Noteworthy Fall 2018.Indd
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noteworthy Fall 2018 news from the university of toronto libraries IN THIS ISSUE Fall 2018 6 Dedicated Volunteers + Library Book Room = A Winning Combination [ 3 ] Taking Note [ 11 ] Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library Events [ 4 ] Fifteen Million and Counting: the 1481 Caxton Cicero [ 12 ] Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library’s Highlights [ 5 ] Dedication of the Phi Kappa Pi, Sigma Pi Reading Room [ 13 ] Keep@Downsview Receives Outstanding Contribution Award [ 6 ] Information-Savvy Students Win Undergraduate Research Prizes [ 13 ] Healthy Indoors & Outside: Green Spaces & Mental Wellness Talk & Workshop [ 6 ] Robarts Library Book Room Volunteers Receive an Arbor Award [ 14 ] Bringing Virtual Worlds to Life at Gerstein + MADLab [ 7 ] Launch of the Chancellors’ Circle of Benefactors [ 15 ] Exhibitions & Events [ 8 ] Cookery, Forgery, Theory and Artistry: All at the Fisher Cover image: Dust jacket from the yellowback edition of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797–1851). Published by G. Routledge and Sons, London. 1882. Part of the De Monstris exhibition. Details on page 15. Above: Library Book Room volunteers receive their Arbor Awards. Story on page 6. [ 2 ] TAKING NOTE noteworthy news from the university of toronto libraries WELCOME TO THE FALL 2018 a daunting task. Artificial intelligence, Chief Librarian issue of Noteworthy. Recently I travelled to guided by expert librarians and archivists, Larry P. Alford China to visit a university library and may be part of the solution. Editor deliver a speech. I have had occasion previ- Recently, Neil Romanosky, Associate Jimmy Vuong ously to tour the libraries of Chinese Chief Librarian for Science Research & academic institutions, and this time I was Information, convened a UTL AI Interest Designer Maureen Morin struck by the growth and change since my Group to explore what the AI era will mean last visit. Not surprisingly, my Chinese for our libraries. The possibilities are endless. Contributing Writers colleagues, like other librarians around the For example, AI may elevate the effective- Megan Campbell, Jesse Carliner, Kiki Chan, world, are experiencing rapid evolution. ness of libraries to assist researchers with Hana Kim, Jack Leong, Vincci Lui, Jimmy Vuong, In my talk titled more complex proj- Sarah Wilkinson Whither Libraries: Will ects, and publish that Photography They Wither or Thrive, same research with Paul Alexander, Gordon Belray, Kiki Chan, I explored the AI-assisted crowd- Vincci Lui, Lisa Sakulensky, Paul Terefenko, profound metamor- sourced review. In Gustavo Toledo Photography phosis of libraries essence, libraries can around world and become full research expanded upon partners. editorial board Harvard University With that said, we Megan Campbell Director of Advancement, Librarian Robert are still barely in the University of Toronto Libraries Darnton’s four stages fourth age of infor- of information. mation. Our users Jesse Carliner Darnton identifies continue to rely upon Communications Librarian, University of Toronto Libraries these as the advent of the analog versions of writing; of the codex; data packets we call Maureen Morin of the printing press; books and the physi- Graphic Designer, University of Toronto Libraries and of the current cal spaces that house digital information them. Staying ahead Jimmy Vuong age, with the emergence of the internet. Yet, of the curve is important at U of T Libraries. Advancement Officer, no sooner had we arrived in the fourth age, The Gerstein Science Information Centre, University of Toronto Libraries than a fifth age emerged: the age of artificial which Romanosky heads, is no stranger to intelligence (AI). this. noteworthy We are now moving towards a potential The Gerstein library recently celebrated (ISSN 2293-3964) is published twice yearly by future where we relinquish most of the its first year in the Gerstein + MADLab the University of Toronto Libraries. direct consumption of information, and foray into virtual reality (VR). The library Comments should be addressed to: have AI summarize, interpret, and even use is assisting cross-disciplinary researchers information to make decisions for us. This applying VR to their field by providing the Megan Campbell 130 St. George Street age can either be intimidating or hopeful, latest tools and sharing expertise in their test Toronto, ON M5S 1A5 depending on how we see it. I believe AI lab. With the help of donors, the U of T telephone: 416-978-7654 provides enormous opportunity for librar- Libraries can continue to expand upon these email: [email protected] ies — and for human kind. and other exciting paths. The University of Toronto respects your With the addition of the 1481 Caxton Thank you for your interest in the privacy. We do not rent, trade or sell our Cicero, U of T Libraries’ collection has University of Toronto Libraries. I look mailing lists. surpassed 15 million volumes. Our data forward to your continued partnership with If you do not wish to receive Noteworthy, centres have expanded to more than 550 us, as we adapt to this age and journey to please contact us at 416-978-3600. servers housing more than 1.5 petabytes the next. I hope you enjoy this issue of (one million gigabytes) of data. It has Noteworthy. become increasingly difficult to sift through LARRY P. ALFORD all this information, and now libraries face [email protected] [ 3 ] COLLECTIONS Fifteen Million and Counting: the 1481 Caxton Cicero AFTER MONTHS OF ANTICIPATION, Canadians Montgomery, Callaghan, Cohen combined with Giovane Buonaccorso da staff and donors gathered at the Thomas and Atwood. Montemagno’s essay De vera nobilitate (On Fisher Rare Book Library on April 23, UN The one piece missing from the incredi- True Nobility), form the volume acquired World Book Day. P. J. Carefoote, Head of ble jigsaw of English literature was an incu- by the library. Over the course of his career, Rare Books and Special Collections, nable, a work printed before the sixteenth Caxton is believed to have printed more presented one of the most important acqui- century. Now, thanks to the generous than one hundred works, and is credited sitions in the library’s history, the 1481 support of donors led by the B. H. Breslauer with having made an important contribu- Caxton Cicero. Foundation, a work of the first English tion towards the standardization of the The Fisher Library has long been recog- printer, William Caxton (ca. 1422–1491), English language. To mark the importance nized as one of the foremost repositories for anchors the library’s English language of the acquisition, the 1481 Caxton Cicero the English cultural and linguistic heritage collection. This volume, one of the only has been designated as the University of of Canada. Its collections cover a broad thirteen complete copies known in existence, Toronto Libraries’ fifteen-millionth volume. spectrum of materials from the great is believed to be the oldest English language As the oldest printed book in English in Shakespeare folios of the seventeenth printed book in Canada, and a stunning Canada, this news garnered national media century to the reflective realism and example of fifteenth-century typography. attention. humour of Austen, the Brontës, and In 1481, Caxton printed the first English Above, left to right: Chief Librarian Larry Alford; P. J. Carefoote; Dickens in the nineteenth. Joyce, Yeats, and translation of Cicero’s De senectute (On Old F. Michael Walsh, Chair, Friends of Fisher Steering Committee; Lawrence share precious space with Age) and De amicitia (On Friendship) which, Virginia Walsh; and University Archivist Loryl MacDonald. [ 4 ] CELEBRATE DEDICATION OF THE PHI KAPPA PI, SIGMA PI READING ROOM As Hugh Anson-Cartwright and his brother Ronald Anson- Cartwright toured Robarts Library’s second floor reading room, they were reminded that the room is a quiet zone. Although they were visiting in the summer, the wood-panelled study space was filled with students. Once outside, Ronald jested “So many rules! At Phi Kappa Pi, we only had one rule,” and with a smile added, “There are no rules! We have a bagpiper today.” Fifteen minutes later, a gentleman in a proud red kilt settled in the audience, bagpipe in hand. On August 23, members of the Phi Kappa Pi Buildings Limited and former fraternity brothers were welcomed by the University of Toronto Libraries to celebrate a generous donation to establish an endowment for the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. Larry Alford, Chief Librarian, hosted the occasion to dedicate one of the most well-used study spaces on the campus as the Phi Kappa Pi, Sigma Pi Reading Room in honour of the gift. Hugh provided remarks on behalf of his brothers, and the Honourable Robert S. Montgomery, the most senior member of the fraternity, helped unveil the dedication plaque. Finally, the celebratory notes of a bagpiper filled the cavernous second floor portico to the delight of meet our friends, family, and the fraternity, marking the end of the dedication ceremony. The Fisher Library hosted a reception in its exhibition hall which is very familiar to Hugh Anson-Cartwright. An antiquarian book- GENEROUS DONORS seller, he proposed to his fellow directors of Phi Kappa Pi Buildings Limited that the company establish a fund to support the Fisher Library. As a member of the Friends of the Fisher, Anson- and Cartwright understands the important role the library plays in preserving history and making it accessible to the community — at DEDICATED the University of Toronto and beyond. VOLUNTEERS and RESEARCH-SAVVY STUDENTS Left: Piper Rory Sinclair welcomes guests. Above: University of Toronto counsel, Tad Brown, with Hugh Anson-Cartwright and Ronald Anson-Cartwright. [ 5 ] CELEBRATE INFORMATION-SAVVY STUDENTS WIN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH Toronto Libraries congratulates all 2018 Undergraduate Research PRIZES Prize recipients: Evelyn Hayes, third year Arts & Science student, On May 31, the University of Toronto Libraries awarded six Woodsworth College; Andrea Ho, second year Arts & Science Undergraduate Research Prizes to students who showcased their student, Trinity College; Katya Smirnova, third year Kinesiology effective and innovative use of information sources.