7-day laptop loans, lab manuals and Dprint

You wrote:

Please implement the 7-day laptop loan. It is high time. Please also make lab manuals available for more that 3 hours. Our lab sessions are 4 hours long so what is the point of loaning it for 3 hours (if you want to photocopy it, that takes 10 min, of course if the INFAMOUS D-print system happens to be working, if not it might take you 3 hours…). Why did you outsource the printing service? Yes, the system had to be updated but did it have to be outsourced? Did students, for whom this whole library construct is put into place, even have a say in this?

On March 19, the Vanier Library introduced 7-day loans on ten laptops.  For now, the libraries do not have enough laptops to expand this service.

As for extending the loan period for “lab manuals”, it is the first time that anyone has brought up this concern.  I have forwarded your request to Circulation Services.

Regarding Dprint; Dprint is managed by the University. It is not outsourced. Photocopying has always fallen under the jurisdiction of the University. Since modern photocopiers can scan, print and email, the University decided to keep all printing functions under one umbrella.  Most people would agree that having one universal system across the University is preferable to having two concurrent printing systems.

Thank you for your comments.

Reserve book

You wrote:

It would be great to be able to sign this book out,
with out the hold. thanks

Call Number ND 196.2 P33 2011
Title Painting / edited by Terry R. Myers
Publisher London : Whitechapel Gallery ; Cambridge,
Mass. : MIT Press, 2011

Thanks for your comment.  This book is currently in the Webster Library Course Reserve Room.  It has been put there for the students of ARTT 399a.  Students can borrow it for three hours at a time.  This is so that all the students for that class have an equal chance to borrow the book.  If it was in the regular collection, one student could have it for at least two weeks and that would not be fair for everyone else in that class.

E-reserve material slow to download

You wrote:

DART 491 course reserve electronic copy of item Bennett, Jane does not  download in either Firefox or IE
other items work OK

When something like this happens, it is best to use one of our “Ask a librarian” services, available at:  http://library.concordia.ca/help/questions/ .  The librarian on duty will be able to help you in a more timely fashion.

BTW, we checked that particular reserved reading and we found that the pdf downloaded very slowly, probably because it is a large file, but it did download after a few minutes.  Thanks to your email, we have fixed it and it is now loading quickly.  We appreciate you writing to us.

Course Reserve Room: Dropping Off Returns

You wrote:

The new course reserved book room is a really great idea, however when we return books, even if they are on time and the staff decide that they would like to leave early, how are we sure we will not get fined for the books we returned in the drop off box? Perhaps there should be a check in system for when we need to return the books in the drop off box.

Thank you for your question.  You are the first student to write to us about our new Course Reserve Room at Webster Library, and we’re glad that you like the idea.  The Book Return Box in this room is constantly monitored and items are checked in almost immediately. This is to ensure not only that unmerited late fines are not applied, but also that returned course items become available to the next students without delay.

The room opens during regular circulation service hours and staff working there will definitely not leave early. And if your books happen to be due after the Reserve Room opening hours, you actually benefit from some extra borrowing time as our check-in system does not apply fines for any of the hours during which the room is closed. Just be sure to return your items in the box before the room opens again in the morning!  We look forward to hearing more from all of you about this new venture.

“Reserve” room LB-201

You wrote:

Hi,

As I was studying, I just spoke to someone who told me that the former interlibrary loans office which was located next to the computer labs in the downtown library, is going to be renovated and used for reserves. I am asking why is this to be? Since new carpeting has been added, and some fold up tables and chairs installed, it has become an extra space for students to study.

Yesterday there were only five tables and today there are 14 tables in total and every table is being used by someone. In fact as soon as someone leaves, another person takes the space. This study space is so necessary. I don’t understand why the students cannot have it to study when from midterms to the end of finals, its impossible to find decent study space because the students are all crowded on top of another that it becomes necessary to go off campus to study. In fact I study alot at McGill because I can’t find decent, quiet study space in this library. Every year there are more students and not enough study space for them to study. This problem isn’t new either. About three years ago, all of the departments in the LB moved up a floor to enable the library to expand onto the 5th floor. Three years later, this hasn’t happened and no new space has been added. The only two postive things which has happened was the addition of new laptops, and the designation of quiet zones.

We are desperately needing more quiet zone blue space, more space to study in this university with plugs might I also add. Because the rare vacant place during the busy season, IE October to the middle of December. I’m on my second degree and I’m tired of searching for decent study space.
Thanks

Thank you very much for writing to us. We appreciate your concern and agree with you that there is a lack of study space in the Webster Library. However, we are also trying to meet other demands from our users.

As you may know, almost one year ago, undergraduate students voted in a referendum in favour of contributing funds to the Libraries to enhance services and the collection. One improvement is that the Libraries are to automatically purchase all required undergraduate textbooks and coursepacks and make them available to students. Students at the Loyola campus have benefitted from this initiative as all textbooks are now on reserve at the Vanier Library. Unfortunately, for the downtown students, this has only been possible for textbooks priced at over $50.00. This is due to space constraints. There simply is not enough room behind the Webster Library Circulation Desk to house such a large collection.

The new room that you refer to, LB-201 will be the “reserve room”. This room will provide easier access to reserve items. It is meant to be a self-service area, so students will have to face fewer line-ups!

Just down the hall from LB-201, room LB-211 has recently been refurbished. New tables have been installed with outlets for laptop use. Until the end of November, LB-211 will be used for classes. After this period, the room will become a Blue Silent Zone, with 30 seats. In the meantime, until the renovation begins, LB-201 will remain open.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to us. Rest assured that the Concordia Libraries are aware of the space shortage downtown and are working on finding ways to offer more study space in the Webster Library.

The Return of the Reserves

You wrote: 

As a second year student who relies heavily on reserve material, I really want to know how the system works. I know there are no renewals, but can I re-borrow a reserve item right after retuning it? 

To be honest I’ve gotten 6 different answers from different people. Yes, no, come back in 1 hour, come back in 3 hours, come back demain.
What is the official policy for re-borrowing reserve material?

 Your question is a relevant one, and you are probably not the first student to wonder about this.  As you mention, reserve items cannot be renewed.  This is to ensure equitable access to these high-demand items which are often part of the required readings for a course.  Borrowing the same item right after returning it would be the same as renewing, and it would prevent students who have been waiting in the library for the item’s return from getting access.

There is currently no absolute rule as to how long you must wait until you can borrow the reserve item again. If you received different answers at different times it may in part be due to the unique circumstances involved each  time. The most important factors  would be  the loan period (3 hours, 1 day  or a week?) and  the demand (has the item been checked out intermitently or constantly?).

Assigning exact wait periods for all categories of items would be a difficult task, but it is an idea worth considering. Thanks for giving us more food for thought.

Textbooks on Reserve

You wrote:

How come there’s no reserve for textbooks used in class, or there’s one single copy of them? We’re so many students taking the same courses for one single copy when we need it at the library!

Thanks for writing. We certainly would like to provide more textbooks at the Library. However, there are a couple challenges related to providing one or more copies of each textbook or assigned reading on reserve at the Library.

One challenge is that textbooks go out of date quickly, and are soon replaced by new editions. It would be a significant investment in material that would only get one or two years of use.

The more formidable challenge is that of cost. We would like to provide more textbooks, but they are very expensive. For each student attending a credit course at Concordia, about $100 is spent on library collections. This $100 cannot go very far when one considers the number of courses each student takes, and the number of texts required for each course. We simply don’t have the means to provide a copy of each assigned textbook for the library. In addition to course readings, the Library also needs to acquire access to databases, journal subscriptions, and other books and materials that support the research needs of Concordia students and faculty members.

At some universities, student societies provide additional funding to the Library to ensure that textbooks can be purchased for the collection. We are certainly open to suggestions on how to bring this about at Concordia.