Alumni and CAO services

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The Witer Learning Resource Centre (WLRC) provides the following services to School of Optometry alumni (OD) and Canadian Association of Optometry (CAO) members.

WLRC services

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WLRC borrowing services

Services to Alumni and CAO members

  • You may borrow up to twenty (20) regularly circulating materials from any of the TUG libraries (University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, and Wilfrid Laurier University) for two weeks (in person borrowing only)
  • Renew those materials indefinitely as long as no one else has recalled them
  • Request materials from the Annex and the TUG libraries
  • Return materials to any of the following Ontario libraries
  • Request 10 free journal articles per year (currently unavailable, pending copyrights permissions review)
  • Request Fee-Based Book Delivery

Services that cannot be extended to Alumni and CAO members:

  • Borrowing of items located in reserves
  • Borrowing full journal volumes or magazines
  • Placing recalls on library material

Library cards

  • University of Waterloo Alumni
    Free Alumni card is your library card.
  • Non-Alumni CAO Members
    Free library card: Contact Circulation Supervisor for card call (519) 888-4005 or send us an email.

WLRC Research Services

Information/Research Requests

We can:

  • Recommend web accessible resources to search.
  • Suggest alternative words or boolean logic to help refine the search.
  • Provide limited searching on a topic/keywords. If you are unsuccessful searching available resources, we can expand the search and provide a list of up to 20 citations.

Research services do not include:

  • Comprehensive searching of all possible literature on a topic. We provide a list of up to 20 citations.
  • Critical evaluation of search results. It is your responsibility to determine the validity and usefulness of the search results.
  • Rush requests.

To request research or information fill out an Information Request Form.

Journals

Research Databases (Search for Journal Articles)

Note: These databases contain both restricted and free journal articles; for those articles with restricted access, use our Article Request Service for 10 FREE articles per calendar year.

Database Details
BioMed Central Peer-reviewed biomedical research. Help & Tutorials

The Cochrane Library

 

The Cochrane Library provides systematic review abstracts, technology assessments, economic evaluations and individual clinical trials. Help & Tutorials

Cochrane Eye and Vision Group (CEVG) Website
PubMed Most comprehensive biomedical journal index. Help; PubMed tutorial
PubMed Clinical Queries Quick search for clinical queries. Help
Reference Sight Complements PubMed for topics on contact lenses, refractive surgery and external ocular disease. Produced by UW Centre for Contact Lens Research with funding from Bausch & Lomb. Help & Tutorials
VisionCite

Requires a supplied USER ID and PASSWORD. E-mail the WLRC for access.

  • DO NOT CHANGE THIS USERID OR PIN AT ANYTIME!
  • Once in the site, click on the "Library" dropdown menu and select "VisionCite Database".
  • One simultaneous user access - Log out as soon as you are finished - thank you!
  • Automatic log off after 5 minutes of inactivity.
  • Access to this index is funded by a COETF grant.
Scirus Produced by Elsevier and indexes many science journals. Additional information
TRIP Access to evidence-based medicine: synopses, clinical questions, systematic reviews, guidelines etc. Search tips

Free Journal Lists and Databases:

Free Journal Titles:

Journal Article Requests (currently unavailable, pending copyrights permissions review)

Optometry research services are subsidized by a Canadian Optometric Education Trust Fund Grant. Due to the nature of this grant, when the funds have been depleted, or if copyright cannot be obtained, then articles will no longer be available free of charge.

Before funds run out for the year

  • The WLRC provides you with 10 free photocopies of journal articles per calendar year.
  • We supply what is available through the Waterloo Library consortium (TUG) in print form dealing with optometry.
  • Request a particular journal article, fill out the form for a journal article.

After funds run out for the year

Here is a list of external fee based document delivery services:

Books

E-books

Search for Ebooks

  • FreeBooks4Doctors Provides more than 650 free online books covering a variety of medical specialties
  • NCBI Bookshelf The NCBI Bookshelf offers a growing collection of online, fully searchable, biomedical books
  • Google Book Search Provides limited and full previews of electronic books - use Advanced Search to select views

Book Requests

  • If you are not able to visit the WLRC in person, books can be borrowed via a fee-based delivery service.
  • To request a Book please contact the Industrial & Business Information Service.
  • You will need to provide the following information:
    • Title of the book
    • Author of the book
    • Year of publication
    • Your contact information: name, full address (i.e. no post office boxes), phone number, email address

We strive to provide 2-3 day turnaround assistance but requests may take up to a week.

If you do not wish to submit an online form, other forms of contact include:

  • Email the WLRC.
  • Phone (519) 888-4005 to schedule an in-person consultation