PowerBlog

Want to know more about The Atrium and everything it will offer? Want to find out more about the relationship between the Atrium and the Library? Want to know what a "living wall" is? Then all you have to do is go to http://www.theatrium.ca/ . This brand new site is full of information on the many different resources and services which students (and faculty and staff) will be able to enjoy once it is completed (the finishing touches are scheduled for late January/early February). By the way, the "living wall" has already been installed and it looks great! As you know, the Global Learning Commons will dominate the Atrium's first floor and visitors will pass through that space to get to the library. Right now the guys in hard hats are pulling out all the stops to get the area ready so that our new entrance can open on October 1. All of the furniture and computers for the Commons should arrive just a few weeks later. Once that's done, with our new service desks...

Faculty and staff are invited to a special presentation: Getting the Most from Canadian Census and Stats Canada Data at Saint Mary's This informative workshop will be held on Friday, the 18th, from 10:30-12:30, in Room L271. It will: highlight the broad range of information available from the latest census and the wealth of historical information in past census demonstrate how easy it is to access census information for use in your classroom explore advanced statistical research resources and in-depth census data sources available to researchers answer questions about the services offered through the Statistics Canada Atlantic Research Data Centre, as well as Data Liberation Initiative services offered on campus Presenters will be Sai Choi Chua, Atlantic Research Data Centre, Dalhousie University and Peter Webster, Systems Librarian, Patrick Power Library. To RSVP or for more information, contact Peter at peter.webster@smu.ca or 420-5507

It’s been about 3 weeks since we last “talked” about everything going on around here (see Changes & more changes ). But by now you’ve probably moved into residence and met your roommate or moved into your apartment and met your 4 roommates, you’re ready to hit the books and you’re wondering when you’ll be able to start enjoying the benefits of all these renovations. So, with that in mind, let me tell you what we know, as of today, about the completion dates for the various projects within and adjacent to the library: The library’s new entrance & service desks will open September 30 – that graffiti-covered temporary wall in the Reference Room will be coming down very soon, unveiling the new entrance and our impressive new service desks. The new flooring will be completed and all of the furniture and computers will be in their new homes. The migration to the new desks will follow. The Global Learning Commons will open in late October – the first floor of the Atrium will featur...

Libraries around the world have a lot in common - books, computers, desks, good looking staff.... Which is not to say that they're all exactly the same. There are small ones, big ones, gigantic ones. Some have a thousand books, some have a million, some are on wheels! Students come to Saint Mary's from more than 80 countries so their experiences with libraries can be, literally, "all over the map". Perhaps they took a bus to the nearest rural public library when doing homework research. Or maybe they lived around the corner from the national library in the capital city. For many first year students, their exposure to libraries is confined to the (usually small) one in high school. So the adjustment to a comparatively large, relatively complex library such as this one can be a challenge for many. International students are used to challenges - it takes a lot to move to a new country and get a university education at the same time! So we've tried to make the ...