Library Resources at the University of Waterloo
Material is collected to support teaching and research to the PhD level in History. Emphasis is given to the following geographical areas, time periods, and themes:
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The decision to purchase Library materials for History 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 profile for the History department.
The UW Library collection includes 651 current electronic serials, 522 current print serials, and over 225,800 monographs in subject areas of interest to History.
Libraries at UW, the University of Guelph (UG) and Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) compose the Tri-University Group of Libraries. Library resources at UG and WLU are readily accessible to UW students, faculty, and staff. These collections enhance the depth and breadth of local materials available in all areas of History.
TRELLIS, the catalogue of the three libraries, is available through the internet http://trellis1.tug-libraries.on.ca/. Links to full text materials including journal articles and some monographs are available through TRELLIS. The UW Library's print collections in History are housed mainly in the Dana Porter Library.
The Library's circulation system allows users to charge out materials during the hours that the Library is open and to renew items online. With the exception of reference materials and current issues of print journals, most items in the Library’s collection circulate. Graduate students and faculty may borrow monographs for a term at a time.
UW Library provides a service for our faculty and graduate students whereby copies of print journal articles are delivered to an on-campus address. Faculty, graduate students, and staff may also place holds on UW Library books for pickup at any of the UW Libraries’ circulation desks. Both these services are free of charge.
The Library subscribes to a large number of web-based research databases (indexes and abstracts). The following titles are of particular interest to UW historians:
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Citations retrieved from these databases link either directly to electronic documents subscribed to by the Library or link to TRELLIS catalogue records for holdings and call number information.
Of increasing importance to historians is the ever-growing list of primary sources that have been digitized. Recent acquisitions by the UW Library include:
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Managing Citations and Building BibliographiesMembers of the UW community have access to RefWorks, a web-based bibliographic management program that helps researchers keep track of citations and generate bibliographies in the style of their choice. UW Library HomepageThe Library has a well developed web site (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca) that organizes and provides access to Internet resources funded by the Library, which are restricted to members of the UW community. These resources include full text journals, research databases, and catalogues of libraries around the world, national biographies, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. History Subject GuideDeveloped by the liaison librarian for History, this web-based guide highlights scholarly resources and research strategies for UW historians. See: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/history/index.html. Other Collections of Interest to HistoriansUW Library has full depository status for Canadian Federal and Ontario government publications. We are also a “European Reference Centre” for the European Union and we receive standing orders for many United Nations documents. We have a large number of microform collections from Britain’s Public Record Office and the reports of the Mass Observation project. UW Library’s Special Collections area houses resources relevant to History including rich Canadian and local history archives and British women’s periodicals. Materials acquired on behalf of other departments, especially Political Science, Economics, and Sociology are also used by our historians. Materials at other LibrariesAs noted under section 3.1, books and journal articles not owned by the UW Library but held by the University of Guelph or Wilfrid Laurier University libraries may be requested through TRELLIS. Books and copies of journal articles are delivered to UW faculty and students within three working days; the cost is absorbed by the Library. Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery staff obtain items from libraries (beyond the TriUniversity Group of Libraries) around the world. RACER, the Ontario-wide university interlibrary loan system, is used to facilitate these requests. With minor exceptions, the cost for this service is absorbed by the Library. CISTI Source is a database service from the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information. It contains tables of contents of over 21,000 journals, worldwide, in all subject areas. Faculty and graduate students are able to search citations from journals and directly request copies of articles. Articles are delivered to on-campus addresses within four working days. The cost is absorbed by the Library. The Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement available to the academic community means that students, faculty and staff are entitled to borrowing privileges at participating libraries. Information ServicesThe Liaison Librarian for History is available for consultation with individuals or small groups of students. She also works with faculty to develop course-integrated library instruction in the form of lectures, hands-on instruction, web pages, and online courseware modules. General reference assistance is available in person, by telephone, email, and through “chat” services. UW campus libraries also offer general orientation programs including workshops on database searching and using the Web, and seminars for graduate students. Financial SupportDuring the past seven years, the Library has spent approximately $538,894 on materials for History. In 2004/05, $10,824 was spent for current serials and $20,355 for monographs, and $31,083 supported the approval plan for history items. Table 1 provides further details. Electronic research databases, reference materials, and full text electronic journals packages are purchased from general funds so are not reflected in the table. Table 1. Summary of Expenditures– for History Materials
ConclusionMore detailed information including lists of serials purchased for History, the number of monograph titles in specific areas of History, and the collection policy for History 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 graduate program in History has been provided by the Library, both in holdings and in services. Jane Forgay June 2006 |
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