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Louis Riel, Founder of Manitoba, Brought to Life Through Books and Videos

February 15, 2023

Louis Riel the founder of Manitoba was a lifelong advocate for Métis rights. He shaped the future of Manitoba and was an important figure in Canadian politics.

Did you know?

  • As a young man he was educated in Montreal at a junior seminary.
  • Was head of the provisional government set up in 1969 to govern what was to become Manitoba.
  • Negotiated the Manitoba Act in 1870, making Manitoba a province of Canada.
  • Twice elected in 1873 and 1874 to the Canadian Parliament in the federal riding of Provencher, but unable to take his seat due to hostile feelings in Eastern Canada.
  • Officially exiled from Canada in 1875 for his political activity.
  • A husband and father of two children.
  • Executed by the Canadian Government in 1885 for his participation in the Métis demands for rights and resistance in what was to become the province of Saskatchewan.

Discovery more about Louis Riel through our Library collection!

Louis Riel Books

Click a book cover to discover its location and availability.

Louis Riel Videos

Riel Country

Riel Country

The great possibility : Louis Riel & the Métis resistance

The great possibility : Louis Riel & the Métis resistance

The Mystery of the Bell

The Mystery of the Bell

Discover More Louis Riel Resources

Click the OneSearch link below to browse “Louis Riel” related items in our collection:

Written by Bettina Allen, Reference & Circulation Coordinator (Library and Academic Services)

Truth and Reconciliation Week 2022: Selections from the Library’s Collection

September 22, 2022

RRC Polytech’s fourth annual Truth and Reconciliation Week, with activities scheduled throughout the week of September 26-29, 2022. This event is dedicated to deepening our understanding of Canada’s history, Indigenous cultures, and sparking a conversation around Truth and Reconciliation.

Truth and Reconciliation at Library and Academic Services

Library and Academic Services is actively responsive to Truth and Reconciliation, diversity, inclusion, and equity, through our work, policies, and engagements. One way we do this is by building a collection that is rich in resources about Truth and Reconciliation, Residential Schools, and Indigenous Experiences. Through these books, videos, guides, and other resources, we all have the opportunity to increase our understanding, which leads to healing and strengthened relationships. This week and always, we invite you on a Truth and Reconciliation journey through the Library’s collection!

Guides to Get You Started

screenshot of the residential schools guide

Guides are a great place to start on any topic as they highlight resources hand-selected by Library staff. Of particular interest is our Residential Schools guide.

Noteworthy Books

Below is just a sample of our noteworthy books about Truth and Reconciliation. Click on a book cover to learn more about and request an item.

Outstanding Videos

Both CBC’s Curio.ca and National Film Board offer outstanding videos on this topic. To view a few hand-selected options, click on an image below. (note that login may be required to view online resources).

Questions or Comments?

We welcome questions and comments from the College community! Feel free to connect with us in person at the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campus Libraries or through Ask Us Chat at library.rrc.ca.

Written by Linda Fox – Library Technician, Program Support and Promotion

How to be an RRC Polytech Library Power User

September 20, 2022

It’s a few weeks into the school year, so it’s time to get to know all the awesome services, spaces and resources the Library offers to help you achieve your academic goals.  

Whether you’re coming into the Library for the first time, you haven’t been to a library in a while, or you’ve never used the library as a post-secondary student, find out all the ways you can be an RRC Polytech Library power user.

1. Find your spot and get comfortable
Use the Library’s spaces when on campus

First, find the Library, and get to know the space. We recently posted a great virtual tour of the NDC Library space, give it a read-through and you may feel more prepared to come in for the first time. Get comfortable using the space to meet your needs; study independently, attend your online classes (using one of the available headsets or webcams), and meet with classmates to work on projects. The Library has two locations, one each at the Notre Dame and the Exchange District campuses, both with great study spots to discover and settle into.

2. Ask Questions!
There are no silly questions, and we offer lots of ways for you to ask them!

Come find us at the front desks in the Library, a Reference Technician is ready to help you figure out anything from printing, finding your way around campus, using the Library website, to getting started with an assignment and better understanding the information resources involved in academic research. Not on campus? You don’t need to come in person, there are lots of ways to connect with the Library! Call us (204) 632-2233. Text us (204) 400-2463, or find us on the Library’s web pages during open hours by clicking the Ask Us bubble to start a chat. After hours? No problem, email library@rrc.ca.

3. Get to know OneSearch
Found on the Library homepage, OneSearch is how to search the Library’s many physical and online resources.

The Library has an ever-expanding digital and physical book and media collection which can be searched using our OneSearch system. If you’ve heard an instructor tell you to search the catalogue or search for articles, this is what they mean.

Getting started is very easy, using searches that resemble how you use google. Once you have started with some search terms and you are viewing the search results, you can take different steps and adjust settings to create more accurate results. Find out more about navigating OneSearch, the basic and advanced search options, as well as the use of Boolean operators and filters to amp up your searches.

4. Find the Guide you need
Starting a research project or program of study and unsure where to get started?

The Library has Guides that can help you, ranging from Guides to your school or programs main subjects, and Guides for specific research topics. There are also Academic guides for writing, and citation styles.

Interested in broader topics and just areas of interest? There are Student Success Guides on topics including intercultural competence, employment Skills, and using Statistics Canada.

Having trouble figuring out how to use a specific database in your research? The Library’s Database Instruction Guides have step-by-step instructions for how to use many of the different databases subscribed to through the Library.

5. Use the right Database
The Library subscribes to different databases that support the colleges many schools and programs.

Available databases range from software tools, searchable collections of codes and standards within an industry, and other reference collections, diagrams, and industry reports.

When looking at the A-Z list of databases, remember that databases marked with the OneSearch icon, are searched collectively when you use OneSearch. Databases missing that icon, need to be searched and used individually.

6. Discover Academic Success Centre supports
Find the Academic Success Centre in the top banner of the Library homepage.

The Academic Success Centre’s services make up a big part of the academic support’s the Library has available to students, and is where students can access a variety of services including:

At the NDC campus, the Academic Success Centre has a new tutoring space called ATLAS – an acronym for Active Tutoring and Learning Achievement Space

Find the Academic Success Centre when entering the NDC Library by taking a right and following the signs for ATLAS.

At EDC you will also find the Academic Success Centre inside the library, when entering through the northern entrance of the Library, the ASC is located through the opening in the wall to the right.

7. Book Equipment before you need it
The Library has an assortment of equipment available from both the Notre Dame and Exchange District Libraries.

Need an adaptor to connect with the projector in a classroom? A camera for a photo or video project? A portable battery charger for your phone? A temporary laptop while your own is being repaired or replaced? A light therapy lamp for working from home on short winter days? All Library equipment can easily be booked online through the Library website, just look for the book equipment icon, or check out the Equipment Borrowing Guide.

8. Use streaming video services
Videos are a great tool in online learning and instruction, and the right videos from the right sources can be cited and used as resources in your academic writing.

The Library’s licensed streaming databases, CBC Curio, National Film Board: Campus, and LinkedIn Learning offer thousands of educational videos, documentaries, and feature films.  

Find out more by checking out our Streaming Video Guide.

9. Export citations and keep them organized with RefWorks
RefWorks streamlines research, data organization, and academic writing by providing an easy-to-use tool for citation, bibliography, and reference management.

RRC Polytech has integrated RefWorks with Office 365, it can easily be accessed and used by students alongside the exportation tools within OneSearch. If you are new to using Refworks, the Library has you covered with our Refworks Guide, and our recorded Lunch and Learn tutorial.

10. Know about academic integrity and how it affects you
Academic integrity hinges on six fundamental values, as defined by the International Center for Academic Integrity: Honesty, Trust, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, and Courage.

As a critical piece of the learning environment and a fundamental core value of any academic institution, academic integrity directly links the credibility of an institution’s scholarship, research, certificates and diplomas. Academic integrity is essential to ensure students’ investment in their education is protected. To find out more, check out the Academic Integrity Guide for Students.

11. Explore other eLearning resources
The Library website offers many types of online learning resources that you can access and use as study aids, or in your own supplemental learning.

Check out Hybrid LEARNing Modules, a suite of self-directed tutorials housed in LEARN that provides relevant and helpful resources.

The Lunch and Learn program is a series of uploaded video tutorials covering our most popular Library subjects, including OneSearch, Nursing Reference Centre Plus, and APA 7th Edition Citation style.

Find videos and solutions on different math and science topics offered by the Academic Success Centre’s Math and Science Centre.

The Academic Success Centre has compiled the review materials for specific business math and accounting courses into one central location to help you easily access these resources at any time: Business Math & Accounting Review Self-Enroll LEARN Courses

…And finally: Follow the Library on social media
Stay up to date on the latest by following the Library on Social Media!

The Library is on Twitter and Instagram with daily tips, study hacks, events and other great need-to-know information.


Have Questions or Comments?

Library staff love to hear from the College community about our collection! Feel free to connect with us in person at the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campus Libraries or through Ask Us Chat at library.rrc.ca.

Written by Artemis Hedrich – Library Technician, Information and Program Delivery

Honouring International Week of the Deaf: Selections to Read and Watch

September 14, 2022

What is International Week of the Deaf?

International Week of the Deaf takes place September 19-25, 2022, and is an annual opportunity to honour and build awareness of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community. This year’s theme is “Building Inclusive Communities for All,” which reminds us to foster connections with and understand the concerns of Deaf people.

The Library honours this occasion with a selection of resources to read and watch, which the RRC Polytech community can learn from and enjoy.

Selections to Read – Print Books

Deaf around the world cover art

Deaf around the world: the impact of language

A compendium of work by scholars and activists on the creation, context, and form of sign languages, and on the social issues and civil rights of Deaf communities.

A journey into the deaf-world cover art

A journey into the deaf-world

A compelling story of this much-misunderstood minority as it struggles for self-determination.

Deaf empowerment cover art

Deaf empowerment: emergence, struggle, and rhetoric

Examines the Deaf social movement in America from its inception in the mid-19th century through its growth and empowerment in the late 20th century.

All of us together cover art

All of us together: the story of inclusion at the Kinzie School

A warm, encouraging testament to the dedication and hard work of the Kinzie teachers and parents. Reading about it is a wonderful, uplifting experience that also could serve as a model for any community.

Access: multiple avenues for deaf people cover art

Access: multiple avenues for deaf people

Presents an accomplished group of contributors who address the major technological, institutional, and societal advances in access for deaf people, as well as the remaining hurdles.

Selections to Read – Ebooks

Signs of hope cover art

Signs of Hope: Deafhearing Family Life

Tells the story of a narrative inquiry with three deafhearing families. For many of us, deafness represents loss and silence. For others, being deaf is a genetic quirk; an opportunity for learning, spiritual adventure and reward. For yet others, it is the most natural thing in the world.

Deaf epistemologies, identity, and learning: a comparative perspective

Noted scholars and researchers examine the many ways that deaf people see and acquire deaf knowledge.

Man without words cover art

A man without words

Vividly conveys the challenge, the frustrations, and the exhilaration of opening the mind of a congenitally deaf person to the concept of language.

sign language sustainable development cover art

Sign language, sustainable development, and equal opportunities: envisioning the future for deaf students

Offers creative and open-minded explorations of the construct of sustainability that are informed by their work with deaf individuals, deaf communities, families of deaf children, and other stakeholders.

Language power and resistance cover art

Language, Power, and Resistance: Mainstreaming Deaf Education

Explores how different types of power are used in the deaf education system to establish, maintain, and also resist medical views of deafness. 

deaf eyes on interpreting cover art

Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Brings Deaf people to the forefront of the discussions about what constitutes quality interpreting services.

Selections to Watch – Streaming Video and DVD

Through deaf eyes cover art

Through Deaf Eyes [DVD]

Exploring nearly 200 years of Deaf life in America, this film presents the shared experiences of American history–family life, education, work, and community connections–from the perspective of deaf citizens. 

Deafology 101 cover art

Deafology 101: a crash course on deaf culture [Streaming video]

Presents a highly entertaining lecture on deaf culture by Ken Glickman, author of “DEAFinitions” and other humor books.

Note: This video has been digitized from an older VHS master. For best picture quality, set your browser to a smaller window.

Dance of words cover art

The Dance of Words [Streaming video]

Features young artists who have embraced their deaf identity in adulthood after spending a difficult childhood in the grey zone between hearing culture and deaf culture. These emerging artists show how they are using the arts to build a deaf culture that makes them proud. They shine a spotlight on their community while promoting and advancing deaf culture with a keen sensitivity.

Have Questions or Comments?

Library staff love to hear from the College community about our collection! Feel free to connect with us in person at the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campus Libraries or through Ask Us Chat at library.rrc.ca.


Written by Linda Fox – Library Technician, Program Support and Promotion

Goodbye Stress, Hello Success: 5 Ways to Overcome College Worries

August 22, 2022

Another school year is just around the corner and although it is always an exciting time, it can also be a little stressful! Check out these free resources and supports to help you feel successful and calm throughout your studies.

1. Take advantage of dog therapy

photo of a dog with a person

Studies have shown that spending time around furry friends can boost our mood, lower our stress, and give us a stronger sense of belonging.

Learn more in this online article (RRC Polytech login may be required) >> Putting Away Pre-Exam Stress: The Effect of Therapy Dog Sessions on Student Well-Being

Did you know that Red River Polytechnic has provided therapy dog visits in the past? Read more about it in Campus Well-Being’s newsletter.

2. Know you’re not alone

screenshot of video: Crisis on Campus

Being a student can stir up a lot of negative emotions and for those who already struggle with mental health, it can feel hopeless. High numbers of students seeking help has led academic institutions to provide easily accessible mental health supports to students.

Check out this online video by CBC to learn more (RRC Polytech login may be required) >> Crisis on Campus: Mental Health Demands Surge


3. Set aside time to be mindful

cover art of mindfulness for students

How can mindfulness activities help you be successful while keeping your stress levels at a minimum? Mindfulness for Students provides tips and tricks to better studying, active listening during lectures, and even how to properly prepare for exams. This book is a great tool for your life in and outside of the learning environment.

Learn more and borrow this print book (RRC Polytech ID card required to borrow) >> Mindfulness for Students

Learn about Campus Well-Being’s tips for promoting mindfulness through stretching >> 7 Stretches To Try at Your Desk

4. Spend time outside

cover art of nature rx book

Clinical studies have shown that spending time outside lowers stress and boosts mood. Many colleges are striving to implement programs in which students can spend more time in nature and gain an appreciation of the great outdoors while also lowering the anxiety that can come with the stresses of college.  A great guide for educators wanting to provide opportunities for fresh air in their programs and a great read for students to understand why getting outside is important for your mental well-being.

Read this ebook online (RRC Polytech login may be required) >> Nature Rx: Improving College-Student Mental Health

5. Learn tips for writing success

cover art of how to write better essays

A step-by-step guide which makes the writing process a breeze! Offering suggestions from how to avoid plagiarism, to how to effectively organize your idea, How to Write Better Essays is sure to help you hand papers in with confidence.

Learn more and borrow this print book (RRC Polytech ID card required to borrow) >> How to Write Better Essays

Did you know the Academic Success Centre offers writing support? Learn more by visiting ASC Supports for Students – Writing Centre

Additional free supports offered at RRC Polytech

If you would like to learn more about the mental health supports offered at the College, please explore the following links:

For the full list of student supports, visit www.rrc.ca/supports.

Guest post written by Hilary Ottenbreit, Library Information and Technology student     

Library Equipment Booking is Online!

June 8, 2022

RRC Polytech staff and students can now enjoy hassle-free scheduling with the library’s new online equipment booking system.
Find out everything you need to know about the new booking system so you can plan ahead, and be front of the line for fall bookings!

What’s available?

There are many equipment categories to browse and book online:

Where to go on Library.rrc.ca to book equipment?

You can navigate to the equipment booking system from the library homepage, either by selecting Book Equipment from the icon bar on the homepage, or find it under browse and borrow from on the homepage top menu.


the icon bar from the library.rrc.ca homepage showing the location of the borrow equipment icon.

OR

The top menu bar from the library.rrc.ca homepage showing the location of the Browse & Borrow section.

Where to pick up a booking?

The RRC Polytech Library has two locations, one at the Notre Dame Campus in CM18, and another at the Exchange District Campus in room P214. Our two libraries have different equipment collections, so make sure you select the location you’ll be picking up from, before browsing and setting up bookings.

images of the notre dame and exchange district campus libraries.

Add upcoming bookings to your outlook calendar

When you create a booking, you will receive a “Your booking has been confirmed” email with an .ics calendar file. Open the attachment and add the booking to your calendar.

Graphic showing the steps to open an attached .ics calendar file in the

Make sure to add alerts@mail.libcal.com to your safe senders list so you don’t miss any important updates or reminders about your bookings!

Cancel or Change an upcoming booking

Created a booking you no longer need? Need that equipment for a different time? You can cancel an upcoming booking anytime through the link included in your booking confirmation and reminder emails.

To change a booking, simply reply to your booking confirmation or reminder email and let us know the change, you’ll get an automatic email notification confirming when the changes have been made.

Find out more!

Need some help figuring out how to book equipment? Find out everything you need to know on the book equipment help page.

Curious about the student laptop loan program? Check out the laptop loans terms of use.

Find all the loan periods for equipment on the loan period information page.

Connect with Us!

More information about our services and supports is available on our website. You may also connect with us through Ask Us chat, our Ask a Question form, or visit one of our service desks during regular Library hours.

Written by Artemis Hedrich – Reference Technician

Celebrating Indigenous History Month: Timely New Arrivals

May 26, 2022

A time to honour and learn

June is National Indigenous History Month, a time dedicated to honouring the vibrant history, culture, strength and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples across Canada. What better time to take advantage of the latest new arrivals in the Library’s Indigenous section?

These timely resources offer the opportunity to broaden your understanding of the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples. Many thanks to Sarah Lee for maintaining the Library’s Indigenous Collection.

New arrivals to our Indigenous collection

#NotYourPrincess: voices of Native American women / Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale.

Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. 


Surviving the city / Tasha Spillett; Natasha Donovan.

Tasha Spillet’s graphic-novel debut, Surviving the City, is a story about womanhood, friendship, resilience, and the anguish of a missing loved one. Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan’s Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up in an urban landscape – they’re so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together.


Returning to ceremony: spirituality in Manitoba Métis communities / Chantal Fiola.

Returning to Ceremony is the follow-up to Chantal Fiola’s award-winning Rekindling the Sacred Fire and continues her ground-breaking examination of Métis spirituality, debunking stereotypes such as “all Métis people are Catholic,” and “Métis people do not go to ceremonies.”


Me tomorrow: Indigenous views on the future / compiled and edited by Drew Hayden Taylor.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists, activists, educators and writers, youth and elders come together to envision Indigenous futures in Canada and around the world. Discussing everything from language renewal to sci-fi, this collection is a powerful and important expression of imagination rooted in social critique, cultural experience, traditional knowledge, activism and the multifaceted experiences of Indigenous people on Turtle Island. 


The Prairie Chicken dance tour / Dawn Dumont.

The hilarious story of an unlikely group of Indigenous dancers who find themselves thrown together on a performance tour of Europe in 1972. The Tour is all prepared. The Prairie Chicken dance troupe is all set for a fifteen-day trek through Europe, performing at festivals and cultural events. But then the performers all come down with the flu. And John Greyeyes, a retired cowboy who hasn’t danced in fifteen years, finds himself abruptly thrust into the position of leading a hastily-assembled group of replacement dancers.


Borders / story by Thomas King; illustration by Natasha Donovan.

A graphic-novel adaptation based on the work of one of Canada’s most revered and bestselling authors. “What side do you come from?” On a trip to visit his older sister, who moved away from the family home to Salt Lake City, a young boy and his mother are posed a simple question with a not so simple answer. And when border guards will not accept their citizenship, mother and son wind up trapped in an all-too-real limbo between nations that do not recognize who they are.


We remember the coming of the white man / editors: Sarah Stewart and Raymond Yakeleya; authors: Walter Blondin [and others].

A work in progress since the 1970s, We Remember the Coming of the White Man chronicles the history of the Dene People in the extraordinary time of the early 20th century. Chapters are transcripts of oral histories of ten Elders.


My privilege, my responsibility: a memoir / Sheila North.

In September 2015, Sheila North was declared the Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), the first woman elected to the position. Known as a “bridge builder”, North is a member of Bunibonibee Cree Nation. North’s work in advocacy journalism, communications, and economic development harnessed her passion for drawing focus to systemic racism faced by Indigenous women and girls. 


We all go back to the land: the who, why, and how of land acknowledgements / Suzanne Keeptwo.

Land Acknowledgements often begin academic conferences, cultural events, government press gatherings, and even hockey games. They are supposed to be an act of Reconciliation between Indigenous people in Canada and non-Indigenous Canadians, but they have become so routine and formulaic that they have sometimes lost meaning. Métis artist and educator Suzanne Keeptwo sees the Land Acknowledgement as an opportunity for Indigenous people in Canada to communicate their worldview to non-Indigenous Canadians–a message founded upon Age Old Wisdom about how to sustain the Land we all want to call home.


Did you see us?: reunion, remembrance, and reclamation at an urban Indian residential school / Survivors of the Assiniboia Residential School ; [edited by Andrew Woolford, Morgan Fontaine, and Theodore Fontaine].

The Assiniboia school is unique within Canada’s Indian Residential School system. It was the first residential high school in Manitoba and one of the only residential schools in Canada to be located in a large urban setting. Stitching together memories of arrival at, day-to-day life within, and departure from the school with a socio-historical reconstruction of the school and its position in both Winnipeg and the larger residential school system, Did You See Us? offers a glimpse of Assiniboia that is not available in the archival records. 


Nothing will be different: a memoir / Tara McGowan-Ross.

A neurotic party girl’s coming-of-age memoir about learning to live before getting ready to die. Tara has it pretty good: a nice job, a writing career, a forgiving boyfriend. She should be happy. Yet Tara can’t stay sober. She’s terrible at monogamy. Even her psychiatrist grows sick of her and stops returning her calls. She spends most of her time putting out social fires, barely pulling things off, and feeling sick and tired. Then, in the autumn following her twenty-seventh birthday, an abnormal lump discovered in her left breast serves as the catalyst for a journey of rigorous self-questioning. 


Dadibaajim: returning home through narrative / Helen Olsen Agger.

Dadibaajim narratives are of and from the land, born from experience and observation. Invoking this critical Anishinaabe methodology for teaching and learning, Helen Agger documents and reclaims the history, identity, and inherent entitlement of the Namegosibii Anishinaabeg to the care, use, and occupation of their Trout Lake homelands. 


Indian in the cabinet: speaking truth to power / Jody Wilson-Raybould.

A compelling political memoir of leadership and speaking truth to power by one of the most inspiring women of her generation. This is the story of why Wilson-Raybould got into federal politics, her experience as an Indigenous leader sitting around the Cabinet table, her proudest achievements, the very public SNC-Lavalin affair, and how she got out and moved forward.


Intimate integration: a history of the Sixties Scoop and the colonization of Indigenous kinship / Allyson D. Stevenson.

Privileging Indigenous voices and experiences, Intimate Integration documents the rise and fall of North American transracial adoption projects, including the Adopt Indian and Métis Project and the Indian Adoption Project. Making profound contributions to the history of settler-colonialism in Canada, it sheds light on the complex reasons behind persistent social inequalities in child welfare.


Di-bayn-di-zi-win: to own ourselves: embodying Ojibway-Anishinabe ways / Jerry Fontaine & Don McCaskill.

An indigenized, de-colonized world view for Indigenous leaders and academics seeking a path to reconciliation. Authors makwa ogimaa (Jerry Fontaine) and ka-pi-ta-aht (Don McCaskill) tell their di-bah-ji-mo-wi-nan (personal stories) to understand the cultural, political, social, and academic events in the past fifty years of Ojibway-Anishinabe resistance in Canada.


These are the stories: memories of a 60s Scoop survivor / Christine Miskonoodinkwe-Smith.

A collection of essays from a 60’s Scoop Survivor.


Home waltz / G.A. Grisenthwaite.

A story of love, heartbreak, and tragedy, Home Waltz delves into suicide, alcohol abuse, body image, and systemic racism. A coming of age story like no other, Home Waltz speaks to one Indigenous teenager’s experience of growing up in a world that doesn’t want or trust him.


Life in the city of dirty water: a memoir of healing / Clayton Thomas-Müller.

An electrifying memoir that braids together the urgent issues of Indigenous rights and environmental policy, from a nationally and internationally recognized activist and survivor. Tying together personal stories of survival that bring the realities of Canada’s First Nations into sharp focus, and lessons learned from a career as a frontline activist committed to addressing environmental injustice at a global scale, Thomas-Müller offers a narrative and vision of healing and responsibility.


Tainna = The unseen ones: short stories / Norma Dunning.

Drawing on both lived experience and cultural memory, Norma Dunning brings together six powerful new short stories centred on modern-day Inuk characters in Tainna. Ranging from homeless to extravagantly wealthy, from spiritual to jaded, young to elderly, and even from alive to deceased, Dunning’s characters are united by shared feelings of alienation, displacement and loneliness resulting from their experiences in southern Canada.


Daughters of the deer / Danielle Daniel.

In this haunting, groundbreaking, historical novel, Danielle Daniel imagines the lives of her ancestors in the Algonquin territories of the 1600s, a story inspired by her family link to a girl murdered near Trois-Rivières in the early days of French settlement.


Sugar Falls : a residential school story / David Robertson; illustratration by Scott Henderson.

From Governor-General’s Award-winning writer David A. Robertson comes this special edition of the timeless graphic novel that introduced the world to the awe-inspiring resilience of Betty Ross, and shared her story of strength, family, and culture.


The trail of Nenaboozhoo and other creation stories / Bomgiizhik; illustrated and edited by Christi Belcourt.

This collection presents legends of Nenaboozhoo, the Ojibway creator spirit, along with other creation stories; sacred stories which were transcribed from the oral storytelling of Isaac Murdoch. The Trail of Nenaboozhoo and Other Creation Stories is a book of art and storytelling that preserve the legends of the Anishinaabe people.


Old Stories, New Ways / Vivian Manasc & Frits Pannekoek.

Through the profound lessons of the seven Grandfather Teachings, architect Vivian Manasc came to understand that the process of planning and designing a building should be a circle, with the beginning and end of the story linked together. The stories Vivian tells in Old Stories, New Ways are also framed by these teachings of Courage, Love, Wisdom, Respect, Truth, Humility and Honesty, with each teaching illuminating an aspect of how working with Dene, Cree, Saulteaux, Métis, Inuit and Inuvialuit communities has influenced her design practice.

Have a comment or question? Connect with the Library!

You may reach us through our Ask Us chat, our Ask a Question form, or visit one of our service desks during regular Library hours. We would love to hear from you!

Written by Linda Fox and Sarah Lee – Library and Academic Services

Supports for Faculty and Staff from Library and Academic Services

May 16, 2022

Planning for Fall? It’s a Great Time to Incorporate Our Supports

Spring is often the time to update course content and plan for fall, and it’s also a great time to incorporate supports offered by Library and Academic Services. In this article, we highlight popular ways we can help you and your students succeed at RRC Polytech. For future reference, we encourage you to bookmark our Faculty Support page which contains links to the complete range of services and supports we offer. 

In-Class Workshops

The Academic Success Centre and Library offer online in-class workshops for student cohorts at the request of faculty. Our suite of workshops includes Academic Skills, Writing Skills, Technology Literacy Skills, Library Instruction, and Copyright.

To request an in-class workshop, please click the links below:

Hybrid LEARNing Modules

The Academic Success Centre and Library have developed a suite of Hybrid LEARNing Modules. The purpose of these modules is to offer learning strategies and resources that faculty can share with their students to further develop foundational skills for success in their studies. The modules feature self-directed tutorials in LEARN and facilitated live sessions via Webex (or MS Teams).

To request a Hybrid LEARNing Module or book a facilitated live session, please fill out this Request Form.

Academic Success Centre

While the ASC is primarily a student service unit, our staff have found that partnerships with faculty are the best way to support students. Partnerships can take many forms, including customized and embedded academic supports in programs, in-class workshops, diagnostic assessments, and the sharing of our learning resources.

To learn more, visit the Academic Success Centre’s Supports for Faculty and Staff page.

Library Collections and Related Services

Suggest a Purchase

The primary purpose of the Library’s collections is to support learning, instruction and research at RRC Polytech. If you have suggestions for a new title or resource to add to our collection, you may fill out the Suggest a Purchase form. Our subject specialists are available to discuss subject area gaps in the collection as well as Open Educational Resources (OER) options with you.  

Guides

The Library’s Guides are curated lists of resources on specialized topics. We can help you find which guides are most relevant for your students or work with you to develop a new Guide to meet your needs. The benefits of Guides are far-reaching for both students and instructors. Below are a few success stories resulting from instructors utilizing Guides.

Guide Success Stories

Environmental Sciences Guide https://library.rrc.ca/enviro-science

Research and Reference Services

Also, you may be looking for information, either for your own research needs, course development, or course readings. Library staff are skilled at locating and referencing information, and it would be a pleasure to assist with that. To connect with a Library staff member, visit us in person or through our Ask Us chat during regular Library hours.

Copyright

Copyright plays an important role when instructors are building content and creating course materials. Our P7 Policy provides guidance around copying but there is also a suite of library-directed copyright services to support and assist faculty in navigating copyright.

The Library’s Copyright Officer supports faculty with the following services:

List of services available from the copyright officer.

You can:

Connect with Us!

More information about our services and supports is available on our website. You may also connect with us through Ask Us chat, our Ask a Question form, or visit one of our service desks during regular Library hours.

Written by Ebony Novakowski, Linda Fox, and Melissa Coyle – Library and Academic Services

Earth Day 2022

April 19, 2022

Earth Day is upon us again on Friday, April 22, 2022.  We have on this day, since 1970, taken to raising awareness about climate change, its increasing effects on our planet caused by our growing carbon footprint, with the knowledge that the more we delay, the more urgent and palpable is the need to address the changing climate. 

COVID-19 is also a new powerful, environmental phenomenon with a unique connection to climate change.  Like the weather, it impacts and disrupts our daily lives, and for the past several years has been a dire presence in our relationships with each other, over the entire globe. 

With these two circumstances affecting us, how will you acknowledge Earth Day this year?  Will you actively participate in recognizing this important and very special day?

Sustainability at Red River College Polytechnic

At Red River College Polytechnic, the Sustainability Office works to promote a culture of sustainability among staff, students and faculty and reduce the College’s impact on the environment.  This year the Office is hosting a Show us your Sustainability! Photo contest.

There are so many ways to support the environment.  From Tuesday April 19 to Friday April 22, send Sustainability a photo of you doing something good for the earth, such as saving energy, reducing waste, or greening your commute and you’ll be entered to win a prize at the end of the week!  Send your photos to Sustainability@RRC.CA.  Follow Sustainability on Facebook (RRC Polytech – Sustainability) or @rrcgoesgreen on Instagram for more details.

Join a virtual presentation of RRC Polytech’s State of Sustainability on Friday April 22 at noon to hear about the sustainability highlights from the past year, the results of a recent survey, and how we at Red River College Polytechnic are measuring our sustainability performance.

RRC Polytech Library Services Resources

Libraries are a tremendous resource for ideas, information, and knowledge.  The libraries at RRC Polytech can assist you on Earth Day in your response to these pressing environmental concerns.  To learn more about why we celebrate Earth Day here are several sources you might consult in your pursuit of understanding of climate change:

Video Collections

Electronic Books

Both for convenience and accessibility, as well as to save on paper, the Library has an extensive collection of eBooks about Climate change

Suggested Primer on Climate Change

“The Fragile Earth tells the story of climate change—its past, present, and future—taking readers from Greenland to the Great Plains, and into both laboratories and rain forests. It features some of the best writing on global warming from the last three decades, including Bill McKibben’s seminal essay “The End of Nature,” the first piece to popularize both the science and politics of climate change for a general audience, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning work of Elizabeth Kolbert, as well as Kathryn Schulz, Dexter Filkins, Jonathan Franzen, Ian Frazier, Eric Klinenberg, and others. The result, in its range, depth, and passion, promises to bring light, and sometimes heat, to the great emergency of our age.”*

[*] The Fragile earth: Writing from The New Yorker on climate change. (2020, October 6). In Goodreads. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358071-the-fragile-earth
Available through interlibrary loan or suggest as a purchase.

Need to know more? Ask Us!

NDC and EDC libraries are open during the following limited hours as of April 18, 2022.

NDC

Monday, Wednesday, Friday  8:30am-4:00pm

Tuesday, Thursday  8:30am-8:00 pm 

EDC

Tuesday, Thursday  10:00am-3:00pm

Our online service desk is also available daily to serve you.
Staff are online during the following hours:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday  8:00am – 4:00pm
Tuesday, Thursday  8:00am – 8:00pm

During these times, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca

Interested in exploring this topic on the Web?

Websites where you will find more current information on climate change:

Other Websites

EARTHDAY.ORG

Manitoba’s Climate Action Team

Manitoba and climate change

Climate Change Action in the Province of Manitoba (International Institute for Sustainable Development)

Prairie Climate Centre

David Suzuki Foundation

Friends of the Earth

World Resources Institute

Green Action Centre

Nature Unlimited

For more links, more electronic & print book reading suggestions, more videos & related topics, check out our Environment Science guide on the Library Service’s website.  And please contact us with your questions and suggestions and let us work with you to make every day an Earth Day.

Written by John Mark Allen, Reference Technician

Freedom to Read Week

February 24, 2022

It’s Freedom to Read Week and libraries across Canada are talking about intellectual freedom.

What is Freedom to Read week about? It’s about protecting intellectual freedom, access to information, and freedom of expression.

This year, Freedom to Read week falls during a time when the persistent controversy in the southern states around LGBTT+ literature is upsurging and making headlines, with many books being challenged, banned, and removed from school libraries. It’s important, even in Canada, to remember that book banning, and the oppression of free expression are not issues of the past, that they are ongoing, global issues.

Please take advantage of the Libraries collections this Freedom to Read Week and celebrate your freedom to express and share ideas with others.


Gender & sexuality : Canadian history through the stories of activists

Gender and Sexuality unearths a diverse spectrum of struggle through the accounts of longstanding activists and social movements participants.

Main Stacks NDC HQ 73.3 .C3 N45 2012

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trans (but Were Afraid to Ask)

Leading activist and essayist Brynn Tannehill tells you everything you ever wanted to know about transgender issues but were afraid to ask.

EBook, Available online

Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction

Queer Africa is a collection of unapologetic, tangled, tender, funny, bruising and brilliant stories about the many ways in which we love each other on the continent In these unafraid stories of intimacy.

Ebook, Available Online

Out proud : stories of pride, courage, and social justice

Produced in partnership with Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, Out Proud: Stories of Pride, Courage, and Social Justice is the second in a series of essay anthologies designed to give attention to issues that are sometimes ignored in the mainstream media–and a voice to those most closely affected by them.

Main Stacks NDC HQ 73.3 .C3 O88 2014

Prairie fairies : a history of queer communities and people in western Canada, 1930-1985

Prairie Fairies draws upon a wealth of oral, archival, and cultural histories to recover the experiences of queer urban and rural people in the prairies. 

Main Stacks EDC HQ 73.3 .C2 P735 2018
Ebook, Available Online

Trans People in Higher Education

While more trans students, faculty, and staff have come out on US college campuses today than ever before, many still report enduring harassment and discrimination.

Ebook, Available Online

LGBTQAI+ Books for Children and Teens : providing a window for all

This resource gives school librarians, children’s, and YA librarians the guidance and tools they need to confidently share these books with the patrons they support.

Ebook, Available Online


This year the College launched the new Gender and Sexual Identities: Advancing Understanding and Inclusion Training for RRC Polytech employees.

“This self-directed training aims to enhance Red River College Polytechnic employees’ understanding of gender and sexual diversity identities, and provide strategies for advancing inclusion.”

Libraries are responsible to provide and protect access to information, even those ideas and materials considered controversial or distasteful to some. CFLA FCAB Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries

Written by Artemis Hedrich, Reference Technician