PowerBlog

The Patrick Power Library will soon be playing host to a special exhibition entitled, A Tapestry of Voices: Celebrating Canada’s Languages.   This country’s oral and written histories reflect the many aboriginal and immigrant languages which have found a home here.   This exhibit, on loan from the Canadian Language Museum, will pay homage to the diverse linguistic traditions which make up Canada’s cultural fabric. Contemporary issues such as the usage and preservation of endangered languages will also be explored. The exhibit will run August 1 – September 8 and you’ll be able to find it on the library’s main floor, near the stairs and elevator. This is a joint effort on the part of the Library and the Saint Mary’s Faculty of Arts Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Culture.

Academic research and discourse have both been impacted greatly by the rapid emergence of scholarly social networking sites. Many members of the higher education community now use personal profile sites like ResearchGate and Academia.edu , subject-specific sites like  Philpapers and  Social Science Research Network or citation sharing sites such as  Mendeley.   In addition to sharing information, these sites index scholarly publications and track citations as well as disseminating full-text. They now provide access to millions of scholarly journal articles. With that in mind, the Library will be offering an open session which will look at how to leverage such sites to your greatest advantage.  Associate University Librarian Peter Webster will explore the benefits and importance of scholarly social networking and its role in promoting open access and the impact on academic research.  He will also document the wide range of iss...

Regular visitors to the Library will have noticed a special display area where we highlight parts of our collection.   It’s on the first floor, near the copiers. Each display is focused on a particular theme and they’re changed every month or so. Usually it’s comprised of just books.   But the one installed yesterday is titled “Books & Films” so there are a lot of DVDs in there too. You may be surprised to know that we have hundreds of films in our collection.   They are often used in English classes (where they study film as a medium).   But there are also many which address social and political issues.   So you can find anything from a Hollywood classic like Sunset Boulevard to the local documentary Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia .  In fact, you don`t know what you`ll find until you drop by and have a look yourself.  Maybe watch Citizen Kane and then read the biography of William Randolph Hearst sitting next...