Light therapy, also known as bright light therapy or phototherapy, uses a light box to mimic outdoor lighting.

Exposure to artificial light helps adjust the body’s regulation of melatonin, a hormone that controls the body’s sleep cycle, and serotonin, a natural mood-stabilizing hormone.

Three main benefits of using light therapy are:

• Increased energy
• Improved sleep patterns
• Enhanced mood

It is easy to use, safe (UV free), and can be done in your own home. The light box needs to be placed at a 45-degree angle, 2-3 feet away on a flat surface. For the best results, use consistently every morning for 20-30 minutes. You should start seeing improvements in your mood within 2-4 days.

Light Therapy is not recommended for everyone, consult a physician first if you have an eye disorder or are taking medications that may cause your skin to be sensitive to light.

Interested in “lightening” up your mood?

Light boxes are available at the RRC Polytech Library for a one-month loan period.

To reserve a light box, complete our AV Booking Form, requesting a light therapy lamp and selecting your preferred pick-up time and location.

Questions?

If you have any questions, connect with us! We are always happy to help!

Written Jennifer Vandenbosch – Library and Information Technology student

The Academic Success Centre (ASC) is excited to announce the opening of its newly renovated space at the Notre Dame Campus (NDC). This space has been modernized and equipped to support tutoring and staff work areas. Now that the space is ready to use, it needs a new name to reflect the incredible teaching and learning that takes place in tutoring spaces.

We want your input to come up with a name that reflects the active and collaborative learning and review that happens here. If your idea is selected, you will have the honour of knowing this name will be referenced a million times over and will become an integral part of the ASC and its services for years to come!

Learn more and suggest a name >> New Space, New Name 

Remembrance Day, November 11^th

Each year in Canada we observe Remembrance Day on November 11^th.  Originally observed as Armistice Day, it marked the signing of the armistice agreement to end the First World War, at 11 am, on the 11^th day, of the 11^th month, 1918.   

In 1931, the name was changed to Remembrance Day in Canada. Traditionally marked by a moment of silence and ceremony, Remembrance Day honours the men and women who have served and currently serve Canada during times of peace, conflict and war. In Manitoba it is a statutory holiday.

The poem In Flanders Fields, by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel and physician, John McCrae, gave rise to the poppy being forever associated with Remembrance Day.

Canada is not alone in marking this day; the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Poland, Australia, and others also observe November 11^th. Other nations observe similar days, such as ANZAC Day in New Zealand or Veteran’s Day in the United States.

National Aboriginal Veterans Day, November 8th

National Aboriginal Veterans Day was first observed in 1994 in Winnipeg, and has since spread nationally.  It honours aboriginal contributions to service in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and all military service.  It is observed on November 8^th each year.

“If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.” 

- Margaret Mead 

When people think of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), autism, and other conditions, we often see those from a disease-based perspective originating from human brain science and outdated ideas regarding disability. These perspectives lack an anthropology or sociology framework and disregard individual differences from the standpoint of a diversity model.

The new Neurodiversity Library Guide provides learning resources to understand some brain conditions from a diversity perspective, highlighting how some cultural values affect our perceptions of these brain conditions.

In addition, without ignoring the challenges and barriers that individuals within the spectrum of neurodiversity navigate during every-day life, this guide takes a strength-based approach focusing on an individual’s hidden strengths and talents as a way to advance efforts towards inclusion and removing stigmas.

The Neurodiversity Library Guide includes sections on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum, Anxiety, Dyslexia, Mood Disorders, and Intellectual Disabilities. The content includes recommended books, articles, videos, and podcasts, as well as some additional College and community resources.

Special attention was paid towards selecting films and videos with testimonies sharing lived experiences within the spectrum of neurodiversity. Books can provide a foundation of knowledge, but it is the personal stories that can contribute to make emotional connections in order to build understanding and empathy.

The guide was developed by Fatima DeMelo (Information & Program Delivery) and Nora Sobel (Academic Success Centre). The content of the guide is based on the work of Thomas Armstrong, Howard Gardner, and Norman Doidge, and has been reviewed by staff from the Disability & Community Support program, and Student Support Services.

The guide is being launched in October, during Disability Employment Awareness Month, and it is already available at https://library.rrc.ca/neurodiversity.

Written by Nora Sobel (Academic Success Centre)

Library staff member, Rosemary Woodby, recently worked with three RRC Polytech Nursing instructors – Joanne Loughry, Krystal Boyce-Gaudreau, and Carla D. Andreamatteo – on the creation of specialized Library Guides for their courses. It was a rewarding experience for everyone, but most importantly, it made the learning materials required for these programs easier for their students to access.

Before diving into the benefits of Guides, are you familiar with what they are?

What are Library Guides?

Library Guides pull together and organize Library books, videos, and databases, along with a variety of online sources such as webpages, videos, and reports. Guides present all of this information in one place, where any student can access them. You can link to Guides in your LEARN site, and we can update content as needed.

Learn more >> Visit the Library Guides

How do Library Guides benefit students?

“The guide has the potential to save the students valuable research time and cultivates a supportive and progressive learning opportunity… These essential research skills and increased exposure to credible resources will prepare our students to be practice ready when entering the workforce.”

— Joanne Loughry, Nursing instructor

At RRC Polytech, our mission is to help students succeed in their studies and move on to rewarding and successful careers. The greatest benefit of Library Guides is felt by the students, which is one of the main reasons our instructors request them. Feedback from Nursing instructors confirms this fact.

Krystal Boyce-Gaudreau describes her newly developed guide, Leadership, Management and Collaborative Practice, as a time-saving and learning opportunity for her students. Through the Guides, students are presented with a gateway to high-quality information categorized by topic, saving “students time searching through website and journal articles for relevant and appropriate resources.” Carla D Andreamatteo, who requested the Nutrition and Lifestyle Guide for her students, describes it as “a great one-stop location for students to access resources to assist with their learning in the course.”

Joanne Loughry requires her students to utilize several kinds of resources from varied sources. In her opinion, Library Guides help students learn to develop their research skills and gain exposure to navigating credible sources. In her words, “The guide has the potential to save the students valuable research time and cultivates a supportive and progressive learning opportunity… These essential research skills and increased exposure to credible resources will prepare our students to be practice-ready when entering the workforce.”

How does an instructor set up a Library Guide?

Guides are created by the Library staff member assigned to your program area, as listed in our Collection Development Contacts. You may send a request to your subject specialist directly, or send a general inquiry to the Library through our Contact Us page.

Follow Library and Academic Services on social media!

For everything from fun series to service and programming updates, follow us on social media. We’re active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

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

Book clubs have a long history of attracting people wanting to connect with others to discuss books and the ideas within their pages. While fiction dominates book club selections, more and more people are using book clubs as a way to explore issues such as systemic racism or Truth and Reconciliation. These clubs also seek to pick books written by writers whose identities intersect across cultures, sexual orientations, and genders. While not a substitution for allyship, book clubs, if done right, enables the difficult conversations about race and privilege as a catalyst to true inclusion within society. This leaves two questions:

1. Where to start?
2. What are some good recommendations?

Assembling the Book club

Looking to start a book club amongst your friends or colleagues? There are a number of places to learn how to assemble people for an Anti-Racism Book. Indigo has a section on how to start a book club with some simple tips and made for the video chatting in mind. Libraries have not only hosted book clubs but also provides details on matters like logistics and book choice. Edmonton Public Library has 8 things to think about when starting a book a club, while our own Winnipeg Public Library also has tips for starting and sustaining book clubs as well as book club kits for those wanting to stay with fiction and read more BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) authors.

Book Recommendations

The Diversity Training Team within Library and Academic Services has conducted its own Book Club with books either within Red River’s own collection or through Winnipeg Public Library. Below is a list of titles discussed for anyone looking for ideas:

• So You Want to Talk about Race – Ijeoma Oluo
• White Fragility – Robin DiAngelo
• Policing Black Lives – Robyn Maynard
• 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act – Bob Joseph
• In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation – Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail (Editor)
• Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning – Cathy Park Hong

Even without a book group, each of the titles is worth reading on your own or if you want more on this topic, check out the Anti-Racism Learning Toolkit.

Written by Fatima DeMelo – Reference Technician, Information and Program Delivery

Last spring, if you were to look at our old Library website, you would be looking at a somewhat dated “Library-centric” web, with two Academic Support departments, and new features, i.e., LibAnswers and LibCal, tacked on. We knew our web site was due to be reorganized, and at the same time given a fresh look and feel. As with many changes, the summer period  gave us a window of opportunity when there was a break in classes. How could we take advantage of this opportunity and create a new-look website designed with our users in mind?

User-centric Design

We began by looking toward user-centric design principles that have been the cornerstone of effective web design for decades. Some web sites look great, but are completely ineffective to their users. We wanted to avoid this, and achieve a greater level of usability. So, we began by studying users.

On our Library web site, the greatest metric we had were analytics of what users did on our site. Where did they go? What did they click on? Generally, top traffic resources on our website were: OneSearch, A-Z List, Ask Us, the Academic Services landing page, Tutoring, Supports for Students, Library Subject Guides, Workshops, Self-Directed Learning Modules, Stem Centre, and College Readiness.

We took this information as a starting point, and began to develop two personas that represent Library web users: Average Student User and Average Instructor User.

Built with Library users in mind

PERSONA 1:
Average Student User wants to…

• Discover and borrow Library materials.
• Browse for Academic Supports.
• Access digital resources such as electronic articles and databases.
• Discover and attend Library and ASC workshops.
• Refer to a course-related subject guide.
• Access Tutoring services.
• Access a Library service.
• See when the Library is open.
• Find study space.
• Book AV equipment, laptops and chargers.
• Locate an instructor-recommended resource.
• Ask a question or get help.
• Learn how to cite.

PERSONA 2:
Average Instructor User wants to…

• Discover Library materials and resources for planning, research
  and teaching.
• Set up course reserves.
• Access a Library service such as ILL or Digitization.
• Refer their students to Library or ASC workshops.
• Refer their students to specific ASC resources.
• Request materials for their courses and students, i.e., Suggest a Purchase.
• Book AV equipment, laptops and chargers.
• Find copyright information and help.
• Get Academic Integrity advice and assistance.
• Ask a question or get help.

Redesign Process

With these two personas in mind, we began a three phase process.

Phase 1: Content reorganization. A cross section of library staff were brought together to make decisions about the web site organization and hierarchy. With our user personas in mind, staff individually performed card sorting exercises and compared results. This group also investigated other academic Library web sites. The final product was a new main menu structure, built with users in mind.

Phase 2: Home page re-design. With our users in mind, a second working group reviewed the information and features on the current Library home, and formulated a plan to build a more modern and concise home page. This group also took the time to review other academic websites, and recommended features which we could adopt for our new home page.

Phase 3: Overall web site re-skin. A smaller team of experts worked on a new header, footer and colours for the new site. The goal was to give the new Library web site a fresh look, new colours, and improvement in accessibility.

A cornerstone of this project was to involve many people from across Library and Academic Services. Each one of the above teams consisted of different people, thus enhancing our staff’s ability to influence decisions made in the new web site design. Their awesome contributions are reflected throughout the new web site.

Technical Details

The website is built on the LibGuides CMS platform by Springshare. Pages on this platform are responsive (mobile-friendly) through the Bootstrap framework. We have also taken advantage of other Springshare platforms such as LibAnswers, LibWizard and LibCal. We needed to add custom CSS and JavaScript for many of the features we built, however the Springshare platform allows for a sufficient level of customization.

The site is built with accessibility in mind, and accomplished through accessibility features built in to the LibGuides platform, and attention to detail in the added customizations. Our current home page tests as 100% accessible in the Google Lighthouse tool.

Looking Forward

We are planning focus groups this fall, where we hope to further determine how our patrons use our web site, and gauge the effectiveness of our new site design. In doing so, we expect slight revisions to the current web site, and an update of our personas.

Story by Mark Nelson ~ Library Systems Specialist

Thank you to all of the staff and students who attended the virtual Long Night Against Procrastination on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. It was an encouraging evening, where students benefited from help desks, workshops, and wellness activities. The evening commenced with a Welcome Session in which Bettina Allen and Alan Chorney gave a quick tour of the event. Fred Meier gave a short speech, providing a dose of encouraging words and Elder Una said a blessing which set the tone for an uplifting evening.

A total of 54 students registered for the event. The most popular sessions were the Writing Help Desk hosted by Academic Success Centre, the Kahoot Game put on by RRCSA, and the workshop “Job Search: What Gets You Hired” presented by Student Employment Services. Congratulations go out to Riley Pritchard, who won the prize draw for a $20 gift card!

We have a few staff photos to share with you. As you can see, we had a lot of fun with virtual backgrounds!

To our students:

Our thoughts are with you, as you wrap up the term and set out to find employment and apply the skills you’ve acquired at RRC. We wish you opportunities that land within the paths of your dreams. Best of luck!

Tip 1: Our Website

Your key to accessing the online Library is the Library’s website. From academic supports and services to resources and news, this is the gateway to everything related to the Library. Click the button below to check it out.

Tip 2: Our Online Service Desk

Access our online service desk by clicking on the Ask Us bubble on the Library’s website. This begins a chat with a real person in real-time during regular Library hours. If you submit a question after hours, you will receive a response when the Library opens again. You may also browse common answers to our most popular questions here: Popular questions.

Tip 3: Our Digital Collection

Explore our digital resources with OneSearch, which is the tool that searches the entire Library collection. We have thousands and thousands of online resources that you may access 24/7.

Learn more about OneSearch >>

• OneSearch video
• OneSearch guide

Tip 4: Our Events Calendar

Check our Events Calendar for the latest workshops you may attend, including Library Lunch and Learn sessions.

Tip 5: Our Library Guides

Library Guides are a great starting point for exploring the Library’s collection. Guides are a collection of resources and links on a specific topic, gathered together by a Library professional. A good place to begin is with our Library 101 section, which will help you get the most out of your Library experience. Otherwise, you may search the guides or browse by subject. Guides can draw you to new and unexpected resources, leading you to explore information in greater detail.

Tip 6: Our COVID-19 FAQ

Have questions about service changes during the pandemic? For example, wondering if physical books may still be borrowed? Indeed, they can! This is the kind of information you’ll find on the COVID-19 FAQ page.

We’re Here for You!

The Library and Academic Success Centre’s number one goal is to help you succeed at Red River College. Through chat and virtual meetings, we will meet you WHEREVER you are during these difficult times!

What is Hygge?

Hygge. Pronounced “Hue-gah.” (n.) Danish. A mood of coziness and comfort with feelings of wellness and contentment.

Hygge is also the topic of a new series coming to RRC Library’s social media channels. Each week, we will feature online resources to help you rest, relax, and refocus this winter season. This collection is entirely online, available 24/7, and the link to each resource is provided below.

Follow us!

To learn about other fun series as well as service and programming updates, follow us! Click on the icons below to visit our pages.

Hygge with RRC Library Collection

50 ways to soothe yourself without food

A collection of mindfulness skills and practices for relaxing the body in times of stress and ending your dependence on eating as a means of coping with difficult emotions.

In this book we will explain why downtime is inadequate for helping us recharge our batteries, and present you with an effective alternative.

Dream design live

With stunning photography and accessible-yet-elegant tips, Dream Design Live fuses interior decorating advice with lifestyle recommendations and demonstrates how living a happy and satisfying life starts at home.

Gifts of imperfection: let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are

An engaging exploration of how we can cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough, and to go to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am sometimes afraid, but I am also brave. And, yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging.

Happiness: the science behind your smile

This is the first book to comprehensively address the most basic of human desires. Everybody wants it. But what exactly is happiness?

Little ways to keep calm and carry on: twenty lessons for managing worry, anxiety, and fear

A psychologist, psychiatry professor, and anxiety researcher present twenty simple lessons that readers can use to relieve everyday anxiety on the spot and to develop resilience.

Make yourself cozy

Freshly baked bread. Cloud-like pillows. Lavender tea. Katie Vaz’s book on self-care shows readers how slow, cozy warmth can help them deal with the anxieties and challenges of everyday life.

Mindful learning: reduce stress and improve brain performance for effective learning

Practical insights and exercises on how to apply mindfulness in the educational setting, this book clearly sets out how we can manage stress, improve performance and create better communication and relationships.

Mindfulness for students

Through insightful ideas and personal anecdotes, this book will introduce you to the many benefits and applications of mindfulness – from mindful breathing, eating, exercising, sleeping, studying and communicating.

One pot comfort: make everyday meals in one pot, pan or appliance

An inspiring collection of everyday recipes for favorite comfort foods made in one pot, pan, or appliance.

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Open house : reinventing space for simple living

A sweeping behind-the-scenes perspective on home transformations, written in a personal, intimate style, with humor and honesty.

Recover from burnout: life lessons to regain your passion and purpose

Discover how to understand your burnout, recognize and engage with the underlying fears and beliefs that underpin your drive to push your body, mind and spirit to breaking point, change the beliefs and habits that have exhausted you, regain your energy and enthusiasm, and avoid falling back into the burnout traps.

Relax and enjoy life: 149 ultimate stress busters

149 stress-proofing ideas which are short and practical but can help you live the life you want to live …now.

Yes lives in the land of no: a tale of triumph over negativity

A how-to manual that’s both practical and entertaining. It will help you find the YESes you seek–faster, more effectively, and with a lot less discouragement and despair in the process.

We’d love to hear from you!

If you would like to suggest an idea for a future series, or have comments or questions for the Library, send us a message by clicking on Ask Us at library.rrc.ca.

Written by Linda Fox, Library Services