Blog Archives

A mirror into the microcosm: digitizing Johann Remmelin’s 1619 flap anatomy, Catoptrum microcosmicum.

By Ruoshan Gu and Mary Hague-Yearl The staff at the Osler Library are always on the lookout for new ways to challenge our colleagues in Digital Initiatives. The team in the digitization lab seem to be able to do anything, …

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The Recipes Project : Library Chat at the Osler

B.O. 53, Assyrian Medical Tablet. Containing such advice as, “‘the emerald plant’ in best beer thou shalt give him to drink,” This Assyrian medical tablet from ca. 700 B.C.E. provides recipes to treat an unnamed eye disease.

Welcome to a guest edition of Library Matters! This week’s blog is brought to you by Dr. Sarah Kernan of The Recipes Project. Dr. Kernan is an independent culinary historian who holds a Ph.D. in medieval history from The Ohio …

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Having Fun in Hallowed Halls : ROAAr Story Time is a Hit!

As a liaison librarian, I am relatively accustomed to asking complex, sometimes laborious, questions of library patrons. There was a slight change in the questions I found myself asking last week, however. Instead of asking if one would prefer to …

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The confessions of a rabbit woman and other recently digitized tales from the Osler Library

  Currently on display in the lobby of the McLennan Library is the exhibit, “Curiosities of Conception,” co-curated by Frances Cullen and Shana Cooperstein with contributions by Robin Lynch, Lauren Harnish, Rach Klein, Anya Kowalchuk, and Kristy Kong. The exhibit …

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Celebrating three years of the Michele Larose-Osler Library Artist-in-Residence Programme

Details of notes and drawings created during the residency. Credit: Caroline Boileau, 2018.

  On 7 February 2019, the Osler Library will host a vernissage to mark the opening of an exhibit by 2018 Larose-Osler Artist-in-Residence Caroline Boileau, “Corps qui hantent d’autres corps.” Boileau is the third artist selected for the residency, and …

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Book annotations as witness to the Dutch influence in Japan during the Edo period

        During the Edo period, from the mid-17th to the mid-19th century, Japan adopted an isolationist policy. At this time, the only Westerners allowed access to the country were the Dutch, who were permitted to trade from …

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McGill Little Free Libraries: A Story of Serendipity

McGill Little Free Library at the Gault Estate in Mont-Saitn-Hilaire. Photo: Charles Normandin

One word – serendipity. In 2015, I submitted a proposal entitled McGill NooX (“Neighbourhood Book Exchange”) to be considered for funding through the Library’s Innovation Fund. On paper, the McGill NooX project involved a collaboration between McGill students, faculty, staff, …

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McGill Book Fair needs your help!

McGill Book Fair

Public Service Announcement from the McGill Book Fair: We are looking for contributions of lightly-used books in all categories, from Art to Zoology and almost everything in between. The exceptions to this are magazines, journals and encyclopedias.  In the decades …

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“Great neurosis” at the Osler Library: A noteworthy acquisition in the field of 19th century psychiatry

The Osler Library recently acquired the work Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière. Service de M. Charcot. Published in Paris by Les Bureaux du progrès medical between 1876-1880, this three-volume book is by Desiré Magloire Bourneville (1840-1909) and Paul-Marie-Léon Regnard (1850-1927), …

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April 22 is Earth Day

April 22 is the perfect day for us to focus on the environment.  The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, and is credited by many as starting the modern environmental movement.  Today, more than 1 billion people …

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