Improving and adapting services in order to meet the changing needs of students, professors, and researchers is a top priority for the Library. The most visible improvement in the last year was a new electronic gateway to the information and services the Library provides, launched in March 2000, at www.lib.uwaterloo.ca.
Our new home page points users to specific information such as journals and databases, as well as to online indexes, electronic reference tools, and Internet search tools. The site also offers information about the Library itself and provides a link to TRELLIS, the electronic catalogue jointly operated by Waterloo and its partners in the TriUniversity Group of Libraries-Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph.
Recently, books and other items at Renison College, the University of Waterloo's Career Resource Centre, and the Teaching Resources and Continuing Education Office (TRACE) at Waterloo joined the millions of other items listed in TRELLIS. Now users across campus and around the world can find items in these specialized library collections.
Another improvement in service was the introduction of a new self-registration feature that allows students at Waterloo, Laurier, and Guelph to register for access to TRELLIS online. Once registered, they can renew books online using a new self-renewal system. From January to April 2000, approximately 92,000 items-two-thirds of all renewals-were done online.
Though more and more information and an increasing range of services are available online, students are visiting our library locations in record numbers. Last year our turnstiles recorded about 1.9 million visits, 8.2 per cent more than in the previous year. During the course of the year an average of 32 items per Waterloo student went out on loan.
In response to growing demand, library hours have been extended on weekends and during examination periods. During exams, the Dana Porter Library remains open until 2 am, the Davis Centre Library until 3 am, and both libraries open earlier on the weekend. In total, building hours have increased by 90 hours per term per site in the past year.
Borrowing library materials from Laurier became easier last year, as a result of an expansion to the TUG Book and Article Retrieval Service. Undergraduates at Waterloo can now borrow materials from the library at Laurier without crossing the street. Books and articles ordered from Laurier can be picked up at any library location on campus.
Printing, photocopying, and using microfilm also became much easier. All public workstations in all three library locations are now equipped with printing capabilities. We installed a new state-of-the-art photocopier in the University Map and Design Library. And, new micro-printers capable of copying both negative and positive fiche and film have replaced older equipment in both the Dana Porter and the Davis Centre Libraries.
Last year library staff provided workshops and tours to over 3,300 students and faculty members. Here's a note of thanks from one group:
"I am writing on behalf of our faculty members and graduate students whom you treated to such a splendid introduction to the special collections in German. Your love of books and manuscripts and your professionalism were in evidence at every turn. Many of the students were unaware of the treasures we have. I'm sure you ignited some sparks for future research."
David John, Chair
Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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