My Favourite Flowers

By Candice Fong (Follow us on LinkedIn) It’s the dead of winter in Ontario and I’m already dreaming of flowers. As I mentioned before, I rediscovered gardening during my transformative journey. I am by no means a professional horticulturist – just a garden enthusiast. My gardening philosophy is less weeding and less watering which is accomplishedContinue reading “My Favourite Flowers”

Honouring the Radical History of Self-Care

By Lynie Awywen (Follow us on LinkedIn) If ‘prioritizing self-care’ is one of your resolutions this year — or an ongoing core value you wish to remain in alignment with, it is important to honour the radical history of the term as you embark on your own intention setting rituals. There is power in looking backContinue reading “Honouring the Radical History of Self-Care”

‘Sorry for the Genocide’: Breaking Down The Pope’s Apology Tour

By Mikayla Redden A lot has transpired in Canadian Indigenous relations since my last contribution here. Turtle Island has played host to the head of the world’s most powerful religious institution; the head of the British Monarchy, of which Canada is a commonwealth state, has died; and a new leader who has expressed racist andContinue reading “‘Sorry for the Genocide’: Breaking Down The Pope’s Apology Tour”

Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day: From Difficult Conversations to Amplifying Indigenous Voices

By Lynie Awywen Content Warning: The following contains potentially triggering subject matter and includes mentions of residential schools and violence against Indigenous peoples and children September 30th, 2022, marks the second year of the federal statutory holiday known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) in Canada. It also coincides with Orange Shirt Day.Continue reading “Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day: From Difficult Conversations to Amplifying Indigenous Voices”

The Sunny Side (when available) of Mental Illness

By Stéphanie Pham-Dang I’m a reference librarian, because I like to connect with people. A colleague once compared me to sunlight. I’ve heard this before (see my first post). She watches me interacting, while she’s at the loan desk. She says I’m a circular conversationalist: patrons ask questions, I answer, then I ask them questions,Continue reading “The Sunny Side (when available) of Mental Illness”

NBU is One Year Old!

By Marcelo Rodríguez We did it! ¡Enhorabuena, Félicitations, Congratulations and Mazal tov! Our adventure called, Notes Between Us (NBU) is officially one year old. And the path to arrive here has truly been an adventure of learning from each other, collaborating and giving words to our thoughts and perspectives. Over the past year, we haveContinue reading “NBU is One Year Old!”

How Far Along Are You on That Anti-Racist Reading List?

By Lynie Awywen Black Lives Still Matter. It has been over two years since the untimely death of George Floyd, a Black man who died when Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Months before, outrage erupted over the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.Continue reading “How Far Along Are You on That Anti-Racist Reading List?”

We Are Not History

By Mikayla Redden I hadn’t been in graduate school more than a month when I noticed something alarming about the Library of Congress (LoC) classification system—the alphanumeric system we, in academic libraries, use to organize our collections. Materials about Indigenous folks in Canada were mostly confined to the E’s. For any readers not familiar withContinue reading “We Are Not History”