Monthly Archives: October 2021

Queer History Month – A Redpath Exhibition

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The Humanities and Social Sciences Library would like to wish the McGill University Community a Happy 2021 Queer History Month. Every year in Canada, the month of October is observed as a time to reflect and learn about LGBTQ+ history and culture.  This year’s Queer History Month theme is “Coming Together”.  

For the 2021 Queer History Month, the Humanities and Social Sciences Library would like to showcase the diversity of Queer resources you have available to you for teaching, learning and research purposes both online (see online exhibit) and in physical format. Visit the Queer History Month Calendar to learn more about the various programming during the month of October. 

Under the care the Liaison Librarian for LGBTQ+ Studies, the McGill Library has been able to acquire access to valuable digital archives such as to the Archives of Human Sexuality and Gender, Alexander Street Press’ LGBT Thought and Culture, and Adam Matthew’s Defining Gender. These primary source digital archives provide you with access to historical newspapers and newspaper clippings, personal journals, photographs, magazines and more!  

Discover Queer McGill’s History 

A small search for “Gay McGill”, present day Queer McGill, in the Archives of Human Sexuality and Gender reveals numerous digitized documents that help us relive Queer McGill’s history as one of the first and most influential LGBTQ+ organizations at McGill, in Québec, and in Canada. Learn about the 1974 Gay McGill Civil Rights Public Forum, an article published in The Gay Times. Rediscover the 1979, 1981 and 1988  Gai(e) Danse posters for the dances Queer McGill held on campus. Read what quite possibly might be the first mention of Queer McGill (formally Gay McGill) in the July-August edition of Body Politic (Toronto, Ontario). If you find any other interesting historical things about McGill and its Queer Community, let us know in the comments!  

Scholarly Articles Databases 

In addition to these primary source treasure troves, you will also find important databases for scholarly publications, like the Gender Watch and Gender Studies Database. These two databases provide access to journals that published scholarly articles on gender and sexuality studies.  

Physical Redpath Display 

Finally, we invite you to look at the physical display located in the main hallway of the Redpath Library Building. You’ll see a selection of novels, encyclopedia, and essays on various aspects of Queer Studies. Note that this is only a small fraction of the available print resources we have at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. If there is a specific title on display that you would like to borrow, please contact hssl.library@mcgill.ca.  

Living Queer Collection 

Our libraries are for everyone and open to all. We like to extend this philosophy to our collection management practices. In this spirit, if you have purchase suggestions that you believe we should add to the McGill Library, please reach out to the Liaison Librarian for LGBTQ+. Our collection is constantly growing, and the best way to strengthen it is collaboratively.  

Happy Queer History Month to all and feel free to reach out to Michael David MILLER, Liaison Librarian for LGBTQ+ Studies for any questions, comments or suggestions. 

A special thank you to our staff who helped assemble the physical and virtual displays. 

  • Vanja Lugonjic, HSSL Outreach Assistant 
  • Kristen Goodall, Library Assistant 

Redpath Book Display: Hispanic Heritage Month

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On June 20th, 2020 Quebec’s National Assembly declared the month of October Hispanic Heritage Month. This coincides with Canada’s Latin American Heritage Month Act, which was sanctioned by Parliament in 20198. Both acts recognize the many contributions of both Hispanic and Latin American individuals to the social, economic and political development of the province and the country. The McGill Library is joining the celebrations with our October book display, which features books and films written by Hispanic and Latin American authors.  You can view the physical display on the main floor of the Redpath Library or check out our online version.

Hispanic and Latin American: Is there a difference? 

While many people tend to use terms like Hispanic, Latin American, Latino/a, or Latinx interchangeably, they represent different cultural or ethnic origins. Here is a quick primer:  

Hispanic: A person of Spanish or Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry. This includes Spain as well as Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.  

Latin American: A person from the Latin American region regardless of language.     

Latino or Latina: In English North America, a person of Latin American origin or ancestry living the USA or Canada. The term was adopted by the community as a rejection the word Hispanic for the latter’s connection to Spain and Spanish colonization.  

Latinx: A gender-neutral option for Latino and Latina.  

There are even more descriptors individuals in these communities may prefer to use. Some would rather identify with their country of birth or ancestry and choose to use terms like Boricua (from Puerto Rico) or Chicano (Mexican-American). Others choose descriptors that reflect the intersection of their ethnic and racial identities like in the case of Afro-Latinas, Afro-Caribbean, Latinasians (Latin Americans of full or partial Asian descent) or Indigenous Latin Americans. 

 Below is a video that better explains the complexities on these identities:  

Meet Your Humanities and Social Sciences Liaison Librarians

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Being back on campus has been so great! There have been reunions within the stacks, a new library space app Waitz, and most importantly, the friendly staff of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library have made the space feel like a second home again. As we head move forward in the semester and assignments are starting to pick up, there’s no better time to check in with your Liaison Librarian.

With such a variety of scholarly topics covered at McGill, each department has a Liaison Librarian who specializes in their field of study. There are 13 Liaison’s in the Humanities and Social Sciences Library that support arts, education, and management programs.

Liaisons can help you find the best resources for your project or paper; their help extends to the entire McGill community. You can find the rest of the HSSL Library staff here which includes your Library Liaisons. (Tip: for quick search, key ctrl+f and search the topic of interest).

Hear from some of our Liaison Librarians about this library resource:

Tatiana Bedjanian

A blonde haired woman smiles at the camera, her hair is shoulder length with a slight curl at the end and she is wearing frameless glasses.

Tatiana is a Liaison Librarian for Russian Studies, German Language & Literature, Linguistics, the School of Continuing Studies’ Intensive English Program, and the Writing Centre. Her favourite book is The Demons by Dostoevsky

“Liaison Librarians are the primary Libraries’ contacts for faculty and students. By providing specialized subject expertise in their academic disciplines, they support teaching, learning, and research and help navigate a rapidly changing information landscape“

Eamon Duffy

A man with short brown hair is giving a closed lip smile. He can be seen from the neck up and is wearing two-tone coloured glasses.

Eamon is a Liaison Librarian for History, Classical Studies, and Government Information. His favourite book is Common Ground by J. Anthony Lukas.

“As far as what I have learned about my subjects I would say that historians look at everything. There isn’t any kind of documentation that wouldn’t have some value as a primary source in the right context.”

David Greene

A young man with short curly brown hair and a bear is smiling at the camera. He can be seen from the chest up and is standing in front of a bookshelf.

David is a Liaison Librarian for the Department of Art History & Communication Studies, the School of Architecture, and the School of Urban Planning. His favourite book is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

“We get to help with all kinds of projects. One of the strangest involved running a 3D printing and virtual reality space in the library’s Innovation Commons.“

Sandy Hervieux

A young woman with curly red hair is smiling at the camera. She has on bright red lipstick and can be seen from the chest up. She is standing in front of a bookshelf.

Sandy is a Liaison Librarian for Political Science, Philosophy, Public Policy, and the School of Religious Studies. His favourite book is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E Schwab.

“I can help students find sources for your assignments and research projects. This means helping with creating a strong search strategy, finding primary and secondary sources (such as academic articles), and evaluating the information. The Library has a multitude of sources so it’s not always easy to know where to search, that’s something I can help with as well.”

Marcela Y. Isuster

A young woman with long, wavy brown hair is smiling with closed lips at the camera. She has large black glasses and can be seen from the chest up. She is standing in front of a bookshelf.

Marcela is a Liaison Librarian for Hispanic Studies, Information Studies, and Kinesiology & Physical Education.

“One of the things I like the most about being a liaison is how I much I learn about the subjects I work with from discovering new musical movements in Colombia to better understanding decolonizing pedagogy to exploring respiratory training for hockey goalies. No two days are the same and I am always learning new things”

Emily Kingsland

A young woman with long black hair is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a bright fuscia shirt and is standing in front of a bookshelf.

Emily is a Liaison Librarian for Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Psychology. Her favourite book is Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

“My favourite part of my role as the liaison librarian to the Department of Psychology and the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology is that I’m able to collaborate with professors and students on systematic reviews and scoping reviews. I love being able to guide them through the process of selecting the right databases for their research question and building elaborate search strategies together. It’s so satisfying when I’m able to see their reviews in print and know that I had a hand in informing research, practice, and policy.“

Dawn McKinnon

A woman with shoulder length, wavy brown hair is smiling at the camera. She can be seen from the neck up and is standing in front of a book shelf.

Dawn is a Liaison Librarian for Management and Business. Her favourite books are The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, and Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.

“It makes me happy when I can help students become excited and engaged with their subject areas, so that they learn to love learning, which will hopefully continue after graduation. Also Business students love competition which makes the games we play in class really fun.“

Michael David Miller

A young man smiles at the camera, his dark hair is pouffed up on the top of his head and he is wearing a bright blue scarf. He has rectangular, black framed glasses.

Michael David is a Liaison Librarian for French Literature, Economics, International Development, Public Policy, Translation Studies, and Women’s, Feminist, Gender & LGBTQ+ Studies His favourite book is is En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule (original French) / The End of Eddy (English translation) by Édouard Louis.

“I work closely with all of my subject areas. In French literature I teach a five-part seminar series at the undergraduate level and a seminar in the methodology courses at the Master and PhD level. In Genders, Sexuality and Feminist Studies (GSFS), I give seminars on a few courses on writing literature revies and finding GSFS materials. In Economics, I recently had the opportunity to develop a workshop for a graduate level methodology course on finding economic data sets. In Public Policy, my colleague Sandy Hervieux and I participate in orientation activities and are developing a workshop to help students next semester search for grey literature for their final policy projects.”

Sharon Rankin

A woman smiles at the camera with closed lips. She is wearing half-rimmed glasses with her long hair in a half-up do. Behind her you can see trees and the forest floor.

Sharon is a Liaison Librarian for Children’s & Young Adult Literature, Education, Post-Secondary Education, Maps, Teacher Education, and Teaching & Learning Services. Her favourite book is box set of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses.

“My most interesting project was undertaken for the Marvin Duchow Music Library, who received a donation of organ plans from a Montreal-base organ builder named Hellmuth Wolff. It was a challenge to organize, describe and preserve such large and fragile documents. It took the best part of a year and with the assistance of several McGill Music students.“

Nikki Tummon

A woman is smiling toward the side of the frame. Her short golden-brown hair rests at her shoulders and her bangs are swept across the side of her forehead.

Nikki is a Liaison Librarian for Social Work, Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, and Sociology. Her favourite book is the children’s book of poems Garbage Delight by Dennis Lee.

“In my liaison areas I frequently interact with faculty members and teaching staff as well as students. For faculty, I offer support in collection development, resource access, and teaching. I also answer scholarly publishing questions and research queries and assist with search strategy formulation for specific projects and research groups.”

Lonnie Weatherby

A man with short gray hair is smiling up at the camera from his desk. His right arm is outstretched toward the keybaord and behind him are lots of old books.

Lonnie is a Liaison Librarian for English, American & Canadian Literatures, Film & Cultural Studies, Italian Studies, and Reference Collection. His favourite books are The Mystery of Charles Dickens by A.N. Wilson, and The bookseller of Florence by Ross King.

“I like selecting books in English, American, Canadian and Italian literature for the Library collection and selecting films for our DVD collection. I enjoy interacting and conferring with the students, the faculty in the English and Italian Departments and with my colleagues.”

Amanda Wheatley

A young woman smiles at the camera, viewable from the neck and shoulders up. Her wavy brown hair is loose around her shoulders and she stands in front of a wall of green leaves.

Amanda is a Liaison Librarian for Management, Business, and Entrepreneurship. Her favourite book is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

“I enjoy being a Liaison Librarian because it gives me a chance to connect to the students and faculty at the university. I get to help them on their research journey and show them resources they might not have known about otherwise.”

Macy Zheng

A woman with shoulder length black hair smiles at the camera while holding a large book open. She has frameless glasses and is wearing a lanyard. Behind her is a bookshelf.

Macy is a Liaison Librarian for East Asian Studies. Her favourite book is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel by Lisa See

“There’s this quote by Jon Jeffryes ‘Every time someone apologizes for reaching out for research help I want to say: This is the best part of the job!’

I totally agree with what Jon Jeffryes said. It is one of liaison librarians’ essential duties to help students and faculty with their learning and research, and we should encourage them to ask us any questions for help.”