The following is a summary of University of Waterloo Library information resources and services in support of the proposed undergraduate program in Honours Physics and Astronomy, prepared by Laura Bredahl, Liaison Librarian for Physics & Astronomy.
Material would be collected to support learning, teaching and research for Physics and Astronomy with emphasis on:
The decision to purchase Library materials for Physics and Astronomy is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian, in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative within the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Selection is guided by the Collection Development Policy , which is developed by the Liaison Librarian in consultation with faculty members in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Materials are obtained in a variety ways including firm orders, open orders, approval plans, and subscriptions.
The Library obtains resources in electronic format whenever it is possible and practical to do so. Some electronic resources are obtained directly by the Library and some are obtained through membership in the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN). Access to and use of electronic resources is generally governed by licence agreements with the publisher or vendor.
The uWaterloo Library physics fund currently subscribes to 48 print and electronic journals of possible interest to Physics and Astronomy and 742 electronic journals of possible interest to physics are subscribed to through the library’s electronic resources fund. The collection also includes over 24,400 print monographs of interest to Physics and Astronomy. For the most part, these monographs are in print format but an increasing number are in electronic format.
The 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. Collections from the University of Guelph, namely collections for their Astrophysics and Gravitation research and the Guelph Waterloo Physics Institute, enhance the depth and breadth of local materials available in subject areas of interest to Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo.
The Library’s print collections for Physics and Astronomy are housed primarily in the Davis Centre Library. Access to the entire Library collection, as well materials held by UG and WLU, is available through the Web accessible tool known as PRIMO (http://primo.lib.uwaterloo.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 material in the Library’s collection circulates. Faculty, graduate students and staff may borrow most monographs for a term at a time. The usual loan period for undergraduates is two weeks.
Books and journal articles not owned by the Library, but held by UG or WLU, may be requested by faculty, students and staff through Primo. Items will be delivered to uWaterloo within three working days. The cost 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, the TUG libraries ensure that a last copy is maintained in perpetuity, through the Preservation of Last Copy Agreement . Items housed in the Annex will be delivered to uWaterloo within three working days. The cost is of these services 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 uWaterloo faculty, students and staff, as well as select Internet resources freely available to anyone. The site also provides access to electronic resources hosted by the OCUL Scholars Portal program (http://www.scholarsportal.info/index.html) and available to the uWaterloo community through the Library's participation in consortia purchasing through OCUL.
In addition, many of our electronic resources can be found through a search of Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/).
The Library uses linking technology (SFX) to enable users to link directly from research databases to the Library’s full text electronic journal subscription or to the catalogue record for holdings and call number information. The Library also provides access to bibliographic management software (RefWorks).
uWaterloo 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.
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 Physics and Astronomy:
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 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.
Most Canadian university libraries extend, at no charge, in-person borrowing privileges to faculty, students and staff from across the country. Faculty, students and staff are entitled to borrowing privileges at participating libraries (http://www.coppul.ca/rb/rbindex.html).
Drawing from the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents’ Guidelines for University Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations and the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education the Liaison Librarian for Physics develops information literacy-related activities and materials, in consultation with faculty. These include the development of online modules, research guides and screencasts as well as the preparation of classroom sessions and outcomes-based workshops for students in the program. It is intended that the sessions and workshops may complement, or take the form of, assignments students complete as part of their course requirements. Depending on the nature of the assignments and the instructors’ expectations, these activities focus on introducing, reinforcing, or mastering key aspects of information research.
The Liaison Librarian for Physics & Astronomy are available for consultation with individuals or small groups of students. They may be contacted directly in person, by phone, and by e-mail if a personal visit to the Library is not convenient. The Librarians also develops and maintains an online subject guide for Physics & Astronomy and (http://subjectguides.uwaterloo.ca/physics).
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, faculty, students and staff may get reference assistance via e-mail and online chat available through the Ask a Librarian service (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/asklib/index.html).
The Library also offers general orientation programs including tours, workshops on research skills, and seminars for students. In addition, each fall, the Library participates in a campus-wide orientation program for incoming students, including programs specific to international students and students with disabilities.
Faculty, students and staff 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.
Table 1. Summary of Expenditures– Physics
Year |
Journal Expenditures |
Book Expenditures |
Approval Plan Support |
Total Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2003/2004 |
$158,835 |
$26,485 |
$8,640 |
$193,965 |
2004/2005 |
$107,525 |
$13,285 |
$7,925 |
$128,735 |
2005/2006 |
$122,015 |
$23,685 |
$8,260 |
$153,965 |
2006/2007 |
$124,260 |
$17,395 |
$8,525 |
$150,180 |
2007/2008 |
$91,315 |
$20,720 |
$9,025 |
$121,060 |
2008/2009 |
$114,730 |
$3,370 |
$6,765 |
$124,870 |
2009/2010 |
$97,250 |
$11,545 |
$10,230 |
$119,020 |
TOTAL for Period |
$815,935 |
$116,490 |
$59,370 |
$991,795 |
The drop in book expenditures and approval plan support for 2008/09 was the result of a temporary, and partial, freeze on monograph purchasing imposed because of the significant decline in the value of the Canadian dollar in the fall of 2008, and the consequent drop in the Library’s purchasing power. The freeze was lifted in May 2009.
Electronic resources, such as Web of Science and Scopus are purchased from the Electronic Resources library fund. Materials acquired for other departments, such as Earth Sciences, and the Maths may be of interest to Physics and Astronomy.
We believe that a high level of support for the proposed Honours Physics and Astronomy program can be provided by the Library. Resources required for core and elective courses would be supported by the library resources purchased for academic units across campus.
More detailed information including lists of print and electronic journals, and the number of monograph titles in the subject areas of interest to Physics and Astronomy are available upon request.
We would be pleased to discuss the Library's holdings and services with the appraisers at the time of a campus visit.
Laura Bredahl, Liaison Librarian for Physics & Astronomy
Reviewed by Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Services for Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
Collection Development Policies can be found online on the Library Web site (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/irmc/collectionsmanagement.html).
The Preservation of Last Copy Agreement is available online (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/irmc/last_copy_agreement_sept06.html).
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