1

CNI (Coalition for NetworkedInformation) has just had itsfall meeting in Washington

and I was privileged to attend.CNI( http://www.cni.org/) is a jointinitiative of ARL (Association of Re-search Libraries) of which McGillLibrary is a member and EDU-CAUSE, of which McGill Universityis a member. CNI seeks to addressbroad issues related to the use ofdigital information in research andeducation environments. Its planfor 2008/9 addresses three centralthemes:� Developing and managing net-worked information content� Transforming organizations,professions and individuals� Building technology, standardsand infrastructure

In developing and managing con-tent, the importance of institutionalcontent resources and repositoriestogether with electronic theses anddissertations continues to be em-phasized, along with institutionaland disciplinary implications of e-research and digital preservation.In addressing the transformation oforganizations and professions, thethrust remains on the importance ofunderstanding today’s users, the“millennials” or “born digitals”and their needs, learning spaces andthe services and environments theyrequire, e-science and e-research,risk management and responsibilityfor records management andarchives. Issues of interoperability

Library Ma9ers @ McGillVOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12 | DECEMBER 2008www.mcgill.ca/library-about/pubs/newsletter/

Anna Dysert, Andrew Senior and BrianMcMillan perform medieval English carols,“The Coventry Carol” and “Alma redemptorismater” at the Annual Festive Fête held onDecember 16 at Redpath Hall

JANINE SCHMIDT,TRENHOLMEDIRECTOR OFLIBRARIES

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

STAFF UPDATES: on Page 4

QCCAML REPORT: on Page 6

FESTIVE FÊTE PHOTO GALLERY: on Page 3

VARIOUS TIDBITS: on Page 7

FROM THE TRENHOLME DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES

remain at the fore in building tech-nology, with open archives initiativesand object reuse and exchanging re-maining significant. Campus infra-structure is required to supportresearch programs and new ap-proaches are being taken to distrib-uted computing technologies.Authentication, authorization andaccess management are becomingever more critical with collaborativework being undertaken across insti-tutions, along with identity and re-search management systems.Cliff Lynch in his opening address atthe CNI meeting addressed the fi-nancial and economic developmentsnow facing us. He also referred tothe cyberinfrastructure develop-ments, identity management, intel-lectual property issues,cyberlearning, the lack of clarityabout further developments as far asWeb 2.0 and Web 3.0 are concerned,the significance of visual materialsbeing made available in digital for-mats, the activities by some universi-ties where they are capturing thecontent of large scale lectures digi-tally, and issues associated with openscholarship and open science. Digitallibraries are changing in their nature.There are issues of sustainability.The issues associated with learning,learning spaces and cloud storagemust all be addressed at a time whenfinances are tight. Doing things rad-ically might actually be less expen-sive. What must libraries stopdoing? How can costs be better un-derstood? Good infrastructurewhich permits the transfer of knowl-edge, facilitates education and pro-vides for cultural development willbe as important as good roads andtransportation networks in this digi-tal age.

Another key paper presented at themeeting by Joan Lippincott focusedon the growing importance of mobilelearning, ranging from the use of“clickers” to the use of PDAs and cellphones as learning devices. Librarycatalogues should be able to be ac-cessed from mobile devices. Some li-braries are providing instantmessage responses to students withqueries. Library services must meetthe needs of current and futureusers. Much food for thought andreflection were provided. Watch theCNI site.

This is the final issue of thenewsletter for 2008. A big thank youto all for a wonderfully successfulyear in the Library – our A gradecontinues to be the cause of prideand satisfaction in our achievements.Our clients express satisfaction withour services (although still notingthe need for further improvements!).The physical refurbishments, collec-tion expansion, particularly of our e-resources, improved accommodationfor staff and our digitization strate-gies have all been highlights of theyear – more in 2009. The preparationof our Workplace Values was a realachievement and we look forward toputting its tenets into place in 2009.

Best wishes to all for a happy, rest-ful and rewarding holiday and fes-tive season.

2

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12

Library Ma9ers @ McGill

The Library Matters @ McGill newsletter,

brought to you by the you-never-heard-it-from-

us editors, seeks to exchange and encourage

ideas, innovations and information from McGill

Library staff at all levels.

The newsletter is published monthly. The

latest issue, as well as an archive

of past issues, can be found at

www.mcgill.ca/library-about/pubs/newsletter/.

We welcome your contributions. The deadline

for submissions is the first day of the issue

month. Send your input to the you-never-

heard-it-from-us editorial team:

Louisa Piatti, louisa.piatti@mcgill.ca

Jessica Hunt, jessica.hunt@mcgill.ca

Cathy Martin, cathy.martin@mcgill.ca

Joel Natanblut, joel.natanblut@mcgill.ca

FROM THE DIRECTOR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

"Outside of a dog, a

book is a man's best

friend. Inside of a dog,

it's too dark to read."

-Groucho MARX

DEADLINES TO REMEMBER

Conference Travel Requests:January 30, 2009

Nominations for Career Recognitionand Library Staff Excellence

Awards:February 27, 2009

Please note that the University isclosed for the Holiday Season fromWednesday, December 24, 2008 at

5:00 p.m. and will reopen onMonday, January 5, 2009. The paid

holidays will be from Thursday,December 25, 2008 to Friday,

January 2, 2009 inclusive.

3

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12

FESTIVE FÊTE PHOTO GALLERY

Greg Colley and Maya Kucij

Cathy Martin, Dawn McKinnon and Julia Stark

Amy Buckland, Dawn McKinnon and Amber LannonRachel Demoskoff, Charles Phelan and April Colosimo

Lindsey Sikora

Andrew Senior and Jennifer Innes

Diane Koen and Graham Lavender

Sheila Farthing and Joseph Hafner

Janice Simpkins andElizabethDunkley

Jill Boruff and Brian McMillan

Facilities work continuesthroughout the Library.There have been significant

difficulties with obtaining appro-priate signage and the Library hasengaged a consultant to determinethe appropriate steps forward.Discussions have al-ready been heldwith thelibrarystaff insev-eralmajor libraries to identifycommon issues and problems. Adraft approach is being preparedand staff in branch libraries will befurther involved in identifyinghow we can improve “wayfinding”for our users and reduce the staffworkload devoted to locational in-quiries. Universal needs includesigns for washrooms, designatedquiet study and group study areas,opening hours, areas where cellphones may be used and instruc-tions about eating and drinking.Priority areas are being identified.Some self standing signs will beused. The work will take severalmonths and further informationwill be provided as it comes tohand.

Tenders for the supply of com-pact shelving on Level 5 of the Hu-manities and Social Scienceslibrary have been finalized. Elec-tronically operated compact shelv-ing is being acquired– and yes, thefloor will take it, and no, peoplewill not be sandwiched between it.An electronic eye will operate. Thiswill alleviate some of the storageissues being experienced in theHumanities and Social Sciences Li-brary. Installation will take place

between January and May. Allseating will be removed from Level5, temporary shelving will be in-stalled and the collection will becompletely accessible during theinstallation of the compact shelv-ing. Noise and disruption will beminimized.

The refurbishment of the lobbiesin the McLennan Library Buildingis almost complete, with additionallighting and casual seating. Largelayouts have been installed and ad-ditional signage will be put inplace early next year. Lightingelsewhere also needs adjusting andfurther work will be undertaken asfunds permit. Seating is being re-placed in the Humanities and So-cial Sciences Library, the HowardRoss Library of Management andthe Life Sciences Library. Accom-modation for staff in the Life Sci-ences Library will also beupgraded. Already the entrance tothe Life Sciences Library has beenmodified and further work is beingundertaken to replace the servicedesks. There has been a steadyprogram of acquiring new desksand facilities for library staffwhich are compliant with occupa-tional health and safety standardsand it is hoped that by next year,all staff accommodation will be ata satisfactory level. Plans are alsounder way for installation of spe-cialist graduate student accommo-dation in part of the former Cutterstack. Funding from the SSMU Li-brary Improvement Fund, the Fac-ulty of Arts student funds togetherwith funds from the Library’s oper-ating grant have made these im-provements possible. Thanks to allfor being so understanding duringthe changes being undertaken.

The Senate Committee on Li-braries has had two recent meet-ings. The Landon report on RareBooks and Special Collections wasdiscussed as well as further strate-gies for implementation of its rec-ommendations. The report isavailable from the Office of the Di-rector of the Libraries, for anyoneinterested. A library taskforce hasbeen involved in discussing thenext steps and the implementationplan will be further refined at thenext meeting of the Taskforce. Thecontents of our Rare Books andSpecial Collections are indeedwhat makes the Library’s collec-tions unique and they constitute anoutstanding base for research. En-suring effective access through on-line availability of records in thecatalogue, digitization of materialin the public domain and a moreexpansive exhibition programmeare all being examined.

As part of an overall review ofSenate committees, the SecretaryGeneral and a member of the Re-view Committee attended the SCLmeeting to discuss possiblechanges in its terms of referenceand composition. Further discus-sion will occur before any recom-mendations go forward to Senate.The annual report of the SCL wasdiscussed briefly and is now avail-able. http://www.mcgill.ca/files/senate/D08-26_Committee_on_Li-braries_Annual_Report.pdf

A presentation was also made tothe Senate Committee on Librarieson the work of Collection Serviceswithin the Library by JosephHafner, the Associate Director forCollection Services. Carole Urbainand Diane Koen also made a pres-entation on changes being made to

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12

STAFF UPDATES

4

5

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12

the organization of the Humanitiesand Social Sciences Library.

The SALT (Senior Advisory Li-brary Team) continues its work onthe Strategic Plan which will bedistributed to all library staff forcomment in the near future. Inthe last two months, various staffhave attended meetings, many ofthem investigating the changes li-braries need to make in response tochanges in the environment andvarying client needs. These meet-ings have included a NationalSummit on Library Human Re-sources in Ottawa, sponsored bythe Canadian Library Associationas well as CARL (Canadian Associ-ation of Research Libraries) andnumerous other groups. The 8 Rsreport was revisited - Recruit-ment, Retention, Remuneration,Repatriation, Rejuvenation, Reac-creditation, Retirement and Re-structuring. Training gaps werealso addressed. Much of the sum-mit focused on the need for effec-tive leadership in a time of changeand transition. The developmentof competencies required by li-brary staff was noted and targetsset for work to be undertaken inthe next few years. This reflectssome of the directions taken atMcGill more recently, with the newInduction Programme, the trainingand staff development sessionsover the summer, and our regularscheduled staff development activ-ities. The CARL (Canadian Associ-ation of Research Libraries)meeting followed and addressedissues of future collaboration onareas like digitization. Scholarlycommunication remained a vitaltopic of conversation and CISTI’swork in the development of cyber-infrastructure was outlined. Theimportance of harnessing the vast

amounts of data available wasagain addressed. The ARL (Associ-ation of Research Libraries) meet-ing followed and the data themeremained significant, with a fullday seminar on e-research andchanges in science librarianship.Papers are available on the websiteat http://www.arl.org/resour-ces/pubs/fallforumproceedings/forum08proceedings.shtml.

Homecoming and Parents Week-end were very busy for the Library.A breakfast for parents was held inthe Cyberthèque and Richard Virrand I presented on the topic OurTreasures: your children: our col-lections. Significant items fromour outstanding Rare Books andSpecial Collections were on showand every parent was presentedwith a chapbook of Robinson Cru-soe produced on our new roboticscanner. Chapbooks were pro-duced in the 16th – 19th centuries.They comprised alphabet books,nursery rhymes and abridged ver-sions of novels, were 8 – 32 pagesin size and sold by chapmen orpeddlers inexpensively. They sup-ported the growth of popular cul-ture. The chapbook we usedformed part of a donation from oneof our outstanding donors, SheilaBourke, to whom we are extremelygrateful. Some spare copies areavailable from the Office of the Di-rector of Libraries, if anyonewould like one. A wonderful de-bate took place on the Saturday af-ternoon in the Classes withoutQuizzes series. The sassy studentstook on the learned librarians andprovided excellent entertainmentand inspiration. Further detailsare available in the October issueof Library Matters @ McGill.

We have one new staff memberthis month. We welcome Mila

Bozic Erkic who is working in theNahum Gelber Law Library to ourteam.

A final triumphant note. TheCurrie Gym is all but empty. Forsome years, little-used parts of theLibrary’s collections have beenstored under inappropriate condi-tions in a section of the CurrieGym. Users expressed concernabout the inaccessibility of the ma-terial. Over the last 18 months,material has been repatriated toseveral branch libraries, includingthe Howard Ross Library of Man-agement, the Education library andCurriculum Resource Centre, theMacdonald Campus Library, theLife Sciences Library and theSchulich Library of Science and En-gineering. Much of the materialhas come to the Redpath storagearea. Materials in that area arebeing re-arranged into one se-quence, and further work is beingundertaken to render the materialeasier to find and consistentlystored. Some material was sent toCISTI in Ottawa to fill taps in theircollections. A wonderful team ofpeople, including our student nav-igators, has worked extremely hardand very effectively to ensure thesuccess of the project. There havebeen many people involved andthe names are too numerous tomention but a big thank you toeveryone who was involved – andyes we do plan to have a celebra-tion and a thank you!

“Th' first thing to have in a

libry is a shelf. Fr'm time to

time this can be decorated

with lithrachure. But th' shelf

is th' main thing.”

-Finley Peter DUNNE (1867-1936)

"Books" Mr Dooley Says

FIRST ANNUAL MEETING OF THE QUEBEC CHAPTEROF CAML (CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSIC LI-

BRARIES, ARCHIVES AND DOCUMENTATIONCENTRES)

UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL, QUEBEC CITY;OCTOBER 24, 2008

BY

CATHY MARTIN, LIAISON LIBRARIAN,MARVIN DUCHOW MUSIC LIBRARY

Since 2005, representatives frommusic libraries across Quebechave come together annually to

share information and consider oppor-tunities for collaboration. Over time, thegroup decided to formalize its structureby establishing a regional chapter of theCanadian Association of Music Li-braries, Archives and DocumentationCentres (CAML).

This fall, the first meeting of the Que-bec Chapter of CAML (QCCAML) washosted by Université Laval.1 Close to 40participants from a range of music li-brary types – academic, CEGEP, conser-vatory, public and special – convened todiscuss issues related to providing andenhancing access to music library col-lections and services in Quebec.

The meeting organizers had prepareda full day which included presenta-tions, panel discussions, a tour, and theannual general meeting. There was alsosufficient time for informal interactionamong a9endees, which offered a valu-able complement to the formal sessionsby providing a forum for meeting indi-vidual colleagues and continuing dis-cussion of common issues.

“Music Collections of Quebec City”was the first of the day’s sessions. Dur-

ing this session, participants learnedthat the Université Laval’s Archives defolklore et d’ethnologie holds the fondsof a number of Quebec musicians. Alater presentation, given by Daniel Par-adis of the Université de Montréal, wason the subject of the new cataloguingstandard, Resource Description and Ac-cess (RDA). A8er outlining its objec-tives and the reasons for itsdevelopment, Paradis discussed the im-plications RDA would have for musicmaterials. One example he gave was thereplacement of the general materialdesignation (GMD) by new terms re-lated to content, medium, and format.Over the course of the presentation, heemphasized the potential of this newstandard to improve collocation and toprovide more possibilities for refiningsearches based on relationships amongentities. These enhancements are of par-ticular relevance for music resourcesdue to the existence of multiple mani-festations (arrangements, transcrip-tions, translations, etc.), media (printedand digital scores, audio/video andmixed media, etc.) and formats (rang-ing from cylinder recordings to ever-evolving digital formats).

The first of two panel discussions wason the topic of processing music materi-als. Processing procedures tend to re-quire constant adjustment, due in partto the changing nature of physical for-mats and the way certain music materi-als are presented. One such examplewas offered by Danielle Poirier of theBibliothèque et Archives nationales duQuébec, who demonstrated a book-likebinding for sets that include multipleCDs as well as lengthy booklets. Thesecond panel discussion, “DesigningMusic Library Spaces,” featured pan-elists Brian McMillan, Roseline Petit-clerc (Bibliothèque Félix-Leclerc,Québec), and Denise Prince (Conserva-toire de musique de Montréal). Each

presented details regarding recentbuilding design projects in their respec-tive libraries. During the session,McMillan had the opportunity to de-scribe the way client feedback has con-tributed to ongoing adjustments andimprovements related to use of thespace in McGill’s Marvin DuchowMusic Library.

A session of “Lightning Talks” wasscheduled in order to provide willingparticipants with a 5-minute time pe-riod each in which to share informationabout new services, projects, or solu-tions to common work issues. One suchcontribution was from Justine Lam-oureux, music librarian at the Univer-sité du Québec à Montréal. Shedemonstrated her implementation of“SubjectsPlus”, an open source so8-ware for managing subject or researchguides. Another contribution, fromDaniel Paradis, provided informationregarding online cataloguing resourcesfor French Baroque music.

Finally, a tour of the Arts and Musicsection of Université Laval’s Biblio-thèque des sciences humaines et so-ciales allowed for a close-up view of acollection frequently consulted onlineby other music libraries. It also affordedan opportunity to view displays of newacquisitions and to consider similarpresentation approaches in participants’home libraries.

This first annual meeting of the Que-bec Chapter of CAML served its pur-pose well by inspiring continued effortin the work that needs to be done toprovide access to Quebec’s diversemusic collections.1 The organizing commi9ee consisted of JustineLamoureux (Université du Québec à Montréal(UQAM)), Audrey Laplante (Université de Mon-tréal (UdeM)), QCCAML Chair Brian McMillan(McGill), and Daniel Paradis (UdeM), whileMelissa Gravel (Université Laval) and PierrePlante (Conservatoire de musique de Québec)served as local coordinators. Sponsoring organi-zations for the meeting were the libraries ofMcGill University, Université Laval, and UQAM,as well as Alexander Street Press, Gibson LibraryConnections, and Naxos.

6

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12

QCCAML REPORT

Cathy Martin, Brian McMillan, Joseph Hafnerand Jared Wiercinski at the QCCAMLmeeting

7

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 12

VARIOUS TIDBITS

OSLERIAN SEARCHby Andrew Collier,

Library Technology Services

The Osler Library Newsle9er hasbeen published since 1969, and all

109 issues are available on the McGillLibrary website in pdf format. I encour-age you to read each one, of course, butfor those Oslerians who haven’t time todo so and want to see what theNewsle9er has to say about HarveyCushing, or who can’t recall whichissue described Osler’s relationshipwith the artist William Raphael, there isnow a Google Custom Search Engine toserve your needs.

The Google Custom Search Engine al-lows you to add a search box to yoursite that will search only the pages youspecify. For the Osler Library Newslet-ter, Chris Lyons set up the Engine tosearch only the links on the Newsle9er

DAMAGE TO BOOKS NOTEin a 1932 book

called Pulmonary tuberculosis

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARYHOLIDAY RECEPTION

Janine Schmidt, Paul Yachnin, Friend of 2008,and Janet Blachford

SEARCH INTERFACEPRESENTATIONS

ONLINE CATALOGS: WHAT USERSAND LIBRARIANS WANT

Karen Calhoun, Vice President, World-Cat and Metadata Services, OCLC

Friday, January 9th from 10:00 to noonin Room MS-42, Street Level, McLennanLibrary Building, 3459 McTavish Street

RSVP: rsvp.libraries@mcgill.ca

ONE WEBSITE COMMITTEEDEMONSTRATIONS OF SEARCH

INTERFACE PRODUCTS

Primo from Ex LibrisTuesday, January 13th from 9:00 to 11:00

in the Cyberthèque

WorldCat Local from OCLCTuesday, January 20th from 2:00 to 4:00

in the Cyberthèque

AquaBrowser from SerialSolutions/Bowker

Tuesday, February 10th from 9:00 to 11:00in the Cyberthèque

RSVP: Joanne Hay,joanne.hay@mcgill.ca

page, and since all past issues werelisted there, the Newsle9er gained itsown powerful search box.

Please visit the Osler Library Newslet-ter’s page, try out the search, and thinkhow the Google Custom Search Enginemight improve the Library website’ssubject guides, online reference section,and other pages. Any ideas?h,p://www.mcgill.ca/osler-library/about/introduction/newsle,er/

Library Ma9ers @ McGill

The quotes in this month's newsletter weresubmitted by David Crawford (Emeritus Li-brarian-Life Sciences). The you-never-heard-it-from-us editorial team issues achallenge to all to send us quotes ... it couldbe in a specific discipline, or quotes you findparticularly interesting, insightful, intriguing orjust quotable! Send us your quotes and seeif they make it to a future issue of thenewsletter.