The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library resources in support of the graduate program in English, prepared by Erin Murphy, Liaison Librarian for English.
Material is collected to support teaching and research to the PhD level in English with emphasis on these areas:
Old English Literature
Middle English Literature
Renaissance English Literature (16th-17th centuries)
Restoration and 18th -Century English Literature
Nineteenth-Century British Literature
Twentieth-Century British Literature
Canadian Literature
American Literature
History of Literary Theory and Criticism
History of Rhetorical Theory and Criticism
Discourse and Text Analysis
Composing Theory and Pedagogy
Professional Writing
The decision to purchase Library materials for English 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 the department.
The collection includes some 311,560 monographs relevant to English. There are 744 current print serials in subject areas relevant to English. The Library provides access to over 7064 full text journals in electronic format, of which 187 are classified in subject areas relevant to English. More detailed information is available in the Library, including lists of serials purchased directly for English and serial titles (print and electronic) of interest to researchers in English.
The Library’s print collections in English are housed in the Dana Porter Library. Access to the entire Library collection is through the web-based catalogue TRELLIS. The catalogue is available at computers in the Library and remotely. Access to the catalogue is also available through telnet access (to an ASCII client).
The Library’s automated circulation system allows users to sign out materials during the hours that the Library is open and to renew items from a web-based patron record. With the exception of the most current issue of a journal, and reference materials, most materials circulate. Graduate students and faculty may borrow most monographs for the academic term.
The University of Waterloo Library's Special Collections Department is housed in the Doris Lewis Rare Book Room in the Dana Porter Library.
Now numbering over 50,000 volumes, the rare book collections have particular subject strengths in the following areas: women's studies, local history, architecture, dance, fine printing, and urban planning. Special collections of interest to English include:
Further details about archival and special collections can be accessed at this URL: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/SpecColl/Special1.html
The Library subscribes to many bibliographic databases, most of which are accessible via the Internet. Others are available within the Library on a CD-ROM network. Databases relevant to English include the following:
Books and journal articles from the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University may be identified and requested through TRELLIS, the unified catalogue that indexes all library materials in the Tri University Group (TUG). Items requested from any remote TUG location, are delivered to UW campus in 1-2 working days.
The Interlibrary Loan/ Document Delivery 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 the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information for document delivery services that provide rapid delivery of journal articles to our university community. Currently the Library absorbs all costs except for the purchase of reports, patents, and standards.
Faculty and graduate students may borrow directly from university libraries in Ontario, Quebec and the Western Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) under direct borrowing agreements.
The Library has developed a web-based information system that organizes and provides access to Internet resources by discipline. The library web site also provides convenient links to resources such as library catalogues from around the world, electronic journals, and online reference tools such as the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., and Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism.
The UW Library homepage can be accessed through the URL http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/.
It includes a web page for English developed by the Liaison Librarian: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/english/index.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 assistants. The Library also offers an electronic reference service, “ASK US/TELL US” (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/comments/), which is accessible to UW students and faculty with access to the Internet.
The Liaison Librarian for English is available to students for individual consultation by phone, email or in person. Course-specific instruction about library research strategies and tools is provided in conjunction with faculty. The Library also offers more general orientation programs including Library tours, general seminars for graduate students, and workshops on topics such as “Searching Electronic Databases” and “Keeping Up with Your Research Literature - Electronically.” The Liaison Librarian for English, and Susan Bellingham, Head of Special Collections department, offer an orientation session each Fall, to introduce new graduate students in English to library services and Special Collections at University of Waterloo.
During the past seven years, the Library has spent approximately $603,647 on materials for English (for details, see the table below). Electronic databases and full-text journals are acquired from a general fund. It should be noted that materials acquired for other departments such as Accounting, Drama and Speech Communications, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Film Studies, History, Psychology, and Sociology also support graduate study in English
We believe that our Library holdings and services provide a high level of support for the graduate program in English. We would be pleased to discuss the Library’s holdings and services with an appraiser at the time of a campus visit.
Murray Shepherd
University Librarian
YEAR |
SERIALS EXPENDITURE |
BOOKS EXPENDITURE |
APPROVAL PLAN SUPPORT |
TOTAL EXPENDITURE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1995/96 |
18,400 |
27,128 |
31,353 |
76,881 |
1996/97 |
22,136 |
24,781 |
35,799 |
82,715 |
1997/98 |
23,517 |
18,928 |
32,121 |
74,566 |
1998/99 |
26,502 |
20,262 |
44,437 |
91,201 |
1999/00 |
29,959 |
21,322 |
46,165 |
97,446 |
2000/01 |
26,212 |
6,500 |
54,842 |
87,554 |
2001/02* |
29,129 |
16,737 |
47,417 |
93,283 |
TOTAL |
175,855 |
135,658 |
292,134 |
603,647 |
* Figures for 2001/2002 are estimates of expenditures
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Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
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