Tag Archives: open access

Sick of Paywalls? Here’s Three Open Climate Data Sources.

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Did you know there are three open climate data portals that are accessible to all Canadians? In the spirit of Open Climate Justice, this blog highlights the importance of these accessible platforms. Along with these national data sets, at the McGill Library we also have an environmental studies library guide which highlights a few other national data sets and our own collection of geographic information. 

Climate Atlas

The Climate Atlas of Canada, is a great starting point as it combines climate science, mapping, and storytelling together with Indigneous Knowledges and community-based research. Through videos, articles, and stories, you can gain a deeper insight to the lived experiences of climate change, as well as climate action amongst different communities. The map is simple and interactive and gives you insight to how different communities in Canada will experience climate change. The first step to justice is understanding. The Climate Atlas provides a holistic look into our future in Canada. 

Climate Data

The Climate Data website has a vast pool of data that is perfect for a project or just browsing. What is special about this project is that Sectoral analysis is open for anyone to browse and use. It provides excellent background and relevant data to understand how climate change will affect a sector important to you! For example, if your family has a farm in Ontario, you can actually look at how your specific region is modelled to experience climate change and plan for the future accordingly. 

PAVCIS

This website helps facilitate the analysis of all of this data. Through more complex tools, PAVCIS might be more adpt for those experienced in climate analysis or academics. If you have a handle on the mechanics, it’s a powerful instrument for deepening your research and evidence. 

We hope this was helpful in aiding your research process and curiosity and opening

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the virtual book display and blog post by the curators for Open Climate Justice.

Open Access to Climate Justice

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By Kimberly White and Ana Rogers 

Climate change does not affect everyone equally. The term “climate justice” was coined to acknowledge that the effects of climate change “will not be borne equally or fairly, between rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations” (UN, 2019). Access to information is a key part of connecting communities across disciplines and understanding the vast and imminent impacts of climate change. Sharing information openly and freely provides an opportunity to address the inequitable impacts of climate change and shape the global response.  

This year’s International Open Access Week (October 24-30, 2022) will focus on Climate Justice to raise awareness around how Open Access can support climate justice. “Open Access” refers to the “free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need” (Open Access Week, 2022). 

In conjunction with International Open Access Week, McGill Library has curated a physical and virtual display at the Redpath Complex for the entire month of October, featuring books, films, and music that grapple with the inequities surrounding the climate crisis.  

In the spirit of Open Access, our virtual collection includes only Openly accessible materials and links to books which are held in print and can be accessed onsite by users outside the McGill community. Here are some of the highlights from our collection: 
 
 

Book cover for Silent Spring by Rachel Carson - The classic that launched the environmental movement. Introduction by Linda Lear, Afterward by Edward O. Wilson. The cover is a soft green with a red veiny leaf. Inside the leaf is the cutout image of a bird in flight. The title and author are overlayed in large white text.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

No list of environmental publications would be complete without this groundbreaking 1962 book by Rachel Carson which details the harms caused by pesticide use and the negative impacts on communities exposed to these chemicals. 

Book cover for Voices of Drought by Michael B. Silvers. The politics of music and environment in Northeastern Brazil. Image includes a bare tree in the foreground and a grey sky with transparent music score in the background.

Voices of Drought by Michael B. Silvers

Voices of Drought takes a unique ethnomusicological approach to Climate Justice by demonstrating how ecological crisis affects musical culture by way of and proportionate to social difference and stratification.

Book cover for Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. "A hymn of love to the world" as quoted by Elizabeth Gilbert. The image is of a single braided grass laying horizontally across the a plain beige background.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

In this book, Indigenous author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmer explores how indigenous wisdom about human interactions with nature, harmonizes with modern scientific knowledge of ecology and sustainable living. 

Cover image for Climate Justice Y'All. The word's and large and sitting on a field of grass with flowers, plants, clouds, etc, emerging from the letters.

Climate Justice Y’All

This ongoing podcast centers on Climate Justice movements in the Southern United States, focusing on Climate Justice leaders and stories from communities in the South where climate change is already having significant impacts. 

Find these and our other selections through the Open Climate Justice Virtual Exhibit or in person in the McLennan Library lobby. 

Accessing the Sage Collections

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A Multitude of Resources at your Fingertips

Over the years, McGill University has acquired a leading position in the Canadian research arena. With this innovation-driven environment in mind, the McGill Library has subscribed to the complete package of SAGE e-resources, equipping students, researchers, and faculty with an expansive reference collection; research methods journals, videos, and texts; and content emphasizing critical thinking, data analysis, and computational tools. 

source: https://sk.sagepub.com

For a brief outline of the resources available and links to the databases, read the following:

  • SAGE Books: hosts titles on topics across the social sciences. It includes academic and supplementary titles that contribute to the knowledge base of students and researchers, foundational books in core areas of research and debate, accessible student references, and numerous practical professional titles in education. The SAGE Book platform allows you to search by Discipline or Content Type, making research all the more streamlined. 
  • SAGE Journals: supporting both gold open access publication and green open access archiving, the database covers e-journals in areas of business & management, communication & media studies, humanities & social sciences, health, psychiatry, nursing, pharmacology and neuroscience.
  • SAGE Knowledge:cross-media platform for SAGE books, business cases, research and video content for the social sciences.
  • SAGE Research Methods: provides material to guide users through every step of the research process. A methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by academics from across the social sciences.
  • SAGE Skills Business: self-guided content for students to learn essential business skills in the areas of entrepreneurship, leadership, organizational communication, professionalism, and data analytics.
  • SAGE Video: platform for educational video content across key social, behavioural, and health science disciplines. Includes closed-captioning and selected audio description. Content is cite-able with searchable transcripts, custom clip creation, embedding options.

All the resources cited above can be accessed through your McGill Library account. Simply sign in with your institutional (McGill) email, and from the Library Homepage go to ‘Databases A-Z’ under ‘Find’. You may type ‘Sage’ in the database search bar, or alternatively, click on ‘S’ to be taken directly to a list of the databases. 

You may direct any related queries or general questions through email to us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca.