University of Calgary Libraries

How often do you get the chance to sit down with an artist and talk about their work up close?

Yesterday, a lucky group of visitors did exactly that. Guided by acclaimed artist David Garneau, guests were invited to choose a favourite painting and ask questions.

DAVID GARNEAU: DARK CHAPTERS and READING THE RUINS, by the celebrated Métis artist, scholar, Governor General’s Award winner, and UCalgary alum, are on view until Aug 30 at the Founders’ Gallery located inside The Military Museums.

Reserve your spot for a curator-led tour and sign up today: https://bit.ly/4aMBjBk

University of Calgary Press publishes works that spark curiosity and deepen understanding. This month, we’re highlighting powerful titles written by and about Indigenous peoples.

You’ll find all of these books available to borrow from the UCalgary Library. Which one will you start with?

Books list (top to bottom):
▪️The Story of ii’ taa’poh’to’p by Grandparents of ii’ taa’poh’to’p
▪️Where Histories Meet by Victoria Freeman
▪️Remembering Our Relations by Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation with Sabina Trimble and Peter Fortna
▪️Blackfoot Ways of Knowing by Betty Bastien, edited by Jurgen W. Kremer, and assisted by Duane Mistaken Chief
▪️The Red Chesterfield by Wayne Arthurson
▪️Surviving in the Hour of Darkness, edited by G. Sophie Harding
▪️Nunavik by Ann Vick-Westgate
▪️Treaty Elders of Saskatchewan by Harold Cardinal and Walter Hildebrandt
▪️Water Rites by Jim Ellis
▪️Ancestral Portraits by Frederick R. McDonald
▪️The Writing on the Wall, edited by Lindsey Sharman

Join filmmaker Sinakson Trevor Solway for a special screening and discussion of his award-winning film, “Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man”.

DETAILS:
Wed, Jun 24
12 - 2:30pm
Gallery Hall, TFDL

For more info, check out: https://bit.ly/4aV5RRp

Join artist David Garneau, UCalgary alum and Governor General’s Award recipient, for an exclusive artist tour of the exhibitions DAVID GARNEAU: DARK CHAPTERS and READING THE RUINS and book signing.

𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀:
Mon, Jun 22 @ 3pm
UCalgary Founders’ Gallery, inside The Military Museums
Tour included with paid admission to TMM

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://bit.ly/4oiWfWb

📸 Photos ( #2 & #4) by Josie Chu Photography (jchu photography)

When her thesis advisor suggested she ‘knit something’ as part of her exhibition of articles about British women's needlework patterns in WWI, Alyssa Reedy accepted the challenge. And then some.

She went to the Didsbury Yarn Merchant and found 13 volunteers to knit various patterns of military and medical garments in the specified colours.

The result?

A beautiful display of community and craft.
A stunning array of [somewhat itchy] "comfort wear for men on land and on sea." And a learning experience Reedy will never forget.

One of the knitters, a history student, was so impressed with the 'knee caps' she made, that she knit some for her dad.

What's next for Alyssa? Now that her history degree is complete, she moves on to the Education portion of her concurrent degree.

If you’d like to see this exhibition, it will be back in TFDL in November 2026!

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼:
The UCalgary History Department (UCalgary Faculty of Arts)
Dr. Paul Chastko, project funding
Dr. Glenn Wilkinson, thesis advisor

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Lori Adamchick
Jen Dersken
Lauren Hanna
Rosemary Hendersom
Christie Jensen
Alyssa Reedy
Lorna Richmond
Heather SPanton
Evelyn Stone
Karen Wilson
Grace Wright
Laurie Fischer
The Yarn Merchant, Didsbury AB

When her thesis advisor suggested she ‘knit something’ as part of her exhibition of articles about patterns for British women's needlework in WWI, Alyssa Reedy accepted the challenge. And then some.

She went to the Didsbury Yarn Merchant and found 13 volunteers to knit various patterns of military and medical garments in the specified colours.

The result?

A beautiful display of community and craft.
A stunning array of [somewhat itchy] "comfort wear for men on land and on sea." And a learning experience Reedy will never forget.

One of the knitters, a history student, was so impressed with the 'knee caps' she made, that she knit some for her dad.

What's next for Alyssa? Now that her history degree is complete, she moves on to the Education portion of her concurrent degree.

If you’d like to see this exhibition, it will be back in TFDL in November 2026!

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼:
The UCalgary History Department
Dr. Paul Chastko, project funding
Dr. Glenn Wilkinson, thesis advisor

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Lori Adamchick
Jen Dersken
Lauren Hanna
Rosemary Hendersom
Christie Jensen
Alyssa Reedy
Lorna Richmond
Heather SPanton
Evelyn Stone
Karen Wilson
Grace Wright
Laurie Fischer
The Yarn Merchant, Didsbury AB

How can archives support justice-oriented research?

Recently UCalgary Library transformed entries from the Historical CPR Land Sales Register (1881-1927) into spatially accessible data. Every land parcel is tied to its real-world location, which means you can see these sales on a map across the prairie landscape.

The stories behind these entries extend beyond names, places and prices paid. In exchange for building the railway, the federal government granted the CPR 25 million acres of prairie land. Land that, was historically inhabited by indigenous peoples, and granted to the CPR without their consultation.

The CPR's sale of those acres to settlers and land companies was an engine of prairie colonization, reshaping who lived where, who profited, and whose histories were preserved and prioritized. Making this data spatial, opens possibilities for justice-oriented research. It can support mapping the dispossession of lands, ground research and conversation into the colonization of the west in visual forms of evidence, and surface the stories of women, racialized settlers, and those whose presence on the prairies has been historically marginalized.

The database is open to anyone online, whether a scholarly researcher, a community member, anyone curious about the ground beneath their feet.

Image credits: Interns Colin Au Yeung and Paniz Noori spent the summer of 2025 scanning and cross-referencing data for this project.

International Council on Archives - ICA

One of the best parts of being at a university? The opportunity to work with students like Sunand Kannappan.

Sunand just received the President’s Award for Excellence in Student Leadership, for being a leading advocate for responsible artificial intelligence adoption and innovation in education.

Sunand served on the 2025-2026 CAIELI Student Advisory Council, working to shape the future of generative AI education at UCalgary. The Council ensures student voices help lead the conversation around the ethical use of AI.

Interested in being part of this work? Applications for the 2026-2027 Council will open soon.

Another great example of the University of Calgary Students' Union working on behalf of UCalgary students!

Zoe Zeritsch (SU VP Academic) presents a cheque to UCalgary Library’s Christie Hurrell and Jennifer Lee for $123,138 as part of the Library Assistance Fee partnership. The Students’ Union makes a financial contribution to collections expenditures, and the Library matches it.

Through this partnership, the SU supports the substantial purchase of electronic books and online resources. A portion of the funds also goes towards supporting student jobs in the Library.

Calling all Anne of Green Gables Fans.

Don’t miss the traveling book binding and book arts exhibition on Lucy Maud Montgomery at the Central Calgary Public Library until Jun 30.

On Jun 8, Annie Murray (University of Calgary Libraries), Rebecca Sullivan (UCalgary Arts) and Cameron Treleaven (Aquila Books) will present an overview of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s work, including first editions of her books.

Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild