Progress Towards Western at 150, November 2022

Greater Impact

In August 2022, Western Libraries released a new strategic plan, Forward Together. The plan outlines how Western Libraries will support the aspirations of the University in Towards Western at 150, and includes goals to build and maintain diverse collections, develop and provide essential research and teaching support services, and create inclusive and welcoming library learning environments. Over 800 students, faculty, campus partners and community members, along with 77 library staff, helped to identify how the library will continue to help fulfill the mission and vision of a growing and evolving university.

Grow strategically

  1. Weldon Learning Commons – The completion of the two-storey Learning Commons in Weldon makes available 838 study seats for students, an increase of over 300 seats from pre-renovation counts. A variety of seating options are available based on student feedback, designed to suit different needs and preferences. The space has been in high demand.

    One of the new spaces available in the Learning Commons is the Community Room, a flexible, multi-use space equipped with technology for presentations, workshops, and events. The Community room has hosted 22 events for 13 campus partners since September. Some of the events held in the room include a Graduate Student Welcome Orientation arranged by Student Experience, a Kairos Blanket Exercise offered by the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, a Black Leadership Program from the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and various annual meetings of USC-authorized clubs.

    The UX Lab, another new Learning Commons space, hosts Learning, Development and Success’ Athletics Study Program / Peer-Assisted Learning Study Hub. The drop-in program runs two evenings a week and has been so popular that adjacent spaces have been made available to meet the demand.

Stimulate our research, scholarship, and creative activity

  1. Collections Strategy – Western Libraries is leading the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) Evidence-Based Acquisitions Working Group, a key step forward in collaborative collecting in Ontario. The Collections and Content Strategies team continues to actively manage our own Evidence-Based Acquisitions programs, recently agreeing to several multi-year deals with publishers. Evidence-Based Acquisition programs help researchers access critical scholarship through efficient use of library acquisition funds based on user demand. These programs combine the benefits of access to large collections with a targeted and data-driven approach to title selection. They also empower researchers to help guide what titles are permanently acquired, leading to more diverse and representative collections.
  2. Research Enterprise – In partnership with Western Research, the Chief Digital Officer, the Chief Data Officer and Western Technology Services, Western Libraries has explored the research data management environment at Western to ensure that Western is are ready to meet the Tri-Agency mandates on research data management. We are working with Atheneum Consulting to scope the next phase of Western's research data management strategy. Through classes offered via the Knowledge Exchange School and Undergraduate Summer Research Internship program, we teach skills that support effective research, dissemination and preservation.
  3. Digitization – In the past year, Western Libraries has digitized archival material, cartographic resources, and special collections volumes for research, teaching, and community engagement purposes. Seven new archival and special collections have been posted to our public website as well as hundreds of digitized maps. Selections of photographic negatives from local, unique collections that are currently being digitized will be shared online in 2023.
  4. Pickup Anywhere – The Pickup Anywhere service, which allows users to easily request and borrow print materials from any partner library using their Western credentials, launched in May 2022. Two more libraries joined the partnership in August 2022, for a total of 18 university libraries across Ontario. This program provides Western researchers with access to a wider range of print materials, while increasing our ability to share our materials with Ontario researchers.

Promote teaching and learning for the future

  1. Library Curriculum – Teaching and Learning Librarians are working with faculty to implement an updated Library Curriculum that teaches information literacy skills with an emphasis on knowledge justice; critical reflection; searching; identifying and evaluating sources; responsible use of knowledge; and creation and dissemination of knowledge.

Enrich the student experience

  1. Learning Commons – A new Info Desk provides a gateway to library and other academic support available in the Weldon Learning Commons. In September 2022, Western Libraries, the Writing Support Centre, and Learning Development and Success began to offer programming via the Student Services Support hub located on the mezzanine. Western Libraries’ research support services teach students critical search skills, how to evaluate information sources, and gives guidance on citation and ethical use of information.

People, Community, and Culture

Advance Reconciliation with Indigenous Communities

  1. Western Libraries has officially endorsed the Canadian Federation of Library Associations Truth and Reconciliation Report. The report includes recommendations that will help set priorities for decolonization and Indigenization activities across Western Libraries.
  2. Western Libraries repatriated a land book kept by Mohawk leader John Brant and four letters to Six Nations of the Grand River. With the permission of the Six Nations Land and Resource Office, the materials were digitized and are now available as the Six Nations of the Grand River fonds.
  3. Inclusive Collections – In summer 2022, Western Libraries developed a partnership with Indigenous book supplier GoodMinds. Through that partnership we have acquired 601 titles by Indigenous authors, some of which will be available for use in the family room. For the 532 items that will be added to the main Western Libraries collection, library staff are working to provide more respectful descriptions and a more inclusive subject search index than are provided in copy-catalogued records. In the coming months, we will expand upon the GoodMinds partnership to ensure that more of their content reaches our shelves in a systematic manner.