Month: December 2022

Holiday Closure

Happy Holidays!

The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will close at noon on Friday, December 23 and will re-open on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Wishing you a safe and festive holiday break!

Photo Credit: Untitled, 1971. Mary Filer, 2020-2 (00122 7110). Photo Credit: Jason Cawood.

Library Leisure Guide

Holiday Break… check out our Library Leisure Guide!

It’s the first day of Winter…. and it is COLD in Regina…

If you need a break from the pressure of shopping and the expectations of the season… check out our Library Leisure guide.

We have tabs about Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa, and other celebrations around the world.

If the holidays aren’t your cup of figurative tea, we’ve got a virtual Escape Room!

Just looking for music, a good read, or relaxing with a great film? We’ve got you covered as well.

Check it all out here:
Hanukkah
Christmas
Kwanzaa
Movies
Escape Room
Reading (also check out our Book Club page with Staycation Reading ideas!)
Library Leisure Main Page (music, games, colouring pages and more!)

Return/Renew Books Before Holidays

If you have library books signed out… A friendly reminder to return or renew! Return to the Archer Library before December 23rd at noon. Or renew, if you have library borrowing privileges extending into the winter semester. Renewals can be done online using the My Library Account link on our homepage ( https://library.uregina.ca/homepage ), or you can contact us directly before December 23rd at noon and we’ll do it for you ( https://library.uregina.ca/help/contact )

“Meet Mary Filer” at the Archway Gallery

Join us for the public launch of a new exhibition curated by Art History 320 students in collaboration with the Archer Library & Archives. The exhibition includes original and reproduced pieces from Mary Filer’s 4500+ piece collection in the Archives’ holdings, along with extended labels and reflective statements written by the students.

December 12th – 4:00- 5:00

Archway Gallery

Archer Library (first floor)

Data in Everyday Life – Invisible Data Part 2

– by Kaetlyn Phillips

Thanks and appreciation to Ari at UR Pride for talking to me about this topic.

There are two phrases that come to mind when I think about invisible data. First, “what is measured, is treasured.” Second, “If it counts, it is counted; if it isn’t counted, it doesn’t count.” Now, these are simplified phrases describing complex matters when it comes to data and data collection, but the message is important. Visibility matters. Representation matters. Invisible data builds oppressive and harmful systems. In 2021 Canada became the first nation to collect and release census data on transgender and non-binary people. In this blog we are going to explore what became visible and what remains invisible for now.

The 2021 census is most likely the largest dataset measuring gender and sex at birth in Canada and provides a nation-wide snapshot of the population of gender minorities. It’s obvious that sensitivity and community consultation occurred when designing a more inclusive series of questions on gender, but no question is going to be perfectly written and perfectly executed. In the case of the census, there are two key changes. First, each household member was asked sex at birth. Second, each household member was asked their gender. The options for gender were male, female, and a blank category. The blank category was intended to allow diverse answers, but some terms were aggregated into a non-binary category. Aggregation is typically done to protect confidentiality and to make the data more manageable, but this does make some of the data invisible. Gender identity is diverse and choosing a term to describe one’s identity is personal. The story behind why people choose specific terms to describe themselves is a valuable part of representation that simply can’t be captured by the two questions on the census.

We also need to consider how the data was collected and why some data may still be invisible. The census is a household survey and as a result data on trans and non-binary youths were able to be collected. However, we need to consider that coming out is a complicated process that can also be dangerous, with danger possibly coming from one’s own family. We know from other Statistics Canada surveys, the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces and the Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth, that trans and non-binary people are more likely to experience discrimination and violence. As a result, it’s possible some people chose to not to disclose this information because they didn’t feel safe or didn’t feel ready.

Which brings us to the next aspect of the new data to consider: What is still invisible? One benefit of the census data is the release of more detailed data breakdowns. Currently the data are available at provincial and territorial levels and urban centres, but usually more granular data are released as analysis is completed. These granular data are accessible to researchers either through Public Use Microdata Files, Real Time Remote Access, custom tabulations, or through Research Data Centres. The level of access is determined by the sensitivity of the data and to protect the privacy of the participants. In Canada, one benefit of the more granular data is they allow us to explore urban / rural divides and barriers for trans and non-binary people. This could be particularly beneficial in using data as evidence to address barriers in healthcare access, poverty vulnerability, and experiences of violence and victimization. Other studies done by government committees and community-based research groups (including Sex Now and Trans Pulse) have already shown these barriers, but the census data – and more diverse data collection from Statistics Canada – can add to the analysis.

What needs to be done next? The change to the census is a first step in being more representative in terms of data collection. I hope it represents a path forward where Statistics Canada, and other survey based data collection, improves questionnaires to better reflect gender diversity.

Local Support Networks:

UR Pride

TransSask