• Annual Report Home
• Message from the University Librarian
• Introducing TRELLIS
• We've passed the 7 million mark
• The challenge and promise of electronic journals
• Building our collections
• Notable gifts
• Providing excellent service
• Priorities for the coming year

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Annual Report 1997/98

We've passed the 7 million mark

The Library's collection reached one million in 1975. In 1997, the collection passed the two million mark. Then in 1998, through the collaborative purchase and installation of TRELLIS, the University of Waterloo academic community suddenly had easy access to over 7.5 million items.

Nevertheless, the continuing "information explosion" has increased the need to acquire new materials, both electronic and "traditional," in both established and emerging disciplines.

Going Digital

Although digital library development is still in its infancy, researchers at the University of Waterloo have access to substantial collections of primary source materials online. The University of Waterloo Library, in collaboration with its TUG partners Guelph and Laurier, provides access to materials ranging from electronic versions of recently published books and journals to manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, and digital versions of special collections and scholarly resources. As the three universities continue to acquire digital source materials, Waterloo researchers have access to an increasingly rich collection of digital information resources.

In addition to developing their collections of primary source materials available in electronic format, the University of Waterloo Library and its TUG partners have continued to expand their collections of digital reference materials, including electronic indexes, abstracts, directories, and guides.

Developing and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to keep up with the increasing digitisation of information is costly, but thanks to gifts, partnerships, and the continued support of the University of Waterloo, the Library is approaching technological adequacy. Significant strides have been made towards the Library's goal of achieving a stable and sustainable computing environment by supporting a reduced number of computing platforms and environments.

The Library continues to deal with some of the other challenges that moving into the digital age presents, such as helping staff develop the knowledge and skills they require to keep up with rapidly changing technology, ensuring that digital information is up-to date and of the highest quality, and addressing issues of intellectual property and copyright.

Next: The challenge and promise of electronic journals

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