Blog Archives

Brilliant Blues for Winter Days

Japanese print of people on a beach with water and trees

By Octavian Sopt, Senior Documentation Technician, Rare Books and Special Collections At the onset of gray winter weather, I think about the multitude of vibrant colors that filled the exhibition cases in the 4th floor lobby of the McLennan Library …

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A Noble Fragment

We had the great pleasure of chatting over a video conference call with author and journalist Michael Visontay, residing in Sydney, Australia, following the release of his most recent book Noble Fragments. It recounts the riveting story of Gabriel Wells, …

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities 

Bulwer, John. Philocophus, or, The deafe and dumbe mans friend : exhibiting the philosophicall verity of that subtile art, which may inable one with an observant eie, to heare what any man speaks by the moving of his lips ... apparently proving, that a man borne deafe and dumbe, may be taught to heare the sound of words with his eie, & thence learne to speake with his tongue, 1648.

by Jenn Riley, Associate Dean, Strategic Initiatives and Andrea Miller-Nesbitt, Liaison Librarian at Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering December 3 is the annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, as proclaimed in 1992 by the United …

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Exaltation, The Ionkhisotha Ahsonthennékha Karáhkwa/Nookomis Giizis/Tipiskâwi-pîsim/Moon and The Mihkinâhk/Turtle Lunar Calendar

By Aurora Rose Desjarlais (Nêhiyawak/Plains Cree First Nations, McGill Visual Arts Collection Intern, 2025-) A sculpture that has always caught my eye on McGill’s campus is Exaltation by Giovanni Porretta. It is located in the James Sculpture Garden, which is nestled …

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Celebrating Homecoming 2025 with the Libraries

Black and white photo of student studying in the a dorm room in the 1970s..

Make the Libraries your happy place during Homecoming. Reconnect with the McGill community this fall with a masterclass, exhibit tours, library tours, and more. Our 2025 Homecoming programming has something for everyone. Masterclass AI, Privacy, and the Public Good – …

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Celebrating the inaugural Friends of the Libraries Student Awards

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

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 are generously supported by the Friends of the Libraries …

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

Friends of the McGill Libraries logo against a White background.

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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Woodn’t You Like to Know?

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.

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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Statement on Inclusive Description

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

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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