enhancing student success advancing research equalizing ... · latest trends, but enhancing the...

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library.wlu.ca LIBRARY Annual Report, 2013-14 WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY Waterloo | Brantford | Kitchener | Toronto BUILDING THE 21 ST CENTURY Enhancing student success Advancing research Equalizing services Building community Developing our team

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Page 1: Enhancing student success Advancing research Equalizing ... · latest trends, but enhancing the student experience, advancing research and scholarly communication, equalizing library

library.wlu.ca

LIBRARY

Annual Report, 2013-14

WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITYWaterloo | Brantford | Kitchener | Toronto

BUILDING THE 21ST CENTURY

Enhancing student successAdvancing researchEqualizing servicesBuilding communityDeveloping our team

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For much of the 20th century, the role of academic libraries was relatively static, clear and secure, but in recent years, that role has been evolving, as digital technology has

transformed research and as rising student numbers have placed a premium on study and research spaces.

In the 2013-14 academic year, we continued to adapt the Laurier Library to the needs of our users in the 21st century, by building and opening a new, universally accessible front entrance, completing a master space plan to guide the trans-formation of the Waterloo campus Library building, and launching a bold new strategic plan designed to see our operations through the year 2020. (For a copy of the completed plan, visit library.wlu.ca/strategicplan.)

As detailed in the strategic plan, our efforts are not about keeping up with the latest trends, but enhancing the student experience, advancing research and scholarly communication, equalizing library services across campuses, engag-ing with our communities, and developing our staff and the functioning of our organization.

Our successes in the 2013-14 academic year laid the groundwork for our efforts to excel in each of these areas, but of course there is much still to do, as we work to make the vision of a 21st century library at Laurier a reality.

I am enormously grateful to everyone who has contributed to this success – whether you’re a staff or faculty member, student, donor or member of our broader commu-nity Thank you so, so much, and I look forward to continuing our work together in the months and years ahead.

Sincerely,

Gohar Ashoughian, University Librarian

University librarian’s message

[blouw podium photo?]

“So much of our learning is collabora-tive now. I am thrilled by the prospect of a Library that helps Laurier students to interact and engage.”

–Deborah MacLatchyVice-President: Academic, Wilfrid Lau-rier University

Pictured: MacLatchy addresses the crowd at the Library’s seasonal celebration in December, 2013.

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“Whether it’s hosting one of my classes in the Archives, tracking down an un-usual source for a graduate student, or ensuring that we have a copy of a key monograph, Laurier’s librarians provide essential support for my teaching and research.”

–Adam CrerarAssociate Professor, Department of History

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October: The Laurier Archives adds a wide range of convocation materials spanning 1921 to 2013 to its Digital Collection, now avail-able at http://images.ourontario.ca/Laurier/search.

October 22: The Library celebrates Open Access Week

with a lively public panel discussion of the challenges and possibilities associated

with the nascent Open Access publishing model.

December: VP Academic Debo-rah MacLatchy speaks at our seasonal celebration of recent achievements: a new website, over 700 new user power outlets, a first floor renovation to increase student seating and much more.

November: the Library introduces a crack team of student Library assis-tants, armed with seven-inch Android tablets, to help our users wherever they need it.

October 11: The Honourable J. Michael Miltenberger, Minister of Envi-ronment and Natural Resources of the Northwest Territories (at left), tours the Archives’ collection on Canada’s north with university officials.

IT WAS ANOTHER BUSY YEAR FOR OUR COLLECTIONS, STUDENT SPACES, AND MORE. HERE ARE A FEW HIGHLIGHTS.

September: The Library’s new website officially goes live.

Library celebrates a fruitful 2013

Annual report library.wlu.ca

Fall 2013 >HIGHLIGHT

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January 10: Students from the WLU Songwrit-ers’ Circle rock out at our first Music in the Library concert of the new year.

March 8: Our friends from Laurier’s Aboriginal community host a Liv-ing Library event at the Waterloo campus Library, featuring rich, informal conversations with Ab-original “Living Books.”

February-March: Scholars Com-mons, Laurier’s online collection of publications and documents created by members of the Laurier community, sees over 4,000 visitors in a one-month study period. The service is catching on!

“The Library was my quiet corner where I learned how leaders had the courage to overcome fear and failure and where I dreamed to do the same.”

–Natalka Falcomer, BA (2007)Lawyer, host of Toronto Speaks: Legal Advice on Rogers Toronto, award-winning author of The Accommodating Kitchen

Winter: Our master space planning process ramps up with a series of town halls, focus groups and consultations to get at the heart of what the Laurier community needs for the Waterloo campus Library building. Working with architects Cannon Design – known for their major library projects at the Univer-sity of Guelph, UC Berkeley, and many others – our goal is to come up with a plan that truly meets the needs of our users in the 21st century.

HIGHLIGHT

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Winter 2014> >January 29: The grand opening of our new Digital Library and Learning Commons in Brantford, complete with student study spaces, a service desk, computers and onsite librarians. A step in the right direction as we move towards a full-service library on the Brantford campus.

Digital Library and Learning Commons opens

HIGHLIGHT

Laurier community gets behind master space planning process

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“It’s full of books from its roof to its floor, on topics like King Arthur and the great world war. But that’s not it and it’s certainly not all, there are places to study and culture between these walls. So grab your bag, tie your shoes, and head to the library for more than a snooze.”

–Robert BrucePresident, WLU Graduate Students Association

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June: Jessica DeWitt, the inaugural recipient of the Joan Mitchell Travel Award, visits Laurier from USask for some deep research on Canada’s parks in our internationally nationally lauded environmen-tal collection.

August: The Library’s new master space plan, which provides a road map for the expansion and modernization of our Waterloo campus building, is released. The plan calls for a phased approach to modernizing the build-ing and adding new study and collaboration spaces. This is the road map to our end goal of creating a true 21st century library experi-ence for our users.

June: Over 1,000 middle-school students are exposed to the histori-cal wonderments of the Archives as part of Laurier’s annual JUMP program of campus visits. “It makes me feel lucky to be living now!” said one young student.

May: The Library team, working collectively, completes and releases its new strategic plan, with goals and focus ar-eas to take us through 2020.

August 30: The Library completes a major renova-tion to the front entrance of the building. The new entrance is designed to be inviting, green and highly accessible. Additional up-grades include a brand new fire safety system for the entire building.

Master space plan completed

HIGHLIGHT

Spring 2014>

HIGHLIGHT

Strategic plan completed

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Annual report library.wlu.ca

Audrey and Donald Campbell FoundationIn March of 2014, the Library received a $25,000 donation from the Audrey and Donald Campbell Foundation.

This generous donation has been directed to a new outdoor sunken garden with seasonal study spaces, a part of the Waterloo campus Library renovation plan.

Known for its commitment to supporting projects dedicated to learning and fostering community, the foundation has supported initiatives in the area of health and education across the country.

EXCEPTIONAL DONORS Fall 2013–Summer 2014

Erich Schultz Collections Endowment FundAs Laurier’s first librarian, Erich Schultz spent more than 30 years developing our university’s collections.

After Mr. Schultz’s passing in 2010, he left a bequest to Laurier in excess of $800,000 to support the Library as well as student awards.

In 2014-15, the Library received over $90,000 from this fund.

By the numbers

612,000in-person visits

190,000items downloaded from institutional repository

577,000website visits

60,000physical items checked out

LIBRARY FACTS AND FIGURES

SpacesLocations: Waterloo, Faculty of Social Work, Brantford CampusSeating capacity (Waterloo campus): 1,000Group study rooms: 8 open-access group study roomsIndividual study rooms: 14Number of public-use computers (Waterloo campus): 90

CollectionNumber of databases/electronic resources: 400Number of printed volumes in Laurier collection: 1 millionPrint journals: 2,700Electronic journals currently received: 37,000Ebooks: 250,000

120,000Primo catalogue searches

12,000research questions answered

2,800librarian office consultations

4,200students taught in our fall 2013 instruction sessions

2013-14 MILESTONES

Library Fundraising Quick Facts: Number of Library donors in 2013-14: 89Total raised for the Library: $92,000

A warm thank you to our generous donors!

In the 2006-7 academic year, the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association pledged a donation of $200,000 towards the Library Information Commons on the main floor of the Waterloo campus Library.

This generous donation, given in instal-ments from 2008 to 2014, contributed to student space, digital technology, and service areas supporting Laurier students.

Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association