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DTES RESEARCH
ACCESS PORTAL

Five highlights from the past year: 2020-2021

Nick Ubels
Community Engagement Librarian
UBC Learning Exchange and Irving K. Barber Learning Exchange

One year ago, we launched the DTES RAP after years of development and consultation with community members. Our main focus was spreading the word about the DTES RAP and responding to community feedback. Over the past year, we gave 19 demonstrations and workshops for diverse groups and introduced the DTES RAP to the UBC campus community with the help of the UBC Library Communications & Marketing team. Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out and shared their input.

Image by Zachary Foote. Used with permission.

In this post, you can read about five highlights from the first year of the DTES RAP and what these changes mean for you.

1. Explore dozens of new items added to the RAP

The RAP now connects you with more than 960 items and includes infographics and podcasts, formats we hope will make some research more accessible. One of the best ways for us to find out about relevant material is to hear from people in the community. If you know about a research-related item relevant to the DTES that you think would make a good addition, please send us a message.

2. Book a free, one-on-one consultation with a librarian

In August, we launched a free service to increase community access to research-related information. You can now book a one-on-one consultation with community engagement librarian Nick Ubels. He can help you find research to support funding applications, advocacy, report writing, and other goals. Nick has also compiled a series of step-by-step guides on how to make the most of the DTES RAP.

3. Join the researcher directory and projects page

We created a new form to help populate our directory and projects pages with researchers and projects in the Downtown Eastside. You can browse these pages to find out who’s doing what research in the neighbourhood and how to get in touch with them. If you’re a researcher who would like to be added to these pages, please send us an email and we’ll get you started.

 4. Read the latest hot topic lists, announcements, and news related to the DTES RAP

In September, we launched the news page to provide updates, highlight items in the collection, and share news about relevant topics. Since then, we’ve shared 16 posts, including lists of relevant items for hot topics like COVID-19 and the anniversary of the 2010 Olympics, student reflections about our work, and an in-depth interview with the team behind the LinkVan app about how they responded to the pandemic.

5. Access community-based research tools and guides

We reorganized our resources page and added dozens of helpful new guides and toolkits for anyone involved in community-based research projects. Each resource includes a brief description to help you find a good match with your needs. Topics include knowledge mobilization, ethical engagement with community members, and establishing strong partnerships.

In the coming year, we will continue to develop the portal, engage with community members and other key groups, and share our work more broadly. If you’d like the latest updates, you can sign up to our upcoming list-serve to receive three or four e-mails a year with highlights about the DTES RAP.


Do you have questions or feedback about this article? Do you have an idea for the news section? Please reach out to community engagement librarian Nick Ubels at mrai.info@ubc.ca