Library updates for Education

Decolonizing the literature review

Just spent a remarkable two weeks instructing ‘IED594: The Research Proposal and Literature Review’ with the current cohort of Master’s of Indigenous Language Revitalization students. What a phenomenal experience–a sincere professional highlight. These fifteen students travelled from near and far for a two-week writing intensive course and accomplished so much. We wrote heaps and interrogated important concepts such as ways to decolonize the literature review process. What an inspiring and insightful group of breathtaking humans doing astonishing work in the world. Building capacity for Indigenous languages and sharing their beautiful writing. I am in awe of them all. So much gratitude. Keep going MILR cohort 2026–this is only the beginning!

Guest speaker in WRIT 407: Writing for children and young adults.

Thank you to the lovely Sara Cassidy for inviting me to speak about Children’s Librarianship in her course WRIT 407: Writing for children and young adults. This group asked excellent questions about how to build inclusive and responsive library collections, the pathways to becoming a librarian focused on youth readers, and how to professionally navigate an era of increasingly challenged books for children. If you are interested in becoming a children’s librarian, it is a great gig. Happy to chat about pathways to the profession anytime; feel free to book an appointment with me.

Sara is a wonderful local, children’s author; one of my favourite of her recent books is Kunoichi Bunny published by Orca. WRIT 407 students are so fortunate to have Sara as their instructor. Happy writing!

Little Libraries

Victoria, BC, sure does love its Little Free Libraries. Within a 20-minute walk, I came across these three beautiful examples.

According to Little Free Libraries worldwide, there are over 200,000 globally. Victoria Place Making has a great blog post about the city of Victoria’s particular love for them; check out their local map. One of my favourite local publications, Capital Daily, states that Victoria has the highest density of little libraries in Canada. A city of avid readers. Well done, Victoria!

New map in library foyer: ‘Treaty Relations in the Salish Sea’

Next time you are in McPherson Library/Mearns Centre for Learning, be sure to check out the newly installed wall map of treaty relations in the Salish Sea. Developed by the library’s Decolonizing Working Group including Ry Moran, Associate University Librarian for Reconciliation. This map is also informed, by excellent sources such as the ‘History & Territory‘ pages of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council’s website, as well as Professor Brian Thom’s extensive Coast Salish bibliography. If you are looking for a highlight from this bibliography, Duff’s BC Studies piece endures.

Duff, Wilson. “The Fort Victoria Treaties.” BC Studies 3 (1969): 3-58.
https://bcstudies.com/issue-single/bc-studies-no-3-autumn-1969/

Teaching prep for ‘IED594: The Literature Review and Project Proposal’

Designing a syllabus for a new course, or course that is new to you, is a lot of responsibility but also exhilarating! Developing outcomes, lectures, and assignments is a remarkably creative exercise. Keeps my thinking fresh and flexes my scholarly muscles. Looking so forward to meeting the new students this July. Let’s get knee-depth into literature searching!

BCHT & EDCI 303: History and Philosophy of Education

What a wonderful week with EDCI303 courses as we analysed the BC Historical Textbooks collection in the Special Collections classroom. So many excellent conversations to begin decolonizing historical curriculum and reflect upon the history of schooling in BC. We also found some remarkable marginalia and ephemera (including a driver’s license from 1953)!

New Library Guide: Vine Deloria, Jr.

This new, brief library guide includes a preliminary bibliography of Dr. Vine Deloria Junior’s work. The late Deloria (1933-2005) was an influential professor, theologian, and theorist in Indigenous studies. His works like God is Red and Red Earth, White Lies endure as impactful scholarship. Many UVic students studying Indigenous education find his work deeply meaningful to their own scholarship. This guide provides of listing of Vine’s work cross-referenced with UVic Libraries’ holdings. If you are looking for other topics, at UVic we have over 30 library guides specific to education! Thank you to Chaa’winisaks and her IEd students for suggesting this bibliography!

New book: ‘Two Tricksters Find Friendship’

So excited to buy several copies of this new Orca title for UVic’s Curriculum Collection when it will be released in May 2025! ‘Two Tricksters Find Friendship’ was written by my dear friend, Jess Willows, and her friend Johnny Aitken. Beautifully illustrated by Alyssa Koski, this 96-page children’s book is part of Orca’s Echo Series. Aimed at Fountas & Pinnell level R, this wonderful book covers important topics such as reconciliation, friendship, and family. Well done Jess, Johnny, and Alyssa–looking forward to book two!

Book an appointment

Working on a literature review? Need good quality teaching resources for your practicum? Looking for more info on research methods or methodology? Book a 30- or 60-minute research consultation with me during my office hours. Each academic year I meet with hundreds of students and it is my favourite part of being a librarian; I learn so much from you! We can meet remotely over Zoom or MS Teams or in person at the ‘Ask Us’ desk near the main foyer of McPherson Library. If we are meeting in person, wait for me here:

Have an upcoming appointment during Pia’s office hours? Meet Pia Russell at the ‘Ask Us’ desk on the main floor of McPherson Library, just inside the foyer.

Welcome!

This blog shares my professional musings on topics related to books, history, education, and libraries. You will find regular postings of curated book lists, library updates related to education, and progress on the BC Historical Textbooks (BCHT) project.

“Map of the World on Mercator’s projection showing the British Empire (British Possessions).” (1899). New Canadian geography: specially adapted for use in public and high schools. Page 200. https://archive.org/details/newcanadiangeogr0000onta/page/n199/mode/2up