“Shhhhh …” is what you used to hear at the library. Predicated on a sense of reverence for historical knowledge and solitary self-improvement, the library was portrayed as a sanctuary from the pressures of everyday life where one could commune with the great thinkers of the past.

This year’s annual report demonstrates no less reverence for the thinkers and knowledge of the past, but framed within the context of what all good libraries have always been — a place where the past and the present come together to create the future.

Whether that present is a group of undergraduate students working on their latest assignment, an instructor looking for that perfect example for the classroom, an author engaging with people at a reading, a Ph.D. candidate nailing down the last of their citations, or a researcher looking to expand the understanding of a critical new technology, libraries and archives are key components in the process of knowledge synthesis, knowledge creation, and knowledge dissemination.

Browsing the pages, you will see that almost none of this work is done in isolation. Groups large and small come together in our physical and virtual spaces to uncover the past and reformat it for the future; growing mutual understanding through respectful interaction, debate, and the sharing of lived experiences.

Those of us at the Dr. John Archer Library and Archives are proud of the work that we do with our various communities, and even more proud of the knowledge that is created and shared by the students, faculty members, and researchers at the University of Regina with our support.

And, to be honest, we’re also proud that we can loudly share that pride, with no ominous “Shhhhhs” in the offing.

(P.S., “Shhhhh” still reigns supreme on the 5th floor!).

– Brett Waytuck, Dean, University Libraries and Archives