The Unquiet Library: Fifty years of Robarts Library

Ep. 9 Bringing the University Online

Bringing the University Online: Robarts Library and the expansion of computing access   Host Jesse Carliner explores how Robarts Library helped move the University of Toronto into a digital space as computing, the internet, and digital resources reshaped research and access. In the episode opener digital scholarship librarian Leslie Barnes defines digital humanities and describes AI as lowering barriers to coding while increasing the need for AI literacy and technology education in libraries. Then the episode traces early humanities computing through Ian Lancashire, founder of the Centre for Computing in the Humanities in Robarts, and his efforts to introduce word processing and computational methods to humanities graduate students. Former chief librarian Carole Moore recounts the uneven early distribution of email and computers and the push for broader access. Lari Langford describes building the Information Commons, dial-up starter kits, tokens, and campus-wide support. Retired reference librarian Patricia Bellamy and retired information technology service librarian and director Sian Meikle detail the web’s arrival, early UTL site design, local hosting of Elsevier journals, and Representative Poetry Online’s wide impact.   00:00 Unquiet Library Ep. 9 Opener- Leslie Barnes  02:45 Introduction   03:51 Ian Lancashire-Early Digital Humanities Computing   09:31 Carole Moore-- The library provides email and internet access to U of T   13:33 Lari Langford-- Bringing the university online   19:58 Patricia Bellamy-- Reference Department and the birth of the online library   23:05 Sian Meikle- Early university and library websites   26:59 Ian Lancashire- Representative Poetry Online  32:34 Conclusion    Robarts Library 50th anniversary exhibit: http://uoft.me/robarts50 [http://uoft.me/robarts50]  Key figures and concepts mentioned in this episode:   Adel Sedra - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adel_Sedra]  Amrhein, Carl G. - Discover Archives [https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/amrhein-carl-g]  In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Ian Lancashire | Department of English [https://www.english.utoronto.ca/news/memoriam-professor-emeritus-ian-lancashire]  What is Gopher in Computer? - GeeksforGeeks [https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-networks/what-is-gopher-in-computer/]  Graphical user interface - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface]  Representative Poetry Online [https://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/] Theme music:   Felipe Sarro, Bach-Siloti - Prelude BWV 855a  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication    Sound credits:  2 08 Br Lib amb 5.wav by ERH -- https://freesound.org/s/51632/ [https://freesound.org/s/51632/] -- License: Attribution 4.0    ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 8 Robarts in the Early Days of Computing and Automation

Discovery Systems librarian Susan Bond explains that the University of Toronto Libraries’ LibrarySearch blends results from Alma (the catalogue for items like books and journals) with a large database that can include chapter- and article-level content, and suggests AI’s most likely near-term impact is enabling natural-language queries instead of Boolean searching, rather than replacing the catalogue.   Host Jesse Carliner traces Robarts Library’s technological history from card catalogs to computer output microform (COM) catalogues and the Felix online public catalogue (launched 1987), highlighting early collaborations with Calvin “Kelly” Gottlieb, Ritvars Bregzis, and the IBM Toronto Data Center that helped shape the MARC record and produced the University of Toronto Library Automation System (UTLAS) in the early 1970s. Interviews with Carol Moore, Debbie Green, Patricia Bellamy, and Sian Meikle describe costs, resistance, database challenges, email and office automation, CD-ROM and dial-up searching, and the shift to user self-service.   More: uoft.me/robarts50; follow @unquietlibrary on Instagram, Blue Sky, and TikTok.   00:00 Opener- Susan Bond discusses AI and library searching  03:02 Introduction  05:30 Carol Moore- The early days of library automation  08:10 Carole Moore- The closing of the card catalogue  18:02 Debbie Green--The impact of technology on daily library work  21:35 Patricia Bellamy-- Early days of digital research tools  25:06 Sian Meikle- The early days of computing in the library  29:57 Conclusion    Robarts Library 50th anniversary exhibit: http://uoft.me/robarts50 [http://uoft.me/robarts50]  Learn more about the history of automation and computing at the University of Toronto Libraries: Access & Discovery · University of Toronto Libraries at 125 · Exhibits [https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/show/utl125/access-and-discovery]  Bregzis, Ritvars, Calvin Gotlieb, and Carole Moore. "The beginning of automation in the University of Toronto Library, 1963-1972." IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 24, no. 2 (2002): 50-70. What is a card catalogue? Library catalog - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_catalog]  What is a microfiche/microfilm catalogue? https://lis.academy/organising-and-managing-information/microform-catalogues-space-saving-library-solutions/ [https://lis.academy/organising-and-managing-information/microform-catalogues-space-saving-library-solutions/]    What is the DIALOG search system? Milestones:DIALOG Online Search System, 1966 - Engineering and Technology History Wiki [https://ethw.org/Milestones:DIALOG_Online_Search_System,_1966]  What is a CD-ROM? CD-ROM - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-ROM]    Theme music:   Felipe Sarro, Bach-Siloti - Prelude BWV 855a  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication    Sound credits:  2 08 Br Lib amb 5.wav by ERH -- https://freesound.org/s/51632/ [https://freesound.org/s/51632/] -- License: Attribution 4.0  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 7 The Analogue Era

In this episode of The Unquiet Library: 50 Years of Robarts Library, host Jesse Carliner explores Robarts’ pre-digital era through oral history interviews with current and former librarians. Margaret Wall describes processing 340 legacy CD-ROMs (plus cassettes and floppy disks) and determining whether their contents evolved into print or online databases, noting the convenience of today’s searchable platforms compared with swapping annual discs. Former chief librarian Carole Moore recalls card catalogues wired for phone reference, heavy photocopy demand, and the chaos of shared print journals and interlibrary delivery. Sean Meikle details intensely manual circulation work with charge files, typed loan cards, pneumatic tubes, book elevators, and noisy conveyor belts. Susanne Tabur explains serials “Kardex” tracking of roughly 30,000 journal titles and daily mail processing, while Debbie Green recounts research via print indexes, microfilm/microfiche catalogs, and early staff-mediated online, CD-ROM, and DIALOG searches.   00:00 Opener with Margaret Wall  02:07 Episode Introduction  03:14 Carole Moore- Phone reference and the card catalogue; sharing print journals  07:55 Sian Meikle—Library circulation during the analogue era  14:12 Susanne Tabur—Tracking print journal subscriptions with the Kardex  23:31 Debbie Green—The pre-digital research process  28:55 Conclusion    Robarts Library 50th anniversary exhibit: http://uoft.me/robarts50 [http://uoft.me/robarts50]  Learn more about the pre-digital library What is a card catalogue? Library catalog - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_catalog]  What is the Kardex system for managing serials? https://lis.academy/management-of-library-and-information-centre/library-serials-management-periodicals-journals/#kardex-system [https://lis.academy/management-of-library-and-information-centre/library-serials-management-periodicals-journals/#kardex-system]   What is a microfiche/microfilm catalogue? https://lis.academy/organising-and-managing-information/microform-catalogues-space-saving-library-solutions/ [https://lis.academy/organising-and-managing-information/microform-catalogues-space-saving-library-solutions/]   What is a periodical (journal) index? What is a periodical index? - LibAnswers [https://saintleo.libanswers.com/faq/258470]  What is the DIALOG search system? Milestones:DIALOG Online Search System, 1966 - Engineering and Technology History Wiki [https://ethw.org/Milestones:DIALOG_Online_Search_System,_1966]  What is a CD-ROM? CD-ROM - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-ROM]    Theme music:   Felipe Sarro, Bach-Siloti - Prelude BWV 855a  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication    Sound credits:  2 08 Br Lib amb 5.wav by ERH -- https://freesound.org/s/51632/ [https://freesound.org/s/51632/] -- License: Attribution 4.0      ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 6 Facing Austerity

This episode of The Unquiet Library examines how decades of public funding cuts, neoliberal policy shifts, wage restraints, attrition, buyouts, and rapid technological change reshaped Robarts Library and culminated in major strikes in 1975 and 1991. Former Chief Librarian Carol Moore and retired Chief Administrative Officer Alfred Cheng describe repeated annual budget reductions, prioritization and fundraising, migration to digital services, consolidation of desks, and avoiding layoffs through attrition while protecting the acquisition budget. Union and management perspectives recount resentments over capped pay, anxieties about the threat of technology and inadequate training, grievances, picket-line tensions, damaged relationships, and a sense that “nobody won,” even as Robarts ultimately transformed into a modern digital library.  00:00 Opening with Alison Lang  02:02 Introduction   05:09 Carole Moore   10:46 Alfred Cheng   16:04 Dana Kuszelewski   20:18 Gabriela Bravo   25:19 Terrence Correia   31:04 John Iacono   33:36 Conclusion  Robarts Library 50th anniversary exhibit: http://uoft.me/robarts50 [http://uoft.me/robarts50]    Learn more about CUPE 1230 and the 1991 strike  About CUPE 1230: Welcome to CUPE 1230 - CUPE 1230 [https://1230.cupe.ca/]  CUPE 1230 1991 Strike Archival Materials: Flyers and brochures re CUPE strike, 1991 - Discover Archives [https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/flyers-and-brochures-re-cupe-strike-1991]  The University of Toronto Varsity newspaper coverage of the start of the strike, see March 4, 1991 issue: The Varsity, June 1990 - April 16, 1991 : University of Toronto : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive [https://archive.org/details/thevarsity111/page/n627/mode/2up]  doc-slotnick-cupe-local1230-strike-pamphlet-toronto-1975-OCR.pdf [https://riseupfeministarchive.ca/wp-content/uploads/doc-slotnick-cupe-local1230-strike-pamphlet-toronto-1975-OCR.pdf]     Theme music:   Felipe Sarro, Bach-Siloti - Prelude BWV 855a  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication    Sound credits:  2 08 Br Lib amb 5.wav by ERH -- https://freesound.org/s/51632/ [https://freesound.org/s/51632/] -- License: Attribution 4.0  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 5 The Pink Collar

The gendered history of Robarts Library. This episode of The Unquiet Library: 50 Years of Robarts Library explores the gendered history of the John P. Robarts Research Library through 2021 oral-history interviews, framing librarianship as a “pink collar” profession dominated by women yet often led by men and undervalued in pay and influence. Kathleen Scheaffer explains that a 2019 gender salary-gap settlement for U of T librarians resulted from a University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) grievance and created a joint working group to continually audit salaries and address systemic barriers across career stages. Retired librarians recount key struggles: Carole Moore describes the 1974 “reference revolution” sparked by Anne Woodsworth’s dismissal after seeking pay equity, leading to committees and more consultative management; Susan Johnston highlights safety and late-night working conditions; Debbie Green discusses undervalued service work, sexism, and pay differentials; and Evelyn Houtman describes the “glass escalator,” including interview dynamics and men advancing quickly in administration.    Index 00:00 Unquiet Library Episode 5: The Pink Collar 01:34 Introduction  04:49 Interview with Carole Moore  15:44 Interview with Susan Johnston  18:17 Interview with Debbie Green  25:09 Interview with Eveline Houtman   28:34 Conclusion  To learn more about the history of Robarts Library, visit uoft.me/robarts50. Follow us @unquietlibrarypodcast on Instagram, Blue Sky or TikTok for additional content and updates.      Additional Information about the 2019 gender-based salary gap settlement at U of T:  UTFA Instrumental in Securing 3.9% Salary Increase to Remedy Gender-Based Salary Gap for Female Librarians | University of Toronto Faculty Association [https://www.utfa.org/content/utfa-instrumental-securing-39-salary-increase-remedy-gender-based-salary-gap-female]  Gender-Based Salary Equity – Division of the Vice-President & Provost [https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/planning-policy/gender-pay-equity/]  Equitable compensation | CAUT [https://www.caut.ca/publication/equitable-compensation/]   Pay Equity Act [https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-4.2/page-1.html]   Theme music:   Felipe Sarro, Bach-Siloti - Prelude BWV 855a  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication    Sound credits:  2 08 Br Lib amb 5.wav by ERH -- https://freesound.org/s/51632/ [https://freesound.org/s/51632/] -- License: Attribution 4.0  R120120_walking_through_building.wav by reinsamba -- https://freesound.org/s/142929/ -- License: Attribution 4.0      ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.