Cathy Grisé is passionate about helping students learn through hands-on, experiential opportunities that bridge the classroom and the world beyond university. 

A medievalist by training and an associate professor in the Department of English and Cultural Studies, Grisé has been part of McMaster University since 1999. She is committed to interdisciplinary learning and believes that digital scholarship gives students the chance to develop practical, real-world skills.

As the fall term comes to an end, Health Sciences, Thode, and Mills libraries will be closed for the winter break from late December through early January.

The libraries will welcome back McMaster students, staff, faculty, and members of the community for the start of winter term classes.

The AskResearch team has launched a new series of digital research guides designed to help the McMaster University community navigate essential tools, platforms and practices that support today’s digital research environment. 

Developed in response to recurring questions and complex issues faced by researchers, the guides focus on key digital research topics, including privacy and security in online surveys, limiting bot responses, selecting electronic lab notebooks, and using transcription software effectively. 

McMaster students are once again sharing holiday cheer by creating cards for seniors in the community. 

What began as a small seasonal initiative has quickly grown, with students stopping by the libraries between classes and study sessions to write thoughtful messages for long-term care residents.

McMaster University Libraries and campus partners are kicking off the holiday season by launching the Holiday Clothing, Toy and Food Drive.

The annual initiative gathers donations from Nov. 24-Dec.17, 2025. Items collected help ensure that members of the community have access to essentials during the holidays. 

Donations may include new or lightly used winter clothing, new unwrapped toys, non-perishable food, as well as pet toys and supplies.

McMaster Experts, the university’s research discovery and researcher profile platform, has launched a major update, more than a year in the making.  

The refreshed site features an improved interface with enhanced information, functionality, visuals, and performance that better present McMaster’s researchers, their expertise and scholarly activities to the world.  

“We’re making Experts more responsive to what people want to see, what they're interested in, and what they think would be valuable to them,” said Sabrina Kirby, research technology analyst.

Make room in your closet, give your professional clothing a second life and help McMaster students look and feel their best.

Students in Sustain 3S0S are collecting donations until this Nov. 21, for the Well-Suited Community Closet — a student-led initiative that will be housed in H.G. Thode Library of Science and Engineering.

The community closet will allow students to borrow professional attire for important academic and career moments, free of charge.

Looking for a good spot to study this December? 

McMaster University Libraries have you covered with a variety of study spaces and extended hours.  

Meanwhile, the Office of the Registrar has reserved one classroom on campus for online exams.  

Extended hours at Mills Learning Commons and Thode library start Nov. 24 and further expand on Dec. 5. 

Mills, Thode, and Health Sciences libraries will have modified hours after exams end on Dec. 19. All libraries will be closed for the winter break from Dec. 25-Jan. 4. 

McMaster University Libraries are engaging in environmental action, and the Libraries Sustainability Committee is helping to lead the way. 

The committee is a volunteer group of library employees who have a shared commitment to climate action and organize climate action-based activities around the work and initiatives that the libraries are already doing. Such work includes highlighting collections, services, and spaces that are conducive to environmental sustainability initiatives.