At a celebratory reception held on Wednesday, May 24, staff representatives from 3M Canada Company officially announced a major gift to the UW Library. Their $1 million dollar gift-in-kind will assist the Library with the implementation of a One-Tag RFID inventory and security system for the Dana Porter and Davis Centre Libraries.
Preparations for implementing the RFID system were recently completed at the Davis Centre Library where over 300,000 items were tagged. During a tour of the facilities, visiting representatives from 3M helped tag the final book in the Davis Centre Library. The UW Library is the first academic 
library in North America to showcase this type of innovative radio frequency identification technology from 3M.
During the official announcement, Judy McDonald, 3M Canada Company's Vice President for Safety, Security, and Protection Services, stated that "installation of the One-Tag RFID System places the Davis Centre and Dana Porter Libraries among the most advanced in the world when it comes to securing, tracking, and managing materials." She emphasized how the system provides an easy and efficient solution for checking-out books from the Library.
Involved with the 3M RFID system implementation process at the Davis Centre Library, recent UW graduate, Bryan Lovasz, also spoke at the gift announcement event. "The Library is much more to students than a repository of books for research, but rather a place to meet, study, and work. As such, the 3M system will help make movement in and out of the library efficient, smooth, and therefore even more enjoyable for staff and students," commented Lovasz. "It will also ensure protection against the loss of books, enabling future generations of students to have access to the resources they will require for their studies."
Staff are currently in the process of implementing the system at the Dana Porter Library.
3M is a global diversified technology company serving customers in more than 200 countries around the world. It is a leader in a variety of major markets including:
Established in 1951, 3M Canada Company was one of the first international subsidiaries opened by 3M. 3M Canada and 
UW have enjoyed a long and productive business relationship for more than 25 years. 3M is an active employer of UW co-op students and now employs over 50 UW graduates at their North American locations. In addition to matching gifts, the company established the 3M Canada Company bursaries for students enrolled in engineering, business, science, and computer science programs at UW.
For more information pertaining to the 3M One-Tag RFID system, please visit the web site provided by the Library's Inventory and Security Implementation Group.
For further information, please contact:
Wish Leonard
Manager, Circulation Services, Resource Sharing
Ext. 35430
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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