The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library information resources and services in support of the undergraduate program in English Language and Literature, prepared by Leeanne Romane, Liaison Librarian for English Language and Literature.
The decision to purchase Library materials for English Language and Literature is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative. Selection is guided by the Collection Development Policy, which is developed by the Liaison Librarian in consultation with faculty members in the department of English Language and Literature. 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, 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 English.
Print Collections
The Library’s print collections for English Language and Literature 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 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 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. 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.
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.
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.
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 English Language and Literature:
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. Alternatively, UW faculty, students and staff may get reference assistance via e-mail and online 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 English Language and Literature 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 English Language and Literature (http://subjectguides.uwaterloo.ca/english).
Table 1. Summary of Expenditures – English Language and Literature
Fiscal Year |
Serial Expenditures |
Book Firm Expenditures |
Book Approval Plan |
Total Expenditures |
|
2002/03 |
$33,180 |
$25,925 |
$56,140 |
$115,245 |
|
2003/04 |
$23,405 |
$30,670 |
$44,015 |
$98,090 |
|
2004/05 |
$14,090 |
$22,835 |
$47,810 |
$84,735 |
|
2005/06 |
$12,580 |
$18,425 |
$62,805 |
$93,810 |
|
2006/07 |
$16,395 |
$11,230 |
$50,135 |
$77,760 |
|
2007/08 |
$13,015 |
$14,430 |
$46,080 |
$73,525 |
|
2008/09 |
$15,515 |
$6,750 |
$35,235 |
$57,500 |
|
Total 2002/03 through 2008/09 |
$128,175 |
$130,260 |
$342,215 |
$600,665 |
|
In the current fiscal year, the English Language and Literature library fund spent $22,900 on book purchases (firm and open). As well, an additional $49,020 was spent on books through the approval plan.
The drop in book expenditures and approval plan support in 2008/09 was the result of a temporary, and partial, freeze on monograph purchasing imposed because of the significant decline in the value of the Canadian dollar in the fall of 2008, and the consequent drop in the Library's purchasing power. The freeze was lifted in May 2009. As a result of a gift to the English Language and Literature fund, an additional $5,300 was used to purchase books during the collection freeze (the amount is not in Table 1).
In recent years, there have been no cancellations of journals, but many journals previously paid for by the English Language and Literature 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 English Language and Literature, numerous other resources of direct interest to English Language and Literature, including many of those listed on page 2, are purchased through the Electronic Resources fund. Many electronic journals and books are purchased in large multidisciplinary packages.
Materials acquired for other departments such as History, Drama, and Philosophy are also of interest to English Language and Literature.
I believe that a high level support for the undergraduate programme in English Language and Literature has been provided by the Library, both in information resources and services. More detailed information including lists of print and electronic journals purchased for English Language and Literature and the number of monograph titles in subject areas of interest to English Language and Literature 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.
Leeanne Romane, Liaison Librarian for English Language and Literature.
Reviewed by Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Services for Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
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