Progress Towards Western at 150, May 2023
Greater Impact
Stimulate our research, scholarship, and creative activity
The migration of interlibrary loan requests to the Omni search tool was completed in November, making Omni the single point for requesting physical and digital materials from libraries worldwide. Omni, an outcome of the Ontario Council of University Libraries’ Collaborative Futures resource sharing initiative, provides users with streamlined access to materials across Ontario, connecting students, faculty, and researchers with the resources they need.
Promote teaching and learning for the future
Western Libraries purchased a leaf from the first edition of The Canterbury Tales in December 2022. The leaf, the first incunabulum acquired since John Davis Barnett’s original donation in 1918, will be used to support library instruction in Western courses on a wide variety of topics, including literature, medieval history, and the history of print.
We also recently received a donation of Dr. Michael Groden’s teaching collection, through the generosity of his spouse, Molly Peacock. Dr. Groden was one of the world’s great James Joyce scholars and amassed a large collection of books, music, and ephemera that he used to support his teaching at Western. This collection will now be available to Joyce scholars and students from Western and beyond through Western Libraries.
Enrich the student experience
On January 26, Weldon had a grand re-opening celebration to mark the completion of Phase 1 of the revitalization project. In March, spaces adjacent to the new Learning Commons on the main floor were also complete, with new fixtures and furniture creating a seamless experience of the first floor. Phase 2 of the project began in March, with the Project team meeting to review priorities considering Phase 1 achievements.
Updated navigational menus were launched for the Libraries’ website, changing the names of links and reorganizing the content of the entire website. These changes were made through consultation with students, staff, and faculty, and incorporated feedback through prototype testing to ensure that the new design better aligns with where users expect to find content. The new navigation helps to showcase content that users had previously found difficult to locate and makes the website more accessible for students, faculty, and researchers who use screen readers.
People, Community, and Culture
Advance Reconciliation with Indigenous Communities
On September 29th, 2022, Western Libraries collaborated with London Public Library to host an Indigenous Collections Pop-up as a part of campus-wide week-long programming to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about Indigenous collections across the two library systems, make suggestions for purchase, and register for two educational modules on Indigenous history and Truth and Reconciliation that are available through Western Libraries’ collection.
Create a more equitable and inclusive Western
The Black Resources Collection was installed in a permanent display on the main floor of The D.B. Weldon Library to recognize and promote the work of Black authors throughout the year. This community-led collection, developed in collaboration with Health & Wellness services, was curated by the Black Students Association, Black mental health staff therapists, and African Canadian scholars. It includes a variety of fiction and non-fiction works encompassing the Black diasporic experience, highlighting its rich cultural history and influence.
Thriving through belonging
Western Libraries looks forward to receiving results from the 2023 Western Staff and Faculty Experience survey to help inform ongoing work to create positive and productive workplace culture that supports a thriving staff.
Western’s Place In The World
Engage the world
489 participants, representing 14 countries across 5 continents, participated in GIS Days in November 2022. GIS Days, a collaboration between Western Libraries and 9 other Canadian universities and GIS institutions, is an annual open conference that brings together Geographic Information Systems researchers, students, and interested members of the wider community to present their research and discuss advances in GIS technology.
Sustainability, an imperative
Western Libraries Collections and Content Strategies Team is conducting a Green Audit to analyze the environmental impact of our collections and selection practices. Amid growing global climate concerns and the disproportionate impact of climate change on disadvantaged and marginalized communities, this work will start a conversation on how academic libraries can evaluate their selection practices to reduce the impact they have on the environment. Work to date includes the development of a rubric for assessing the environmental impact of publisher practices, as well as engagement with leading publishers on the audit process. The team presented their preliminary findings at the 2023 Ontario Library Association Superconference.
Western Libraries has provided event space, staff support, and promotion for a variety of sustainability programming in the past year. In November 2022, we partnered with Western Sustainability to host a Safeguarding Biodiversity event held by Nature Canada in advance of the UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP15). The event gave students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to engage with local environmental and sustainability groups, as well as contributing directly to Nature Canada’s environmental advocacy work through a letter-writing campaign. Western Libraries has also hosted several meetings of the Western Environment & Sustainability Network, which brings together student groups and campus organizations to collaborate on sustainability programming. Student members of the WE&SN have shared that they appreciate the D.B. Weldon Library as a central location for these meetings of organizations across campus.
Previous Updates
