News

• Explore Digital Scholarship This Fall

  Friday, August 30, 2019 | By afloyd

  

  September is here and we are very excited to welcome everyone back to Brock University for the Fall semester! We hope you are as ready to get back to learning and doing as we are.

  This Fall the Brock University Digital Scholarship Lab is offering a series of hands-on workshops, each of which focuses on a different tool or skill that will be beneficial to your learning experience and will also give you skills to add to your resumé.  Another bonus of attending these workshops, is that they will earn you credit towards your Campus-Wide Co-Curriculum Certificate. Each workshop is open to everyone.  Workshops included in this series are as follows:

  September 12 –  Introduction to OpenRefine

  September 18 – Introduction to R

  September 27 – Introduction to Data Visualization

  October 1 – ArcGIS Pro: the software, a flu outbreak and network analysis

  October 7 – Introduction to Python

  October 15-16 – Software Carpentry. This is a two day even that requires a small fee to attend.

  October 21 – Introduction to Data Science with Python. Case Study: Sci-Hub close to home

  October 30 – Python 2.0. Attendance to the first Python workshop is beneficial but is not required.

  November 6 – Introduction to R – Nov. 6

  November 11 – Introduction to the Command Line

  November 12 –  Intro. to Data Visualization – Nov. 12

  November 20 – Introduction to PowerBI

  November 26 – Introduction to Tableau

  To learn more about the series including dates, times and registration information, please visit ExperienceBU. For questions please contact dsl@brocku.ca

   

  Tags: BrockUDSL, Digital Scholarship Lab, MDGL, Training & Development, Workshops
  Categories: Digital Scholarship Lab, Main

• Welcome to Brock: Thorold and St. Catharines Libraries On-Site!

  Tuesday, August 27, 2019 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  We love libraries! All kinds. As part of Welcome Week events at Brock, the Library is partnering with the Thorold and St. Catharines Public Libraries to provide the Brock community with public library cards. Getting a card is easy as representatives from both libraries will be on-site Thursday, September 5. Fill in a form, present some i.d. and then you’ll be all set to borrow video games, join book clubs, experience adult craft nights, and more.

  What: Thorold and St. Catharines Public Library Membership Drive.
  Where: Learning Commons (Library main floor)
  When: Thursday, September 5. Thorold: 10 am to 12 pm. St. Catharines: 1 pm to 4 pm.

  Tags: Community, Services, Staff, Students
  Categories: Main

• Welcome to Brock: Spin it to Win it at the Library

  Tuesday, August 27, 2019 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  As part of Welcome Week activities at Brock, we invite you to drop by our table in the Matheson Learning Commons (main floor of the James A. Gibson Library), say hi, spin, and win library swag.

  What: Spin it to Win it at the Library
  Where: Learning Commons (Library main floor)
  When: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 11 am to 2 pm & Wednesday Sept. 4, 11 am to 2 pm.

  Tags: Events, Students
  Categories: Main

• Welcome to Brock: Discover Your Library

  Tuesday, August 27, 2019 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  As part of Welcome Week activities at Brock, students are invited to learn more about the services and resources of the Brock University Library by attending one of six, fast-paced sessions. Hear about how you can make use of our 3D printers, discover rare books, harness the expertise of your own personal librarian, and enrich your learning experience at Brock. We’ll round out the presentation with a short tour of the Learning Commons.

  Attendees who register @ https://experiencebu.brocku.ca/event/130056 will receive credit towards the CWC Personal Growth Domain.

  What: Discover Your Library orientation sessions + tour.
  Where: Learning Commons Classroom B (ST 230)
  When: Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 2 pm & 3 pm, Wednesday Sept. 4 at 4 pm & 6 pm, Thursday Sept. 5 at 4 pm & 6 pm.

  Tags: Events, Services, Students, Workshops
  Categories: Main

• On Display: Have you met Lynda?

  Thursday, August 01, 2019 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Have you met Lynda? You should. She has a thing or two to teach you.

  Brock University students, faculty and staff have unlimited access to Lynda.com which offers more than 5,000 video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts that help people learn business, technology, software and creative skills.

  Here’s how to access courses of interest to you:

  Go to Lynda.com
  Click on the menu on the top of the screen.
  Click Sign In.
  Click the Sign in with your organization portal link.
  Enter brocku.ca and click Continue.
  Sign in with your Brock credentials. Enter your Brock username and password and click the Log in button.

  Tags: display, Training & Development
  Categories: Featured Collections, Main

• Two new databases currently available to test

  Thursday, July 25, 2019 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  Brock users are invited to access the content and test out the functionality of the HeinOnline and Academic Video Online databases during a trial period to last several weeks.

  HeinOnline Academic Core Canada contains treaties, constitutions, case law, world trials, classic treatises, international trade, foreign relations, and much more.

  Trial access is available until August 16, 2019. Feedback on this database may be sent to lmorrison@brocku.ca

  Academic Video Online bills itself as “the most comprehensive video subscription available to libraries. It delivers more than 67,000 multidisciplinary video titles including 14,000 exclusive to Alexander Street. All with a predictable annual cost, this collection is curated for the educational experience. The massive depth of content and breadth of content-types (such as documentaries, films, demonstrations, etc) in Academic Video Online makes it a useful resource for all types of patrons, giving libraries a high return on investment.

  Trial access is available until August 18, 2019. Feedback on this database may be sent to igibson@brocku.ca

  Tags: Our Collections, Research
  Categories: Main

• On Display: Origins of Niagara’s Winescapes

  Friday, July 05, 2019 | By Evelyn Smith

  

  When enjoying a glass of wine from the Niagara region, have you ever thought, how did this wine come to be? The Origins of Niagara’s Winescape exhibit features artifacts from the Brock University Archives the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute. The exhibit explores the lasting legacy of Niagara’s wineries – from the first grape growers in the 1850s to the present. The exhibit runs until the end of July in the James A. Gibson Library, and will then move to the Brock University Archives.

  Tags: Archives and Special Collections, display
  Categories: Featured Collections, Main

• How to Draw a Pig Blindfolded

  Wednesday, June 26, 2019 | By afloyd

  

  Have you ever wondered who Sean O’Sullivan is and why Brock University has a theatre named after him?  Have you pondered over Brock Library’s namesake James A. Gibson? Or perhaps you’ve contemplated what it takes to be a bee keeper or how to draw a pig blindfolded?

  Well if you have or even if you haven’t mused over such musings, your interest must certainly be piqued!  You’re encouraged to take a peak at some of the curiosities and treasures held in Brock’s Archives and Special Collections by accessing some exceptional new online exhibits.

  Special Collections staff have been hard at work digitizing their collection to make it more accessible to you and in partnership with the Brock Digital Scholarship Lab they have been developing intriguing online exhibits to showcase their many resources.

  By visiting these online exhibits you will learn about who Sean O’Sullivan was, see wrestling trading cards from the 1930’s, learn about Niagara’s very own Alexander Hamilton, explore the Welland Canals, and view photographs of a very young St. Catharines! You can even read a letter that the 1941 Toronto Maple Leaf’s coach Hap Day wrote to St. Catharines Mayor Charles Daley under the instruction of Conn Smythe! This list of prized content truly does not do the collection justice.

  Visit the following links to explore and experience the Brock Special Collections for yourself:

  https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/sean-o-sullivan/page/introduction

  https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/ArchivalApps/page/ArchivalAppsWelcome

  For more information on the Archives and Special Collections visit:  https://brocku.ca/library/collections/special-collections-archives/ or drop by the 10^th floor of the Schmon Tower.

  If you are interested in how these exhibits were created using the platform Omeka S and would like to learn how you can create your own exhibit, contact the Brock Digital Scholarship Lab at: dsl@brocku.ca and visit https://brocku.ca/library/dsl/.

  Tags: Archives and Special Collections, BrockUDSL, Digital Scholarship Lab, Omeka
  Categories: Digital Scholarship Lab, Main

• NEW ArcGIS Pro Workshop

  Thursday, June 06, 2019 | By afloyd

  

  Interested in learning ArcGIS Pro by really digging into the software and using realistic data? This workshop, offered in partnership by the Map, Data and GIS Library and the Digital Scholarship Lab, will use a fictitious scenario about a flu outbreak in St. Catharines.  In this workshop we will geolocate each incident of the flu and determine what schools should be shut down based on their proximity to flu incidents. We will also use network analysis to calculate the nearest medical centres.  In attending this workshop, you will learn the basics of creating a visually pleasing layout and how to share your work with others.  This event is open to everyone, no previous ArcGIS experience is necessary.

  When: Thursday, June 27, 10-12 AM

  Where: Brock University, James A. Gibson Library – Classroom A (ST228)

  Register: Eventbrite

  Note: Registration for this event ends June 25th

  Tags: ArcGIS Pro, BrockUDSL, Digital Scholarship Lab, MDGL, Workshops
  Categories: Digital Scholarship Lab, Main, MDGL

• Introduction to Data Science with Python. Case Study: Sci-Hub close to home

  Monday, May 27, 2019 | By afloyd

  

  At the Brock University Digital Scholarship Lab, we are not only exploring a wide variety of tools for data processing, analysis, and visualization, as well as digital pedagogy, we are also considering ways of interacting with these tools in unique ways as a method of demonstrating the vast possibilities digital scholarship offers.  In our upcoming workshop: Introduction to Data Science with Python, we will be teaching the basics of data science and visualizing results by investigating the Niagara Region’s Sci-Hub usage for 2017 through the case study: “Sci-Hub close to home”.

  The SCI-Hub database is famed for providing unrestricted access to a plethora of research papers that would normally be blocked by paywalls. In this workshop, attendees will see how quickly and easily using Anaconda and Jupyter Notebooks will enable them to analyze the Sci-Hub Download Log of 2017.  We will also be exploring two more ingredients; Pandas https://pandas.pydata.org/ and matplotlib https://matplotlib.org/.

  No previous knowledge of coding or statistics is required for this workshop. All you need is your curiosity.

  When: Monday, June 24^th from 9:30 – 11:00 AM

  Where: James A. Gibson Library, Brock University, Classroom A (ST228)

  To register for this event, please visit: Eventbrite

  Tags: BrockUDSL, Data Science, Digital Scholarship Lab, Workshops
  Categories: Digital Scholarship Lab, Main