February 2007
The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library information resources and services in support of the Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo proposed MSc in Geography & Environmental Science, prepared by Margaret Yuen, Liaison Librarian for Geography.
Material is collected to support learning, teaching and research to the PhD level in Geography & Environmental Science with emphasis on:
The decision to purchase Library materials for Geography & Environmental Science is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative. Selection is guided by the Collection Development Policy for Geography (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/irmc/geography_coll_policy_06.doc) which is developed by the Liaison Librarian in consultation with faculty members in the department of Geography. Materials are obtained in a variety ways including firm orders, open orders, approval plans, and subscriptions.
In response to user preference, the Library obtains resources in electronic format whenever it is possible and practical to do so. Some electronic resources are obtained directly by the University of Waterloo Library and some are obtained through membership in the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network. Access to and use of electronic resources is generally governed by licence agreements with the publisher or vendor.
The UW Library collection includes approximately 234 current electronic and 138 print serials in general subject areas of possible interest to Geography & Environmental Science. Many of the electronic serials are paid from the central Electronic Resources library fund. The Geography library fund supports the cost of 56 current serials subscriptions relating to Geography & Environmental Science. The collection also includes approximately 32,600 monographs in subject areas of interest to Geography & Environmental Science. For the most part, these monographs are in print format but an increasing number are in electronic format.
The UW Library, along with the libraries of the University of Guelph (UG) and Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), is a member of the Tri-University Group of Libraries (TUG) consortium. These collections from the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University enhance the depth and breadth of local materials available in subject areas of interest to Geography & Environmental Science. The life sciences collection at the University of Guelph is of specific interest to the program.
The Library has purchased or subscribes to a range of electronic resources including research databases, full text journals, monographs, numeric data, and government publications. In addition, the Library identifies and provides access to select material freely available through the Internet. Such material includes open access journals, catalogues of libraries around the world, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and style guides.
The following are some of the electronic resources of particular interest to Geography & Environmental Science:
Cartographic material in both paper and digital format is available in the University Map Library. The collection consists of digital geospatial data, electronic maps and atlases, and aerial photographs in digital and print formats. The Collection consists of over 70,000 maps and 40,000 aerial photographs. The digital collection includes some world wide datasets; however the focus is on the local area. Coverage includes national and provincial-level topographic data; elevation data; Canadian street data; Grand River Conservation Authority data; and orthoimagery for the local area including the GTA, and South western Ontario.
The Library’s print collections for Geography & Environmental Science are housed primarily in the Davis Centre and Dana Porter Libraries. Access to the entire Library collection, as well materials held by UG and WLU, is available through the Web accessible union catalogue known as TRELLIS (http://trellis1.tug-libraries.on.ca/).
The Library's automated circulation system allows users to charge out materials during the hours that the Library is open (every day most weeks, with some closures between terms and during the Christmas break) and to renew items online anytime. With the exception of the current issues of print journals and reference materials, most of the materials in the Library’s collection circulate. Graduate students and faculty may borrow most monographs for a term at a time.
The Library also delivers to faculty, graduate students, and staff copies of print journal articles from any of the UW library locations, and from the libraries of the UW affiliated and federated colleges and universities. Faculty, graduate students, and staff can also place holds on books from any of these libraries for pickup at any of the UW libraries’ circulation desks. Books and journal articles not owned by the UW Library but held by UG or WLU may be requested through TRELLIS. Books and copies of journal articles are delivered to faculty, staff and students within three working days. The cost is of these services is absorbed by the Library.
In partnership with UG and WLU, the Library owns a facility, known as the Annex, which is used to house low-use research material. In keeping with the University’s research intensive status, an agreement among the TUG libraries ensures that a last copy is maintained in perpetuity. The agreement can be found at: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/irmc/last_copy_agreement_sept06.html. As with material from UG and WLU, books and copies of journal articles housed in the Annex are made available to faculty, staff and students within three working days. The cost is absorbed by the Library
In addition to the forgoing services, books and copies of articles from print journals will be sent, upon request, to students living some distance from the campus. With the exception of return postage for books, the cost is absorbed by the Library.
The primary tool for accessing electronic resources selected by the Library is its Web site (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca). This site organizes and provides access to licensed resources available to only UW faculty, students and staff, as well as Internet resources freely available to anyone. The site includes links to selected electronic resources available to the UW community through the Library’s participation in the OCUL Scholars Portal program (http://www.scholarsportal.info/index.html). In addition, many of our electronic resources can be found through a search of Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/ ) and Windows Live Academic (http://academic.live.com/).
The Library has embedded linking technology (SFX) into research databases which allows users to link directly from the database to the UW Library full text electronic journal subscription or to the TRELLIS catalogue record for holdings and call number information. The Library also provides access to bibliographic management software.
UW faculty, students and staff may access electronic research databases and full text electronic journals from off-campus via the Library’s Proxy Server / Connect from Home feature.
Students from UW or WLU who are registered in the Waterloo-Laurier Graduate Program in Geography have similar access to the resources and services at the UW or WLU Libraries
The Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery (ILL) service provides faculty, students, and staff with books, copies of journal articles, theses, and government documents from libraries within Canada and elsewhere. The UW Library uses OCUL’s RACER Web based interlibrary loan system (http://racer.scholarsportal.info/vdx/index.html) to facilitate ILL access and service for users. With minor exceptions, the cost for this service is absorbed by the Library.
The UW Library also uses the CISTI Source current awareness and document delivery service (http://source.cisti.nrc.ca/index_custom.html) from the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information to provide copies of articles from journals not held by the UW Library or available via document delivery from the University of Guelph or Wilfrid Laurier University. Faculty and graduate students are able to search citations from over 17,000 journals in all subject areas and directly request copies of articles. Articles are generally delivered to on-campus addresses within four working days. The cost is absorbed by the Library.
Canadian university libraries extend in-person borrowing privileges to students, faculty and staff from across the country. Graduate students, faculty and staff are entitled to borrowing privileges at participating libraries (http://www.coppul.ca/rb/rbindex.html).
Reference assistance is available in person or by telephone at the Library's Information Desks which are staffed by professional librarians and specially trained library associates. Alternatively, UW students, faculty and staff may get reference assistance via e-mail and on-line chat available through the Ask a Librarian service (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/asklib/index.html).
UW libraries also offer general orientation programs including tours, workshops on database searching and using the Web, and seminars for graduate students. In addition, each fall the Library participates in a campus-wide orientation program for international students.
The Liaison Librarian for Geography is available for consultation with individuals or small groups of students. She/he may be contacted directly in person, by phone, and by e-mail if a personal visit to the Library is not convenient.
The Liaison Librarian is also available to work with faculty to develop course integrated library instruction in the form of lectures, hands-on instruction, Web pages, or online courseware modules. The Librarian also develops and maintains a web-based subject guide for Geography (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/libguides/5-6.html).
Graduate students may keep abreast of new services and developments in the Library by reading news @ your library (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/newsatlib/) an electronic newsletter prepared periodically and distributed to graduate students via the University’s Graduate Studies listserv.
In a 2006 University of Waterloo Library User Satisfaction Survey, 88% of the graduate students responding to the survey indicated that they agreed with the statement that “Overall, the UW Library and its staff meet my expectations for an excellent university library”
Table 1. Summary of Expenditures– Geography
Year |
Serial Expenditure |
Book Expenditure |
Approval Plan Support |
Total Expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1999/00 |
79,225 |
13,365 |
10,007 |
102,597 |
2000/01 |
65,850 |
17,000 |
10,921 |
93,771 |
2001/02 |
51,799 |
16,136 |
10,130 |
78,065 |
2002/03 |
46,078 |
9,909 |
10,576 |
66,563 |
2003/04 |
41,112 |
16,645 |
10,116 |
67,873 |
2004/05 |
18,696 |
16,852 |
9,633 |
45,181 |
2005/06 |
18,462 |
13,168 |
7,865 |
39,495 |
TOTAL |
$321,222 |
$103,075 |
$69,248 |
$493,545 |
During the past seven years, the Geography library fund has spent $493,545 on information resources. In 2005/06, $18,462 was spent for current serials and $21,033 for books. Table 1 provides further details. What may appear to be a decline in serials expenditures deserves comment. Serials in an electronic format are often available for subscription in packages and the Library pays for access to these packages through a general fund for electronic resources. As a result, many serials are no longer paid for by funds established for specific disciplines.
Electronic resources such as Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management and Web of Science are purchased from the general fund. It should be noted that materials acquired for other departments such as Biology; Earth Sciences; Planning; and Environment and Resource Studies are also of interest to Geography & Environmental Science.
More detailed information including lists of print and electronic journals purchased for Geography & Environmental Science, and the numbers of monograph titles in subject areas of interest to Geography & Environmental Science are available in the Library.
I believe that the Library is able to provide a high level support in both information resources and services for the proposed MSc in Geography & Environmental Science.
Prepared by Margaret Yuen, Liaison Librarian for Geography
Reviewed by Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources & Services, on behalf of Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
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