Library System and Collections

• The Library system consists of the Murray Library (where centralized technical processes are carried out) and 6 other branches. There are approximately 1,500 study stations in the Murray Library and 1,250 in the other branches.
• The 2010/2011 acquisitions budget is $8.689 million divided approximately 20% for monographs and 77% for serials and serial-like publications including standing orders and subscriptions to on-site electronic database reference services. Our budget for Acquisitions is supplemented by a budget of $175,000 for Binding and Preservation (2.0% of Acquisitions Budget and digitization). Interlibrary Loans and document delivery are budgeted for Library incurred costs of $100,000 as services in lieu of collections which we cannot afford to maintain on site (1.2% of Acquisitions budget).
• The collection consists of 2.046 million printed volumes; in addition the Library holds almost 3.087 million items in microform and 449,171 government documents and pamphlets. In 2009/2010 our total collection grew by 27,084 items or 0.1%. Our current serial subscriptions (including print, microform and electronic format) are 47,055 (about 33,580 paid subscriptions).
• Library staff positions number 143, which includes 37 positions for professional librarians.

Public Services

• Library exit gate counters recorded 1,977,184 people between May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
• In 2009/2010 the Library circulated 527,818 items. This figure includes regular Circulation, Reserve, and In Library use.
• In 2009/2010 the Library's staff answered 16,468 reference questions and conducted 74 orientation sessions for 1,036 students and 318 bibliographic instruction sessions for 5,486 students.
• The Library responded to 450 requests from Off-Campus users, circulating 820 books from the campus collections and supplying 2,175 photocopied pages.
• The Library loaned 15,045 items to other institutions on interlibrary loan and borrowed some 18,735 items from other libraries and institutions.

Information Technology

• Electronic Information Resources
  The Library's alphabetic list of database titles now includes over 635 entries, including indexes & abstract databases, electronic journal and book collections, multimedia audiovisual, digitized facsimile collections, data, and more

  The Library belongs to a number of consortia for the purpose of acquiring electronic resources: the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), Consortia Canada (CC), the Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL), the Saskatchewan Multitype Licensing Program (MDLP) and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC). The University Library is a member of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) with access, through interlibrary loan (ILL) to CRL’s collection of over 4 million publications, archives, and collections covering the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

• Electronic Journals Database
  The Electronic Journals Database includes over 35,000 journals to which the Library has online access to full text content, either directly by way of a paid or free subscription to an e-journal or e-journal collection, or indirectly through an article aggregator database.   Access to online journals is provided through an OpenURL linking system called SFX.

• Wireless and Docking Station access
  Wireless and ethernet docking station access was introduced in several Library locations in 2002 for use by students wishing to use their own laptop computers to access the Internet and the campus network.  Wireless networks now exist in all of the University libraries in areas displaying signs with a stylized  "W" .There are a total of 53 laptop docking stations; 5 docking stations in the Murray Library Learning Commons, 34 in the Natural Sciences Library, 4 in the Education Library, 9 in the Health Sciences Library, and 1 in the Veterinary Medicine Library.
• Learning Commons
  The Learning Commons continues to expand services in a number of ways. The 20 original LC stations in the Murray Library have been increased significantly bringing the total number of LC workstations across the campus branch libraries to 141, which have been distributed as follows:

Education Library 16 Engineering Library 11 Health Sciences Library 16 (4 iMacs) Murray Library 74 (5 iMacs) Natural Sciences Library 15 (2 iMacs) Veterinary Medicine Library 4 (1 iMac)

• Circulating Laptops & Tablets
  As part of the Learning Commons desktops, there are a number of circulating laptops and tablets that are readily made available to patrons wishing to use.

  Ciculating laptops   Education Library 7 Engineering Library 2 Health Sciences Library 5 Law Library 10 Murray Library 14 Natural Sciences Library 2 Veterinary Medicine Library 3 Circulating Tablets   Murray Library 5 Health Sciences Library 2

  *Learning Commons software suite includes MS Office 2007, SPSS 18, Endnote 8, Firefox, and Creative Suite 2.

• Public Printer Access
  In 2003, the Library joined the campus wide account based printing system called CPAS. As part of the Learning Commons, public printer access is made available where students can purchase printing pages at any of the Library circulation desks. Printers that are currently available to the Library branches include the Murray Library which has 3 black & white printers and 1 colour printer, the Health Sciences Library = 1 black & white printer and 1 color printer, while the Education, Engineering, Natural Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and Law Libraries each have 1 black & white printer.

There are computer information and support Help Desks in the Murray Library Learning Commons and the Health Sciences Library run by staff of the UofS ITS Division. The IT Help Desk provides assistance with obtaining and resetting passwords, accessing network file space, help with LC software applications, wireless and docking station support, printer troubleshooting, etc.