Library news

In September 2019, former Dean of Law Susan Breau announced a donation to the law school and the law library by Dr Joyce Clearihue in the amount of $434,000 to assist in establishing the Indigenous law collection.

The capstone of the Landscapes of Injustice project’s seven year multi-institutional, community engaged research, Broken Promises puts names and faces to a dark chapter of Canadian history. It is a reminder of the power of racism, the many Canadians who were complicit in this injustice, and the legacies of dispossession that persist to this day. The exhibit is open to the public, and free to visit.

Once thought to have been lost forever, these early examples of networked, interactive digital art and the computing hardware and software required to view them, were painstakingly restored by University of Victoria Librarian John Durno over a period of several years.

Salvage is a collection of driftwood books salvaged from the beaches of Vancouver Island and the Cascadia bioregion of the Pacific Northwest. Collected over a ten-year period, they have not been altered in any way, and suggest through their height, weight, width, depth and shape the conceptual idea and physical embodiment of the codex.

This repatriation project was funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engage Grant held by the MRSGI membership, Dr. Andrea Walsh (Anthropology), and Ms. Lorilee Wastasecoot (Indigenous Curator of Collections and Engagement, Legacy Art Galleries). Repatriation work was carried out in collaboration with Maureen Matthews at the Museum of Manitoba. Funding for the production of the banners was received through Canadian Heritage.

Visitors to the Diana M. Priestly Law Library will now be greeted by a new display featuring some of the special collections from UVic Libraries. The display focuses on Transgender Rights in British Columbia and Canada and features archival material from the UVic Transgender Archives, books from the shelves of the law library, and QR codes leading to some of the online resources that UVic Libraries has to offer.

On April 30, 2023, Avis gave a guided tour of the exhibition, titled The View from Here that displayed in the gallery of the Victoria Arts Council (VAC).

On May 5, 2023, nearly 200 library staff members from across the region gathered on lək̓ʷəŋən territory at the University of Victoria for the 8th annual Vancouver Island Library Staff Conference (VILSC). The conference planning committee developed the theme “Let’s Talk Belonging” and potential presenters responded to the call for proposals that asked: “What does ‘belonging’, or conversely, ‘not belonging’, mean to your work, to library services, and to peoples’ experience of libraries?”

Geospatial Librarian daniel Brendle-Moczuk participated in an expedition to assist UVic’s Mountain Legacy Project led by Eric Higgs. The team summited four peaks in 12 days to take approximately 50 repeat photographs from various historical surveyors, such as the photographs taken by Allison B. Grant of Mount Alderson in 1953.

"In my four years at the University of Victoria I was taught to write essays well, but with the rise of AI language processing tools, having an English degree can be a scary prospect. Through the university’s opportunities for scholarship that combine creative projects with technical writing skills, I was reaffirmed in my program of choice. The Lowens-Libraries Fellowship program demonstrates how hands-on learning paired with analysis and public-facing outputs reveal wider trends and meaning in material from Special Collections and University Archives."

"As a sociology master's student, this fellowship process has been particularly meaningful as it has allowed me to explore the intersection of art, history, and social issues, shedding light on the importance of preserving marginalized narratives and challenging societal norms through creative expression. In addition, it allowed me to witness art and community-engaged activities' real transformative power."

Dr. Angie Chau (Department of Pacific & Asian Studies) and Ying Liu, the Humanities Librarian for Asian Studies, recently completed a project of embedding Wikipedia editing in Asian Studies curriculum with the help of Tatiana Popova, a graduate student in Asian Studies.

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

"Prior to arriving at UVic Libraries I worked as a research and learning librarian at the University of Calgary, initially as a joint business and medical librarian, and eventually shifting over to solely support the undergraduate business programs. It is here that I learned and obtained extensive experience supporting evidence synthesis in a variety of disciplines."

“I lived in the library during my geography degree at UVic,” says Michael Dunn (BA ’74), the libraries’ nomination for a 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award. On April 13, the UVic Alumni Association celebrated the remarkable accomplishments of 16 graduates across three categories: the President’s Alumni Award, the Emerging Alumni Award, and the Indigenous Community Alumni Award. Michael was honoured as a Presidents' Alumni Award winner for his long commitment to environmental stewardship.

Read about a day in the life of Indigenous Initiatives Law Librarian Jessie Lampreau: "I have enjoyed learning about the different services that the library has to offer, and learning about different initiatives that my colleagues are involved in. I also really enjoy meeting with students and hearing about the projects they are working on, and sharing information about resources and services that will support them."

UVic Libraries is pleased to announce the availability of a new digital collection, Victoria Feminist Newsletters, via our digital asset management platform, Vault. As with our previous collections of digital primary sources, the creation of this new resource was a team effort with libraries personnel from the Digitization Centre, Metadata Unit, and Special Collections & University Archives.

As part of the renovation of the first floor of the Mearns - McPherson Library, we have installed four Tek Booths. Tek Booths are private, enclosed booths perfect for Zooming into classes or focusing on solo work. They provide power, wireless Internet, and an ergonomic work surface. Four booths will be installed around the main floor of the library, available for booking through our existing room booking system. Look for our new Tek Booths in late March, and for an opportunity to give us feedback about them soon after that!

With generous funding from the British Columbia Historical Digitization Program from the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC, Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce the availability of the Alan Hodgson architectural plans and drawings collection, via UVic Libraries’ digital asset management platform, Vault.

In the summer of 2022, Coast Capital Innovation Centre (CCIC) opened their doors to walk-in traffic at their new location in the Mearns Centre for Learning – McPherson Library. An on-campus venture incubator, CCIC helps entrepreneurs – students, faculty and alumni – get the support and mentorship they seek to take their next idea from conception to execution.