Library Development Office Priority Projects for 2009
- Woodward Library Fund: Designing for the Future
- UBC Digitization Project: Past, Present and Beyond
- The Asian Library: Celebrating Diversity
- Laptop Lending Program
- Teaching & Learning Labs
- Campus Art Initiative
- Naming Opportunities
- Endowments and Funds
Woodward Library Fund: Designing for the Future
The UBC Biomedical Collection, housed in the Woodward Library, was founded in 1915 following a surprise gift of Bidloo’s Anatomy published in 1698. Today, the Library holds more than 575,000 volumes and is the social and intellectual centre for students, faculty and staff in the Life Sciences.
Woodward Library is the flagship of the four Life Sciences Libraries and serves a broad community of users. While collections and services at Woodward Library continue to be first-class, significant support is needed to transform its infrastructure for the 21st century.
Woodward Library Fund: Designing for the Future needs short-term support to:
- Create more user-centered spaces – Current space will be renovated to include a Learning Lab and provide a comfortable working environment through better use of furniture, lighting and signage.
- Repurpose current space to better align with the programming needs of the Woodward Library community – Specific areas in Woodward Library will be reconfigured and modernized to allow for a wider variety of classes, workshops and lectures.
- Refurbishing Woodward’s Special Collections – The beautiful Charles Woodward Memorial Room requires updates to display cases, furnishings, and lighting to improve preservation conditions and provide better security for this valuable collection.
Several naming opportunities are available at Woodward Library, allowing the chance for an individual or organization’s generous support to be acknowledged permanently by future generations of Library users.
To donate directly to the Woodward Library Fund: Designing for the Future and maintain a tradition of innovation in Life Sciences, please download a donation form [PDF] or contact the Library Development Office at [library.development@ubc.ca]
For more information on Woodward Library, visit www.library.ubc.ca/woodward/
UBC Digitization Project: Past, Present and Beyond
UBC Library no longer exists as a solely physical space. Today’s technology provides opportunities for libraries to thrive in a digital environment. The increasing digitization of library materials around the world offers unparalleled access to collections previously unavailable to the public.
UBC Library aims to share our rich, complex and fascinating history with the rest of the world by showcasing materials from special collections. Unfortunately, much of this material is available only in paper formats, which significantly limits access and awareness of these rich collections. This project aims to begin the large-scale digitization of documents, newspapers, photographs, maps and ephemera relating to the history of our University and province.
The UBC Digitization Project: Past, Present and Beyond needs support to:
- Begin digitization work on important periods in British Columbia and UBC history including newspapers, rare or unique items, and audio-visual materials.
- Create and include innovative digitization features, similar to the award-winning Turn the Pages software used by the British Library.
- Start the development of a UBC Digital Library Centre, which will serve as UBC Library’s online introduction to its collections.
To donate to the UBC Digitization Project: Past, Present and Beyond, download a donation form [PDF] or contact the Library Development Office at [library.development@ubc.ca]
For more information on UBC digitization projects, visit Digital Collections and Services at http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca
The Asian Library: Celebrating Diversity
Vancouver and British Columbia are part of the Pacific Rim and home to a vibrant Asian-Canadian community. UBC’s Asian Library aims to reflect this diversity by offering the largest collection of Asian-language materials in Canada. Research materials are available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian and South Asian languages (Hindi, Sanskrit and Tamil).
The Asian Library supports the students, researchers and faculty of UBC’s Asian Studies Department, one of the most comprehensive and respected Asian studies programs in North America. Community users and researchers from institutions across North America make heavy use of this one-of-a-kind collection of nearly 550,000 volumes.
To continue serving as a world-class resource for Asian studies scholars, The Asian Library: Celebrating Diversity project needs short-term support to:
• Begin renovations of the Asian Library to better serve users – This will include the purchase of new computer equipment, a reorganization of current space, and better promotion of the Library and its wealth of resources.
• Provide better cataloguing, storage and access to the Asian Library’s rare and special collections – Past projects include the successful digitization of rare Japanese Tokugawa-era maps and Chinese historical materials.
• Start work on a Library-wide review – This will identify duplicates and books with little educational value to free up valuable space for new material.
• Provide funds for binding –7,500 volumes await binding at the Asian Library.
To donate to the Asian Library: Celebrating Diversity and contribute to Asian Studies research, download a donation form [PDF] or contact the Library Development Office at [library.development@ubc.ca].
For a history of the Asian Library, or for more information on the Asian Library, visit their website.
Laptop Lending Program
Today’s student lives, learns and interacts in a digital world. Professors routinely post course content online through WebCT; marks, registration and financial information are only available through the online Student Services Centre; and students communicate about assignments and group projects via e-mail. Doubtless, UBC students need regular computer access.
Although UBC Library provides desktop computer access across campus, portable computers are needed so students may study in more areas, participate in group work outside the Library and take notes in class. Laptops allow students to access information when they need it and where they need it.
A pilot laptop-lending program has proven highly successful, with more than 11,000 loans in 2008. Laptops are available at Koerner Library, Woodward Library, the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, David Lam Library, Robson Square Library and UBC Okanagan Library. UBC Library is dedicated to expanding this program and providing laptops to all UBC branch libraries.
In order to expand the popular and much-needed Laptop Lending Program, funds are needed to:
- Purchase laptops for UBC Library branches currently without a laptop-lending program.
- Purchase additional laptops for UBC library branches that are unable to meet student demand.
- Purchase required software for all laptops.
To donate to the Laptop Lending Program, and help enable students to access information anytime and anywhere, download a donation form [PDF] or contact the Library Development Office at [library.development@ubc.ca].
Teaching & Learning Labs
UBC Library is deeply involved in the information-literacy instruction of undergraduates, graduates and faculty. In instructional labs across campus, undergraduates are taught how to find scholarly material; graduate students are instructed on how to hone advanced searching skills; and faculty members learn how Library resources can help them stay current in their field.
Information must be presented in a way that is efficient, effective and memorable. For UBC Library to remain a top tier research library, it must provide comfortable and appealing environments to accommodate a variety of learning styles, encourage active listening and dialogue, and contain up-to-date technology.
To continue providing open and engaging learning spaces across campus, UBC Library’s Teaching and Learning Labs require support to:
• Upgrade computer hardware and software.
• Purchase equipment to enhance student participation and learning such as smart boards (interactive whiteboards), library clickers (tools for anonymous feedback and participation), and improved sound and lighting systems.
• Acquire flexible and movable furniture to allow for solo study, group work and class-wide exercises.
To donate to the Teaching & Learning Labs and help provide technology-driven facilities for students and faculty, download a donation form [PDF] or contact the Library Development Office at [library.development@ubc.ca].
The Campus Art Project
The Campus Art Initiative offers you the opportunity to feature sponsored images from the Library Vault at locations across the UBC campus. Gorgeous images on large, stretched canvases will educate the University community about the breadth of UBC Library's spectacular holdings and highlight your support of the arts and UBC Library.
Organizations and individuals interested in sponsoring the Campus Art Initiative are invited to contact Shakeela Begum, UBC Library's Director of Development, at 604-827-4112 or shakeela.begum@ubc.ca.
Naming Opportunities
An array of possibilities exists at UBC Library for donors interested in naming opportunities. With a special gift to UBC Library, you can create a lasting tribute to a loved and respected individuals or organizations, ensuring that their name becomes part of the fabric of learning-edge learning and research at the UBC. Donors may name endowments as well as collections, programs, projects and initiatives, buildings, other physical facilities, outdoor structures, scholarships and fellowships, lectureships and lecture series.
Organizations and individuals interested in the various naming opportunities within UBC Library are invited to contact Shakeela Begum, UBC Library's Director of Development, at 604-827-4112 or shakeela.begum@ubc.ca.