The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library information resources and services in support of the undergraduate program in Biology, prepared by Anne Fullerton, Liaison Librarian for Biology.
The decision to purchase Library materials for Biology is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative. Selection is guided by the Collection Development Policy (developed by the Liaison Librarian in consultation with Biology faculty) and the Approval Plan Subject Profile. Materials are obtained through 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, 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 Biology.
Print Collections
The Library’s print collections for Biology are housed primarily in the Davis Centre Library. Access to the entire Library collection, as well as materials held by UG and WLU, is available through the Web accessible search 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.
Books and journal articles not owned by the UW Library but held by UG or WLU may be requested for use at UW through Primo. Books and copies of journal articles are delivered to faculty, students and staff within three working days. The cost of these services 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.
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 and selected free Internet resources. 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.
The Library uses linking technology (SFX) to enable users to link directly from research databases including Google Scholar and PubMed to the UW Library full text electronic journal subscription or to the Primo catalogue record for holdings and call number information. The Library also provides access to and instruction in the use of bibliographic management software (RefWorks). Students retain access to their database after they graduate.
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.
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 Biology:
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).
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. Reference assistance via e-mail and on-line chat is available through the Ask a Librarian service. (http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/asklib/index.html)
The Library also offers general orientation programs including workshops on search strategy and database searching, accessing government information, data and statistics, RefWorks use and mapping software. In addition, each fall the Library participates in a campus-wide orientation program for international students.
The Liaison Librarian for Biology 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 collaborates with faculty who want to develop student information research and critical thinking skills. This may include suggesting or designing effective research assignments which test critical thinking skills and build on previous years assignments. If faculty do not want to deliver the instruction, which introduces students to information searching and sources relevant to Biology, the Librarian can do this through interactive lectures, hands-on instruction, Web pages or online courseware modules. The Librarian also develops and maintains a web-based subject guide for Biology http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/biology/index.html which can be linked to the online courseware for easy access.
During the past seven years, the Biology library fund spent $1,000,120 on information resources. In the current year (2009/10 Y-T-D) $24,320 has been spent on current journals and $5,670 on books. Table 1 summarizes expenditures over the previous 7 years.
Table 1. Summary of Expenditures – Biology
Fiscal Year |
Journal Expenditure |
Book Expenditure |
Approval Plan Support |
Total Expenditure & Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2002/03 |
$171,995 |
$19,475 |
$9,570 |
$201,035 |
2003/04 |
$154,045 |
$20,075 |
$9,435 |
$183,555 |
2004/05 |
$100,285 |
$24,605 |
$5,820 |
$130,705 |
2005/06 |
$90,675 |
$18,060 |
$8,215 |
$116,950 |
2006/07 |
$97,165 |
$20,120 |
$7,800 |
$125,090 |
2007/08 |
$92,405 |
$14,095 |
$8,510 |
$115,010 |
2008/09 |
$102,450 |
$17,630 |
$7,695 |
$127,775 |
TOTAL |
$809,020 |
$134,060 |
$57,045 |
$1,000,120 |
The decline in journal expenditures reflects changes in Library purchasing practices not journal cancellations. Many Biology journals are purchased through publishers’ packages or consortia deals which are paid for from a central Electronic Resources Fund. Biology library funds which supported these journals were transferred to the central fund. In fact, additional journals relevant to Biology have been added to the Library’s collection as a result of these purchasing arrangements.
In addition to resources purchased using funds specifically designated for Biology, numerous other resources of direct interest to Biology, including many of those listed on page 2 above, are purchased through the central fund for e-resources. Many electronic journals, research databases and books are purchased in large multidisciplinary packages.
Materials acquired for other departments such as Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Chemical and Civil Engineering are also of interest to Biology.
I believe our Library resources and many of our services provide a high level of support for the undergraduate programme in Biology.
We lack sufficient study space in the Davis Library and on the UW campus in general especially for study groups and project teams. We plan to build more group study rooms and improve the acoustic separation between noisy and quiet study areas in the Davis Library once funding is available. Two proposed campus building projects - a new Science building and a new Student Services building – if funded, will potentially add much needed study space in 4 or 5 years.
Information literacy instruction services are underutilised. Biology students would benefit from a coherent and graduated learning experience in information seeking and Biology research sources designed to meet the outcomes for graduation. Regular assessment of the information literacy skills of graduating students would assist the librarian and faculty to address weak areas.
More detailed information including lists of print and electronic journals purchased for Biology and the number of monograph titles in subject areas of interest to Biology can be provided if required.
I would be pleased to discuss the Library's holdings and services with the appraisers at the time of a campus visit.
Anne Fullerton, Liaison Librarian for Biology
Reviewed by Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Services for Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
University of Waterloo Library
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Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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