Winter Wellness Book Club, beginning in February 2022, is now open. Reading for ‘fun’ has so many positive effects on our physical and emotional health, from better sleep to increased empathy for others. This term, we will be reading Dr. John Ratey’s 2008 book Spark: The Revolutionary new Science of Exercise and the Brain (watch his TEDx talk).

Ratey’s book teaches us all about the benefits of exercise for all aspects of brain health, using stories and science to promote physical activity. In this Book Club we will be getting the positive effects of reading PLUS learning all about how exercise can reduce your stress and boost your brain fitness!

The Book Club will be hosted by Liaison Librarian (and Fitness Instructor!), Justine Cotton, who is passionate about sharing the life-changing benefits of exercise and reading. You can contact her with any questions at jcotton@brocku.ca

SIgn up at: bit.ly/wellnessbookclubwinter2022

Tags: Students, Wellness
Categories: Main
Student exhibit explores the love and care of plants

Tuesday, December 14, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

James A. Gibson Library Student Assistants are beautifying our display cases with striking new exhibits on a variety of themes.

This month, the interior library cases are exhibiting the work of Chyna-Rose Bennett whose display “is all about plants, and plant care, as I have a love for plants and wanted to share it with the Brock community.” She notes that “plants have been a huge part of my life this past year, and they have really helped me cope with the isolation of the pandemic.”

The exhibit features tips on plant maintenance and care and features a selection of Brock books which will be available to borrow when the display ends at the end of the month.

Stop in and view the exhibit which runs until the holiday break. Many thanks to Chyna-Rose.

Tags: display, Our Collections, Students
Categories: Learning Commons, Main
End of term resources to support students

Friday, November 19, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith
As we approach the end of term, the Library along with colleagues in A-Z Learning Services and Student Wellness and Accessibility Services are keen to support Brock students completing final assignments and preparing for exams.

We’ve highlighted a number of resources and tips along with links to research guides, ways to contact us, and stress-relieving diversions in an online booklet this year. We hope you enjoy it and share it with friends.
A-Z Learning Services has excellent guides available to help you with:
- time management,
- exam preparation,
- essay writing and much more.
Learning Skills Specialists are also running several online drop-in study sessions that you can visit to study with others, or get help on a specific assignment or question.

Student Wellness and Accessibility Services offer unique sessions related to exam readiness and combatting test stress.

Student mental health and wellness go hand-in-hand with academic success and are the focus of a new Library wellness webpage ready for you to explore.

Finally, if you could use a little motivation download one of our new phone and desktop wallpaper designs. ⬇️

For your phone:

For your desktop:
Tags: Services, Students, Wellness
Categories: Main
Instructors encouraged to submit winter term reading lists soon

Monday, November 15, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

Course readings for the winter term are being processed at Brock University Library.

To ensure your students have access to their winter course materials, we encourage you to submit reading lists as soon as possible. Ideally by November 22, 2021.

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.

A note about print reserve readings:

While we encourage instructors to continue using online alternatives, print items are accepted.

It is important for instructors to consider the element of risk in choosing to use print reserves for your course: If strict public health measures were to resume, these materials might be inaccessible for your students. Electronic readings have the benefit of being available to students no matter the changing public health measures.

Several alternatives to print resources are available including the creation of course-specific online packs. The Reserves team is ready to work with you to develop these for your students. More information about non-print options is available. Liaison Librarians are also available to help you identify alternate resources.

The E-Textbook Challenge.

Providing digital access to some textbooks may be hindered by the textbook publishers because most textbooks are not available to libraries in any format other than print. Most of the major textbook publishers — Pearson, Cengage, Houghton, McGraw Hill, Oxford University Press Canada Textbooks, Elsevier Imprints, Thieme — do not sell e-textbooks to libraries. This means that for courses that have adopted textbooks from these publishers, students who do not purchase the textbook have no alternative access to the textbook contents.

Questions? reserve@brocku.ca

Tags: Faculty, Services
Categories: Main
The Wellness Book Club

Thursday, October 21, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith
If you love to read, you may already know the many benefits of reading for fun. For instance, one 2009 study from the University of Sussex found that reading for just 6 minutes can significantly reduce stress! Reading also has the power to improve sleep, increase emotional intelligence, and enhance overall wellbeing.

Brock students are invited to sign up for a Wellness Book Club that will run virtually during the month of November. Hosted by Humanities Liaison Librarian, Justine Cotton, the details are as follows:
- Up to 15 students may participate
- Participants will need to visit campus* to pick up the book (the novel Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt)
- The group will have 1-2 online meetings over MS Teams during November to chat about the book
As part of the Club, students will also have the option of participating in a research study exploring the impact of reading on stress levels in university students.

Sign-up now or email jcotton@brocku.ca for more details about the Club and/or the research study (REB# 21-058-COTTON).

*please note Brock University’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for On-Campus
Tags: Research, Students, Wellness
Categories: Main
Refreshed DIY lessons covering library research topics now available

Wednesday, October 20, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

Over the summer, Brock librarians were hard at work refreshing our digital learning offerings. The result is https://brocktnl.github.io.

These asynchronous, self-paced learning objects focuse on important information literacy skills. Students looking to learn more about how to use library resources to succeed in their studies will benefit from lessons, such as how to “Create a Search Strategy”. Alternatively, students can set off on a more in-depth learning “Path,” such as the “Research Fundamentals” Path.

Instructors can easily import these lessons into their Sakai page for immediate use in their course pages. Contact cmurgu@brocku.ca if you require assistance.

We will feature a different lesson every Tuesday, beginning October 26th until November 30th. Watch for #TipTuesday on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

More lessons are in development, so check back soon.

Categories: Main
International Open Access Week at Brock

Monday, October 18, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith
The Brock University Library will join in the global celebrations of International Open Access Week with two workshops highlighting how researchers can maximize the impact of their scholarship.
- Oct. 26, 12-1 p.m. – Opening up graduate scholarship via the Brock Digital Repository, with Tim Ribaric, Acting Head of the Brock Digital Scholarship Lab and Map, Data and GIS Library, and Elizabeth Yates, Liaison and Scholarly Communication Librarian. This workshop will explore the process of showcasing graduate research via the Brock Digital Repository and highlight key considerations around publishing, copyright and embargoes. Register here.
- Oct. 28, 12-1 p.m. – Maximizing Access and Impact: Support for Open Access Publishing at Brock, with Cal Murgu, Instructional Design Librarian, and Elizabeth Yates, Liaison and Scholarly Communication Librarian. This workshop will explore the benefits of open access publishing and highlight financial support available via the Library Open Access Publishing Fund and funding memberships with major publishers. Register here.
Open Access refers to free, immediate online access to research. The theme of International Open Access Week is: It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity. This theme aligns with the recent UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, which centres the need to “embrace a diversity of knowledge, practices, workflows, languages, research outputs and research topics”. Open science, and open access publishing, can advance structural equity by ensuring equitable sharing of research outputs from scholars in both developed and developing nations.

The Library strives to advance equitable open access practices by providing infrastructure to disseminate Brock’s research outputs via the Brock Digital Repository and Scholarly Journals at Brock, through education and advocacy, and by making financial investments to support a variety of open access platforms and projects.

“During Open Access Week, we invite everyone in the Brock community to reflect on how they can break down barriers in how knowledge is created and shared,” says Elizabeth Yates, Liaison and Scholarly Communication Librarian. “And we hope that these workshops will spur conversations and actions which can help all of us advance equity – both individually and in our academic systems and communities.”

More Open Access Week events from around the world can be found here.
Tags: OA Week, Open Access, Scholarly Communication, Workshops
Categories: Main
Display sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MLLC)

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith

Explore modern languages, literatures, and cultures by browsing the colourful exhibits on display in the Library and Learning Commons this month.

Doing so may benefit your wallet as well as pique your curiosity!

Find an image from the collage or an object from the display and write about it. Be it a memory, a meditation, or simply a comment, submit your response to dbielicki@brocku.ca by Friday, October 22 at midnight.

You will find the display cases just past the Ask Us desk inside the library and also in the Thistle hallway at the south entrance to the library.

Tags: display
Categories: Learning Commons, Main
Welcome Back to Campus

Wednesday, September 08, 2021 | By Evelyn Smith
Wednesday, September 8 update for the James A. Gibson Library:

For your safety:
- Masks required at all times.
- Seat booking is not required.
- Attending online lectures? We recommend the individual study carrels on floors 5, 6 & 7. Please use headphones.
- No food permitted. Lidded drinks okay.
- Classrooms A & B are not available for drop-in use.
- Seating has been reduced to encourage physical distancing.
Questions?
Visit the Ask Us desk or libhelp@brocku.ca
Tags: Faculty, Services, Staff, Students
Categories: Main