Leddy Library

The Windsor-Detroit region has an extensive and rich history of cross-border connection, including as a key gateway in the Underground Railroad. 

A pair of events next week highlight the longstanding international ties across the Detroit River and the role this region played in helping formerly enslaved people escape to freedom. 

This October, Leddy Library joins the global academic community in celebrating International Open Access Week (OA Week), Oct. 20 to 26. 

OA Week encourages candid conversations about the ways we can create pathways to more equitable knowledge sharing to address the inequities that shape societies and our response to them.  

The Leddy Library Book Sale returns Monday, Oct. 6. The annual sale is open to students, staff, faculty and the general public. 

A large selection of items withdrawn from or unfit for circulation are available. Books will cost $1 and include a wide variety of materials including children’s books. Most items are in well-used condition. 

The books will be available on carts near the information desk. 

The sale is on-going while supplies last.

By Lindsay Charlton

“Once we have knowledge of history, there is that concept of belonging and empathy,” says Walter Cassidy (B.Ed. 2000). 

That belief has driven Cassidy’s work as an educator and advocate and inspired his efforts to uncover and preserve the stories of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Windsor-Essex.  

Preserving Local History 

In the basement of Leddy Library, behind an unassuming door, relics of the past reside — rows upon rows of documents with ink faded by time, rare and first-edition books, and preserved memories of Southwestern Ontario. 

The space is home to Archives and Special Collections, which holds community records, historic documents, photographs, and other items preserved and cataloged by dedicated archivists.