The slow advancement of women in scientific fields remains a persistent problem, especially in academia. Highly trained doctoral women in the sciences drop out of the academic pipeline for a variety of reasons that are poorly documented. This paper reports on a qualitative exploratory study based on structured interviews with 15 women who have taken career breaks after receiving their science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) PhD, but wish to re-enter the academic career track. The study aims to understand the pressures that contribute to taking such breaks, how women remain connected (or not) to their field during breaks and how re-entering the field after a career break could be facilitated. Suggestions based on the interviews include career development workshops and networking opportunities for women in breaks, as well as systemic changes such as reduced fees for society membership and conferences, changes in the way resumés are reviewed by faculty search committees, and in the design and implementation of maternity and child care leave policies.

This exploratory study assesses the differences and similarities between how instruction librarians in Western Canada use Google and how they instruct students to use it. Survey results indicate that these librarians do use Google but can be influenced by faculty to present Google negatively to students.

Increasingly, academic libraries are choosing to discard or place in storage onlineavailable print journal backruns. The identification of these titles and related collection analysis activities are often time-intensive. The approach at the University of Saskatchewan Library was to develop an online toolkit that combined available data from disparate sources including the integrated library system, SFX link resolver, and WorldCat and present them in a collaborative open source environment. This paper demonstrates how the careful combination of existing data presented in a simple online format allowed subject specialists to make accurate print journal deselection decisions quickly and painlessly.

Abstract"FORWARD to Professorship" is a workshop that aims to help women and other underrepresented groups in Science, Engineering and Mathematics succeed in obtaining tenure-track faculty positions and in acquiring tenure. The workshop addresses skills and strategies to survive and excel in academia. Participants from wide geographical, disciplinary and career level backgrounds come together for a three-day workshop in May. Participant rating of the activities and the entire workshop experience has been very positive. Several months after the workshop, participants report increased confidence and networking, aiding them in their career development.