Oversize books

You wrote:

Whenever I want to look at oversize books, the table dedicated there for viewing is occupied by students with all their gear spread out over the table. In fact they usually have computers set up and bags all over the floor and chairs dragged from other areas blocking access to the shelves. Could you do something to make this area only for reading the extremely heavy oversize books?

Thanks.

Thank you for your comment and suggestion. We will try to address this situation.

Noise in the blue zone

Over the exam period, we received a number of suggestions and complaints about noise in the library. Here is one that we received last week:

You wrote:

This comment, like many, also concerns noise in the blue study zone areas.

 This afternoon, I was studying in the blue zone on the 4th floor Webster library. Throughout the afternoon, I was constantly interrupted by people on their cell phones, having conversations, and basically disregarding the “silent study” rule. Often when approached, they were responsive, but many times they were not as well. Not once did I see a library staff or security guard walk around the area quieting people.

 I approached a woman at the counter and asked her for assistance in keeping the area quiet. She simply informed me that it’s not her job, go get security on the 2nd floor if you want it dealt with. Not only have I read that we are encouraged to approach any library staff, there was no security guard to been on the 2nd floor. The circulation desk just told me they’re trying as well, but weren’t really able to help. They explained that often when they try, they get the same attitude from students that I would.

 I don’t agree with the idea that it takes people a while to adapt to these new rules. It’s not a very complex idea, such that you tell someone in elementary school that they cannot talk at all in a certain area, and they understand it.

 Besides the actual need for people to patrol the area, even if not always, but every 15-30 minutes, there needs to be actual deterrents for making noise. In an exam, students fully grasp the idea that they must not have their cell phones on their person because there are severe consequences. In the library, if they’re caught, they’re likely just to be told to “kindly stop”, and it’s not such a big deal to answer this 1 or 2 calls, or have this short little conversation with my friend.

 I highly suggest the library implement, if anything (due to the whole people need to adapt idea), a 3-strike policy. If you’re caught making noise 3 times by a library staff, who will take down your name, you simply lose your privilege to study in the library. Studying there shouldn’t be a right, but instead a privilege for those who respect the rules.

 In terms of attitude towards library staff, a local library in my area has instituted a rule that if you are rude to a library staff member, you lose your right to use the library for a predetermined amount of time. There shouldn’t be any excuse for students making noise in the library. We are all adult, and we don’t need 3+ months to learn how to keep quiet in specific areas.

 I totally understand and appreciate the fact the library has made an effort to control noise. However, a lot more needs to happen for it be effective.

 Thanks.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. 

 

“Party Zone”

You wrote:

This comment has to do with the level of noise within both the Vanier and Webster library. In the silent zones people chat. I have on a regular basis asked people to keep it down, but this has been to no avail. There has to be a presence of library staff throughout the study areas. The library staff has to walk around and demand that people remain silent.

I’ve studied at McGill before, and as the security staff walks through the study areas they asks individuals to keep it down, I suggest that the Concordia libraries do the same. The library space is ridiculous. It is so noisy, and the new policies are not reinforced but practical means. Please make more of an effort to keep it silent and quiet. How can Concordia expect student academic integrity when their place of study is ‘party zone’?

Thank you for sharing your comments about the level of noise at the libraries. We understand your concern, for we share it, too.

We have been working very hard to try and encourage students to respect the recently created study zones. By and large, students have been learning to adjust their noise levels depending on the zone they are in.

However, we know that it takes time to change a culture of noisy study, and this is why we also have staff walking through the libraries. We do not have sufficient budgetary or staff resources to have staff or security constantly present in the libraries. Staff cannot always be present when noise flares up quickly. To succeed, we also need the participation and cooperation of students to respect the Study Zones. We realize this will take time, and we are open to suggestions on how to improve the situation.

Please understand the efforts that we are making, with the best possible use of our limited resources, to create a quieter study space for students at Concordia. We do appreciate your comments and we certainly take them into consideration.

Bathroom Cleanliness

You wrote:

The 3rd Floor Men’s Bathroom (Blue Zone) at the Webster Library is disgusting. While I understand it is ultimately up to the users of the facilities to show some respect for future users of it, I find that this particular bathroom is always significantly nastier than the others. The urinals do not flush, nor do they contain urinal cakes (which causes a strong unpleasant odor) and the toilets are always overflowing with water and raw sewage which is extremely unpleasant to see and smell.

Suggestions:More frequent attention paid by the cleaning and
maintenance staff, automatic flush urinals similar to the ones located in
the EV and MB buildings. New Toilets that are able to resist clogging.

Thanks for writing. We’ve  reported the problem, but we thought we’d also let you know that you can call Facilities Management’s Service Centre if you need to report a need for cleaning or repair on campus: 514-848-2424, ext. 2400.

Media Services

You wrote:

I’m wondering why the weekend hours for the Media Services at the Webster Library have been cut. I’m taking a video class this year and I’m finding itdifficult at times to be able to view all of the materials I need to see. Since the media desk is the only access for these materials there should be weekend access.

Thank you for your comment about the Media Services Desk hours. It is never an easy decision to cut service desk hours, but given staffing levels and the amount of weekend traffic, it was decided to try keeping the desk closed on weekends and then assess the impact after the end of the academic year.

We thank you for your comments and they will certainly factor into our considerations of future hours for this service desk, and regarding the accessibility and location of the video/DVD collection.

Recommending Items for the Collection

You wrote:

Before I made the decision of joining the doctoral programme in Concordia, I did make a thorough search of library online and was very unhappy to find that the it is not at all rich enough to serve my needs. Finally, when I joined the university I was also told that I should recommend the books I would need for my research work and the library can procure them. For the past three months I have been regularly recommending books online, but I wonder if anybody even bothers to have a look at the recommendations I make. I know it is not Harvard that I recommend a book and it would be
there the next week, but at least I had “Great  Expectations” from a North American university. I am just saved by the ‘inter library loan’ and my personal digital library, otherwise there was no other option except to “drop”.

Thank you for writing, and since we do not know who you are, please contact Jocelyn Godolphin, Associate University Librarian, Collection Services, who will be happy to discuss this with you. She can be reached at jocelyn.godolphin@concordia.ca.

We always carefully consider when people recommend that we acquire specific resources for the Libraries. The best way to recommend books is to contact your subject librarian.

Temperature at the Vanier Library

You wrote:

Without exception, it is ALWAYS uncomfortably chilly in the Vanier Library. I know I am not alone on this one, as when I look around, most people are wearing sweatshirts, and even scarves. Near the windows there are vents that are blowing out COLD air. (Please note it is currently 2 degrees outside).

The tip of my nose is freezing. Its a frustration I do not need when studying. Would it be completely out of the question to increase the temp 2 or 3 degrees??

Thank you for reporting this. We will try to adjust the temperature. Often during this time of year, it takes a while for the temperature at the Library to regulate, especially near all those big glass windows.

Maximum number of requests

In our library catalogue, CLUES, you can request up to ten books at a time.

One person sent us a potential improvement to make with the online
system:

When you try to make an online request for more than 10 books, a very ambiguous/misleading message pops up saying “THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR LIBRARY RECORD, PLEASE SEE A LIBRARIAN.” One librarian I spoke to thought it may have happened due to an overdue book/fine (no); another one thought that the cookies in my browser should be deleted (no). The problem is that I’ve exceeded the maximum number of requests
allowed by the syetm but the message does not say that, and most of the circulation staff also didn’t know that either. Change the message to reflect the reality!

Thanks, we would really like to change that message to reflect different realities! We understand it can be confusing. Unfortunately, this is a system-generated message which occurs when a variety of situations are encountered, such as when someone has fines or when someone has reached the maximum number of requests. A number of libaries using this system have asked for the ability to change the message, and we hope it will be more customizable in the future.  Thank you for writing, and we are sorry for the inconvenience.

Laptop Loans

You wrote:

this new policy of borrowing laptop for 6h is ridiculous. i waited over an hour and a half to barrow a laptop today and its not the first time.
(during that time only two laptopS came back at the circulation desk) especially near the end of the semester this is UNACEPTABLE. In previous semester the borrowing time was two hours and i think that satisfied
everybody.

Thank you for writing. We plan to increase the number of laptops in January.

Printers

You wrote:

Hi, I use the terrific printers on the third floor of the Webster library and am so thrilled that they print double sided by default.

However, I was shocked that the memory for print jobs has been changed to only half an hour!?! Before it was an hour! As you can imagine, when you are researching, you send things to the printer under the assumption that the memory is an hour, and only print at the END- I was unaware of this completely unreasonable change and lost much of my work.

Please, students are stressed enough as it is- why on earth impose a change such as this that does not reduce, but rather adds to our stress and frustration? On behalf of the student body, please restore it to the usual time frame of an hour and until then, please put SIGNS so people are at least aware of the (hopefully) temporary change (there was none except on the printer itself, at which time, it was too late). Otherwise, people can get trapped as I was.
- frustrated, printed-less student

We are sorry to hear about your experience with the print service. Our servers have encountered some load problems and we had to reduce the time for holding the print jobs.

However, we are happy to report that we have upgraded the servers and that users now have 60 minutes to release their print jobs from the queue. This is in effect at Webster and Vanier Libraries. Sorry for your inconvenience; things shoud be better now!