http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/umyl026/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from umyl026 en-us Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:57:45 +0000 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:57:45 +0000 City bus tour OttawaOn Friday after noon I tooK the city bus tour around Ottawa. It was a bright sunny day perfect for sitting on the top deck of an open bus. Trip to GatineauToday I am taking a tour out to Gatineau Park to see the wildlife. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-333242.html University of Ottawa Digitization in Canada by John TeskeyThis is a mass digitization project being carried out by different institutions including UofT and LAC. The aim is to digitize books and papers by Canadians and about Canada. The final service will be delivered through Canadiana.org. Currently have 200000 metadata records loaded representing 1 million objects. National science library eme http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-333111.html Library of Parliament visit Our visit to the Parliament began with a tour of the buildings by one of the public guides. We got to see both the House of Commons and the senate. We were also taken up the memorial tower that has all the names of the war dead in a beautiful book. The pages are turned each day so that all those that lost their lives we remembered during the year. After the public tour http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-333110.html Library and Archives Canada preservation centre visit We spent the morning at the LAC preservation centre in Gatineau. We did not really know what to expect from this visit but it turned out to be fascinating. We met a number of the technical staff carrying out preservation work and digitization projects. We were also taken into the storage containers and had the safety and the control features ex http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-333108.html CN TowerOn our last night in Toronto a few of us went up the CN Tower to see the view and to experience the glass floor. I was the only one brave enough to stand on the glass although I did not lookdown http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-333106.html CARL DinnerAfter arriving in Ottawa at 6.15 pm it was a quick turn around at the hotel and a cab ride to the Byward Market and the Black Thorn Caf. It was a good opportunity to meet members of CARL that come from right across Canada. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-333103.html Travel to Ottawa After we left Ryerson we went straight to the airport to catch a flight to Ottawa. I cannot tell you anything about the flight as I fell asleep before we even took off and and only woke upwhen we landed. The Yow airports bus that I had booked was ready and waiting for us. We got to the Marriott in good time to yet changed and get out for dinner. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-333051.html Ryerson UniversityRight from the start it was clear that Ryerson is quite different from the other institutions we had visited. Ryerson is a town centre location and its development master plan includes urban intensification building upwards seedy area in town so plan is to make a more wholesome feel good University major building work to be done high density stacks in basementIn the library http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-333050.html Visit to York UniversityYork University was about 1 hr from downtown Toronto. We had a really useful visit there and again had the chance to meet and chat with many of the library staff there. They presented on a number of development issues that they are working on.1. Information literacyThe approach to Information Literacy at York was very similar to things being done in the Uk. They have a pro http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-333049.html Visit to U of TOn Monday we had a full days visit to the University of Toronto. As well as some really interesting presentations we were given a tour of three of the University's libraries the Robarts Thomas Fisher Rare book library and the Gerstein Science Information Centre. We also had the opportunity to meet with a great number of the library staff over a fantastic 3 course lunch.The Univers http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-333046.html Hiking on Niagara PeninsulaA group of us were taken on a trip out to the Niagara Peninsula. We went for a hike through the Woodend Conservation Area. We had a picnic then visited the falls shopped in Niagara onthelake and had dinner in the Pillar Post. Fantastic Day. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Niagara-Falls/blog-331667.html After a quick drink in the hotel bar a few of us went to Chinatown to dinner. We ate in Pho 88 Vietnamese Restaurant. Food was good. Chinatown was buzzing. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-330594.html Serene and relaxedMost of today was taken up with travelling to Toronto. We left our hotel in Seattle at 6am and arrived at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Toronto at 5.30pm local time. The hotel room is very nice with a separate living area and kitchen. I have already sampled the spiritual music burnt a jostick and checked out the gem stone left on my pillow. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-330588.html Tour of Microsoft Campus RedmondFor a billion dollar company our visit to Microsoft was surprising. There were several occasions during the morning that we nearly walked out. Anyway not to dwell on the negatives we did eventually get into the technology centre that is set up with examples of how Microsoft think we will be working in the next 57 years.The confidentiality paper we had to sign to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-330582.html Great ArchitectureWe had a really interesting if somewhat strange visit to the Seattle Public library. The library is an iconic building of architectural note. It is popular and attracts a lot of visitors. It is one of those buildings that demands a strong reaction and I expect there are aspects of it that some people love that others hate. Unfortunately the nature of the visit we were offered mea http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/Pioneer-Square/blog-330242.html Height of diningAfter a cocktail in the bar inside the Cheesecake Factory a group of us travelled by monorail from downtown Seattle to the Seattle Center and ate dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. The views over Seattle at night were truly spectacular. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/Pioneer-Square/blog-330244.html Smart hotel entrance lobby. Room is nice. Hotel is on Union st and 6th so it is just a short walk to Madison st and 4th for the Seattle Public Library. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/Pioneer-Square/blog-329849.html Last night in VancouverHad a lovely last night in Vancouver at the Chambar Belgian Restaurant organised by UBC staff. Chambar http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-329633.html Brilliant dayWe had such a brilliant day today at UBC. The day was organised well and we had the chance to visit the Irving k Barber Learning Centre the Walter Koerner Library and the Special Collections and Archives. On top of that we had discussions about learning spaces institutional repositories and research support. Highlight of the day watching the Automated Storage and Retrieval System http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-329580.html Went for a meal at Horizons with good food and spectacular views over the city kindly arranged by SFU Library.Horizons http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-329252.html