Posting classrooms’ schedules online

You wrote:

Dear suggestion box editors,
I would like to know if it’s possible to upload online the schedules for the library workshop rooms (for Vanier and Webster)? It would be nice to know in advance when the rooms are available to  students.
Thank you!

Thank you for your suggestion.  I like it.    I can see that it may be difficult to do this now, as the classroom bookings are all done by hand and someone would have to manually go to this page to update the schedule.  With three classrooms in the system, it would be very labour-intensive.  However, in the future, it may be something that we can do.  I will forward your suggestion to our Web Services Librarian.  She will definitely know if this is do-able.

In the meantime, please feel free to call either Reference Desk to find out if the classrooms are being used.  Webster’s telephone number is 514.848.2424 ext. 7700 and Vanier’s telephone number is 514.848-2424 ext. 7766.

Kudos for laptop and tablet info on homepage

You wrote:

NO suggestion – just want to say KUDOS to you for the tablet and laptop table. Love visual aspect and knowledge one gets at a glance.

Thank you!

Ads on the blog?

You wrote:

How is it possible that there are advertisements in the response column of an university library blog? “Vondage World Canada”! Will notify student newspapers immediately.

Thanks for your comment.  The ads on our Suggestion Box were actually an oversight on our part, not intentional.  The advertisments were intermittent and hard to spot from our “behind the scenes” view of the blog.  We’ve just upgraded our account, and all versions the Suggestion Box should now be ad-free, including the the new mobile access point.  Apologies to all those who were inconvenienced, and do let us know if you spot anything else that might be troubling.

Library Hours

You wrote:

Please write the timings of library, up front on the web site. It has mission, jobs, events, .., but not the timings. “Timings of libraries” could the most frequently searched item, which should be accessible from multiple web pages of library site.

Thank you for writing to us.  You can quickly check the Libraries’ Hours from any page on our website.  On our Homepage, the Hours button is right over the Suggestion Box button:

Update on Login to MyCLUES link

Suggestion Box Editors’ note:

Not too long ago you wrote to us asking for a more obvious link to the Login to MyCLUES on the new web site. We passed the suggestion on to the Libraries’ web team, and they listened, agreeing that the regular text link was indeed a bit too easy to miss. It has now been replaced with a more prominent  button. The  button appears in the top banner of our web site (as part of the CLUES search box), so it will always be available no matter where you are on the site. We hope you enjoy!

Link to MyCLUES

You wrote:

 Could you put a direct very obvious link to the login to myclues page on the home page of the new website.

This is a good suggestion, thank you.   It is true that with our new banner the link to  “Login to MyCLUES” does now seem to stand out less.  It is on the bottom bar of the CLUES search box at the top of our home page.  I am forwarding your request to the Libraries web team.

New look for Libraries’ website

You wrote:

 

I just logged on to Concordia’s library website to notice how the site navigation has changed. I appreciate your wanting to improve the current site, but during the final days of the semester when students like myself are frantic to complete assignments seems inconsiderate timing.

 

Thank you for writing to us.  I’m sorry if the Library website’s new look has contributed to your end-of-semester stress.

 

Unfortunely, there is no ideal time for such a switch.  It was considered that at this time of the semester, most students have finished their assignments and are concentrating on studying for exams.  By switching last week, we had 10 working days to work out any kinks in the new format, before the beginning of a new term. 

 

If you need help in finding information to complete your assignments, please do not hesitate to “ask a librarian” for help.  We are here to assist you! 

 

We wish you all the best as you finish your work.

The Ask a Wizard

You wrote:

This is just a quick suggestion, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds the little wizard extremely annoying. He pops on the screen every time I try to use the internet. I have to chase him around with the mouse: “ASK A LIBRIANBLAHBLAH” he shouts, flying around the screen. Click. No, Right Click. Hide. He disappears into his cape, finally. I, presumably along with most University students, are perfectly capable of finding the “Ask a librarian” button by our own devices. The talking wizard is just a nuisance.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I can see how this chase could be frustrating, especially when in a hurry. We are currently testing out ways of making the Ask a Librarian link more prominent on our web site itself.  Once we have finalized those changes and made them public, we will indeed be seriously considering the removal of the flying wizard from the public workstations.

Paying Library Fines

You wrote:

Hello, I am writing with regards to overdue fines. It would be really efficient and quite up to date if you had an option to pay overdue fines online. I am stuck at the library after staff hours, with no way to pay my fines.

I am thus being unable to take books home for the weekend. This is hugely frustrating, and could easily be solved by an online system of payment for fees incurred. Thank you.

Thank you for raising this point. It would be very good to be able to pay fines online. Currently, there are some technical issues that prevent us from implementing online banking to pay fines.

Our circulation desks are open late most evenings. It looks like you came in on a Friday evening, and weren’t able to pay your fines and then use the self-checkout machine. For the most part, though, we have staff working in the evenings and fines can be paid that way. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We are interested in making it possible to pay fines online.

Help with APA Citations

You wrote:

The availability of the APA Citation Style of documenting sources is an invaluable tool for students and as a mature student (51 yrs. of age), I have become somewhat rusty on knowing how to cite sources, most especially the online sources.

As such, I am sending you a B-I-G THANK-YOU for providing such a user-friendly and printable listing to refer to when writing Bibliographies and Reference pages. Your assistance has been most invaluable and I simply
had to pause and say “thank-you.”

You are most welcome. Thanks for letting us know that you appreciate our citation guides!