Library Resources

The Cameron Science and Technology (SciTech) Library supports the Urban and Regional Planning Program. The Library's combined service desk is staffed by eight highly trained Public Services Assistants and seven professional Librarians, with a current complement of 17 staff. Librarians operate under a subject-based liaison model. The Planning liaison librarian is available to provide reference assistance and instruction to the faculty and students of the Program by appointment or on a drop-in basis. The Program also has access to a GIS Librarian, a Data Librarian, and a Map Librarian for research needs.

The University of Alberta Libraries is currently ranked 7th in North America with respect to unique titles held (over 7 million titles, including over 53 thousand online subscriptions to journals and other serials). The SciTech Library's physical collection includes books, conference proceedings, government publications, technical reports, and scientific and technical journals as well as GIS data, digital and print maps and data sets. For the past several years, Planning journals have been purchased almost exclusively in electronic format, with access through proxy server configuration while working off campus. The SciTech Library has purchased, or subscribes to, a number of major e-book collections that are either Planning specific or provide considerable content:

  • Routledge Taylor & Francis (e-books)
  • SpringerLink (all Springer e-books 2005-present)

The majority of the Library's Planning journals are accessed through subscriptions to major publisher e-journal collections:

  • Wiley Online Library
  • SpringerLink
  • ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

The SciTech Library provides unlimited access to all of the major indexing and abstracting databases supporting Planning and related disciplines:

  • Cambridge Journals Online ( Cambridge University Press)
  • Oxford Journals (Oxford University Press)
  • Sage Journals Online (SAGE Publications)
  • ScienceDirect (Elsevier)
  • SpringerLink (Springer)
  • Taylor & Francis Online Journals (Taylor & Francis)
  • Wiley Online Library (Wiley and former Blackwell titles)
  • SCOPUS
  • Web of Science
  • Canadian Research Index

The SciTech Library also recognizes the cartographic and data needs of the Urban Planning group and has acquired digital resources from:

  • Simply Map
  • Spatial Decision Support Knowledge Portal
  • DMTI Spatial
  • GEODE/AltaLIS
  • Statistics Canada Geography Files
  • City of Edmonton 2012 Ortho Imagery

In addition, University of Alberta Libraries is a member institution of the NEOS Consortium. This membership provides access for our students to the print holdings of an additional 16 university, college, government, and medical libraries in the Province of Alberta. Requested items can be delivered to the SciTech Library for pickup. Through the U of A interlibrary loan system, students are able to request all types of materials from anywhere in the world.