If books are dead, how can libraries be more popular than ever? McGill Library is hosting a colloquium exploring how libraries – and the oldest and most rare of their holdings – can increasingly become the heart of university campuses and community hubs in the 21st century.
Despite repeated gloomy predictions about the demise of physical books, Canadian libraries are thriving. Modern academic libraries are no longer the silent study spaces and collection storehouses of the past. They are the beating intellectual hearts of both the university campus and the broader community, powerful and self-sufficient, and at their strongest when also supporting those around them.
A one-day colloquium on May 11, 2018, will bring together thirteen thought leaders from world-class institutions to discuss special collections as critical cross-campus and community resources and how best to entrench ROAAr (Rare Books & Special Collections, Osler, Art and Archives) as the intellectual nerve centre of McGill University. Presenters, all of whom represent academic libraries and archives that have recognized the value of special collections, will share their experiences evolving the mandate of their respective collections and engaging with the various on- and off-campus stakeholders. Discussion will focus on the importance for special collections units to forge links with faculty (and thereby students) and with the broader community. We aim to leverage the experience and best practices of these visiting experts and to realize what doors these ideas will open here at McGill in the future.
Purpose and Goals
- Develop a shared vision among ROAAr staff for outreach strategies and objectives.
- Develop an understanding among the wider staff on shared privilege and responsibility for communicating the depth, range and value of our unique collections.
- Begin a White Paper outlining a communications, outreach, collections and campus engagement strategy for ROAAr into the future.
May 11, 2018
Location: Colgate Room, Rare Books and Special Collections, McLennan Library Building, 4th floor
3459 rue McTavish, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C9
