The cooperative agreement amongst UW, Guelph, and Laurier was an important milestone in the long tradition of our efforts to work together. The formal definition of attitudes and key demonstration projects put the initiative on a new level; the recognition and support of the Presidents underlined the importance of the venture.
Subsequent meetings on specific projects have begun and include:
Co-operative Storage Facility
Ministry funding is assured, though disappointing. Interest in the project is keen; need for collections space remains acute, and some means will have to be found to make more effective use of the floor space occupied in Phillip Street Storage by the boxed-books collection. Suitable warehouse sites are being investigated.
Funds were redistributed to Academic Book Budgets, following the Serials Cancellation project.
The philosophical position for a new method of budget formulation and allocation is under discussion; practical considerations are to be studied and an action plan is to be developed.
Reviewing the functional specifications of library systems as a replacement for GLIS continues to be high priority. Management staff have participated in the evaluation of the NOTIS Horizon and Geac Advance systems and will study more during the spring and summer. Joint UG/WLU/UW selection criteria and collaborative funding proposals are being discussed.
To review and recommend future policy on the use of ISM/BNA shared services for acquisitions, cataloguing, and item processing, we have invited presentations from BNA, Coutts, and ISM concerning the shared systems that they can offer us. We have taken advantage of the availability of free MARC records from BNA, and presently about 50% of our current English language cataloguing is being handled through this stream. This will greatly reduce our dependence upon ISM and the costs associated with the CATSS service. Also, we continue to explore the shelf-ready books service offered by BNA, Coutts, and ISM. Senior staff are writing specifications. When this has been done, we can compare quoted costs and services.
Library Staff are dealing with the opportunities associated with electronic media. The latest information needs study seems to show that our users are not yet alerted to the enormous potential of this source. We will, by various means, be encouraging all clients to give greater attention to the newer media and its possibilities. For example, Library Assistants from the cataloguing unit have been working on the Information Desks. As a result, reference services have been expanded in the following ways: 1) telephone reference service has been extended by one and one-half hours a day for both Davis and Porter Libraries; 2) Davis Centre librarians have extended the reach of the Information Desk by providing direct assistance with electronic databases for several hours each day. Library users are learning more about database searching, and we are learning about our users.
Internet Resources. The growth of activity in this important means of developing information partnerships with the teaching faculty in support of the university curriculum is being reviewed by the UW Library Internet Resources Committee.
UW Electronic Library (UWELib) was launched having made the technological transition from gopher to World Wide Web. This technology change was accompanied by an extensive review of content and services. An official launch was held and the service has been well received by the campus. The 1994 OLITA (Ontario Library and Information Technology Award) is a testimony to the efforts of library staff. UWELib is an important electronic initiative that demonstrates the leadership position of the Library. UW Library Internet Resources Committee has continued to work well as an effective team; providing a valuable example for other teams and staff.
The Electronic Data Services Committee (Library and DCS) has successfully mounted CANSIM, VIOLENCE Against Women, and Census Tract data files on the web for use by University of Waterloo clients. Other data files managed by DCS and available through the Data Resource Centre and Leisure Studies Data Bank are being considered for inclusion in the project. An agreement, with eleven libraries in Quebec and Ontario, has been signed with ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) for access to datafiles in the social sciences.
Two software packages linking sociological data (CENSUS Tracts, CANSIM data, etc.) with Geographical data are under review (MAPINFO and ARCVIEW). The Map Librarian continues to participate in projects of the Grand River Watershed Study.
UWinfo. The Coordinator of UWinfo moved to a new post, having made an important contribution to the development of campus information systems. The Coordinator established a framework for UWinfo which serves as the basis for its future growth and enrichment. The addition of the UW Gazette editor to the UWinfo Operations Committee establishes new collaborative arrangements. The Library still has much to offer in guiding and developing the service.
Workshops focused on using electronic resources specific to a particular discipline and/or electronic services offered by UW Library (such as UnCover) were offered both in the Library and various Faculty Computing Labs and offices.
Adding serials holdings to the on-line catalog is well under way.
The affairs of the Press are winding down. Most authors have taken possession of the remaining stock. By seconding staff from the Materials Acquisitions Department to the Press, expenditures were kept to a minimum. All outstanding amounts owed to clients of the Press have been settled. There is a master list showing which titles are now out of print, and where the others can be obtained.
The methodology and content of ACAP Assessment Reviews are being studied.
A database was compiled that includes journal titles, call numbers, funds, availability from UnCover, cost, and use (circulation and in house). Custom reports were generated to the specifications of individual selectors. The data was used to identify titles for cancellation. About twelve hundred titles were cancelled for a cost avoidance of $370,000. There are plans to include the description of this latest use study in a report that will review the management of the serials collection at Waterloo over the past twenty years. Such a study will place our experiences in the context of what has been discovered elsewhere. A seminar for selectors explored alternate methods of reviewing and cancelling journals.
The recently appointed Document Delivery Coordinator, responsible for the Library's ILL/DD Service, has been familiarizing herself with operations and is committed to providing a level of service that leaves users feeling positive when they use ILL/DD. A Document Delivery Pilot Project for faculty members and graduate students is underway. On campus material delivery systems (cost and feasibility) are under review.
Library clients frequently have difficulty using the journal collection in the Dana Porter Library. The Library will prepare a proposal for a Serials Information Desk staffed by Collections Division Staff or as part of a document delivery service and staff. The introduction of an information service targeted at the journals collection and its integration with ILL/DD is a top priority in 1995/96.
Included in a new manual produced by TRACE is a module on library services for faculty designing correspondence courses, including specifics on what role the Librarians might play in this process. This module encourages faculty to consider how access to the existing electronic services and resources provided through UWinfo and The Electronic Library could expand their expectations of student's independent research as part of the course requirements.
A strategy is being developed to address the Non-Traditional Media Task Force Recommendations. Discussion with Library Staff, AV management, and the Associate Provost, Academic are currently underway.
The lack of a Library service in the Student Life Centre was a disappointment. The Library had an opportunity for an important new service initiative and we were unable to bring it to fruition. Proposals for providing some kind of Library Information Service in the Student Centre are being considered.
The Library made its CD-ROM LAN (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory Local Area Network) available to clients. The network provides access to seven heavily used CD-ROM databases on public workstations located throughout the Library. Future plans call for the expansion of the capacity and range of the network. The goal is to provide access to indexes, abstracts, and full text databases to the user community across campus and beyond.
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