Innovative Approaches by Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal Library

Librarians are better able to respond to the needs of their end users while supporting the goals of their institution. This is illustrated through five recent initiatives undertaken by the Library of Ecole Polytechnique in direct support of institutional research activities: 􀂃 Master’s and Ph. D. students develop information skills through the preparation of a portfolio on their research topic. This assignment forms part of an information literacy laboratory within a research methodology course. The course is mandatory for Ph. D. students and assignment grading is done by librarians; 􀂃 Canada Research Chairs benefit from dedicated information services in return for a financial contribution by each Chair to the Library; 􀂃 a bibliographic database with citations to the scientific and engineering publications of the institution's faculty and researchers is available via the Internet. A knowledge management tool, the database is also useful for marketing and promoting the institution; 􀂃 a three-pronged approach to analyzing user needs allows the Library to identify those journals containing 80% of the articles published or cited by the institution's faculty and researchers; 􀂃 a comparative analysis of publication data for fifteen Canadian engineering schools aids the institution in developing its strategic positioning.