It’s not too late to celebrate Data Privacy Week!

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Nikki Tummon

Data Privacy Week is the last week of January each year. It began as just one day – January 28th – but has since expanded into a full week and is celebrated around the world. According to the Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada website, “January 28 … commemorate[s] the 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection.” We celebrate Data Privacy Week to emphasize the importance of valuing and protecting personal information.

McGill Library has a Privacy Resources Guide that provides information, links, and tools related to digital privacy. You can also check out the virtual Redpath Book Display from last year: Privacy, Surveillance, and Big Data. All of the books and videos in the display are available through the library.

McGill is an official Data Privacy Week Champion and McGill IT Services is offering some virtual events and a contest over the next couple of weeks. See the calendar here.

Cupid Strikes Again: Love Data Week

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Vanja Lugonjic

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In the darkness and cold of winter, the only thing we have is each other (and SOUP). While us mortals scuffle through the snow and start the winter semester, a little flying baby has other plans. From the top of the Arts Building a heart-shaped arrow is drawn with chubby little fingers… cupid has struck the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. Suddenly we are pawning over statistics, excel, charts, and more. From this adoration, Love Data Week was born.

Love Data Week is back for 2022!

This year, there is a full week of events catered to all. Whether or not you have been bitten by the love(data) bug, there are introductory workshops, intermediate tutorials, and an exciting panel. Data is for everyone. All workshops are remote, but still a ton of fun.

You can register for individual workshops, or as many of the 11 offered that you want to come to.

A little cupid told us that an exciting event this year is the The Pandora Papers for Data Lovers. This is a panel from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists about the process of working with these papers that expose the shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful. You can register here to attend on February 16th, at 12PM EST.

Wonderful librarians and staff have super worked hard to bring #LoveDataWeek2022 so come, bring friends, and show love <3

Join us for a romantic week with data and maybe even fall in love…

Redpath Book Display: Works of Fiction by BIPOC authors

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Emily Kingsland

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According to McGill’s International Student Services, as of the 2020-2021 academic year, there are 11,942 international students enrolled at McGill from over 150 countries. In order to celebrate our internationally diverse study body, this month’s Redpath Book Display is dedicated to works of fiction by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) authors from a wide variety of countries. Our physical book display in the Redpath Library features works such as:

Hot Comb, by Ebony Flowers, is a graphic novel and collection of stories that examine the coming of age of a young Black girl living in the United States.

Celestial Bodies, by Omani author Jūkhah Ḥārithī, won the Man Booker Prize and tells the story of three sisters growing up in the village of al-Awafi.

No Knives in the Kitchens of this City, by Khālid Khalīfah, is set in Aleppo, Syria, between the 1960s and the 2000s and examines the lives of one family during that time period.

Harbart, by Nabāruṇa Bhaṭṭācārya, is a beloved cult novel in India, translated from Bengali into English for the first time.

Ms Ice Sandwich, by Mieko Kawakami, is a novella by an up-and-coming Japanese author.

Blackass, by A. Igoni Barrett, is set in Lagos, Nigeria, and is about a Black man who wakes up on the morning of a job interview to discover that he has turned into a white man.

In the Pond, by Ha Jin, is a piece of satire about a Chinese factory worker who becomes famous for drawing a political cartoon.

Five Little Indians, by Michelle Good, is a timely look at Canadian residential schools by a Cree writer, poet, and lawyer.

In addition to our physical book display, we have also curated a list of works of fiction by BIPOC authors in e-book format on the OverDrive platform. If you are in the mood for some romantic comedies to read over the holiday season, or simply to give yourself a break during exam period, then be sure to check out works such as: