| TO: | Deans Council Dennis Huber (Please share and distribute this information where appropriate within your faculties and departments.) |
| FROM: | Mark Haslett University Librarian |
| CC: | Library Managers Liaison librarians |
| DATE: | January 22, 2007 |
| SUBJECT: | Preservation of Last Copy Agreement |
I am pleased to let you know about an agreement among the TriUniversity Group of Libraries (TUG, a consortium of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier and Waterloo) to preserve access to an extensive collection of material, in spite of growing pressure for space to house such material.
As the University of Waterloo grew, so did its library collection. Space available on campus for the collection did not, however, increase proportionately and as far back as 1976 we began to house lesser used items in a building owned by the University on Phillip Street. When we needed to vacate that space in 1996, we entered into an agreement with the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University to purchase a building to house low-use material from all three universities. We transferred our Phillip Street collection to the new building, known as the Annex and located in Guelph, and we routinely send lower used items to this building to create space in the campus libraries for new material.
Despite the significant shift from print to electronic journals, the print collection continues to grow. As we make space for this growing collection by transferring more and more material to the Annex, we are quickly running out of space in the Annex. To make the most effective use of space in the Annex, we have entered into a Preservation of Last Copy Agreement with Guelph and Laurier that includes three basic changes to current practice:
These changes in practice mean that the Annex will now be used to house only the last copy of an item owned by any of the TUG libraries. To enable access to material in the Annex, we will continue the current practice of lending to anyone registered with any of the TUG libraries. In addition, material may be consulted at the Annex or any of the campus libraries by any researcher. Material will also be available for interlibrary loan, document delivery and reserves.
While we are acquiring an ever increasing number of electronic information resources, print collections remain important, will continue to grow, and will continue to require space. In addition, demand on the Library as a place for students to work and study continues to grow with the result that the Library is facing serious challenges related to space. Through the Preservation of Last Copy Agreement we will gain a modest amount of space for collections as we continue to investigate other and more significant solutions.
If you are interested in the text of the Agreement you will find a copy at https://lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/irmc/
last_copy_agreement_sept06.html. If you would like further information, please contact Susan Routliffe, Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Services (sroutlif@uwaterloo.ca; ext. 3-3312).