UBC Library users now have access to over 80 new resources funded by the UBC President’s Academic Excellence Initiative

A collage of various book covers, overlaid with blue.

UBC faculty, staff and students now have access to an extensive list of new digital archives, databases, ebooks, print resources and more through UBC Library, thanks to funding provided by the UBC President’s Academic Excellence Initiative (PAEI).

The PAEI was established to increase the complement of UBC’s research faculty and fund much needed academic support and infrastructure investments, including essential new library resources. In November 2022, UBC Library was granted $580k divided between both campuses, to add more than 80 new library resources to UBC Library’s collections as part of the PAEI’s 2022/23 budget.

Making a list and checking it twice

“This was an exciting opportunity to subscribe to a number of new resources that had been requested by faculty and students,” says Kristina McDavid, a librarian who works with the undergraduate medical program at UBC Vancouver.

Many of the acquisitions funded by the 2022/23 PAEI disbursement had been on library branch desiderata lists—lists of collection requests made by UBC faculty, staff and students—for years. But due to rising renewal costs and other budgetary pressures, the library had not been able to add these items to its collections until now.

McDavid says that in some cases, the PAEI funding made it possible to purchase ongoing access to e-resources that the library had previously been paying for with one-time funds, year after year. “This added level of [funding] stability is especially valuable for resources that are part of the curriculum in a program of study.”

In other cases, electronic versions of print resources were acquired by the library in order to expand online access. “Two of the new health sciences resources we subscribed to are built around key texts that are not otherwise available electronically,” says McDavid. “In the past, our only option for providing access [to library users] was print. As several of our health sciences programs are distributed throughout BC, it is essential to be able to offer learners robust and varied online collections, so they can access the information and tools they need from any location.”

Branches also worked together to purchase resources that would benefit library users at multiple branches, like the NAACP Papers digitized collection, which was purchased jointly by UBC Law Library and Koerner Library.

“We sought cost-sharing partnerships with other branches to purchase resources of mutual interest and to expand the impact of our PAEI purchases… Many of the PAEI choices will benefit users from across the entire library,” says Susan Paterson, Government Publications Librarian at Koerner Library. “As we couldn’t purchase everything on the desiderata list, selections were made thoughtfully and with the cooperation and involvement of the librarians.”

“[At UBC Okanagan Library], selections were made that would benefit different user groups across both UBC campuses,” says Arielle Lomness, Interim Associate Chief Librarian, Research and Collections at UBCO Library. “As with any amount of new funds, prioritization of needs is always difficult. We selected these as a means of meeting the timeliest needs of our users.”

Behind the scenes

“It was a huge project for us,” says Ellen George, Collections Services Librarian at UBC Library. “There was a really big team that worked on this for three to four months.”

Purchasing library materials—whether print or electronic resources—is a time-consuming process. “It’s not as straightforward as writing to the vendor and asking what it will cost,” says George, who notes that you also need to factor in licensing considerations, price negotiation, and library user access.

“Our main authentication tool is called OpenAthens. Essentially it does communication in the back end between UBC, Open Athens and the publisher,” says Ryan Regier, Collections Services Librarian at UBC Library, and previously the eResource & Access Library Specialist during this project.

OpenAthens, an identity-based authentication system, was implemented at UBC Library in 2021, to provide access to the Library’s licensed online resources using single sign-on (SSO) technology integrated with campus-wide login (CWL), both on and off-campus. 

With existing UBC Library vendors, the authentication process for new resources is easy—it’s a little like flipping a switch to turn on library user access. “The challenge is that a lot of smaller publishers don’t have the ability, or the people, to get set up on OpenAthens,” says Regier, who worked with those publishers to find alternative methods and set up access.

“There’s a lot of things that happen behind the scenes to make those resources available to the [UBC community],” adds George.

Get in touch with your subject librarian to learn more about all the new materials now available at UBC Library.

New PAEI resources at the Library

Journals

Ebooks and Ebook Packages

Databases

Print Resources

Other

This project is part of UBC Library’s strategic direction to create and deliver responsive collections.

Learn more about our Strategic Framework.

IEEE site maintence outage on Saturday, March 16th

On Saturday, 16 March, IEEE Xplore will undergo scheduled maintenance from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET (1:00 – 6:00 PM UTC). Due to the nature of the upgrade, the platform will be unavailable for the entire duration of this timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Applications open for UBC Library’s EDI Scholars-in-Residence Program 2024/2025

Applications are now open to join the 2024/2025 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Scholars-in-Residence Program, an initiative by UBC Library and the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

The EDI Scholars-in-Residence Program is open to individuals who hold degrees in any discipline and have an established record of research or activities related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Residency at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre     allows Scholars to participate in collaborative and interdisciplinary public programming with a clear impact on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Residency takes place over two academic terms and includes full access to the scholarly resources of UBC Library, space in the Peña Room and an honorarium. Scholars selected for the program will offer a minimum of one public lecture during their time on campus, and will be available for one-o           n-one consultations with UBC faculty, staff, and students. Public lectures presented through the EDI Scholar-in-Residence program take place in the Antonio and Marissa Peña Learning and Events Room in IKBLC, with support from the Peña Fund.

Scholars may be nominated or apply directly by completing an online application. The deadline to apply is May 31, 2024 (12 p.m. PT).

For more information on program eligibility and benefits, please visit the program website.

 

Apply now

 


This project is part of UBC Library’s strategic direction to engage with communities.

Learn more about our Strategic Framework.

Access Services Librarian, Koerner Library | Vancouver Campus | Full Time, Confirmed-Track Librarian

Access Services Librarian
Koerner Library, UBC Library | Vancouver Campus
Full-time, Confirmation-track Librarian
Anticipated Start Date: July 1, 2024

UBC LIBRARY
As one of the world’s leading universities, the University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.

We honour, celebrate and thank the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) and Syilx Okanagan peoples on whose territories the main campuses of the University of British Columbia have the privilege to be situated.

The University of British Columbia Library is one of the largest academic libraries in Canada and consistently ranks among the top university research libraries in North America. UBC Library has 14 branches and divisions across two campuses (Vancouver and Kelowna), including an off-site hospital library; a multi-purpose teaching and learning facility, the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre; and the Xwi7xwa Library, a centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship. Over 300 knowledgeable employees – librarians, management and professional staff, support staff and student staff – provide users with the excellent resources and services that they need to further their research, teaching and learning.

The UBC Library is committed to being a respectful, healthy environment that encourages leadership, collegiality, diversity, individual growth and opportunity. Explore our aspirational values that we strive to uphold and actively incorporate into all aspects of our organization. We are committed to eliminating institutional and structural systems of oppression and power (such as colonialism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, and white supremacy).

Learn more about the UBC Library Strategic Framework and about working with us.

 

WALTER C. KOERNER LIBRARY
The Walter C. Koerner Library comprises three units: Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS), the Research Commons and Borrower Services. HSS is home to the humanities and social sciences at UBC Library, offering a wealth of collections and services to support research, teaching, and learning in these subjects. The Research Commons provides support for researchers across campus in the areas of data visualization and analysis, GIS / geospatial data, digital scholarship, research data management and citation management. Borrower Services is responsible for Koerner Library’s facilities, collections maintenance and circulation functions and provides Library-wide support for circulation, overdues, patron account management, course reserves and identity and access management. Koerner Library houses other Library units, including the Scholarly Communications and Copyright Office, parts of Digital Programs & Services and Library IT, as well as University leadership.

Koerner Library provides a welcoming learning and research-driven environment for students, faculty and community members. Our service model is user-focused and includes offering one-to-one assistance and classroom instruction for our users. Koerner Library is named in honour of Walter C.

Koerner, recognizing his lifetime commitment to and support of the University and the Library and his substantial gift toward the construction of Koerner Library.

POSITION OVERVIEW:
This position provides leadership to ensure effective and consistent operations regarding circulation, physical course reserves, patron account management, overdues, physical collections maintenance, and identity and access management. As the Library expert in Identity and Access Management (IAM), this position is a key stakeholder in the implementation and maintenance of a new library management platform (LMP), and also oversees Library IAM policies, procedures and workflows including technology integrations where applicable.

Provides high level guidance across the Library system to course reserves staff through a Course Reserves Team, comprised of circulation, course reserves and permissions staff including the Access Services Team at UBC Okanagan. Leads staff who deliver Accounts Management services. The position applies knowledge of Library applications to these functions and works with other University departments, staff at other institutions, and systems vendors as needed. Prepares documentation, participates in interface design and acts as a resource person for Library and external staff.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:
Works under the direction of the Head, Koerner Library. Supervises Manager, Koerner Library, works closely with Manager Woodward Library and Manager, Music, Art and Architecture Library, Library Services Manager, UBCO as well as circulation, overdues, course reserves and permissions representatives from branches and units. Works closely with the Library Cards and Office Assistant. Liaises closely with the Technology, Discovery, and User Experience (TDUX) unit, UBC IT Library . Establishes and maintains relationships with UBC Identity & Access Management. Works in coordination with Collections Services colleagues on license compliance issues that intersect with access to resources and materials; and with TDUX, providing expertise on technology integration with Identity and Access Management. Works with other University staff, external agencies and/or vendors on projects.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

  • Masters-level degree from an accredited program of library or information science, or equivalent internationally accredited program
  • Demonstrated experience with circulation practices, policies and procedures in an academic or public library.
  • Demonstrated experience with a library management platform, especially with circulation functions.
  • Supervisory experience, preferably in a unionized environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to consult with others, incorporate learned knowledge, and make independent decisions.
  • Demonstrated ability to act effectively as a resource person and to maintain excellent working relationships.
  • Demonstrated ability to initiate, plan and carry out projects, both independently and as a member of a team.
  • Experience building productive relationships and working collegially with a diverse population of colleagues and/or users in keeping with the UBC Respectful Environment Statement.
  • Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
  • Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
  • Evidence of strong professional communication skills, including: written and verbal, in-person and digital, active listening, responding to constructive feedback.

Preferred

  • Experience or knowledge related to incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into overall professional practice.
  • Demonstrated experience with developing and leading new services or units.
  • Demonstrated ability to be flexible and willingness to assume a variety of assignments.
  • Demonstrated ability to recognize, respect, and work effectively with individuals and groups with diverse perspectives and backgrounds; takes initiative in learning about language and issues relating to equity and diversity.
  • Familiarity with identity and access management.
  • Familiarity with course reserves.
  • Familiarity with library analytics platforms, such as LibInsight.
  • Familiarity with data analysis and reporting tools, such as Tableau.

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT AND SALARY:
This is a full-time confirmation-track appointment with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2024. The successful candidate will hold an initial three-year appointment, normally followed by an ongoing confirmed appointment. In most cases confirmation-track appointments are reviewed following the second year of appointment, and a recommendation is made at that time to grant or not to grant an ongoing confirmed appointment.

The successful candidate will be a member of The University of British Columbia Faculty Association and the terms and conditions of appointment are governed by the Collective Agreement between UBC and the UBC Faculty Association (http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/collective-agreements/).

Eligibility: We are only considering applications from librarians with a maximum of 5 years of professional library experience. However, all internal candidates will be considered regardless of years of experience and are encouraged to apply.

Salary: Starting salary is $81,510 to $102,000 per annum. Actual salary offered will be commensurate with experience and academic/professional qualifications, as well as internal parity. UBC also offers a comprehensive benefits package. Information about salary increases can be found in the Collective Agreement: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/collective-agreements/

Benefits: Librarians and their dependents are eligible for an extensive benefits package including extended health care coverage, dental coverage, Employee and Family Assistance Program, life insurance, pension and travel benefits. To support families, UBC provides a top-up for eligible employees on maternity or parental leave. Tuition assistance is also available for qualifying employees and dependent children. In addition, librarians/archivists are eligible for professional development funding to support career growth at the university, as well as study leave. Details are available in the Collective Agreement, and for more information see UBC Human Resources: https://hr.ubc.ca/benefits/eligibility-enrolment/employee-groups. Additional information about relocation to UBC Vancouver can be found: https://hr.ubc.ca/working-ubc/housing-and-relocation-services.

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

APPLICATION PROCESS:
Applications will include: a detailed and current curriculum vitae; and a letter of application that includes a statement of citizenship/immigration status and indicates the candidate’s education, training and work experience in the areas listed above, as well as how did you hear about this opportunity. One consolidated PDF is preferred.

Please visit the UBC careers website to view the full position description and on how to apply. The application deadline will be at 11:59pm on April 11th 2024.

Collection Spotlight: Le mois de la francophonie: mars 2024

The term “Mois de la Francophonie” translates roughly to “French-speaking/Francophone Month” in English. It was established to promote the French language and cultural diversity among Francophone communities globally. The celebration typically takes place in March each year and involves various events, including cultural festivals, language workshops, and educational activities, aimed at fostering dialogue and understanding among Francophone peoples. The idea behind Mois de la Francophonie is to highlight the importance of French as an international language and to celebrate the cultural richness it brings to societies around the world.

UBC Education Library is showcasing new French books in this month’s Collection Spotlight. From colorful children’s stories to gripping novels to non-fiction, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Lost access to Diao Long Database of Chinese and Japanese Ancient Books

We have lost access to the Diao Long Database of Chinese and Japanese Ancient Books https://resources.library.ubc.ca/page.php?details=diao-long-database-of-chinese-and-japanese-ancient-books—&id=2670

We are working with the provider to get this issue resolved.

Wayne McCrory wins the 2024 Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for his masterful story about his journey in the country of the Tŝilhqot’in people of the Xeni/Tŝilhqot’.

 

Wayne McCrory has won the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia for his book The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future. The $3,500 prize, given by UBC Library and the Pacific BookWorld News Society, will be awarded at a reception to be held in May.

Published by Harbour Publishing, McCrory’s book is a richly illustrated story about his intellectual and emotional journey in the country of the Tŝilhqot’in people of the Xeni/Tŝilhqot’ in the Brittany Triangle section of the Chilcotin Plateau of southern British Columbia. Through his engagement in Tŝilhqot’in oral histories and legends, and his ongoing field research, McCrory came to appreciate the central place the local wild horses, known as ‘cayuse’ or ‘qiyus’, occupied in the lives and cultural traditions of the Tŝilhqot’in.

“Having grown up in a mining town in the West Kootenays, since I was a teenager I always took the time to interview old-timers including trappers, miners, and prospectors for their bush stories, which I recorded in notebooks. Out of this grew an infectious love of history and nature. After I graduated from UBC in Honours Zoology and learned to write polished scientific reports and papers for my wildlife research, I still felt frustrated with a desire to write more popular narratives and even tried writing fiction for a while—but gave up as I felt stuck in a rut of being a polished technical writer,” says McCrory. “I never imaged when I first went up to the West Chilcotin in 2001, much later in my career, to study grizzly bears that I would become so intrigued by the beauty, ecology, behaviour, origins and bloodlines of the wild horses, as well as the rich Tsilhqot’in relationship to the horse, that two decades later I would publish a popular award-wining book on the wild horses.”

“McCrory’s book combines masterful storytelling with in-depth biological research into the wild horse culture of the Tŝilhqot’in people,” says Dr. Susan E. Parker, UBC’s University Librarian. “We are pleased to award Wayne McCrory with the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize.” 

McCrory is a registered professional biologist specializing in the study of wild horses, bears and western toads. He has published more than ninety scientific reports on wildlife and conservation, including two technical reports on wild horses in BC and Alberta and, with horse genetics expert Dr. Gus Cothran, two reports on the genetics of wild horses in the Chilcotin. McCrory lives on a small farm in Hills, BC, with his wife, conservationist and journalist Lorna Visser.

This book is available to read through UBC Library.

Shortlisted titles for the prize are:

Sheltering in the Backrush, Jeanette Taylor. (Harbour Publishing).

The Notorious Georges, Jonathan Strainger. (UBC Press).

About the Prize

The Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Book on British Columbia, sponsored by UBC Library and the Pacific BookWorld News Society, recognizes the best scholarly book published by a Canadian author on a B.C. subject. The book prize was established in memory of Basil Stuart-Stubbs, a bibliophile, scholar and librarian who passed away in 2012. Stuart-Stubbs’s many accomplishments included serving as the University Librarian at UBC Library and as the Director of UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. Stuart-Stubbs had a leadership role in many national and regional library and publishing activities. During his exceptional career, he took particular interest in the production and distribution of Canadian books and was associated with several initiatives beneficial to authors and their readers, and to Canadian publishing.

Donations to support the Prize are gratefully accepted through The Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book on British Columbia Endowment.

Koerner Library to replace carpet on Level 3 starting March 14

Koerner Library will be undergoing space improvements to install new carpet to an area on Level 3 from Thursday, March 14, 2024, through Friday, April 5, 2024.

The reserve room behind the Circulation Desk will be closed to the public, and there may be significant noise disruptions on Level 3 during this time. The reserve collection can continue to be accessed by visiting the Circulation Desk. Library users are encouraged to use the study spaces on Levels 1, 2, 4, and 5 of Koerner Library. This project is funded by UBC Central Building Operations.

Koerner Library is expected to be fully accessible on Saturday, April 6, 2024.

Please refer to the Library Hours and Locations to find additional study spaces across campus.

CPS ( RxTx) Access Issues

Some users are seeing access issues with CPS. http://resources.library.ubc.ca/page.php?id=674

The CPS website is having technical issues blocking access for some users.

New Books at the Law Library – 24/03/05

LAW LIBRARY level 3: K487.T4 A76 2023 Imran Ahmad & Shreya Gupta, Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2023). LAW LIBRARY level 3: K3240 .I5789 2022 Daniel Moeckli, et al. eds., International Human Rights Law, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022). LAW LIBRARY level 3: K3240 .K35 2019 Walter Kälin & Jörg […]