OCUL

We always love hearing about how libraries create equal learning opportunities for students.

Shout out to the libraries at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social
for their accessibility services and commitment to helping students overcome barriers to learning!

library.mcmaster.ca/news/librari...

The January 2026 Issue (Vol 87, No 1) of College & Research #Libraries (C&RL) is Now Available Online www.infodocket.com/2026/01/20/t... #librarians

Our "In Conversation with..." series continues! Join @martadyczok.bsky.social as she discusses her new book "Ukraine, not the Ukraine".

Feb 11 | Noon–1 p.m. | Scholars Lab

Bring your lunch & drop in!

www.uwo.ca/events/2026/...

@westernuhistory.bsky.social #WesternU

A blue-green background; at the top is white, bold text that reads “Stephen Spong appointed as the 2026 OCUL Visiting Researcher” followed by a photo of Stephen wearing a brown newsboy cap, glasses and a dark blue button-down shirt. He is standing with his arms crossed. Below is a white Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) wordmark and a URL in white, bold text that reads “ocul.on.ca/news”.

We're thrilled that Stephen Spong from @westernulibs.bsky.social is our 2026 Visiting Researcher!

Stephen will undertake a project examining how GenAI is reshaping authorship, originality and creativity — and what these shifts mean for academic libraries.

Read more: ocul.on.ca/stephen-spon...

Blue Scholars Portal Newsletter banner

The January Scholars Portal Newsletter is here! Highlights from this edition include:
🔷New journals, books & Odesi datasets
🔷Updates on Scholaris, the GeoPortal & @ocul-libraries.bsky.social
🔷A Spotlight on local load for unique collections
🔷Bug fixes & new features

Catch up here: oculsp.ca/w5om5

Board of Directors Opportunity Join the CCA at a pivotal moment for evidence and public policy in Canada (Up...

Important decisions have major impacts—on people, communities, the economy and the future of Canada. If you believe these choices should be based on solid, trusted evidence, consider joining our Board of Directors. Apply by February 1, 2026. www.cca-reports.ca/board-of-dir...

Help shape how TMU uses generative AI in the classroom and beyond TMU community invited to attend AI town hall consultations.

TMU is embracing the opportunities and challenges of AI with a commitment to responsible innovation, integrity, equity and inclusion.

Faculty, contract lecturers, librarians, staff and students are invited to share their feedback and help shape how TMU uses AI to learn, create and work.

A blue-green background with semi-transparent circle shapes in the top-left and bottom-right corners. At the top is a white wordmark for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). Under that are 2 bright green rounded rectangle boxes stacked vertically. The first box has bold black text that reads: AI Exchange Program. The second box has black text that reads: Emerging AI Applications in Digitization and Accessibility Workflows; Thursday, Feb. 12, 10-11 a.m. Eastern Time; Online via Zoom.

Join us Feb. 12, 10-11 a.m. for the first online session in our new AI Exchange Program!

You’ll learn how the McMaster Digitization Centre is using AI to enhance accessibility in collections, including a tool to make inaccessible PDFs WCAG-compliant.

Anyone is welcome! Sign up: oculsp.ca/36et3

We've loved reading along these past 10 years! Congratulations on the milestone @cjalrcbu.bsky.social.

And we have to give a special nod to our team member, Kari Weaver, who co-authored 2025's most-viewed article:
cjal.ca/index.php/ca...

CARL Appoints Michael Vandenburg as Executive Director - Canadian Association of Research Libraries January 12, 2026 – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Vandenburg as its new Executive Director, effective February 1, 2026. As […]

📢Big news! We are pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Vandenburg as our new Executive Director. Michael brings deep leadership experience and a long-standing service to the research library community. Welcome to CARL, Michael!

See the full announcement: www.carl-abrc.ca/news/carl-ap...

⏰ Deadline approaching!

The Call for Proposals for the 2026 CRKN Virtual Conference is closing soon on January 9. Interested in presenting your work and ideas? Submit your proposal before the deadline!

www.crkn-rcdr.ca/en/conferenc...

Start the year off with the January edition of our reading club - our topic and reading focus on Copyright and Generative AI.

Sign up for 1 of 2 online discussions happening this month and share your POV on this multifaceted topic with fellow library workers.

Discussions: Jan. 22 and 26.

A light green background with a pattern of holly berries, white stars and holly branches. At the centre is a dark green rectangle; inside the rectangle is white text that reads "Happy Holidays - wishing you a restful holiday season!" followed by a white wordmark for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL).

Our team extends heartfelt gratitude to the academic library leaders and teams, consortial partners, and community collaborators who make transformative library services possible. Without you, none of this would happen: ocul.on.ca/happy-holida...

We'll see you in 2026 when OCUL reopens Jan. 5!

2026 CRKN Virtual Conference Call for proposals now open!

The 2026 CRKN Virtual Conference Call for Proposals is now open until January 9, 2026.

We look forward to receiving your submissions and seeing you at this year’s conference!

www.crkn-rcdr.ca/en/conferenc...

CARL, @ocul-libraries.bsky.social, @uottawa.ca, @library-archives.canada.ca & @carleton.ca, were pleased to host the @arl.org/@cni-org.bsky.social Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit Workshop—Canada’s first. Thanks to @cmkeithw.bsky.social for facilitation and two days of futures-focused collaboration.

Félicitations to the @uottawabiblio.bsky.social Metadata Creation Team on their President's Award for Best Practices in Francophonie & French Language Services 🎉🎉

Their expert work led to the creation of 6,700+ high-quality French bibliographic records this year!

www.uottawa.ca/en/news-all/...

A banner in Borealis greens and purples, featuring a festive garland and clusters of snowflakes. White text reads "Most popular collections of 2025! Les collections les plus populaires de 2025 !"

As 2025 wraps up, we invite you to take a moment and check out our top ten most popular datasets of the year!
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En cette fin d'année 2025, nous vous invitons à prendre un moment pour consulter nos dix jeux de données les plus populaires de l'année !

oculsp.ca/224pd

Blue graphic with gold confetti and white text that reads: Scholars Portal Top Hits of 2025. Most popular books, journals, and datasets this year.

As 2025 wraps up, we want to take a moment to look back on the most popular books, journals, articles, and datasets across Scholars Portal services and @borealisdata.bsky.social this year.

Check out our 2025 top hits here! oculsp.ca/m2ry8

A brown background and at the top is bold black text surrounded y a lime green outline that reads: Beyond the Algorithm Reading Club. Below that is white text that reads: January topic - Copyright and generative AI. In the bottom-left corner is the Ontario Council of University Libraries wordmark and in the bottom-right corner is a row of three colourful book spines with a pair of white over-ear headphones on top of them.

Join us online for January's installment of our Beyond the Algorithm reading club to discuss the intersections of creation, copyright and AI.

We've got 2 discussions open for registration!

Sign-up links plus January's reading and expert interview 👉 ocul.on.ca/january-2026...

A green background and in the top left is the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) logo. To the right of the logo is a bright green-yellow tab that says “NEWS & UPDATES” in bold black text. The main message in the centre of the graphic in large black font reads: “OCUL Strengthens AI Strategy Through Collaborative Advisory Committee.” At the bottom, white text says: “Read more on ocul.on.ca/news.”

We're nearly 2 years into our AI and machine learning projects and are looking to longer-term strategies for consortial AI use.

Helping steer that planning is a new advisory committee comprising expertise from across library disciplines. Learn more: ocul.on.ca/ai-committee...

Blue graphic with colourful bunting and text reading: Scholars Portal Days 2026 - save the date! Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4 via Zoom.

📢Save the Date! Scholars Portal Days 2026 will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4, 2026.

A Call for Lightning Talks will be shared in early 2026 - stay tuned!

We look forward to seeing you all in June 🥳

This week on #LTIBlog
Joël Rivard, Head of Research Support Services at Carleton University’s MacOdrum Library, explores a few AI-powered task management tools currently available and shares what to keep an eye on if you decide to try them yourself. ow.ly/xlBH50XGq9O #AI @ocul-libraries.bsky.social

A green background with two light green rounded rectangles down the centre of the background. The top rectangle contains the text “AI Exchange Program” in bold black letters, next to an icon of a lightbulb surrounded by circuit lines. Below in the second rectangle is the text: “Showcase your locally developed AI training or applications. Help build an AI professional development community in Ontario.” At the bottom, white text on the green background reads: “Learn more: ocul.on.ca/aiml-program.”

OCUL’s new AI Exchange Program launches in 2026!

This is a chance to learn from our member libraries about their local AI training & tools. OCUL members can submit session proposals starting today.

Read more: ocul.on.ca/ai-exchange-...

Stay tuned for session dates and registration!

PKP Development News Update Webinar: December 15 2025 - Public Knowledge Project You are invited to join PKP's free and open Development News Update Webinar on Monday December 15th, 8 AM PST.

⚙️ Join us for a PKP Software Development Update Webinar on Monday December 15th at 8 AM PST!

* Roadmap update, open #PeerReview, #DOIs, #citations & more

Can't make it? Register anyway for the recording!

pkp.sfu.ca/2025/11/24/d...

#OpenJournalSystems #OpenMonographPress #OpenPreprintSystems

ICYMI: We're hiring for a new role at OCUL.

Deadline for applications is coming up fast!

Colorful vertical bars on a blue background with text inviting to take an IFLA survey by 30 November.

Our #TrendReport highlights trends that are shaping the future of #knowlege and #information

But what do they mean for #IFLA and how we work – as a professional community, as a voice for #libraries, as a capacity builder?

Share your ideas via our survey by 30 November! https://tr.ee/x272za

1949 map of Vancouver showing detail in and around Burrard Inlet

Happy GIS Day!

We're celebrating with a new blog post about the AI-supported workflows that we're using to enhance the metadata for our collection of historical topographic maps.

oculsp.ca/eike8 (SPOTDocs login required)

A stylized world map using red, yellow, black, and blue dots of varying sizes. GIS Day prominently displayed.

Happy #GISDay! Let’s celebrate the power of Geographic Information Systems in research and discovery at #UofG.

@uofguelph.bsky.social @uofgresearch.bsky.social

Cloudflare is currently experiencing an outage that is impacting the ability to download articles on Scholars Portal Journals. We are working on a solution and article downloads should be available again shortly.

Don't miss the 12/16 #ChoiceWebinar
How can academic libraries navigate the meeting point between “data” & #Indigenous studies? Speakers will provide background on how the tools, practices, and methodologies can be applied to Indigenous-focused research and knowledge organization. ow.ly/ETgc50XnV3O