Brock University 2S&LGBTQ+ Pride Week is just around the corner and we have the resources to support the annual celebration.
This curated book selection takes an intersectional approach to examining queer life and issues such as race, disability, class and politics. A sub-collection of films features documentaries and drama.
Wishing everyone a very happy Pride Week!
This month, in support of International Women’s Day, Student Library Assistant, Mishrka Bucha has curated a thematic display of books by and about remarkable women and their contributions to society. Browse and borrow from the print display next to the Ask Us desk in the James A. Gibson Library, or read the e-books from anywhere.
Mishrka notes: “The women today are the thought of their mothers and grandmothers embodied and made alive” is a quote by Matilda Joslyn Gage which embodies the 2023 celebration of International Women’s Day. More than ever today, women are free and empowered to have a voice and make a difference in many fields including science, business, social sciences and humanities. More than ever today, women are safer to be strong and make a difference. This 2023 let us imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquality
I wish all a very happy International Women’s Day Celebration.
In celebration of Freedom to Read Week (February 19-25), we’ve created a featured collection of censored and banned titles for you to explore.
Included in the collection are several recent titles including George, Asha’s Mums, and Tendencies which continue to be challenged, restricted or banned from schools for LGBTQ2S+ content. But, censorship is hardly new. William Tyndale’s English translation of the New Testament was ordered burned in 1525 by Church authorities who determined the Bible should only be available in Latin. King James I of England banned Sir Walter Raleigh’s work The History of the World for “being too saucy in censuring princes.”
Freedom to Read Week “is organized by the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee, a group committed to promoting intellectual freedom in Canada. Since 1978, the committee has worked with educators, librarians, publishers, writers, booksellers, advocacy groups and the community at large to provide information that addresses censorship and book and magazine challenges in Canada.” (Book and Periodical Council, 2023).
Our Collections, Virtual Book Display
Categories: Featured Collections
This month, we celebrate African Heritage and Black History by bringing a special spotlight to Black voices and Black stories. February’s Featured Collection book display brings you important, thought-provoking works of Black writers across disciplines and perspectives. You can find our “Celebrating Black Voices and Sharing Black Stories” book display both online, and at our print display next to the Ask Us desk on the main floor of the Library.
Interested in the work of Canadian authors? Look out for the books sporting the illustration you see above at our print display.
Two online titles in this month’s Featured Collection deserve a special mention. Brock University Professor Tamari Kitossa’s Appealing Because He is Appalling: Black Masculinities, Colonialism, and Erotic Racism highlights the contradictions of Black men as objects of sexual desire. Those interested in a local focus to Black History can dig into dann J. Broyld’s Borderland Blacks: Two Cities in the Niagara Region During the Final Decades of Slavery. Broyld spent a semester at Brock researching in the Archives & Special Collections for this book.
The Brock community is celebrating Black History Month and African Heritage Month with a full calendar of events and programming. See what’s going on and join in the celebrations on ExperienceBU.
Mindfulness and wellness practices invite us to nurture ourselves, and cultivate self-compassion. Some of the easily accessible resources for the Brock community to live mindfully include:
This month, our print book display and e-book collections are full of strategies and inspiration to help you be the best version of yourself.
Browse the featured titles now, and note the special sub-collections on the topics of Yoga, Breath, and Movement Practice, Inspiration and Reflection, and Mindfulness for Stress and Anxiety.
On Dec. 3, 2022, we recognize International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a day that was first launched by the United Nations in 1992 “to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.”
One way we can learn more about disabilities is to read a book! Check out our selection of titles at our print book display, and online in Omni. A sub-collection of films is also available. These titles feature works by and about people with visible and invisible disabilities.
On December 7, join the University community for ‘Engaging and Celebrating with Disability Communities’. This event will take place from noon to 2 p.m. in Pond Inlet, and will feature a presentation by Nathan Shipley, a disability self-advocate, activist and public speaker, as well as interactive roundtable experiences with disability community members.
The event is organized in collaboration with the Office of Human Rights and Equity, the Brock-Niagara Centre of Excellence in Inclusive and Adaptive Physical Activity, and the Anti-Ableism and Mental Health (AAMH) Committee, which is a working group of the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization.
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.
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.
The Library’s thematic print and virtual book displays feature recent fiction titles this month. A wide variety of genres should satisfy most readers and include:
View the entire It’s All Fiction collection and do stop by to browse the print titles on display next to the Ask Us desk.
Our Collections, Virtual Book Display
Categories: Featured Collections
Our latest virtual book collection presents readers with 29 new books (written within the past 5 years), on the history, geo-politics, economy, and people of the country.
The War in Ukraine’s Donbas Origins, Contexts, and the Future, and Flight MH17, Ukraine and the new Cold War : prism of disaster give insight to the 2014 conflict. Internal divisions within the country between east and west, and wedge issues such as European Union membership (Ukraine and Russia : from civilized divorce to civil war and Ukraine : contested nationhood in a European context) provide insight into the complexity of the current crisis.
Providing access to credible sources of information is never more important than in times of crisis.
Browse the full Ukraine in Crisis collection.
Our Collections, Virtual Book Display
Categories: Featured Collections