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Exam period can be a stressful time for students, and having examples of past papers to help prepare for the tests can be extremely helpful. It is possible that past exams are already shared on your campus--by professors in their specific courses, via student unions or groups, or between individual students. In this article, we will go over the workflows and infrastructure to support the systematic collection, provision of access to, and repository management of past exam papers. We will discuss platform-agnostic considerations of opt-in versus opt-out submission, access restriction, discovery, retention schedules, and more. Finally, we will share the University of Toronto setup, including a dedicated instance of DSpace, batch metadata creation and ingest scripts, and our submission and retention workflows that take into account the varying needs of stakeholders across our three campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the planning, implementation and assessment of the Term Paper Clinic (TPC) reference service in academic libraries due to shrinking budgets and expanding enrollments. Exploration of innovative ways in academic libraries to provide individualized services to clients; Conduction of the TPC for undergraduates at the University of Toronto.

Stamp collectors frequently donate their stamps to cultural heritage institutions. As digitization becomes more prevalent for other kinds of materials, it is worth exploring how cultural heritage institutions are digitizing their philatelic materials. This paper begins with a review of the literature about the purpose of metadata, current metadata standards, and metadata that are relevant to philatelists. The paper then examines the digital philatelic collections of four large cultural heritage institutions, discussing the metadata standards and elements employed by these institutions. The paper concludes with a recommendation to create international standards that describe metadata management explicitly for philatelic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern academic libraries are hubs of technology, yet the gap between the library and IT is an issue at several small university libraries across Canada that can inhibit innovation and lead to diminished student experience. This paper outlines results of a survey of small (<5,000 FTE) universities in Canada, focusing on IT and the library when it comes to organizational structure, staffing, and location. It then discusses higher level as well as smaller scale solutions to this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chatbots are "computer agents that can interact with the user" in a way that feels like human-to-human conversation.1 While the use of chatbots for reference service in academic libraries is a topic of interest for both library professionals and researchers, little is known about how they are used in library reference service, especially in academic libraries in Canada. This article aims to fill this gap by conducting a web-based survey of 106 academic library websites in Canada and analyzing the prevalence and characteristics of chatbot and live chat services offered by these libraries. The authors found that only two libraries were using chatbots for reference service. For live chat services, the authors found that 78 libraries provided this service. The article discusses possible reasons for the low adoption of chatbots in academic libraries, such as accessibility, privacy, cost, and professional identity issues. The article also provides a case study of the authors' institution, the University of Calgary, which integrated a chatbot service in 2021. The article concludes with suggestions for future research on chatbot use in libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries offer a mix of options to serve the film studies curriculum: streaming video, DVDs on Reserve, and streaming DVDs through online classrooms. Some professors screen films and lend DVDs to students. But how do students obtain the films required for their courses? How would they prefer to do so? These are among the questions explored using data obtained by surveying students at one Canadian university as well as faculty and librarians at ten Canadian universities that offer film studies programs. The study finds that more students are engaging in digital piracy than using the Library Reserve desk and that faculty and librarians must contend with formats, licenses, and copyright to provide effective, legal access. The paper recommends that libraries increase streaming options, collect DVDs for preservation, digitize DVDs when legally possible, screen films in class, investigate social screening spaces, and lobby industry and government for changes to law and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada has a long history of adapting United States subject access tools, including the Library of Congress Classification (LCC), Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), the Dewey Decimal Classification, and the Sears List of Subject Headings, to meet the specific needs of Canadians. This paper addresses the extensions to these American tools for English-speaking Canadians. While the United States and Canada have many similarities, differences exist that require changing terminology and providing greater depth and precision in subject headings and classification for specifically Canadian topics. The major effort has been for Library and Archives Canada (LAC) systematically to provide extensions for LCC and LCSH for use within its cataloging records. This paper examines the history and philosophy of these Canadian efforts to provide enhanced subject access. Paradoxically, French-speaking Canadians may have found it easier to start from scratch with the Répertoire de vedettes-matière because of the difficult decisions for English-language tools on how much change to implement in an environment where most Canadian libraries use the American subject access tools. Canadian studies scholars around the world can use Canadian records, especially those maintained by LAC, to obtain superior subject access for Canadian topics even if they obtain the documents from other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As academic librarians with faculty status increasingly embrace research engagement as a core value and requirement, one of the little-studied questions is the extent to which they possess the requisite knowledge and skills to conduct high-quality research and scholarship and what further learning needs they might have within the organizational setting. This paper summarizes an institutional case study of the research knowledge of academic librarians employed at the University of Saskatchewan, encompassing their current research interests, experiences, competencies, environmental context, and learning needs. The goal was to develop a framework for additional educational activities and institutional supports that would enhance their knowledge and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this chapter is to familiarize readers with contemporary challenges and censorship in school libraries and learning commons in Canada. The informal narrative reflects the viewpoints of seasoned advocates for intellectual freedom and social responsibility in the Canadian library sector. Content concentrates on the main sources of challenges, four common types of challenges that can lead to censorship (content, curriculum, genre, and book leveling), an essential two step strategy and related resources for dealing with challenges and combating censorship, and a pointer for educators in library and information programs. The chapter closes with an expression of appreciation and concern for the individuals who take personal and professional risk in managing challenges and combating censorship in school libraries and learning commons in Canada and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the evolution of the Canadian Census publishing program over the years. It will pay particular attention to the developments in electronic publishing. Census dissemination via Canada's Depository Services Program (DSP) will also be described. While there are many different ways in which one could describe census publishing in Canada, from the point of view of distribution media, there are fairly distinct phases of evolution. During the period 1871 to 1956, all outputs from the census were on paper Basic Summary Tabulations (BSTs) were the first machine-readable files distributed after the 1961 census. Public use micro-data files were introduced for the 1971 census. During this time paper products continued to be the major output format. Commencing in 1986, census outputs on personal computer (PC) readable media with access software were made available to users. This service was extended in 1991, and by 1996 the Internet was introduced as means of dissemination. While the Internet was the major dissemination vehicle for 2001, key outputs continued to be disseminated in this article.

A content analysis of 62 job postings for East Asian studies librarians in the United States and Canada during 2008-2019 demonstrates that major job responsibilities have expanded to include collection development and management, reference and research assistance, instruction, liaison work, and outreach; relationship building and collaboration are emerging roles; skills and abilities have been progressively occupying a larger proportion than knowledge and experience in the required qualifications; top frequently required abilities and skills are generic and behavioral; and professional experiences are often preferred rather than required. The results of this research are of practical relevance to subject specialists in other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on news and information being given by the Early Canadiana Online. It states that by spring of 2006, Canada's major official publications will be digitized from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. It explains that once the digitization is completed, 1.5 million pages of some of Canada's most significant heritage documents, which includes acts, debates, legislative journals, and sessional papers, will be available with full-text searching on the net with the use of Early Canadiana Online.

Recent changes in Canadian copyright law have prompted Canada's educational institutions to reexamine their need for a blanket copying license. Users' rights under the amended Copyright Act now include fair dealing for purposes of education, and the Supreme Court has established that copying short excerpts for classroom use can qualify as fair dealing. This study looks at one university's examination of copied course materials made available via library reserve, coursepacks and its learning management system, and likely sources for copyright permissions, when needed. Results suggest that fair dealing is the most important and the institution's blanket license is the least important basis for permissions clearance over a semester's worth of copying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines perceptions of provosts from Canadian research-intensive universities regarding their institution's academic libraries. Interviews conducted with nine provosts explored how they perceive academic libraries in terms of alignment with institutional mission, how they envision the future of their libraries, and what they interpret as indicators of success. The results suggest that provosts perceive libraries making significant contributions to research and student learning, particularly through the provision of access to information and the evolving role of library as place respectively. Other areas of library expertise, such as scholarly communication, appear somewhat less familiar to provosts, suggesting the need for library leaders to promote new roles within the institutional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentoring expectations, activities, and support in Canadian college and university libraries were investigated by surveying 332 recent MLIS graduates, practicing academic librarians, and library administrators. Findings indicate that the presence of a mentoring program will help attract new librarians, retain them, and aid in restructuring efforts that are currently facing many academic libraries. Preferred mentoring activities include those belonging to psychosocial support, career guidance, and role modeling themes. Other results find that librarians who were mentored as new librarians, have more than 10 years of experiences, and work in large academic institutions are significantly more likely to mentor others. Although currently not well-supported by academic administrators, this research shows that mentoring programs could be sustainable. Mentoring improves the professional experiences for librarians who are more satisfied and engaged with their careers, which in turn benefits the organization with less turnover. Practical information from this research will guide academic library practitioners in current mentoring relationships, and library leaders can extrapolate results to support planning and implementation of mentoring programs. Implications for LIS education are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines racial and ethnic diversity among Canadian academic librarians and discusses the findings of a nationwide survey. The survey posed questions related to equity plans and programs as well as recruitment practices for academic librarians from equity-seeking groups with a focus on Aboriginal and visible/racial minority librarians. It explored the needs and experiences of Aboriginal and visible/racial minority librarians employed in Canadian academic libraries by examining questions of organizational climate, mentoring, institutional support, advancement opportunities, and the roles of library associations. The findings reveal a need for more diversity awareness and training and leadership with respect to diversity on the part of academic libraries and the profession at large in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women living in a rural Canadian county were interviewed about how they locate health information. The experiences they described raise interesting questions about the efficacy of government sponsored e-health initiatives, particularly when such programs are intended to compensate individuals who live in remote communities for lack of access to health care services. Most of the women in the study undertake considerable health-related information gate-keeping for themselves and on behalf of family members and others in their personal networks. They seek and assess information from a wide variety of sources, some of which they locate via the Internet, and they balance what they learn against their experiences with the formal health system. The women's accounts focused repeatedly on the quality of their relationship with those to whom they turn for assistance, although the actual roles of helpers, whether physicians, friends, librarians, or staff in health food stores, often appeared to be incidental. Instead, helpers' perceived effectiveness seemed to depend largely on how well they express care when information is exchanged. Several women also reported that they had diagnosed and even treated themselves, sometimes on the basis of information gathered from the Internet. These and other findings are discussed with respect to public policy concerning consumer health information and the potential role of public libraries in the provision of health information programming in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this editorial the author focuses on the negative impact extremely cold weather can have on library information technology (IT) services. Cold weather stresses and breaks things, including heating and ventilation systems. Particular attention is given to the situation involving the libraries in Edmonton, Alberta. The author also provides information on how to prepare for this type of failure.

The article discusses the puppet play that reveals the secret lives of the fairy tale characters in picture books. According to Helen Kelley, a children's librarian at Hamilton Public Library in Canada, children love to see characters live outside the pages of the book through classic puppet plays. The play does not merely follow a script, as children who watch the play are encouraged to make a script in the midst of the performance.