We acknowledge the land for sustaining us and for providing us with the necessities of life This territory is covered by the Dish with One Spoon treaty and the Two Row Wampum treaty which emphasize the importance of joint stewardship, peace and respectful relationships As we reflect on land acknowledgements, let us remember that we are all stewards of the land and of each other
Sheridan campuses reside on land which has been and still is the traditional territory of several Indigenous nations, including the Anishnaabe, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Wendat, the Metis and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Since time immemorial, numerous Indigenous nations and Indigenous peoples have lived and passed through this territory.
Sheridan affirms it is our collective responsibility to honour the land, as we honour and respect those who have gone before us, those who are here and those who have yet to come We are grateful for the opportunity to be learning, working and thriving on this land.
Sheridan Library is the place learners come to build critical thinking skills, discover and create knowledge, and find community in technology-rich and welcoming study spaces. We advance teaching, learning and research by providing equitable access to high quality scholarly information and scaffolding digital and information literacy across the curriculum. We partner in the research process, providing expert guidance on scholarly communication and publishing, and facilitating access to resources that enable researchers to effectively communicate their findings to the wider academic community and engage in knowledge mobilization. Our customized library solutions and collections are aligned to industry and disciplinary needs and help prepare students for a complex world. library.sheridancollege.ca,
It is my pleasure to report back to the Sheridan community on our library's progress towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs provide a universal and ambitious framework for addressing the world’s most urgent challenges. The SDGs aim to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all global citizens by 2030 and they require significant traction in the next seven years to meet their targets As institutions at the forefront of knowledge access, dissemination and mobilization, academic libraries are uniquely positioned to support and advance sustainable development through their collections, services, and programming, as well as through their operational practices at the heart of campus.
In 2021, Sheridan became Ontario’s first institution to sign the SDG Accord, the postsecondary sector’s collective international response to the SDGs. In support of the Accord, Sheridan library has committed resources over the past two years to support Sheridan in meeting its commitment This report examines the ways in which Sheridan library is specifically taking action on the SDGs and includes a roadmap on how the library will continue its SDG work moving forward
We recognize that the challenges being addressed by the SDGs are interconnected and complex and require a holistic approach. In recognition of this, a collective effort is necessary in addressing this shared global responsibility Sheridan library is leveraging existing partnerships and continuously building new collaborations in support of the goals. We invite readers of this report to identify potential points of collaboration with our library team. Be assured that our team is ready, capable and willing to work with you to design and implement creative and impactful solutions for SDG challenges Together, we can achieve the goals and ensure a better future for current and future generations
Enjoy our 2023 SDG progress report!
Marian Traynor, Director, Library & Research Support Services
Sheridan library contributes to this goal by providing access to scholarly research resources, by promoting and scaffolding information, visual and digital literacy skills into curriculum, and by supporting students in the development of critical thinking skills required for lifelong learning and career success
Sheridan library supports innovation and infrastructure development by providing access to emerging technologies, and by offering research and development support
Sheridan library contributes to this goal by providing access to wellness resources from both a Western and Indigenous lens and by designing study spaces that promote community, inclusivity, safety and self-care.
Sheridan library helps reduce inequalities by providing equal access to information resources and services, supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives, and advocating for open access and intellectual freedom.
There are 17 SDGs and 169 targets in total. Academic libraries can contribute to a wide range of SDGs but these four goals have been particularly well-aligned to the work of Sheridan library in recent years.
Services provision, collections management and study space design are all library activities that are data-informed. The library employs a variety of assessment methods, qualitative and quantitative, using metrics to make modifications to resources or services to ensure that they are continuously responsive to evolving community needs and strategic imperatives.
The 2023-24 library assessment mapping project will be communicated to stakeholders across Sheridan to ensure transparency of data collection and to encourage feedback on library activities.
This report reflects activities that were continued into 2022 or new activities introduced in 2022.
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Target 3.4: promote mental health and well-being
1. Promote access to wellness resources in online library research guides
261 page views of Wellness guide
930 page views of Mental Wellbeing guide
280 page views of Working From Home guide
846 page views of Indigenous Studies, Health & Wellness guide
50 page views of the support page on the Pride guide
Collaboration with faculty and SSU on events such as Art Hive (see story on p. 11)
235 participants of Zine Zone organized during the SDG week, a festival where students create and sell zines
3. Employ a wellness focus in design of Library Learning Commons spaces
In 2022, the library added additional comfort seating pod chairs (17 in total across campuses), additional plants and lamps to help alleviate seasonal affective disorder (6 in total across campuses)
4. Provide resources that allow for parents to study in library learning commons spaces
Each campus library offers activity kits to occupy children while their parents study on campus Kits are intended to alleviate caregivers stress.
Host wellness events & activities for Sheridan community in Library Learning Commons spacesAn Art Hive is a community art studio that provides an inclusive, informal and fun space for people to connect, create and learn together through artmaking.
Introduced to Sheridan’s Trafalgar campus in 2018 and led by FAAD faculty members Susan Beniston and Kirsten Abrahamson, Art Hive takes place weekly (fall and winter terms) on Trafalgar campus in the Library Learning Commons. No artistic training is required, and all members of the community are encouraged to participate whether for five minutes or as often happens, for several hours.
Participants sit together at busy communal tables, upcycling and recycling materials while sharing knowledge and stories. No one is under pressure to create the perfect end-product but instead everyone is focused on the healing and meditative process of creating art, letting themselves experience the joy and stress release of creative exploration.
Students have provided the feedback that Art Hive helps them decompress and fight social isolation, a theme that often comes up in feedback from international students in particular. Along with providing access to an ideal space to host the event, Library Services supports Art Hive through promotion of the nearby materials collection in the library for materials inspiration.
Art Hive is a great way to have participants from across different disciplines experience the transformative power of shared creativity at Sheridan.
Students' testimonials
“Great way to meet people…and boost morale when school get tough!!! More Art Hive!!!”
“I have depression and anxiety so classes are very stressful and having a place to unwind is essential for my health. If I knew about Art Hive before choosing which college to attend, it would have made me want to come here over all the schools I applied to.”
Target 4.3: Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education
1. Promote adoption of library collections to reduce dependence on fee-based textbooks and course readings, adding additional costs for students
In 2022, there were 5,154 students and 88 faculty users of the library eCOR service eCOR allows faculty to use the library digital collection as course readings. $412, 320 is the estimated total cost savings (based on $80/student) that otherwise would have been spent on textbooks or costly course reading materials.
2. Promote adoption of OER through education to faculty to reduce textbooks/course readings cost for students
744 page views of library OER guide
67 attendees of OER education events
11 faculty requests of Library support in OER development/adoption/modification
3. Provide students with free study aids
In 2022, the library removed 450 books in circulation and provided them to students as free resources. The library also circulates free calculators and headphones to help students study.
OER (Open Educational Resources) are teaching, learning and research resources that are created by teaching faculty and free to access, use, copy, share, adapt and modify with few or no copyright restrictions. This includes course materials, and textbooks.
OER matters because they offer affordability by eliminating the need for students to purchase textbooks and course reading materials In addition to removing barriers faced by financially disadvantaged students, OER offers course materials in digital format with the ability to add accessible formats which helps address barriers related to geographic isolation and differing abilities. They also offer flexibility in curriculum delivery because content can be modified to meet updated course objectives and learning outcomes
Students as well as faculty across different institutions and geographic locations can participate collaboratively in OER creation and modification which increases the diversity of voice in course reading materials and encourages innovation in teaching and learning
Academic libraries have a key role to play in advocacy, education, collection, curation and use assessment of OER. To ensure that the library is offering top-notch supports for faculty and students interested in OER, Sam Cheng, Open Education and Copyright Librarian, is enrolled as part of the 2022-23 cohort of the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program which empowers librarians as leaders for open education on campus.
SPARC is a non-profit and social justice advocacy organization which has partnered with over 250 educational institutions in North America to lead the way on increased equitable access to knowledge through open resources
Goal 4: Quality Education (contd)
1 Develop students’ critical thinking skills by scaffolding metaliteracy instruction into curriculum
In 2022, there were over half a million views of the library guides created to support students in researching assignments. Library staff provided 566 research and citation workshops reaching over 12K students through library instruction.
2. Expose students to expertise in their professional communities via robust library collections
The library circulated approximately 5K print items in 2022.
The extensive collections are 85% digital (e.g., there are 730K e-books), allowing maximum access to research. The library had 77 interlibrary loan requests (internal and external) and also allows faculty access to University of Toronto collections through a borrower privileges program
TLA3 project (See story about the initiative on p. 15)
She is doing a survey of job listings related to marketing and performing an analysis to determine how data skills requirements in the marketing industry align with current data training and resources offered by Library Services.
This is an example of a faculty librarian building and applying her research skills expertise through Sheridan’s Teaching and Learning Academy
The gap analysis done in this project will contribute to the enhancement of research practices at Sheridan by ensuring that students and faculty have the data literacy supports required to meet market demand
4. Support quality assurance through participation in Sheridan’s review and accreditation processes
The faculty liaison librarian team supports quality assurance at Sheridan through the college's review and accreditation process. We provide consultation, documentation and recommendations to faculty program review teams that are used to inform program enhancements. In 2022 we participated in approximately 25 reviews and accreditations
5. Provide part-time employment, placement and co-op opportunities for students at Sheridan library to build their technical and vocation skills.
The library has a long tradition of offering student job opportunities including CCR and research opportunities. In 2022, there were 10 students employed in part-time work and 3 students from library technician programs who did their work placement at Sheridan.
6. Provide research support to entrepreneurs in communities surrounding Sheridan.
The library has done workshops for EDGE clients in past years and curates a research guide (110 views) that includes the most current business research resources, creating a self-directed, asynchronous module focusing on competitive analysis and market research.
Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples
1. Align collections to EDI principles.
Research guides such as Reading for EDI, Pride, and Black History Month has a total of over 225 views in 2022. During the year, there were approximately 30 resources added to print/film collections, specific to EDID topics.
2. Develop staff EDIrelated competencies
The Library's own PD guide has resources including a study on women in the workplace, an Indigenous cultural competency self-assessment checklist, an inclusive language podcast and accessibility tools to support student learning, EDI training modules and webinars from Sheridan and College Libraries Ontario.
1 faculty librarian and 3 support staff have roles dedicated to EDI initiatives in the library.
3 Promote digital service delivery options for students with barriers to physical access
98% of collections budget dedicated to e-collections Library collaboration with FAAD on DVD to streaming format project to ensure library film collections are accessible digitally
2,715 chat reference sessions
Target 4.7: Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including culture’s contribution to sustainable development
1 Mainstream the SDGs among Sheridan community
Sheridan library uses tags in SOURCE to show how research aligns to specific SDGs. 438 SOURCE artifacts with SDG tags. For the 2023 SDG week, an event to promote understanding of the SDGs among the Sheridan community, the library created an SDG research guide (147 views), worked with students on SDG-themed exhibits and hosted Art Hive and Zine Zone events in the library learning commons spaces where students created art on themes of sustainability or recycling/upcycling arts materials.
2. Promote sustainable materials knowledge among students.
Sheridan library was the first college library in Ontario to offer a Material Connexion collection to students. The collection, curated by a faculty librarian in partnership with teaching faculty, is made of up to 65% sustainable materials. The Material Connection research guide has had 2,696 views and along with class visits, there have been 117 individual visits in 2022, including members of Sheridan's external communities
Target 4a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
1. Meet and exceed AODA built environment compliance standards in LLC study spaces
The library works with Accessible Learning to make available 1 accessible learning lab per campus library, a space with accessibility furnishings and software.
2 accessible study stations available to learners at each campus library
Each campus library has 2 standing desk converters available for circulation and use in study spaces
2. Prioritize community safety through a variety of measures in LLC study spaces.
Library administrators regularly work with Security to ensure safe study spaces through staffing and security equipment in library learning commons spaces.
3 Promote SSU period poverty initiative in LLC spaces to reduce barriers to education related to menstruation
The library promotes the period poverty campaign by the SSU to ensure that students studying in the commons are aware of access to free menstrual products in select campus locations.
4. Participate on Building Positive Space committee
One faculty librarian sits on committee to ensure the library spaces are equitable and welcoming.
Target 5.5: Ensure women ’ s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making.
1 Promote women ’ s equal opportunity for leadership at all levels of decision-making in the library.
75% of library leadership positions are held by women
6 women on the library staff are acting in leadership roles as committee chairs and co-chairs within Sheridan and external to Sheridan
2. Increase female representation in library collections to highlight women ’ s participation in academia and professions
The library has partnered with FAAD to increase the number of films in library collections created by women. Twenty one films were purchased or rented about or by women in 2022.
3 Feature female work and female excellence in LLC spaces
The library is piloting a campaign to promote female excellence through collections and displays in virtual/physical library spaces.
1. Increase Sheridan’s research data management (RDM) capabilities and access to data.
15,523 Data Connection guide page views
1,292 RDM guide page views
1 library manager and 2 faculty librarians dedicated to RDM work support RDM through online RDM tutorial and guide, guidance around Data Management Plans (DMPs), metadata, data deposit and repositories
2 Disseminate Sheridan’s scholarly research
The library manages Sheridan's institutional repository, SOURCE. In 2022, 2,377 artifacts were uploaded into SOURCE and, overall, there have been 159,312 downloads of Sheridan's scholarly research
11 Digital Wall projects that highlight student capstone and thesis work, the process behind research assignments, and research and curriculum innovations
3.
Library staff published 2 journal articles, contributed to 18 conferences/webinar presentations and 2 staff members acted as professional conference organizers in 2022.
Faculty librarians are presenting content and are participants in the 2023 cohort of the TREE (research essentials experience) program See the story on p. 23.
Citation supports: online Citation guide, APA study halls, APA Video Series
The library participated on REDIAC, a committee which worked on Sheridan's response to the Dimensions charter.
Karen Lints, MI, Liaison Librarian, Library Services, Dr. Ferzana Chaze, Professor, School of Community Studies, and Dr. Kate Dupuis, Schlegel Innovation Leader in Arts and Aging at the Sheridan Centre for Elder Research initiated a research study called Crocheted Connections: An Intergenerational Fibre Craft Project with the support of a SRCA Growth Grant and the Centre for Elder Research.
The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential well-being implications of an intergenerational fibre craft group comprised of both older adults and Sheridan students.
Structured as an eight-week intervention, participants worked, learned, and interacted over crochet with the goal of stitching blankets for charitable donation.
The research team is creating a final report that will share best-practices for communal care settings, community centres, libraries, and educational institutions who wish to develop age-inclusive spaces that focus on shared activities.
Seven blankets were created by project participants and facilitators, and will be donated to local organizations in 2023
Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory practices and promoting appropriate policies and action in this regard
1. Meet and exceed AODA legislative requirements as they relate to virtual services
In 2020, College Libraries Ontario started LEAP, a project where libraries conduct accessibility assessment of databases that were bought as part of the consortium Since 2020, almost 500 assessments have been completed by Sheridan and other college libraries.
2. Address recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
See "Indigenous Supports" story on pages 26-27.
Sheridan library is committed to playing its part in meeting the Calls to Action laid out by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC).
In recent years, the library has placed focus on two recommendations based on the following guidance from the Canadian Federation of Library Associations Truth and Reconciliation Report, which recommends specific actions libraries can take to respond to the TRC Calls to Action:
Decolonize access and classification by addressing the structural biases in existing schemes of knowledge organization and information retrieval arising from colonialism by committing to integrating Indigenous epistemologies into cataloguing praxis and knowledge management.
Decolonize libraries and space by recognizing and supporting Indigenous cultures, languages and knowledges through culturally appropriate space planning, interior design, signage, art installations, territorial acknowledgements of geographic-specific traditional territories and public programming in collaboration with local Indigenous stakeholders.
The implementation of the new Page 1+ library services platform in 2022 allowed the team to re-examine how collections are organized and how information is retrieved. It was evident that several subject headings used to classify information were based on structural biases which arose out of a colonial mindset.
The library technical services team is working to address offensive and discriminatory terminology in subject headings, in consultation with College Libraries Ontario (CLO) and Patricia Buckley (Diversity, Sustainability and Materials Librarian). The library acknowledges that collections are based on colonial structures and Western knowledge organization systems and is working and learning within a global and local library context to ensure greater inclusivity within our systems of knowledge.
Decolonizing study spaces and service delivery requires ongoing learning. Opportunities for professional development on topics such as First Nations’ data governance and information literacy from an Indigenous lens, were undertaken by library staff in the past year.
Patricia regularly updates the team on wise practices that come out of her research on critical librarianship about inequity and diversity as well as the wise practices learned in courses such as Sheridan’s Looking Forward, Looking Back and University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada MOOC.
The library’s membership with NIKLA (National Indigenous Knowledge and Language Alliance) is another resource that provides a better understanding of how libraries can meet TRC recommendations. Sheridan library contributions and feedback on the CLO Maamwi Hub and Decolonization Report Card support ongoing decolonization work
The library recognizes that its relationship with the Centre for Indigenous Learning and Support (CILS) and SPARK is essential to accomplishing TRC recommendations and is focused on continuing collaboration with these colleagues
Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible public spaces.
1 Welcome community into Sheridan Library Learning Commons spaces and extend Sheridan Library into community spaces.
Over the years, the Library has met with the administrators for the Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville public library systems to discuss current initiatives and possible integrations. E.g., the Library partnered with Career Integrated Learning to provide online job search workshops at Oakville Public Library to students looking for summer employment, newcomers and people in career transition.
2 Make online research literacy resources freely available to enhance the greater community’s knowledge and skills
3 Contribute collections and human resources to maintenance of integrated library platform to ensure smaller college libraries are not disadvantaged in access to online research resources
Library research guides are open to the community and include some non-licensed resources for those without Sheridan credentials
There have been 617 page views of the EDGE entrepreneurship guide that includes the most current business research resources, creating a self-directed, asynchronous module focusing on competitive analysis and market research.
See Page 1+ information sheet on page 29.
Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
1 Partner with Mission Zero to implement reduction, reuse and recycle initiatives.
The library offers space to host regular Freeuse Pop-Up Shops, a sustainability initiative which is part of Sheridan’s Mission Zero mandate. The shops promote the re-use of office supplies and other materials such as clothing
Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation and impact reduction.
1. Integrate global citizenship and climate change topics into the library teaching and learning program.
The library offers research guides related to environmental studies, the philosophy of the environment, sustainable design, and sustainable interior design with a total of 283 views The information literacy program embeds SDGrelated topics into instruction, whenever possible, to normalize the SDGs.
2. Build staff competencies about greening libraries and sustainability in education
1 faculty librarian is a member of the Sheridan Mission Zero Green Team Staff are provided with resources on the library PD guide related to greening libraries and sustainability
Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
1. Develop a comprehensive library assessment plan to ensure ongoing service delivery improvements and inclusion of student voice in planning and procedures
The library is developing a comprehensive mapping of assessment activities for all service delivery, to be rolled out in 2023 - 2024
Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
1. Integrate library technicians, faculty liaisons and Learning Services staff on service cluster teams
Staff are assigned to different service delivery teams depending on job description and in some cases, professional development interests. There is ongoing assessment of team membership by library leadership. Examples of current library teams include the technical services team, the data connection team, the liaison librarian team, the library spirit team.
2. Regular communications between Library Leadership team and library staff to elicit feedback
The library uses Teams as a platform for regular feedback and team meetings All-staff in-person meetings occur twice yearly.
Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information
1 Uphold principles of intellectual freedom by providing physical and virtual space for diversity of perspectives
Promotion of freedom of expression through events such as Freedom to Read week in LLC spaces
2. Offer training and resources required by community to support them in development of digital literacy skills
3. Promotion of open access resources
4. Providing public access to research resources in print format
Librarians have offered sessions on how to research the job market, using online resources to the patrons of Oakville Public Library.
2,377 uploads of Sheridan's scholarly research to SOURCE institutional repository
The library regularly participates in Open Education and Sparktalks activities to educate the community on open access
617 views of the EDGE & Entrepreneurship guide which contains resources that are publicly available
The library provides alumni access to print resources with registration Members of the public may use print resources in space.
Target 17.17: Promoting effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships
1.Collaboration with other libraries and institutions to share resources and expertise
The library had 77 interlibrary loan requests (internal and external) in 2022.
The University of Toronto borrower privileges program offers on-site access to University of Toronto online databases, computing and facilities, and the ability to borrow up to 100 books at once, including access to the Robarts Library book stacks
The library is dedicated to pursuing ongoing impactful work in support of the SDGs to 2030 and beyond.
01
Commitment
The library will establish a library listening circle comprised of students, faculty, administrators, and staff from across the institution to assess and improve upon service delivery. This commitment is in support of Goal 4: Quality Education.
03
Commitment
Enhance intercultural competencies specific to Sheridan's key recruitment markets through research and professional development training opportunities. These competencies will be reflected in library service delivery. This commitment supports Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.
Our strategy is to continue 2022 initiatives going forward and to evolve as required to ensure alignment with changes to Sheridan’s strategy in upcoming years. These four commitments are new initiatives that reinforce the library’s commitment to the SDGs.
02
Commitment
The library will work with teaching faculty to provide all Sheridan students with access to virtual reality equipment so that they can have an immersive and enhanced learning experience in the library learning commons spaces, regardless of whether there is VR programming in their coursework. This commitment is in support of Goal 4: Quality Education
04
Commitment
The library will focus on promoting excellence of individuals from equitydeserving groups in collections and spaces This commitment supports Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.
The report was prepared by:
Content: Marian Traynor, Director, Library & Research Support Services
Design: Oksana Chetveryk, Administrative Associate, Library & Learning Services
We thank you for your continued support in our efforts to contribute to the SDGs.
www.library.sheridancollege.ca
@sheridanlibrary library@sheridancollege.ca @SheridanLibrary
