Library news

"My educational and professional career is very typical of an East German of my generation, full of turns and detours, but this circumstance has also granted me many insights and experiences that I would not have gained otherwise, and I am very glad that my path eventually led me here, to the place that is now known as Victoria."

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.

We were saddened in the Libraries by the recent passing of David Harris Flaherty, a cherished friend, donor, and sponsor of the David Harris Flaherty Undergraduate Student Library Scholarship, an annual student award at UVic Libraries that recognizes student academic excellence using library resources.

The Historic Computing Lab supports a range of UVic initiatives, including data recovery from obsolete computer media in the University Archives, research and instruction in the Digital Humanities, and an ongoing project to restore a lost school of Canadian digital art. It’s an impressive collection, thanks in part to Rob Ferguson’s generous donation of historic computing equipment.

This year UVic recognized and thanked 130 colleagues who have dedicated a cumulative of 3,895 years of service to the university.

This fall, UVic’s community will have the opportunity to participate in an innovative student-led “Living with Climate Change” project culminating during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 27. The intention of this project is to help address climate anxiety and inspire constructive local action.

Starting this fall, getting expert research help is even easier. Now students and other researchers can book a research help appointment with a librarian on the UVic Libraries website, and meet either in person or on Zoom.

Sonja Pinto was part of the first cohort of student fellows in the Peter and Ana Lowens University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections Student Fellowship Program at UVic Libraries: "Though I had worked with some of the library’s collections and archives in past research projects, I had never worked on a project where I could direct its scope, topic, and output with complete control—even my master’s thesis had recommended word counts and other necessary guidelines to follow! The creative freedom and lack of direct examples on which to base my work in the Lowens-Libraries Fellowship presented me with an unusual and exhilarating chance to form a project from scratch and to challenge myself to apply my years of study in English Literature classrooms to a new context."

UVic Libraries is proud to announce a new award unique to UVic Libraries: The University of Victoria Libraries Honorary Librarian and Archivist Award. The inaugural recipient is Shelagh Rogers, the celebrated veteran broadcast-journalist and Chancellor Emerita of UVic.

Professors Lisa Surridge and Mary Elizabeth Leighton from UVic’s English Department have recently published a new book, titled The Plot Thickens: Illustrated Victorian Serial Fiction from Dickens to Du Maurier based in part on material from UVic Libraries’ Special Collections & University Archives.

Professor Tom Gleeson of UVic Engineering is a global expert on hydrology and groundwater sustainability. He has worked with UVic librarians to create data management plans to ensure that data sets produced by his research projects are open, accessible, and reusable by other researchers, now and in the future.

Professor Sowmya Somanath, of UVic’s Computer Science Department, focuses her research on studying, designing, and evaluating computational systems that help people create digital and physical artifacts using electronics, fabrication devices, and virtual reality platforms.

Nathan Lachowsky and his community-based research team has worked with the library to create an open access collection of oral histories containing the personal stories of long-term HIV survivors and caregivers in British Columbia.

Professor John Lutz, of UVic’s History Department, has worked with UVic Libraries to create a number of valuable, free digital collections related to the history and politics of British Columbia.

Professors Erin E. Kelly and Sara Humphreys of UVic’s Academic and Technical Writing Program in the Faculty of Humanities recently published an open access writing guide titled Why Write? to help students in Canada to become more effective and confident academic writers.

Under the guidance of law professors Deborah Curran and Calvin Sandborn, and with the assistance of ELC staff, students in UVic’s Environmental Law Centre (ELC) Club conduct an annual research-a-thon related to a pressing environmental issue.

Germanic Studies professor Charlotte Schallié’s research project, Narrative Art and Visual Storytelling in Holocaust and Human Rights Education, brings Holocaust survivors and artists together to create open educational resources for students.

Professor Carey Newman, Impact Chair in Indigenous Art Practices, recently co-edited a Special Issue of KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies, a peer-reviewed, open access journal. The Special Issue on Indigenous Knowledges features contributions in diverse formats that reflect the plurality of Indigenous Knowledges and ways of knowing.

Internationally renowned UVic archaeologist, Ann Stahl, is working with UVic Libraries to preserve and make available her vast and irreplaceable collection of research material from the Banda region in Ghana.

Professor Angie Chau engages students in creative class assignments that allow them to apply their knowledge in artistic ways, while also acquiring practical technical skills.