WCGS

Department Head, Special Collections, Dana Porter LIbrary, University of Waterloo

Susan Mavor, Special Collections, Porter Library MLS (UWO) has been Head of Special Collections in the Dana Porter Library of the University of Waterloo since 1976. Collections and collecting activity in the department include early editions and rare books, collections of archives and manuscripts, and other material which requires special care and handling because of its early publication date, association interest, physical condition, aesthetic value, or unusual format. Now numbering over 50,000 volumes, the rare book collections have particular subject strengths in the following areas: women's studies, local history, the history of mathematics (especially Euclid's Elements of Geometry), architecture, dance and ballet, fine printing, and urban planning. Historical and literary archives are maintained in a variety of subject areas which, for the most part, complement the book collections. The collections are considered working collections which have been developed systematically around subjects that reflect the goals of the University of Waterloo's major teaching and research programmes.