Blog Archives

Content Warning: This Library Contains Colourful Language

A scene from God’s love to wicked little Joseph (circa 1840). The title character, “indeed a very wicked boy”, develops a penchant for outbursts of colourful language. By page 16, the boy is dead, apparently smote for his wicked tongue. PN970 A4 G6 1832. Sheila R. Bourke Collection.

La version française suit By Elis Ing, Liaison Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections “Pray, Goody, please to moderate the rancour of your tongue” (Pray Goody, ca. 1820). Colourful language makes many people uncomfortable. Profane, blasphemous or crude words are …

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McGill @Expo 67

Fifty-two years ago this month, Expo 67 – the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, opened its doors to the public. Expo was situated on two islands in the middle of the Saint Lawrence River, in view of downtown Montreal. More than 50 …

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Women in the Driver’s Seat

A handbook for all women who motor or who want to motor…  by Dorothy Levitt Advice for Women in Cars: –“Regarding coats—there is nothing like a thick frieze, homespun, or tweed, lined with Jaeger or fur. The former has the advantage of being lighter …

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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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Book Launch : Raymond Klibansky and the Warburg Library Network

Join us for a book launch Raymond Klibansky and the Warburg Library Network: Intellectual Peregrinations from Hamburg to London and Montreal Edited by Philippe Despoix and Jillian Tomm, with Eric Méchoulan and Georges Leroux A new approach to the legacy of the …

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The Story of a Scroll

The McGill Library has one of the best institutional libraries in Canada for medieval artefacts.  This medieval scroll  representing  a genealogy of the Kings of England up to 1461,  is one of four medieval-era artefacts that went on loan to the …

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Curatorial Snapshots: McGill’s Books of Hours

Richard Virr, Retired Chief Curator, Rare Books and Special Collections and co-curator of the Resplendent Illuminations exhibit currently running at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has chosen 13 notable images from McGill’s holdings to give us a taste of …

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A Walk Through “Books that Pop!”

A german Accordion alphabet and phrase book in the Books that Pop Exhibition.

Guest Post by. Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction and Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Coming back to McGill University after being away for a couple of weeks, I got off …

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A Hyakumanto Dharani – among the earliest surviving examples of printed text

In 1968, McGill acquired a copy of the Hyakumanto Dhāraṇī (百萬塔陀羅尼經), one of the earliest surviving examples of printed text, along with the miniature wooden pagoda within which it was stored more than a thousand years ago. A dhāraṇī can be described as a charm used …

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Small wonders tell big stories at Rare Books & Special Collections

La version française suit By Elis Ing, Liaison Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections Before delving into the trove of tiny books at McGill’s Rare Books & Special Collections, it’s worth asking a few questions. To start with, how tiny …

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