Library Update - Fall 2012
Library
- Strategic Library Review – The Library distributed a Library Review: Campus Consultation Document to the campus community for comment this fall. The report summarizes the findings of the Library Review's working groups and provides numerous recommendations to enable future strategic directions in the areas of Advancing Research and Scholarship, Enabling Student Success, New Skills for New Times, and New Spaces for New Times. Representative feedback received during this phase is now posted on the Library Review website. The Library Review was initiated in the fall of 2011 and has run in tandem with the University’s mid-cycle review (MCR) and other departmental and faculty reviews.
- All-Staff Meeting - The University's new VP Academic & Provost, Sallie Ann Keller, addressed library staff at a recent all-staff meeting. Topics included the relationship between the strategic Library Review and the campus MCR strategic directions and an explanation of the five campus Life Cycle working groups now underway.
- Open Access Week - The Library celebrated Open Access Week with a variety of activities, including a well-attended panel on Open Access journals, a sold-out Data Management Day, and displays in all of the Library's locations.
- Data Management Day - The Library and the Polar Data Catalogue co-hosted Data Management Day during Open Access Week to raise awareness and explore the issues surrounding the discovery, access, and preservation of research data. Speakers included Sallie Ann Keller, Alan Darnell and Chad Gaffield, President, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.
- New Spaces -
- The Geospatial Centre – The Library’s Geospatial Centre opened its doors in its new location on the 3rd Floor of the Dana Porter Library on May 1. The Geospatial Centre houses cartographic material such as geospatial data, maps, air photos and includes an increased number of GIS workstations.
- Dana Porter 6th Floor Renovation – Construction is underway to renovate the Dana Porter Library’s 6th floor. A $100,000 gift from Elise Devitt will enable the creation of the James and Elise Devitt Study Room, as well as new study carrels for the entire floor. The study room is anticipated to open in mid-December.
- Group Study Rooms - The Warren and Mary Ober Group Study Rooms on the 10th floor of the Dana Porter Library opened this spring. The group study rooms were renovated using a generous donation from the Mary and Warren Ober Foundation.
- Congress 2012 – Waterloo co-hosted Congress 2012 of the Humanities and Social Sciences with Wilfrid Laurier University this summer. The conference attracted more than 7,500 delegates from across Canada. The Library offered a wide range of services and activities to support and interest delegates during the week. Initiatives included a large interactive media display on the main floor of the Dana Porter Library, installed by Research Entrepreneurship Accelerating Prosperity (REAP).
- Google Map Maker Event - The Geospatial Centre hosted a campus-wide Google Map Maker event to create a detailed and accurate campus map of the University of Waterloo's campus using Google's online Google Map Maker program. Over 200 people registered for the event which was held in the University's Student Life Centre.
- Print Monograph Management Project (PMMP) - The Tri-University Group of Libraries (TUG) are exploring a monograph de-duplication project across main libraries and the Annex storage facility for older, low-use material.
- Pharmacy Librarian - Shannon Gordon joined the Library in October as the Liaison Librarian for Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy campus in downtown Kitchener. Shannon comes to Waterloo from Memorial University.
- University Librarian Now Reports to VP Academic and Provost - University Librarian, Mark Haslett, now reports to the VP Academic & Provost, Sallie Ann Keller. As part of this new reporting structure, the University Librarian is now a member of Waterloo's Executive Council.
University
- Grand Opening of the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre - The Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre opened in mid-September with special guest physicist Stephen Hawking in attendance. The Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre will be home to the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and the Nanotechnology Engineering program.
- Stratford Campus Opening - The University of Waterloo Stratford Campus held a celebration to mark the grand opening of a new building that will house programs designed to support the confluence of art, business and technology for the next generation of innovators.
- Changes in Top Management -
- Sallie Ann Keller has commenced her role as VP Academic & Provost for an initial term ending June 30, 2017. Keller was previously the director of the Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute, a government-funded research and development centre in Washington, D.C.
- Jordan Banks head of Facebook Canada has been appointed to uWaterloo Board of Governors for an initial term ending April 30, 2015.
- Nello Angerilli has been named Waterloo's new associate vice-president, international. Angerilli will join the university's administrative team in February, bringing 30 years of experience in higher education as well as project leadership in developing countries. He has been pro-vice-chancellor, student services and international, at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand since 2010.
- University Rankings
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- Canada Excellence Research Chairs - The University of Waterloo is one of eight Canadian universities selected to nominate prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERCs).
- UAE-based programs will return to Waterloo - The university's Board of Governors voted to support a recommendation to return programs offered in Dubai to the main Waterloo campus, beginning in September 2013.
- Mid-cycle Review - The University's mid-cycle review continues with the creation of five campus Life Cycle working groups assembled to further the MCR's strategic priorities.
Administrative Assistant
Last Updated: April 17, 2012
