The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library information resources and services in support of the graduate program in Philosophy, prepared by Christine Jewell, Liaison Librarian for Philosophy.
Material is collected to support learning, teaching and research to the PhD level in Philosophy with emphasis on:
The decision to purchase Library materials for Philosophy is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative. Selection is guided by the Collection Development Policy (copy appended) which is developed by the Liaison Librarian in consultation with faculty members in the department of Philosophy. 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 (CRKN). Access to and use of electronic resources is generally governed by licence agreements with the publisher or vendor.
The UW Library collection includes approximately 340 current electronic and print journals in subject areas of possible interest to Philosophy. Many of the electronic journals are paid for from the central Electronic Resources library fund. The Philosophy library fund supports the cost of 92 current journal subscriptions relating to Philosophy. The collection also includes approximately 63,000 monographs in subject areas of interest to Philosophy. 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. 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 Philosophy.
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 Philosophy:
Access to Print Collections
The Library’s print collections for Philosophy are housed primarily in the Dana Porter Library. 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 material in the Library’s collection circulates. Faculty, graduate students and staff may borrow most monographs for a term at a time.
The Library also delivers to faculty, 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, 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, students and staff 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 Preservation of Last Copy 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, students and staff within three working days. The cost is absorbed by the Library
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.
Access to Electronic Resources
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 also provides access to electronic resources hosted by the OCUL Scholars Portal program (http://www.scholarsportal.info/index.html) and available to the UW 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 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 (RefWorks).
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.
Access to Resources from Institutions other than TUG
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.
Canadian university libraries extend 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).
Information Services
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 faculty, students 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)
The Library also offers 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 Philosophy is available for consultation with individuals or small groups of students. She 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 Philosophy. http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/philosophy/
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 2006, the Community Needs Assessment Committee at the UW Library conducted a web-based survey to assess patron satisfaction with our services, resources, and facilities. The survey was conducted from January 16, 2006 to February 16, 2006. A random sample of UW students, faculty and staff were invited by e-mail to complete the survey. Of the 1414 respondents, 14% were graduate students and they represented all major areas of study and research at UW. 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– Philosophy
Year |
Journal Expenditure |
Book Expenditure |
Approval Plan Support |
Total Expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 |
$19,645.68 |
$20,031.73 |
$31,440.00 |
$71,117.41 |
2002/03 |
$21,502.56 |
$16,194.43 |
$29,016.36 |
$66,713.35 |
2003/04 |
$20,988.97 |
$16,453.44 |
$25,481.68 |
$62,924.09 |
2004/05 |
$9,539.41 |
$16,823.42 |
$24,619.78 |
$50,982.61 |
2005/06 |
$11,576.20 |
$25,939.79 |
$29,212.18 |
$66,728.17 |
2006/07 |
$12,939.78 |
$15,172.86 |
$30,732.04 |
$58,844.68 |
2007/08 |
$11,840.76 |
$21,699.19 |
$35,281.16 |
$68,821.11 |
TOTAL |
$108,033.36 |
$132,314.86 |
$205,783.20 |
$446,131.42 |
During the past seven years, the Philosophy library fund has spent $446,131.42 on information resources. In 2007/08, $11,840.76 was spent for current journals and $56,980.35 for books. Table 1 provides further details.
What appears to be a general decline in journal expenditures deserves comment (Table 1 provides further details). In recent years, there have been no cancellations of journals, but many journals previously paid for by the Philosophy library fund have been transferred to the Electronic Resources fund. In fact, additional journals have been added to the Library’s collection as a result of purchasing publishers’ packages, often through consortia agreements.
In addition to resources purchased using funds specifically designated for Philosophy, numerous other resources of direct interest to Philosophy, including many of those listed on page 2 above, are purchased through a central fund for e-resources. Many electronic journals and books are purchased in large multidisciplinary packages. We are working to develop a way of determining expenditures by discipline for such resources, but those figures are not available at this time.
Materials acquired for other departments such as Classical Studies, History, and Mathematics, are also of interest to Philosophy.
I believe that a high level support for the graduate programme in Philosophy has been provided by the Library, both in information resources and services.
More detailed information including lists of print and electronic journals purchased for Philosophy and the number of monograph titles in subject areas of interest to Philosophy are available in the Library.
I would be pleased to discuss the Library's holdings and services with the appraisers at the time of a campus visit.
Christine Jewell, Liaison Librarian for Philosophy
Reviewed by Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Services for Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
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