The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library resources in support of the Joint Masters programme in nuclear engineering at Waterloo, prepared by Douglas Morton , Liaison Librarian for Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Management Sciences.
It is understood that the main contribution by UW to the joint programme will be in the area of risk analysis, reliability centred maintenance and structural mechanics. Support for other aspects of nuclear engineering was investigated as well, and for the Dept. of Civil Engineering which is the local host of the programme. It should also be noted that components of nuclear engineering would draw on many of the resources throughout the library which supports teaching and research to the Ph.D. level in engineering, mathematics and the sciences.
The University of Waterloo Library's collections in engineering are housed in the Davis Centre Library. Access to the entire Library collection is through the online catalogue Trellis, the catalogue for the co-operative Tri-University Group (TUG) of libraries ( University of Guelph, University or Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University).
The decision to purchase library materials is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative. Selection is guided by the Collection Development Policy, and the Approval Plan Subject Profile for each department.
Monographs
The number of monographs in selected areas of the UW collection, as well as the entire TUG collection is given below. Additionally, some areas relevant to UW’s contribution are included.
| LC Class | Subject area | Number of titles on UW campus | Number of titles in other TUG libraries | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QA1-798 | Mathematical physics, Solid state physics, Thermodynamics, Thermomagnetism, Physical optics, Electro-optical devices, Fluid mechanics, Molecular beam epitaxy, Nuclear fusion | 38,098 |
44,785 |
82,883 |
| QD115 | Electrochemical analysis | 88 |
82 |
170 |
| TA1671-1707 | Lasers | 10 |
14 |
24 |
| TA 1750 | Optoelectronics | 55 |
43 |
98 |
TA1770 |
Acousto-optical devices |
6 |
0 |
6 |
TJ265 |
Mechanical engineering |
170 |
114 |
284 |
TK1-4661 |
Electrical engineering |
3,219 |
1,653 |
4,872 |
| TK5101-7241 | Telecommunications | 4,260 |
3,144 |
7,404 |
| TK7800-8360 | Electronics | 6,761 |
3,419 |
10,180 |
TK9001-9401 |
Nuclear engineering |
515 |
387 |
902 |
TR1025-1045 |
Electro photography |
4 |
1 |
5 |
TS510-518 |
Optical instruments |
25 |
25 |
50 |
|
|
|
|
|
| HD61 | Risk analysis | 293 |
353 |
646 |
| QA273 | Probability | 819 |
1023 |
1842 |
| QA275-299 | Statistics | 3477 |
3618 |
7095 |
| TA349-354 | Engineering mechanics | 470 |
400 |
870 |
Total number of items |
58,270 |
59,061 |
117,331 |
|
The OCGS review in 2001 identified 157 current journals in Civil Engineering, 800 current serials in subject areas relevant to Civil. As well there are over 28,000 monographs in areas relevant to Mechanical Engineering and nearly 90,000 in all engineering areas at Waterloo .
The library has been moving toward electronic access to journals, nearly 2400 of which are in the sciences and engineering; approximately 300 are relevant to civil and environmental engineering, 408 cover mathematics or statistics.
The Library's automated circulation system allows users to charge out materials during the hours that the Library is open. With the exception of the current issues of journals, and reference materials, most materials circulate. Graduate students and faculty may borrow most monographs for the term.
Users may place requests to borrow items or photocopies of articles in the collections from any of the TUG library locations through Trellis.
The ejournals and web-based databases are available to current students, faculty and staff when off-campus via a proxy server.
The Library subscribes to a number of electronic databases, most of which are internet accessible and some are available within the library on a CD-ROM network. The following are some of the databases of interest to risk research and Nuclear Engineering:
Chemical Abstracts (through SciFinder Scholar) (1907- present)
Compendex Plus (all branches of engineering) (1970-present)
Current Index to Statistics – Extended Database (1974- present)
Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management (1967-present) (includes the UW produced Risk Abstracts as a subfile)
Georef (geosciences) (1785-present)
INSPEC (electrical engineering, computer science, applied math)
MathSciNet (mathematics) (1940-present)
several materials science databases (Metadex, Ceramics Abstracts, Weldasearch)
Science Citation Index (through Web of Science) (1945 – present)
Faculty and students may borrow directly from most Ontario universities under the Direct Borrowing Agreement. Graduate students and faculty may borrow in person from the University of Toronto and from Quebec university libraries. Through the unified catalogue TRELLIS, which contains all library materials in the Tri-University Group, students and faculty now have immediate access to the library resources of the University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the University of Waterloo. A book and article retrieval service delivers material from one institution to another within three working days.
The Interlibrary Loan Service obtains, for UW students and faculty, books, journal articles, patents, theses, etc. from institutions in Canada and abroad. Access to materials in Ontario libraries is enhanced by Ariel software for the electronic delivery of text. The Library has contracted with CISTI for document delivery services which provide rapid delivery of journal articles to our university community. Currently the Library absorbs all costs except for the purchase of theses, reports, patents, and standards.
The Library also provides access to CISTI Source (a table of contents/document delivery service) free of charge to faculty and graduate students.
The Library has developed a World Wide Web based hypermedia information system that organizes and provides access to Internet resources by discipline as well as other resources such as library catalogues from around the world. The UW Electronic Library homepage can be accessed through the URL http ://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/. It includes a Webpage for Civil Engineering developed by the Liaison Librarian.
Access to most internet resources is available through a number of workstations within the libraries, anywhere on campus and, through the proxy server, anywhere in the world.
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 assistants. The Library also offers email and online chat reference services to UW students, faculty and staff.
The Liaison Librarian for Civil Engineering is available for consultation with individuals or small groups of students. He also offers course-related instruction about library research strategies and tools. The Library also offers orientation programs including tours, seminars for graduate students, and workshops on topics including database searching and using the World Wide Web.
During the past seven years, the Library has spent approximately $ 591,648 on materials for Civil Engineering (see attached). In 2002/03 $37,346 was spent for current serials and $23,544 for books. It should be noted that materials acquired for other departments, as well as reference material (including indexes and abstracts, both print and electronic) are also of interest to Civil Engineering.
Summary of Expenditures - Civil Engineering
| Year | Serial Expenditure | Book Expenditure | Approval Plan Support | Total Expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | $62,087 |
$22,942 |
$8,328 |
$93,357 |
| 1997/98 | $70,637 |
$9,644 |
$6496 |
$86,777 |
| 1998/99 | $69,566 |
$13,919 |
$5,320 |
$88,805 |
| 1999/2000 | $75,634 |
$15,159 |
$8,797 |
$99,590 |
| 2000/2001 | $81,715 |
$6,374 |
$7,433 |
$95,522 |
| 2001/2002 | $47,798 |
$14,835 |
$4,074 |
$66,707 |
| 2002/2003 | $37,346 |
$18,781 |
$4,763 |
$60,890 |
| Total | $444,783 |
$101,654 |
$45,211 |
$591,648 |
Serial expenditures appear to be dropping due to changes in accounting practice. Ejournals are now often purchased in packages, and charged to a “general serials” budget.
More detailed information including lists of serials purchased for Civil Engineering, serial titles of interest to Civil Engineering, number of monograph titles of interest to Civil Engineering, and a description of the UW Electronic Library are available in the Library. We would be pleased to discuss the Library's holdings and services with an appraiser at the time of a campus visit. We believe that a high level of support for the joint Masters Programme in Nuclear Engineering can be provided by the Library, both in holdings and in services.
Douglas Morton
Liaison Librarian for Mechanical Engineering
University of Waterloo
dhmorton@uwaterloo.ca
5 November, 2003
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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