Nicole Dalmer has received the 2025 Connie Van Fleet Award for Research Excellence in Public Library Services to Adults from ALISE. This award recognizes her leadership in advancing scholarship that highlights how libraries support equitable access to information, aging, and care across communities.

In the August 2025 Hamilton Spectator op-ed, Nicole Dalmer and Saara Greene spotlight the overlooked realities of older women who use cannabis. They argue for moving beyond risk-focused narratives, instead amplifying women’s experiences of using cannabis for pain relief, sleep, joy, and connection while navigating stigma tied to age and gender.

Nicole Dalmer, alongside Gro Øydgard, has published a new article in Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung examining the ethical “grey areas” of dementia care research. Using institutional ethnography, the piece explores how researchers navigate the complex relationships between local experiences and translocal structures shaping care.

In April 2025, Nicole Dalmer traveled to Lleida, Spain, to present her research at three international events: the ECREA Aging and Communication Studies Conference, the ENAS/NANAS Conference, and an Aging in Data meeting. Her presentations explored how technology, comics, and intergenerational perspectives can reshape understandings of aging, while also highlighting the importance of inclusive and collaborative scholarship.

A four-country journey through conferences and collaborations, exploring ageing, data, and the power of creative research methods.

Dr. Nicole Dalmer’s recent work has sparked national and international conversations about ageism, from media features on CBC and ABC Radio to workshops with public library staff. Her research challenges assumptions about aging and highlights how ageism shows up in technology design, public services, and everyday interactions, urging institutions to become more age-inclusive.

The Aging in Data SSHRC Partnership Grant (2021-2028) examines how older adults interact with digital data, exploring its impact on their lives in a technology-driven world. Led by Dr. Karen Sawchuk, with Dr. Nicole K. Dalmer as McMaster's lead, the project brings together an interdisciplinary team to understand the role of data in aging. The initiative also includes smaller projects, like Mapping Older Adults’ Dataspheres and Mapping Older Adults’ Data Worlds: A Pilot Study, which delve deeper into the relationship between older adults and their personal data.

Dr. Nicole Dalmer’s SSHRC-funded research explores how public libraries foster social connection and inclusion in an increasingly fragmented society. The project examines libraries as vital community spaces, highlights key findings, and discusses their role in countering social isolation.

Nicole Dalmer has been busy with several new publications exploring key topics in aging, libraries, caregiving, and outdoor adventure. Explore how each piece offers fresh insights into aging, information access, and community engagement.

Nicole wins Canadian Association for Information Science’s Emerging Leader Award

At the 2023 OLA Super Conference, Dr. Nicole Dalmer and Dr. Lucia Cedeira Serantes shared findings on older adult library patrons’ views of age-based labels, sparking discussion on more inclusive library practices.

Dr. Nicole Dalmer and Dr. Lucia Cedeira Serantes explore how comics depict aging and influence identity in later life. Their research, featured in Closure Journal, curates a reading list showcasing diverse older adult experiences, bridging aging, media, and representation.

Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Stephanie Hatzifilalithis and Dr. Nicole Dalmer published a piece in The Conversation about their work on ageism in technology design and development.

Nicole Dalmer wins Canadian Association on Gerontology’s New Investigator Award

Updates from the 2022 Canadian Association on Gerontology Conference

“The Public Library as Social Infrastructure for Older Patrons: Exploring the Implications of Online Library Programming for Older Adults During COVID-19” published in the Journal of Library and Information Science Research.