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University of Alberta Library

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Coordinates: 53°31′33″N 113°31′26″W / 53.5259°N 113.5239°W / 53.5259; -113.5239
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University of Alberta Library
Map
53°31′33″N 113°31′26″W / 53.5259°N 113.5239°W / 53.5259; -113.5239
LocationEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
TypeAcademic library system of the University of Alberta
Branches8
Collection
Items collectedMore than 5.4 million books, 1.9 million e-books, including more than 140,000 scholarly ejournals, 806 online databases, 120,000 digitized books, 67,000 newspaper issues, and 20,000 images and maps
Size8,191,408
Access and use
Circulation461,204
Other information
DirectorDale Askey (Chief Librarian)
Websitelibrary.ualberta.ca

The University of Alberta Library is the library system of the University of Alberta.

The University of Alberta Library has 10 branches and divisions at the University of Alberta's Edmonton campuses and at University of Alberta Augustana Campus.[1]

As of September 2019, the Library's collection comprises more than 5.4 million titles and over 8 million volumes, including 140,000 scholarly ejournals, 1.92 million ebooks, 806 online databases, 120,000 digitized titles and 67,000 newspaper issues. The Library collection of 20,000 images and maps includes many records pertaining to the Canadian prairies.[2]

History

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The University of Alberta was founded in 1908, but a free-standing library branch, Rutherford Library, did not open until 1951.[3] The university's founder, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, and its first president, Henry Marshall Tory, worked with faculty members and the first librarian, Eugenie Archibald, to select the first purchases to start the University Library in 1908.[4] The record of these first 200 selections is still housed in the University Archive and includes a set of the works of Edgar Allan Poe; fourteen volumes of the works of Washington Irving; and various works by Walter Scott, Jean Froissart, Henry Fielding, Charles Lamb, George Eliot, Edward Gibbon, T. B. Macaulay, Robert Louis Stevenson, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Victor Hugo, John Richard Green, Henry Hallam, Tobias Smollett, Rudyard Kipling, and John Stuart Mill.[4] By the end of 1911, the Library had acquired more than 7,000 volumes.[4] By the end of Tory's tenure as president in 1928, the library owned 32,500 volumes.[4]

During the first few decades of the university's operations, library staff operated a small facility in the Main Teaching Building, or Arts Building, which had already become overcrowded by the 1930s.[3] In 1947, during the tenure of President Robert Newton (1941–50),[5] the university received approval from the provincial government to begin construction of a library building.[3] When construction was completed on Rutherford Library, it was the first new permanent building on campus in 30 years.[3]

Chief Librarians

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  • Eugenie Archibald (1909–1911)[6]
  • D. E. Cameron (1911–1945)[7]
  • Marjorie Sherlock (1945–1955)[7]
  • Bruce Braden Peel (1955–1982) [7]
  • Peter Freeman (1982–1989)[7]
  • Ernie Ingles (1989–2013)[8]
  • Gerald Beasley (2013–2017)[9]
  • Dale Askey (2018–)[10]

Major Branches

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Augustana

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The Augustana Campus Library provides services and resources to support undergraduate students and teaching faculty at University of Alberta Augustana Campus.[11]

Bibliothèque Saint-Jean

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Main article: Bibliothèque Saint-Jean

Bibliothèque Saint-Jean supports the teaching and research programs of the University of Alberta Campus Saint-Jean in education, arts and social sciences, languages and literature, health sciences, natural sciences and business administration.[12]

Cameron Science & Technology Library

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Cameron Science & Technology Library collections are focused on the faculties of Engineering, Science, and ALES (Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences). The library is also home to the William C. Wonders Map Collection and the Canadian Circumpolar Collection.[13]

Coutts Education and Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation Library (closed)

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Herbert T. Coutts Library provides services and resources for the faculties of Education and Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. In June 2020, the permanent closure of the Coutts library was announced due to budget cuts.[14]

A sunny sky-lit galleria between the brick walls of two buildings.
The galleria connecting Rutherford Library south (old building) and north (new addition)

Rutherford Humanities & Social Sciences Library

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Main article: Rutherford Library

The Rutherford Humanities and Social Sciences Library is the second largest research library in Canada and the biggest library at University of Alberta.[15]

Scott Health Sciences Library

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The Health Sciences Library is located within the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre. Opened in 1984, it is named after the Dean of Medicine from 1948 to 1959.[16][17] The Scott Health Sciences Library was closed on August 11, 2023 and will be replaced with the Geoffrey and Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library which is set to open in Summer 2024, located on the Lower Level and Level 1 of Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA).

Weir Law Library

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The Weir Library's research collection includes primary and secondary materials mostly from common law Anglo-American jurisdictions, although it does include some French language material from Quebec. The collection primarily contains material focused on common law, but also includes civil law material from Quebec, Scotland, and Louisiana.[18] The library's Canadian government documents collection includes parliamentary and legislative materials and administrative decisions from both the federal and provincial level.

Winspear Business Library (closed)

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The Winspear Business Library is the primary information service library for the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta. In April 2020, the Chief Librarian announced the permanent closure of the Winspear Business Library due to budget cuts; Winspear officially closed on May 1, 2020.[19] Going forward, students and faculty at the Alberta School of Business will access services and resources through the Library's other locations.

Other Library Units

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University of Alberta Archives

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Located in the new Research & Collections Resource Facility on South Campus, the Archives holds 9,000 linear metres of permanently valuable records in University of Alberta history, including institutional records and private papers from people in the university community including alumni, employees, and students, as well as other organizations related to the university.[20] The Archives are designated a Class A Movable Cultural Property by the Government of Canada.[21]

Bruce Peel Special Collections

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Main article: Bruce Peel Special Collections

Bruce Peel Special Collections contains over 100,000 rare books and additional archival materials.[22] The Collections are designated a Class A Movable Cultural Property by the Government of Canada.[21]

Digital Scholarship Centre

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The DSC is an academic centre located on the second floor of Cameron Library on the university's North Campus, which opened in September 2019.[23] 8,000 sq. feet centre is a hub for digital scholarship on campus and contains a virtual reality lab, a sound booth, 3D printing and scanning, gaming-quality computers, an Ideum touch table, a large-scale, multi-touch visualization wall, and collaboration work spaces.[23]

University of Alberta Press

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Main article: The University of Alberta Press

Founded in 1969, the University of Alberta Press is a unit of the University of Alberta Library responsible for publishing scholarly books.

A tall metal shelving unit in a warehouse sized room, filled with bins holding books and other archive materials.
Storage shelving inside the RCRF

RCRF Depository Library

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The Research & Collections Resource Facility (RCRF) facility was built to house the library's growing Depository Library and opened to the public in July 2018.[24] The facility provides storage for over 3.5 million items from the Library system that are not as often accessed by the university community.[25] The RCRF also contains the University of Alberta Archives and is the location for a new digitization centre in partnership with the Internet Archive.[26] RCRF is located near the Saville Community Sports Centre and University of Alberta Farm on South Campus.[27]

St. Joseph's College

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The library is located in and provides services and resources for St Joseph's College, Edmonton. It is located in the basement of the college's east wing. The library houses 25,000 books as well as DVDs and other printed materials. The collection features materials on Christian theology, Catholic studies, ethics, the Bible, and philosophy.[28]

Partnerships and collaboration

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The University of Alberta Library is a member of The Alberta Library,[29] the Canadian Association of Research Libraries,[30] the Association of Research Libraries,[31] and the NEOS Library Consortium.[32] The Library has a partnership with the Internet Archive, for the digitization and open access provision of material from across the university, including 22,000 master's and PhD theses,[33] highlights from the Bruce Peel Special Collections, and historic postcard and playbill collections.[34] Other Library partnerships include the Public Knowledge Project,[35] the HathiTrust,[36] and the Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "About Us – UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  2. ^ "Facts & Figures – UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  3. ^ a b c d Macleod, R. C.; McGuckin, Alexander James (2008). All true things : a history of the University of Alberta, 1908-2008. University of Alberta Libraries. Edmonton, Alta. : University of Alberta Press.
  4. ^ a b c d Johns, Walter H. (1981). A history of the University of Alberta, 1908-1969. Internet Archive. Edmonton [Alta.] : University of Alberta Press.
  5. ^ "Robert Newton | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  6. ^ Schoeck, Ellen (October 2006). I Was There: A Century of Alumni Stories about the University of Alberta, 1906–2006. University of Alberta. ISBN 978-0-88864-464-0.
  7. ^ a b c d Distad, N. Merrill (Norman Merrill), 1946- (2009). The University of Alberta Library : the first hundred years, 1908-2008. University of Alberta. Library. Edmonton: University of Alberta Libraries. pp. 81–155. ISBN 978-1-55195-245-1. OCLC 317743791.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Ernie Ingles | Faculty of Education". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  9. ^ "Announcement Regarding the Vice-Provost and Chief Librarian". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  10. ^ "Announcing the New Vice-Provost (Learning Services) and Chief Librarian". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  11. ^ "Augustana - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  12. ^ "BSJ - Bibliothèques". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  13. ^ "Cameron Library | NEOS". Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  14. ^ Lachacz, Adam (2020-06-04). "U of A closes Coutts Library; marks second library closure due to budget cuts". The Gateway. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  15. ^ "Rutherford - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  16. ^ Shores, Sandra (2004-12-01). "A glance back in time: Two decades at the John W. Scott Health Sciences Library". Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association. 25 (4): 103–105. doi:10.5596/c04-041. ISSN 1708-6892.
  17. ^ "Health Sciences - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  18. ^ "Law - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  19. ^ "Winspear Business Library closes due to reduced provincial funding". The Gateway. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  20. ^ "Archives - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  21. ^ a b Heritage, Canadian (2017-08-24). "Designated organizations - Movable Cultural Property". aem. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  22. ^ "BPSC Library". bpsc.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  23. ^ a b "Cameron Library's Digital Scholarship Centre now open". The Gateway. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  24. ^ Quad, The (2017-07-25). "Building for Growth: The New Research and Collection Resource Facility (RCRF)". Medium. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  25. ^ "New state-of-the-art U of A archival facility set to open". New state-of-the-art U of A archival facility set to open. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  26. ^ "New in the Internet Archive: UAlberta's Growing Digital Collection – news.library.ualberta.ca". Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  27. ^ "RCRF - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  28. ^ "St. Joseph's - UofA Libraries". www.library.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  29. ^ "University of Alberta Libraries member page". The Alberta Library. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  30. ^ "About CARL > Members". Canadian Association of Research Libraries. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  31. ^ "List of ARL Members". Association of Research Libraries. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  32. ^ "NEOS Member Libraries | NEOS". Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  33. ^ Price, Gary (26 March 2019). "Report: University of Alberta Libraries is Digitizing More Than 14,000 Master's and PhD Thesis (in Partnership with Internet Archive)". LJ infoDOCKET. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  34. ^ "New in the Internet Archive: UAlberta's Growing Digital Collection – news.library.ualberta.ca". 27 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  35. ^ "Development Partners | Public Knowledge Project". Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  36. ^ "Member Community | www.hathitrust.org | HathiTrust Digital Library". www.hathitrust.org. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  37. ^ "Participating institutions | Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library". www.lhcadl.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
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