Retired magazine collection put into digital Orbit
Contributed by Jillian Harkness
The OISE Library is excited to announce that Orbit: OISE’s Magazine for Schools, an OISE publication which ran from 1969 - 2008, has been fully digitized and is now openly-accessible on the Internet Archive. The magazine features practical articles stemming from the research of many OISE faculty and is a record of the Institute's long-standing relationship with the education community.
The project was initiated in response to a request from OISE Dean, Glen Jones, and digitization was coordinated by OISE TALint student Jillian Harkness, in collaboration Monique Flaccavento, Lari Langford, Bobby Glushko, and staff at the Internet Archive.
As one of two publications to evolve out of the Ontario Journal of Education Research, Orbit was designed to link the research of OISE to the everyday practice of Ontario teachers. Hugh Oliver, founding editor of Orbit, notes that in the early years, Orbit not only explored new ideas in education but also played a role in public relations for OISE, at a time when the Institute was newly-founded and still establishing its relationship with the community.
Early articles featured interviews with Northrop Frye and Paulo Freire, reports on experimental education from open plan schools to non-graded systems, as well as critical discussions of educational theory. A long-running series of back covers profiled various public schools from around Ontario through photos and short write ups. Early issues came with teacher aids, including audio records, projector slides, text "masks" for reading comprehension, as well as teaching resources that could be ordered “from the community” which included organizations like the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests and the Aluminium Company of Canada.

Popularity continued through the 1990s, under editor, Heather Berkeley, and during this time, Orbit played a crucial role in facilitating conversations around the educational reforms of the era. Themed issues took on challenging topics of the time, including safe schools, gender and schooling, and anti-racist education, and special inserts offered practical solutions for incorporating these ideas into work in the classroom. In 2008, after a very successful and almost 40-year run, Orbit was retired; however, as Berkeley wrote in the magazine’s final issue, its struggle to “cross the practice/research divide” lives on at OISE. The newly-digitized collection of Orbit, now available openly online, preserves the ideas and enthusiasm behind this goal, and will serve to inspire current and future generations of teachers, researchers, and the wider educational community.
Entrepid new listserv at UTL
Entrepreneurship is fast-growing at U of T, and the library is playing a key role in supporting that growth. To stay on top of ongoing entrepreneurship activities at UTL, entrepreneurship librarian Carey Toane started the EntrepidLibrary-L listserv last fall.
The libraries’ suite of relevant workshops and resources continues to grow and develop; however, the focus of the list has now shifted to include building a network of colleagues beyond the library who are engaged with entrepreneurship on campus and in the broader community.
“We often have calls for entrepreneurs’ participation in events such as speaking, networking or mentoring opportunities, or to attend workshops and conference livestreams,” says Toane.
“To be able to reach these people collectively would be a huge benefit in terms of spreading awareness of the various entrepreneurship activities the library is involved in.”
Subscribe by sending an e-mail to listserv@listserv.utoronto.ca. In the body of the message, include this line, completed with your name: subscribe entrepidlibrary-l firstname lastname
- Post information about relevant resources and upcoming events (e.g. workshops or training open to the university community, reviews of new resources, articles, blog posts, free web tools, calls for funding, exciting research, webinars, and professional development activities)
- As a new member, introduce yourself, so we can get to know one another, and pass on this invitation to anyone who might be interested.
Stratford Shakespeare Festival actors panel underlines impact of original text
Contributed by Alexandra Kordoski
On January 19th, the Friends of the Fisher Library were treated to a unique evening at the library with three Stratford Shakespeare Festival actors. Seana McKenna, Graham Abbey, and Johnathan Goad joined Noam Lior of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies for a panel discussion, lead by English professor Scott
Schofield of Western University. The discussion weighed heavily on the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, printed in 1623 – the only Canadian copy of which resides in the Fisher Library. The actors recounted how the first printed text informed their training and development as actors, while providing insight into the complex process of translating Shakespeare’s work ‘from the page to the stage.’ Particularly compelling were the actors’ examples of situations where a single piece of punctuation in the original text could be interpreted in different ways and result in entirely different stage performances.
The event brought together actors, theatre historians and textual scholars, and highlighted that the text of the First Folio – printed over three hundred years ago – is still a vital part of contemporary theatre. The panel took place in conjunction with the Fisher Library’s upcoming exhibition marking the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, ‘So long lives this’: Celebrating Shakespeare 1616-2016, curated by Scott Schofield, Peter Blayney, Alan Galey, and Marjorie Rubright.
LibQUAL+ survey: valuable information to plan future library services
From the LibQual Coordinating Group
The University of Toronto Libraries will once again be participating in the LibQUAL+ survey. The 2016 survey will launch on Monday, February 1st, and remain open for several weeks.
LibQUAL+ is a survey developed by the Association of Research Libraries that measures user perceptions and expectations of library service quality in three dimensions:
· Affect of Service – customer services provided by library staff
· Information Control – library resources and collections
· Library as Place – library spaces, facilities, and amenities
UTL previously participated in the survey in 2007, 2010, and 2013, so we will have the ability to compare this year’s results to past outcomes.
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The survey will be administered via e-mail invitations that will be sent to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff members. Library staff are not included in the sample population and are asked not to complete the survey if they receive an invitation.
Users who have questions or are having difficulty in accessing or completing the survey may also contact the following for assistance:
St. George affiliated users: libqual.utl@utoronto.ca
UTM affiliated users: libqual-utm-l@listserv.utoronto.ca
UTSC affiliated users: matthew.gertler@utoronto.ca
Additional information about the survey is available in the Survey FAQ.
Please relay this information to your student staff who work in public service areas of the library.
Communications @ UTL refresh of promotional and event support pages
Your Commu
nications team at UTL has recently updated both information pages and forms to request promotional and event support in the libraries. Find these updated pages in the Communications and Marketing Support: University of Toronto Libraries LibGuide, under Promotional and Event Support.
UTL Branded Items:
Photos are now available of all UTL Branded items that can be booked for your events at UTL. Please use the new form to book all UTL Branded items. This also includes any UTL publications you may need.
UTL Branded Gifts:
Photos are also available of gifts that are given to visitors and speakers. Please use the new form to request gifts for your UTL events and for your visitors.

Promotional Support:
Please use the new form to request promotional support for your event, program, or services.
With all requests, please allow for at least one week's notice so that we may best assist you with your promotion and event needs.
If you have any questions or feedback on these updated pages and forms, please contact UTL Communications Assistant, Christopher Piché.