At this time of year, as we begin to assemble the pieces for our annual report, I feel such a sense of pride in what library staff have accomplished in 12 months.
Individually, the work and projects we have completed are important. When we put the results of all our efforts on to paper, the Library, and the role that we play in the education of University of Waterloo students and the research support of scholars, really stands out.
Like the production of a country quilt, the operation of the Library is a group effort. Everyone helps to produce our results. The Library has 166 full-time staff as well as many casual staff, most of whom are UW students. During the past year we hired 183 UW students to assist in various departments throughout the Library. We will spotlight a few of our student workers in this report. I am also pleased to highlight some of the professional accomplishments of our librarians and other staff who continue to demonstrate leadership in their jobs as well as in their profession.
As I promised in last year's annual report, our focus for 2000 was on connecting our people and resources with the University of Waterloo's students, faculty, and staff as well as the broader research community through four general initiatives:
The pages that follow report on our success in meeting these objectives. We have more than doubled the number of electronic journals available through the library web site. We have also introduced online renewal services and other service features, and worked with campus partners to create two exciting new library spaces.
Over 600 people donate to the Library each year. As a donor, you should take pride in knowing that your support provides us with many of the resources necessary to create and recreate this Library.
Unlike Nancy-Lou Patterson's magnificent quilt, our pieces are never sewn together. Rather, we are constantly changing, shifting, and reworking the pieces to respond to the needs of our students and other members of the academic and local communities. We are a work in progress!
Murray Shepherd,
University Librarian
For the next 12 to 18 months we will focus our efforts on finding better ways to provide seamless access to information for students, researchers, and teaching faculty. We also need to reaffirm that the resources we acquire support the learning and research ambitions of the University of Waterloo. We will:
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