The following is a summary of University of Waterloo (UW) Library information resources and services in support of the undergraduate program in Environment and Business, prepared by Margaret Yuen, Liaison Librarian for Environment and Business, in consultation with Sandra Keys, Liaison Librarian for Accounting and Finance, and Economics.
Material is collected to support learning, teaching and research for the undergraduate level in Environment and Business with emphasis on:
The decision to purchase Library materials for Environment and Business is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian for Environment and Business in consultation with the faculty. 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. Access to and use of electronic resources is generally governed by licence agreements with the publisher or vendor.
The UW Library collection includes approximately 1,000 current electronic and print journals in subject areas of possible interest to Environment and Business. Many of the electronic journals are paid for from the central Electronic Resources library fund. The collection also includes approximately 24,800 monographs in subject areas of interest to Environment and Business. 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 Environment and Business. Of particular interest is the business collection at Wilfrid Laurier University.
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 Environment and Business.
Also available to members of the UW academic community are the data holdings of the Tri-University Group Data Resources (TDR) (http://tdr.tug-libraries.on.ca/), which provides Web access to resources such as the Statistics Canada surveys including the Canadian Census. Access is also available to the data holdings of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan (http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/).
Access to Print Collections
The Library’s print collections for Environment and Business 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. Undergraduate students may borrow most monographs for a two week term with option of renewal.
Undergraduate students can request copies of print journal articles from the other TUG libraries and can place holds at any of these libraries for pickup at any of the UW libraries’ circulation desks. These requests may be made through TRELLIS. Books and copies of journal articles are delivered to faculty, staff and students 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/) 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) 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).
The Library also offers general orientation programs including tours, workshops on database searching and using the Web, and seminars for undergraduate students. In addition, each fall the Library participates in a campus-wide orientation program for international students.
The Liaison Librarian for Environment and Business 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.
Table 1. Summary of Expenditures – Environment and Resource Studies
Year |
Journal Expenditure
|
Book Expenditure
|
Approval Plan Support
|
Total Expenditure
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 |
$6,796.34 |
$12,663.72 |
$13,352.00 |
$32,812.06 |
2002/03 |
$8,313.68 |
$15,992.04 |
$11,397.03 |
$35,702.75 |
2003/04 |
$7,901.27 |
$14,590.22 |
$8,176.70 |
$30,668.19 |
2004/05 |
$5,486.61 |
$13,018.17 |
$6,217.02 |
$24,721.80 |
2005/06 |
$5,025.11 |
$16,737.96 |
$7,309.09 |
$29,072.16 |
2006/07 |
$6,210.01 |
$12,897.06 |
$8,317.55 |
$27,424.62 |
2007/08 |
$7,149.34 |
$21,236.77 |
$9,708.78 |
$38,094.89 |
TOTAL |
$46,882.36 |
$107,135.94 |
$64,478.17 |
$218,496.47 |
The Centre for Environment and Business does not have a separate book budget but derives much of its library resources from other departments, and in particular the Department of Environment and Resource Studies.
During the past seven years, the Environment and Resource library fund has spent $218,496 on information resources. In 2007-2008, $7,149 was spent for current journals and $30,945 for books. Table 1 provides further details. In addition to the journal expenditures noted above, most electronic journals of interest to Environment and Business are purchased from the central Electronic Resource fund.
Electronic resources such as ABI/Inform and LexisNexis Academic are also purchased from the central Electronic Resources library fund. Materials acquired for other departments such as Accounting and Finance, Economics, Geography and Environmental Management, Management Sciences, Planning, and Systems Design Engineering, are also of interest to Environment and Business.
I feel that for most part, the Library provides a high level of support for Environment and Business. I am, however, concerned that there may be gaps in our business collection. Because the University does not have a business school, we have not developed a strong business collection.
More detailed information including lists of print and electronic journals purchased to support Environment and Business 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.
Reviewed by Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Services for Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
contact us | give us feedback | privacy statement | © 2011
University of Waterloo