Award winners Julia Couture and Sara-Alba Gonzalez Pepe with a red Friends of the Library banner.

Celebrating the inaugural Friends of the Libraries Student Awards

La version française suit. On Monday, April 28, students, library staff, and Friends of the McGill Libraries members gathered together in celebration of the inaugural Friends of the Libraries Student Library Award winners. The awards were generously supported by the Friends of the Libraries …

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Illustration against a wall. Subject: Person painted entirely red/pink.

Pain Made Visible: Art, Illness, and Inquiry at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine

La version française suit. On April 17, a packed audience filled the reading room of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine for two events exploring the subject of pain. The event opened with an artist panel, pain subjects: …

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Receipt for bags of potatoes, Abraham Pastorius, Montreal, 1802. Lande John Law Collection. Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill University Libraries.

The Lande Legacy and the Art of Building Rare Book Collections

La version française suit By: Chris Lyons, Senior Curator, Rare Books & Special Collections (retired) Rare books libraries collect collectors. At first this might sound like a mercenary or macabre way to describe the work of the earnest curators responsible …

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Cover 1986 catalogue Mossman Collection of the History of Science and Ideas.

Practicum Pause: Ezra J. Teboul

La version française suit For MISt student Ezra J. Teboul, a practicum at McGill Libraries was the perfect blend of history, technology, and librarianship. With a background in the history of signal processing and electronic music, Ezra was drawn to …

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McGill and Concordia Collaborate to Build AI Literacy

La version française suit In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, understanding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is no longer optional—it’s essential. In late fall of 2024, McGill University Libraries, in partnership with Concordia Library and eConcordia, unveiled GenAI Quickstart: Foundations for …

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McGill Daily Special Supplement May 1958

Backstory: A History of McGill Student Publications

La version française suit. Originally published on August 4, 2017 in The Dark Room   Guest post by Annelise Dowd. Annelise is a graduate of the McGill University Master of Information Studies program who worked on a practicum project working with …

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Imprimé à Montréal: Montreal and McGill in the history of print

By Chelsea Thompson Quartz, SIS Practicum Student, Book Arts Lab (RBSC). This blog post is complemented by a physical exhibition in the Rare Books & Special Collections reading room, April – September 2025. Fleury Mesplet Montreal formally enters the history …

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Friends of the McGill Libraries logo against a White background.

Year in Review: Reflections from the Friends of the Libraries’ Chair

Version française suit. By Lenore Harris, Chair, Friends of the McGill Libraries Hello! It is difficult to believe that just over a year has passed since I assumed the role of Chair of the Friends of the Libraries. It has …

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Henry Robertson, Bookwus Mask, c. 1980s, Cedar Mask, 28.1 x 16.8 x 13 cm, Gift of Moira A. Hudgin from the Estate of Roger L. Hudgin. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 2023-042.

Woodn’t You Like to Know?

By Hi’iakalehuakaulei Hashimoto, Curatorial Intern for Indigenous Art (2023-), McGill Visual Arts Collection Many Indigenous peoples of the Northwest coast, including Kwakwaka’wakw, tell stories of the Bakwas, or Bookwus (wild man of the woods), a “supernatural” being who dwells in …

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Background: Study areas. Foreground: Book stacks. Birks Reading Room. Credit: Thomas Guinard.

Statement on Inclusive Description

La version française suit. The catalogues and digital collections of the McGill Libraries contain millions of descriptions to help users identify and understand resources that may be relevant to their studies and research. These descriptions enter our catalogues in various …

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