We are saddened to share the terrible news that Connie Lewin, current and long-time staff member at the Kelly Library, passed away suddenly at home this past weekend. Connie was a member of our community for over 37 years, formally joining the John M. Kelly Library in 1985. Even before that, Connie worked for the library during her student days. During her time at the library, Connie served in many roles. Primarily involved in cataloguing throughout her career, Connie sought out opportunities to help others while broadening her skill set, including cataloguing the library’s rare book materials, specifically our Nouwen and Chesterton materials. In recent years, Connie played a key role in supporting the library’s administration and contributed to special projects wherever possible. The accessibility of our collections is in no small part attributable to Connie’s dedication to her work.
More importantly, however, was Connie’s contributions to the Kelly community. A founding member of the library’s early staff social committee, Connie was a regular organizer of the annual Christmas party and, in the not-too-distant past, established weekly pub nights for a chance to debrief and relax as friends. Despite maintaining a low profile and a private persona, Connie was kind, generous, and always willing to help her colleagues. We are indebted to Connie’s professionalism, dedication, and contributions; we will deeply miss her spirit and quick wit.
Connie’s family will be holding a private ceremony in the days ahead. Flowers were sent to Connie’s father, Joe Lewin, on behalf of the Kelly Library and University of St. Michael’s College. Our hearts and thoughts remain with Connie’s family during this difficult time.
James Roussain
Interim William D. Sharpe Chief Librarian
John M. Kelly Library
St. Mike’s Writing Instructor Esther Atkinson has received this year’s Margaret Proctor Award for Excellence in Writing Instruction.
The award, given to a University of Toronto writing instructor each year for outstanding teaching and mentorship, is in honour of Margaret Procter, who co-ordinated UofT writing support from 1994 to 2012.
In an email announcing their decision, the award committee praised Esther’s dedication to St. Michael’s, her scholarly work, and “most of all, [her] love for teaching and the impact [she has] made on students”. Archivist and librarian James Roussain, who has worked with her in drop-in writing and research consultations, enthusiastically agrees, saying she instils in students “a sense of confidence as writers and scholars.”
Esther received her PhD from the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology in March 2022 and has taught students one-on-one at the St. Michael’s Writing Centre since 2017. This is her second teaching award; Esther received the TATP Teaching Excellence Award in 2014.
Esther also teaches one of the new BMS fundamentals courses, BMS201: Information Literacy, Research, and Writing for Book & Media Studies, using her training as an historian and her experience as a writing instructor to develop students’ critical engagement with research and writing.
By Teresa Wong
When people think about digital preservation, there tend to be many misunderstandings of what it is and what it encompasses. Common myths include: the belief that the digital lasts forever; that digital preservation is not something you have to worry about; that digital preservation requires a lot of technical knowledge to accomplish; and that there is “one true method” to digital preservation. As a result, many people are hesitant to learn more or get involved. This year’s theme for World Digital Preservation Day, “Breaking Down Barriers”, provides a great opportunity to debunk these myths.
Digital does not last forever
When comparing digital content to analogue, the digital actually lasts for a shorter period of time. This is even more so the case when it is left alone with no intervention. Digital content is susceptible to becoming corrupt, lost, or inaccessible at rapid rates. For example, the average hard drive has a life expectancy of 3 to 5 years. After 5 years of usage, there is a higher chance that the content saved on the hard drive becomes inaccessible or corrupt. Websites have an even shorter life expectancy of roughly 2 years.
Digital preservation is something we all should worry about (or at least consider)
Digital information and material are thoroughly integrated into our everyday lives. We use it to communicate through emails and social media. We manage our files and personal records through online services and software such as Microsoft Office. We also educate ourselves with online schooling, webinars, and online workshops.
Internet use has soared since the beginning of the pandemic with Statistics Canada reporting that 75% of Canadians over the age of 15 have increased their online activities. In addition, 48% of Canadians performed at least one new Internet-related activity for the first time. This increased engagement with online life means it is important to consider how to preserve materials created through these avenues if deemed important to the individual.
With the rapid advances in technology, our digital files require more active maintenance to ensure their use into the future. You can never be too sure how long your files will last or when the software and hardware necessary to access them will stop working or become obsolete. Even technology that was at one point ubiquitous can quickly disappear; a great example of this phenomenon is Adobe Flash Player. Flash content used to be extremely widespread as it was “the” most common online format for web games, animations, and graphical user interfaces. A decade ago, it felt like every website had some flash component to it. Yet in 2020, Adobe officially ended their support for Flash and Microsoft entirely removed Flash from all browsers. Similarly, in November 2020, Google announced a new storage policy where content saved to one’s storage “may” be deleted if a service becomes inactive or remains over the storage limit after two years. Circumstances can change drastically within a few years. If you have digital material of significance, be proactive to ensure their long-term access and preservation.
Digital preservation does not require technical knowledge to accomplish
The Digital Preservation Coalition defines digital preservation as a “series of managed activities necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials for as long as necessary.” This includes non-technical activities. In fact, a key part to digital preservation lies in the decision-making process. Not everything created digitally needs to be saved for the long term. It is necessary, then, to understand what matters most for people saving their content and how long it should be preserved for. You can easily start with brainstorming how to manage and organize your computer files. While there are very technical aspects to digital preservation, such as working on servers and using command line tools, there are plenty more non-technical activities that anyone can accomplish.
There is no one true method
Digital preservation is very dependent on an individual or institution’s needs and resources. An individual can periodically back up their digital photographs and files onto an external hard drive with ease or to a cloud storage service without incurring additional costs. This level of digital preservation is sufficient if it meets their needs. In contrast, an institution like the John M. Kelly Library requires various workflows and servers that vary between departments based on their needs. Not everyone needs to go above and beyond for digital preservation, while other times minimal intervention isn’t enough for what someone wants to do. What is most important is to take action that best suits your needs.
Kristy Wheaton, the Kelly Library’s front desk Lead Hand technician, paused behind her desk last Thursday to think about what she’d miss most. She didn’t have to think long.
“Interacting with everyone in the Kelly Library community,” she said. “Because we’re a small library, I’ve really been able to get to know a lot of people who come in every week.”
Last Thursday was Kristy’s last day at St. Mike’s. This week she joined the Robarts Library User Services Department. Her departure is sobering for the library but joyous too: we are thrilled she has found such a well-deserved opportunity.
Kristy joined the Kelly Library in the summer of 2015 as an evening technician in the Access and Information Department. Immediately, she fit right in. Her kindness, humility, good humour, competence, and hard work impressed everyone. She had a gift for working with people, along with a quick, creative mind.
“It has been an honour working with Kristy,” said Silvia Vong, Kristy’s supervisor. “Patrons, staff, and students have sung her praises.”
Her leadership qualities stood out too. Kristy was promoted to Lead Hand in 2018, a position responsible for overseeing the Access and Information department.
On her own initiative, Kristy started the library’s first Instagram account in 2017, and in just two years attracted more than 400 followers with more than 130 imaginative posts promoting library services, collections, and events. Her Pride Day photo from this past June, for example, depicts a shelf of brightly-coloured books representing the Pride rainbow.
Besides cheerfully taking the helm of our social media communications, Kristy assisted patrons, managed students with aplomb, updated the library website, and served on the library’s website and access and information committees.
Many student library assistants work at the library part-time: some help patrons at the circulation desk; others shelve books in the stacks. Hiring, training, and supervising them was Kristy’s job, and she loved it.
“They’re all at such interesting points in their lives,” she said of the students she supervised. “It’s fun hearing about things they’ve been working on.”
Kristy’s new role at the Robarts Library is as an Access / Information Services Specialist. As part of her new role offering help to library patrons, Kristy will be taking part in the Ontario-wide Ask – Chat With A Librarian service.
We wish her boundless success in her new position.
In this journal article, designer and printer Deborah Barnett, former conservator Natasa Krsmanovic, and archivist Simon Rogers, describe how Toronto’s John M. Kelly Library honoured Marshall McLuhan with an interactive chapbook earlier this year.
From Amphora, a journal for the book arts, no. 181, Spring 2019.