Spring has sprung, and Passover, Easter, and Ramadan are all coming up soon. The Holidays & Celebrations tab of the Library Leisure Guide has added sub-sections for each, and can be found as follows:
Today, March 23rd marks the one-year pandemic anniversary when the majority of library staff began working remotely, with similar transitions across the university. In celebration of resilience and community, the yoURArcher Blog team is launching Humans of UofR Libraries. The purpose of the series is to create a space for the sharing of pandemic experiences amongst staff, faculty and students. If you are interested in sharing your Humans of UofR Libraries story, please contact us at arlysse.quiring@uregina.ca
Carla Flengeris (Luther Library): The day of the earlier-than-usual cocktail hour
“When we moved our offices home, I had to carve out my workspace in our basement: small house, two non-essential workers and a Grade One student all needing privacy – there was no other place for me to go. This particular corner of our basement is at the back of the house. On the other side of this wall is a gravel back alley used only by us and the city’s garbage/recycling trucks.
A few weeks after the lockdown, a mysterious (and massive) steam roller appeared in front of our house, parked on the street. For a month, it never moved.
My very first library instruction class via Zoom was to about 50 students. I was nervous about the tech, but it was going great: screen-sharing, break-out rooms – we were nailing it. And suddenly, there was a deafening noise and the house started to shake. I searched the faces of the students who had their cameras on to see if it was happening to them, too. I’ve lived in Saskatchewan my entire life – what are we supposed to do in an earthquake? I panicked. I was shouting to the class “Can you feel that? Is everyone ok?” but I could tell they couldn’t hear me – I couldn’t hear myself. They looked terrified, probably because of the noise and seeing the picture frames falling off the wall behind me. I ran upstairs to rescue my kids and as I was flying past a window, I saw it. The steam roller – rolling down the alley, slowly, inch by inch. I ran outside in my sock feet. One worker, leaning on his rake, looked at me, finished the drag of his cigarette and yelled, “Alley refresh.”
We soldiered on – making heavy use of that chat function. “
The Archer Library is pleased to be a participant in One Book, One Province, an initiative created by the Saskatchewan Library Association to encourage all residents of the province to come together during the month of March to read and discuss the same book. This year OBOP has chosen Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun. You can learn more about the OBOP program and this year’s book by visiting their website.
Dr. Sherry Farrell-Racette from the Faculty of Media-Art-Performance will assist in facilitating the discussion of the book. You can learn more about Dr. Farrell-Racette’s work and research interests here.
We welcome everyone who wishes to participate in our discussion to register for our March 17th (12pm) book club meeting by filling out our registration form. We hope to see you there!
Tired of the melting-and-still-snowing weather? Take a work break or a study break and head over to our St. Patrick’s Day celebration page on the Library Leisure guide. Learn about the history of the day, listen to Irish and Celtic music, watch a great Irish cinema selection, enjoy leisure reading with an Irish author (Dracula was a character from Transylvania, but Bram Stoker was Irish!), and even discover some traditional Irish recipes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style.
Freedom To Read week is a celebration of reading, and the acknowledgement of ongoing conversation regarding “censorship, freedom of expression and access to information”. February 21-27 is a dedication to reader autonomy, discussion of challenged books (both current and through history), and much more.
At the Freedom To Read website, one can discover lists of challenged books, discussions about hot topics, media resources and a great selection of activity and engagement suggestions.
With this freezing weather, what better time to enjoy a cozy movie, curl up with a good book, and take a peak at some real vintage greeting cards?! Courtesy of University of Regina Archives & Special Collections, we’ve posted three charming Victorian Greeting Cards on our Library Leisure Guide. Check out the cards, all kinds of romantic films, some classic reads, and much more here.
Valentine’s Day not your jam? Our guide also has colouring pages (Heavy Metal and Punk Rock!), tons of leisure reading ideas, games and quizzes, an escape room, and even films that have NOTHING to do with “true love” and Cupid (Doctor Sleep, anyone?!). Enjoy!
We hope everyone has a restful Reading Week!
Image credit: U of R Archives 2011-39 Box 1 File 6 Victorian Greeting Cards
There’s still time to register for this month’s virtual book club! We will be discussing Susan Power’s Sacred Wilderness, a novel which “explores the lives of four women of different eras and backgrounds who come together to restore foundation to a mixed-up, mixed-blood woman—a woman who had been living the American dream, and found it a great maw of emptiness” (Michigan State University Press, 2021).
You can learn more about this book by visiting our book club guide. We will be meeting on Wednesday, February 24th at 12:00 pm.
This week is Archives Week. Check out the Saskatchewan Council For Archives and Archivists interactive map at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer… for virtual events that are happening across the province.
Of special note is a talk by Interim University Archivist Crista Bradley, who will be speaking about her new picture book, If These Places Could Talk: Snapshots of Saskatchewan. Written for children ages 4 & up, it has also been garnering significant attention among teachers and history lovers. The book features 100+ historic and contemporary images of Saskatchewan places, past and present, drawn from the collections of archives, museums and libraries around the province. It also includes vibrant original artwork by Wendi Nordell. Crista will speak about the fun she has had on the journey from initial book concept to publication. This event is part of a series of presentations hosted by the Saskatchewan Seniors’ Association. It is free and open to the general public.
TELECONFERENCE: Friday, February 12, 2021 at 2:00PM
With Chinese New Year and St. Valentine’s Day both right around the corner, we have added pages for each celebration under the Library Leisure Holidays & Celebrations tab. From romantic movies of all kinds to further reading and information about these celebrations (including the Confucius Institute at the University of Regina’s virtual Chinese New Year celebration!), we hope your frozen days will be a little bit warmer!
Start the new year with a good book! There is still time to sign up for the next Archer Book Club meeting on January 20th (at noon, 12pm). This month’s selection is an inspiring story about surviving in times of adversity while finding meaning in a life of learning (and the wonderful power of reading!). For more information about the book, the author Kim Michele Richardson, and even interviews and videos check out our page here and below.
To join us for this online meeting, simply email us on the primary tab or email this month’s host directly (email Arlysse at arlysse.quiring@uregina.ca).
All students, staff and faculty are welcome. “See” you there!
January: https://uregina.libguides.com/c.php?g=716288&p=5150321 Main Archer Book Club Page: https://uregina.libguides.com/c.php?g=716288&p=5107422
