Goals of the Collection Rightsizing project
The goal of this effort is to strategically reduce the size of the MRT Library collection to improve accessibility and safety, support users in effectively locating and retrieving material, and ensure room to acquire new print material. This will be achieved by relocating materials to off-site storage and long-term preservation facilities, and by deselecting material. At the same time, we will establish ongoing maintenance processes. The result will be a navigable user-facing collection that supports the learning, teaching, and research needs of the uOttawa community.
The Library prioritizes community needs through collaboration, transparency, and thoughtful decision-making. With sustainability in mind, this process will leverage opportunities like interlibrary loan and shared print.
What’s going on in the stacks this summer?
General monograph and journal collection:
Over the summer you may notice our team boxing material throughout the Library. They are deselecting some electronically available material, and shifting material from the MRT open stacks to the Keep@Downsview shared print preservation and off-site storage facility. In collaboration with subject specialists, research librarians, the Collections Strategy team, faculty, and shared print experts, the project team developed several sub-projects and subject-specific criteria considering factors like usage, publication date, disciplinary nuances, language, and electronic availability. These criteria were applied to the collection and select materials were identified for deselection, or transfer and long-term preservation. The uOttawa Library retains ownership of all items, which remain fully accessible to our community through ''Place a hold'' and ''Scan on demand'', or as eBooks.
Government documents:
You may have noticed a little extra breathing room on the 3rd floor. This has been made possible due to the relocation of the government documents collection. To ensure continued access, the government documents have either:
- Moved to MRT storage or the Annex and are available via scan on demand and/or place a hold;
- or have been weeded because they are available electronically.
For any questions or assistance with government documents, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Research Librarian (Government Information) at [email protected].
How can I get involved?
We are excited to hear from you! As the project moves forward, we'll keep you informed with updates and opportunities to provide feedback. For more details and the latest information, visit the Library website or, if you have specific questions or feedback about the work underway, please reach out to [email protected].