Trot away from 2020 with our DIY rare holiday phenakistoscope

This holiday season is unlike any other. As we move into a new (and hopefully better) year, the Library wishes you much peace, rest, and health coupled with lighthearted moments of reflection, joy, and discovery. Once again, we have remixed …

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December 9, 2020
Bird's-eye-view of exam - 1970s, black and white.

Back to the Future: Exam-themed Zoom backgrounds from the Archives

We know that exams look very different this year. But whether you’re packed into a crowded Zoom room, or an actual room, there are certain things that make exams exams. Late night studying, cue cards, highlighters, pizza delivery, setting two …

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December 8, 2020

Our top webpages in 2019 and 2020: What has changed and stayed the same?

When comparing McGill Library’s website statistics from Google Analytics before and since March 2020, you get a fascinating glimpse of where usage has changed and stayed the same. While physical library branches closed on Friday, March 13th due to COVID-19, …

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December 7, 2020

De-Stress + Sketch: It Matters!

By Michelle Macleod, Assistant Curator, McGill Visual Arts Collection Lire la version française De-Stress and let your creative side take flight with McGill’s Visual Arts Collection. Sustained looking at an artwork can unlock greater appreciation. Sketch, sculpt, quilt, or paint …

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December 2, 2020
ballerina string puppet on a green backdrop

Busy behind-the-scenes: McGill Library’s Digitization-on-Demand

By Greg Houston, Digitization & New Media Administrator and Elis Ing, Liaison Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections Lire la version française While our doors may be closed, we are still hard at work. With such rich collections of unique …

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December 2, 2020

Tourism and Taunting: Martin Lister and William King’s 1698 Travel Tracts

By Dr. Mary Hague-Yearl, History of Medicine Librarian, Osler Library of the History of Medicine Lire la version française Does the pandemic have you feeling like a zombie? Grab your ticket and enter our historical portal! Your ticket will be …

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December 2, 2020

Sweater Weather: Cozy Notes from the Archives

By Aeron MacHattie, Archivist, Rare Books & Special Collections Lire la version française As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, there is nothing better than a woolly knit or a fuzzy fleece for keeping warm. Whether it’s a …

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December 2, 2020

Theodore A. Harris’ “The Long Dream, After Richard Wright” and the Activists in Our Collections

Philadelphia-based artist, Theodore Harris, insists on the power of visual art to reveal diverse perspectives, speaking of our collective past, present, and future in a contentiously shared world.  Presenting as keynote at Culture Shock, a yearly event co-hosted by The …

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November 30, 2020

Dr. Barbara Althea Jones: a fascinating figure in McGill’s history

Dr. Barbara Althea Jones was born in Barataria, Trinidad in the late 1930s. She had a promising career in plant genetics, and was an accomplished poet, performer, and visual artist. She was also an activist, outspoken on the topic of …

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November 26, 2020
Group shot of Joseph Hafner, Daniel Boyer and Louis Houle

Daniel Boyer, Joseph Hafner and Louis Houle promoted to full librarian

Congratulations to our colleagues Mtre Daniel Boyer, Joseph Hafner and Louis Houle who were recently promoted to full librarian. In accordance with McGill’s Regulations Relating to the Employment of Librarian Staff, promotion to full librarian is awarded for the “staff …

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November 24, 2020


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