Listen on Spotify
Welcome to Voices from the Footnotes. In this podcast we will explore some of the hidden histories at the McGill University Library and Archives, looking at places, people, and artifacts. The library and archival collections are rich and fascinating, but this series flows from the silences and absences that are also present. Join us as we explore the voices and stories from the Footnotes.
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Episode 1
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Episode 2
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Episode 3
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Episode 4
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Episode 5
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Episode 6
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Episode 7
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Episode 8
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Episode 9
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Episode 10
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Episode 11
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Episode 12
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Episode 13
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Episode 14
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Episode 15
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Episode 16
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Episode 17
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Episode 18
The Gault Nature Reserve
Did you know that McGill also owns some land in Mont St. Hilaire? It’s called the Gault Nature Reserve. This episode will focus on the beautiful land and waters of the Gault Reserve, what we know about its history based on McGill’s archives, and how it is used today especially by McGill’s First Peoples' House.
Explore Additional Content
The Gault Nature Reserve As Property: Seigneurie to Estate
The Gault Estate; Prioritizing Conservation and Building a Nature Centre
See where this Episode's guests are speaking from on the map.
Get connected with First Peoples' House at McGill
Clockwise from top Left: Paige Isaac and Allan Vicaire, Tanya Lalonde speaking at graduation ceremony, Allan Vicaire speaking at graduation ceremony, Paige Isaac speaking at graduate ceremony, Bannock from Soup and Bannock Wednesdays at First Peoples' House, TOPONA Board game (The Original Peoples of North America). Photos used by permission of First Peoples' House and Podcast guests.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Research Assistance: Michelle McLeod, Adria Seccareccia
Guests:
- Adria Seccareccia
- Paige Isaac
- Allan Vicaire
- Tanya Lalonde
Music:
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- Transitions: hejdå, by edtijo, CC0 1.0
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Full transcript
Meet Adria
This is the first in a series where we get to know the people at ROAAr. The staff, archivists, librarians and students who sit behind the desk – or, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, behind the screens. So let us introduce Adria Seccareccia, archivist/librarian with ROAAr.
Since joining the McGill Library in 2020, Adria has worked on a number of projects, including a new web archiving project: McGill University Responses to Anti-Black Racism.
Read more about it on the blog.
For our first episode, The Gault Nature Reserve, Adria put together two timelines tracing the history of the Gault Estate as documented in the McGill University Archives. Explore her work in the episode 1 shownotes above.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Guest:
- Adria Seccareccia
Music:
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org
Meet Chris
From human rights to library science, Chris Lyons is a man of many passions. In this episode, the head librarian at Rare Books and Special Collections talks about his unusual career trajectory, the books he read as a kid, his first encounter with library fines, and the perks of befriending librarians.
This is the second in our series where we get to know the people at ROAAr. The staff, archivists, librarians and students who sit behind the desk – or, in the case of the pandemic, behind the screens.
Explore Rare Books and Special Collections.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Guest:
- Christopher Lyons
Music:
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Meet Lori
From bookworm to archivist, meet Lori Podolsky, records manager at McGill University Library and Archives.
In this short episode, Lori tells us why her neighbours were not too fond of her childhood reading habits, how she used archives for the first time while researching a measles epidemic and recalls the series of events that led her to study archival science.
Explore the McGill Library's Archival Collections.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Guest:
- Lori Podolsky
Music:
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Finding Where We Belong; Indigenous Perspectives at McGill
n this episode, current and former staff of McGill’s First Peoples’ House discuss the various hurdles faced by Indigenous students in higher education. Interviewees also share how staff and tailored programming provide much-needed support to students and help them build community, foster a sense of belonging, and achieve academic success. For today’s episode, we issue a trigger warning in that we discuss some sensitive issues pertaining to colonialism, mental health, and suicide.
Resources
Get connected with First Peoples' House at McGill.
Today’s episode touched on issues of suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out:
- Student Wellness Resources at McGill.
- KeepmeSAFE – 24/7 crisis line and counselling service available to all McGill students free of charge. Call 1-844-451-9700 (phone)
- Talk to your Faculty Advisor about a leave of absence. This is an option, and you can return to your studies at a later date.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guests:
- Paige Isaac
- Allan Vicaire
- Tanya Lalonde
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- Sombre Piano, By LuckyLittleRaven, CC 3.0 , sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Full Transcript
Meet Jacquelyn
Do you remember the smell of your first library? Jacquelyn Sundberg, the associate producer of Voices From the Footnotes, surely does! In this episode, she shares some childhood library-related anecdotes, what brought her to McGill, and how her love for stories led her to library and archival work.
Explore More
- Find out what is coming up with ROAAr Events
- Projects that Jacquelyn has helped create in the past year:
- Quiz That So? Library Game - Find out more about library games or Play Now.
- Fur Trade and the North West Company - Exhibition and online collection.
- Calgary Public Library - Explore what the downtown central branch has to offer.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:
- Jacquelyn Sundberg
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Rencontrez Julien
Quel est le rôle d’un archiviste à la référence à McGill?
En écoutant ce balado avec l’archiviste à la référence Julien Couture, vous y découvrirez un travail plein de surprises. Branchez-vous pour des faits amusants tout droit sortis de nos depôts.
What does a reference archivist at McGill do? Based on this interview with reference archivist Julien Couture, this job is anything but monotonous. Tune in for fun facts from the stacks. – Note – this episode is entirely in French.
Explorez | Explore More
Crédits
Animatrice & réalisatrice: Sheetal Lodhia
Assistance technique: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Invité:
- Julien Couture
Musique
- Chanson titulaire: Happy Sandbox, par Mativve, provenant de Freesound.org
- Chanson finale: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Meet Nathalie
Does your childhood library have a tragic story behind it? Nathalie Cooke’s does. We get to know the professor and associate dean of ROAAr in this episode, where she talks about her first library and her initial experience working with archives.
Read more about Duncan B.C.'s former Chinatown in this article.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:
- Nathalie Cooke
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Rencontrez Alexandre
En écoutant ce balado avec Alexandre Soucy, vous découvrirez que parmi les employés, archivistes et bibliothécaires œuvrant pour ROAAr se cachent des parcours uniques ayant mené à travailler auprès des collections de l’Université. Pour Alexandre, ce fut d’abord la musique et la littérature .
By listening to this podcast with Alexandre Soucy, you will discover that the employees, archivists and librarians at ROAAr have unique stories that have brought them to work with collections at McGill. For Alexandre, his journey so far was paved with music and literature. – Note this episode is entirely in French.
Explorez | Explore More
Crédits
Animatrice & réalisatrice: Sheetal Lodhia
Assistance technique: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Invité:
- Alexandre Soucy
Musique
- Chanson titulaire: Happy Sandbox, par Mativve, provenant de Freesound.org
- Chanson finale: End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Freesound.org
Meet Leah
Singing in the stacks! In this episode, we meet Leah Weitzner, a former student staff member at ROAAr, and a talented singer. With a fascination for performance practice and an interest in music from between 1500 to 1700, Leah brought her skills, curiosity, and enthusiasm to ROAAr for the past three years.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Associate Producer and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:
- Leah Weitzner
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Generations: Part 1
What has changed since the 1940s for Black students and staff at McGill? In this episode, we talk with Beryl Dickinson-Dash (now Rapier) and two pairs of fathers and daughters who were students, faculty, or staff – or all of the above – at McGill. Hear about a lot of firsts and the unique challenges faced by Black students and staff in the first half of this two-part episode.
Explore Additional Content
Photos
Further Reading
- How Montrealer Beryl Dickinson-Dash made history as McGill's first Black Queen of Carnival
- Ron’s uncle’s protest at Concordia, the Computer Centre Incident
- McGill’s Action Plan to address Anti-Black Racism. September 2020.
- CBC article from October 2020 states that there are currently 14 black tenure-track or tenured professors
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Research Assistance: Michelle Macleod
Guest:
- Beryl Rapier
- Bradley Rapier
- Prof. Emeritus Glyne Piggott
- Adrienne Piggott
- Ron Williams
- Brittany Williams
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- Transitions: Horn lilt 2 by contextcollapse, Sombre Piano by Luckylittleraven, Happy and Groovy by Tyops, all sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Full Transcript
Meet Michelle
What does an assistant curator do? Find out this week as we meet Michelle Macleod, assistant curator at McGill’s Visual Arts Collection (VAC) and a PhD candidate in Art History. We learn about her love for the city and photographs, her current research on 19th-century illustrated journals, and the benefits of digitization during a pandemic.
Explore More
- McGill Visual Arts Collection
- Watch the event – Seeing Double: Photographic Portraiture in McGill’s Visual Arts Collection
- De-Stress + Sketch
- Find out more about Canadian Illustrated News, the 19th-century journal Michelle is studying or find a copy in the McGill catalogue
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Associate Producer and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:
- Michelle Macleod
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Meet Anna
A cataloguing librarian with a love for medieval manuscripts, archives, and Star Trek’s Beverly Crusher. Meet Anna Dysert in this week’s short episode.
Explore More
Credits
Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Host, Associate Producer, and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:
- Anna Dysert
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Generations Part 2
What has changed since the 1940s for Black students and staff at McGill? In part 2 of the Generations episode, we shift to more contemporary perspectives. We hear mostly from the daughters, Adrienne Piggott and Brittany Willians. They discuss community, belonging, and safe spaces on campus. The episode also focuses on the fight for equity, and the institutional challenges and obstacles that come with it.
Explore More
- Furthering Equity and Inclusivity at McGill
- Adrienne speaking about her work at McGill
- Find out more about Black Grad at McGill
- During her time as a law student, Brittany worked for the McGill Legal information clinic, find out more about that project here
- Read more about the McGill Law Coffee house in this article from 2007
- Glyne Piggott’s McGill Profile
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Associate Producer and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:
- Prof. Emeritus Glyne Piggott
- Adrienne Piggott, Associate director, Faculty Procurement, McGill Univeristy
- Ron Williams
- Brittany Williams, Manager, Student Affairs Office, McGill Faculty of Law.
- Note, at the time we spoke with Brittany, she was Acting Associate dean of admissions and recruitment for the Faculty of Law. She started her new position November first, 2021, read more about it here.
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- Transitions: Horn lilt 2 by contextcollapse, Sombre Piano by Luckylittleraven, Happy and Groovy by Tyops, all sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Full Transcript
Carnival Queens
This episode we speak with royalty, McGill royalty to be precise. Step back in time to 1949, 1951 and 1958, as Beryl Rapier, Dorothy Baxter and Rae Tucker Rambally bring us back to mid-century McGill Winter Carnival days as they relive their experiences with the carnival pageant.
Explore More:
- See a full slide show of photos on our Blog, Library Matters
- Play Quiz That So, a McGill Library game that unites McGillians from throughout history in a trivia challenge that will test your wits. Host Max McMartlet and the game itself was inspired by a McGill Winter Carnival Programme from 1951.
- Hear more from Beryl in Episode 11: Generations Part 1.
- Listen to CBC's The Doc Project by Julia Lipscombe, How Montrealer Beryl Dickinson-Dash made history as McGill's first Black queen of Carnival.
- Eliza McCullum. “Queen of the Campus: The McGill Winter Carnival Queen, 1948-1969.” Canadian Content: The McGill Undergraduate Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol. 11, Spring 2019. Accessed Feb 1, 2022. https://www.mcgill.ca/misc/files/misc/canadian_content_2019.pdf
Credits
- Host: Sheetal Lodhia
- Producer and Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
Guests:
- Beryl Rapier
- Dorothy Baxter
- Rae Tucker Rambally
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- Transitions: Horn lilt 2 by contextcollapse, Sombre Piano by Luckylittleraven, Happy and Groovy by Tyops, all sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Full Transcript
Life After Coronation - Beryl Rapier 1949
So what happened after the fun and festivities of McGill's winter Carnival were over? We hear from Beryl Rapier, Carnival queen in 1949, about her experiences after the pageant and her time at McGill.
Explore More:
- See a full slide show of photos on our Blog, Library Matters
- Hear more from Beryl in Episode 11: Generations Part 1.
- Listen to CBC's The Doc Project by Julia Lipscombe, How Montrealer Beryl Dickinson-Dash made history as McGill's first Black Queen of Carnival.
Credits
- Host & Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
- Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
Guests:
- Beryl Rapier
- Bradley Rapier
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Full Transcript
Life After Coronation - Dorothy Baxter, 1951
So what happened after the fun and festivities of McGill's winter carnival were over? We hear from Dorothy Baxter, Carnival queen in 1951, about her experiences after the pageant and her time at McGill.
Explore More
Credits
- Host & Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
- Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
Guests
- Dorothy Baxter
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Full Transcript
Before and After Coronation – Rae Rambally
So what happened after the fun and festivities of McGill's winter carnival were over? We hear from Rae Rambally, Carnival queen in 1958, about her experiences both before and after her time at McGill.
Explore More
- See a full slide show of photos on our Blog, Library Matters
- Practice Imperfect: Reflections on a career in social work, By Rae Rambally
Credits
- Host & Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
- Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
Guests
- Rae Rambally
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
