Feedback to the Library, March 2006

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NOTE: Comments are edited to remove names of specific employees or users. Comments with names go to "Askref" for response or are forwarded to the appropriate person for a reply.

The location is only identified as "Library", "Campus" or "Off-Campus" to protect the anonymity of users. Comments received on paper forms may be entered several days after they were submitted.

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Date/time   Location

Wed Mar 1 21:25:28 2006 Library

Could you write to me as to how to do a comprehensive global title search for a book? The title am looking for is "Brother My Son" as an exact match.
Library response: I'm not sure what you mean by a comprehensive global title search. I did a title search and a keyword search on brother my son in our online catalog and got no results. I then searched this title in WorldCat, a national bibliographic database and found a book My Brother, My Son by John Commins. It was published in Canada in 2004. We don't have this book and neither does Tucson Public or Pima Community College. It is also not available on Amazon.com. The record in WorldCat says only 1 library in the country has this book -- so if this is the book you are looking for, it is going to be difficult to find it. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Fri Mar 3 16:16:50 2006 Library

The clock in the basement of the Science-Engineering library has not been working for some time...
Library response: Thank you for notifying us about this, we will try to get it fixed. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Fri Mar 3 17:56:12 2006 Off-campus

I 0btained a CAT CArdon Thursday March 2. When I tried to use a databse today I was told I needed to get my Cat Card validated. Where do I get my Cat Card validated. Please give me the Building, Room Number, Floor, name of the staff person (first and last name)., telephone number. Where can I park? I am handicapped. Are there any meters that take bills as well as coins?
Library response: This problem with a catcard number was taken care of. If anyone has this kind of problem, a call to Main Library Info Desk can verify that your name and CatCard number are correct in the library's database.
Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Sat Mar 4 12:46:14 2006 Campus

One of your consultants at the ILC on saturday 3/4/06 named Travis was extremely helpful in solving a problem. I am a preceptor of a chemistry class here at the university and the professor and I have had real trouble with a PDF file used as a reference in the class. This document was copied over from another professor's files and contained errors. We have been unable to do anything with this,even before I preceptored this class. I just want to complement Travis on his skill and pass this on to the library management. Thank You.
Library response: Thank you for your comment, it was shared with Travis and the rest of the library staff. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Sun Mar 5 22:37:00 2006 Library

INADEQUATE AND MISMANAGED REFERENCE SECTION REGARDING PRESS, NATIONS The latest editions of the Europa World Yearbook, and similar works that have international emails for embassies, government offices, media and industry are no longer in the basement of the main library. Of course these are available online, but in those forms the emails addresses are only available one at a time, so for example one could not email all the press and industry of Zambia without looking up each email one at a time. Therefore would really appreciate the above in book form. As a journalist and researcher and one who engages in charitable not for profit projects, the book forms of these national emails are superior to what is online. How can you really have a conscientious journalism and media department, and indeed government and media research without international email reference works? moreevilbaddeals@yahoo.com PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO THOSE WHO PROCURE, AND ADMINISTRATION
Library response: We replaced the Europa Yearbooks with the Europa World Plus because the online version includes the Europa World Year Book and the nine-volume Regional Surveys of the World Series. The online version is more current and it should provide the users with the same information plus more. If anyone has more questions, please have them contact me. Atifa Rawan, Social Sciences Librarian

Mon Mar 6 13:26:16 2006 Library

The keyboards to the computers in the Map/Microfilm area are very very dirty! They are in dire need of cleaning or replacements. Also, the computer screens are constantly becoming distorted thus making it very difficult to do any research.
Library response: Thanks for informing us about this problem. The keyboards were cleaned. The screen distortion wasn't visible at the time, but the computer staff have been informed to check this out. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Mon Mar 6 13:33:30 2006 Campus

Your new staffing that requires the information desk person to handle all human interactions at the library is a service nightmare. I gladly use the automated checkout services when they suffice, but there are so many situations where they don't. I'm a frequent user of maps and when I go to check them out there is always a crowd gathered around - asking questions, conducting searches, returning laptops, inspecting back packs that have set off the alarm. Added to this confusion is an inadequate workspace that does not provide room for the transaction of materials. This attempt to save on student labor is a big failure.

Library response: We are still in the process of transitioning to our new operation, and we are working to make improvements to the Main Lobby service point. Due to budget cuts we have had to move towards single service points and more self-service products; however we do not want our users experience to be frustrating so I appreciate your feedback.

We are currently in the process of requesting funds to remodel the existing desk so that the workspace is adequate. We are in the process of reallocating some of our student funds to help provide extra support during our busy hours between 11-3pm.

Additionally, we have new check-out machines arriving within the next two months which are offer a greater level of consistency than our current models. All of these changes were originally planned to be in place in January when we merged desks, but our vendor was not able to supply us with the new technology until now.

I know this is not ideal, but we are working to make improvements and provide good service. As you use the library again, please let us know if you experience any other problems. Robyn Huff-Eibl, Team Leader, Materials Access Team

Mon Mar 6 18:06:18 2006 Campus

The CatCard readers for the printers in the ILC need to be maintained better. I have lost so many pages that didn't print because the reader would pop out my card without printing but still charging my card 10c/page, or the reader just doesn't work at all.
Library response: Thank you for your feedback. We are aware of the problem with the printer readers and we are in contact with the vendor to find a solution. This problem is very random and hard to pin point without the customer providing me with date/time, name of job, and print station. The cat card office is also involved and we hope to find a solution immediately. I am sorry for your inconvenience, but in the future, please let us know the exact information listed above and this will help tremendously. Please let us know also when this happens so we can refund or print the job for you. Thank you, Deborah A. Quintana, Document Delivery Team

Mon Mar 13 14:24:31 2006 Library

Europa Regional Surveys of the World and Regional Surveys of the World are misfiled, they are not in the correct locations in reference, and not all volumes for each region of earth are present for 2006 and the latest versions of the Europa World Yearbook are misfiled
Library response: Thank you for notifying us about this problem. We will find these volumes and get them filed correctly. It appears that we don't have the 2006 edition for all of these titles. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Tue Mar 14 16:50:37 2006 Off-campus

The site is not working!!!! No searching!
Library response: See the response below -- the catalog was down for several days.

Tue Mar 14 17:04:49 2006 Off-campus

SABIO has been out of commission for at least two days!!! I am faculty, and use the spring break to catch up on research, bibliographies, class prep., etc. I am handicapped by the unavailability of electronic access.... I know I can ask the front desk, but customarily I view 30 to 40 possible books/articles for each project, a burden I don't want to dump on one person. Please!! When will access be available??
Library response: We are sorry for the inconvenience. We needed to migrate the catalog database to a new library server. This was maintenance that needed to be done soon, so the first day of spring break was chosen. We realized that this would a problem for some users and for library staff, but it was less of a problem than doing this during the time when school was in session. The down time for the catalog and for remote access to databases was scheduled for all day Monday 3/13. The migration of the database, did not go as planned and everything was also down on Tuesday. They have brought the catalog up on Wednesday, but it is really just limping along -- for example keyword searching in the catalog and the links to online journals in the catalog did not work. But they brought the catalog up, in its incomplete state, because they knew how important it was. I believe remote access to databases and electronic journals should be working now. You may have to access the journals through the Locate E-Journals list from the home page rather than through the catalog. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Tue Mar 14 17:36:26 2006 Campus

Once again, I see that during Spring Break there are no hours after 5 pm except one hour on Saturday. Many grad students and working prople/students cannot come to the library except after 5, and the parking garage is not available until after 5. A substantial portion of the university community would be immensely grateful for staggered hours during university breaks, so that at least on some days we could access the library after 5 pm. I've been told that more people use the library before 5, and majority wins, but the current policy disenfranchises some users completely.
Library response: Your comment was sent to the Management Team of the Library, since a request to keep the library open longer hours during spring break involves many different departments within the library. I have also asked our Management Group to think about requesting that the garage across from the library be opened to the public during the daytime of Spring Break -- of course this decision is up to Parking & Transportation, but at least the Library could inquire about it. Vicki Mils, Undergraduate Services Team

Wed Mar 15 17:27:42 2006 Campus

I borrowed a book from the library (Engineering Hydrology: TC5 .E54 1993) this Monday. Seems the system has no memory of that. It shows that this book is still in the library. So, I'm not sure when to return it.
Library response: The catalog was down on Monday and Tuesday, so no transactions were recorded in it. If you look now, the book says it is checked out until 9-12-06. You can also check your own borrower record to see if it was correctly put on your account. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Thu Mar 16 15:25:34 2006 Library

I am a student at the U of A. I often come to the library only to find that all the computers are in-use. However, they are often in-use by non-students, faculty, or staff. I was wondering if the Library has a policy about UA community priority use over non-UA community, or if the Library was planning on making all computers only UA email-address login accessible or something. Thanks.
Library response: We do give priority to UA students, faculty and staff in the IC. If you come in and cannot find a computer, come to the IC Reference desk and we can help you find a computer. When we first opened the IC, we would do whole sweeps of the IC asking to see catcards -- but this took a lot of time and usually only yielded a handful of computers. Most -- I'd say 95-98% of the users in the IC, at least during the daytime hours, when I work, are CatCard holders -- some people who I don't think look like students are actually students. Anyway, now we don't do the room sweeps, but we will help you find a computer and ask non-UA people to move. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Fri Mar 17 14:03:41 2006 Campus

Dear Library Personnel, One of your videos, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, is missing. I went today to check it out, and we looked for it with a reference librarian and could not find it. The call number is PN1999.W27 M53 2001. I appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Library response: This video was found misshelved in the Reserve area and the person was notified that it was waiting for him in the library. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Wed Mar 22 08:54:44 2006 Campus

Your Web of Science link (http://aquarius.library.arizona.edu/search/articles/dbfind?shortname=webofscience) doesn't seem to be working. Also Web of Science seems to be running very slowly....(?)
Library response: Thomson Scientific has been contacted about Web of Science. They report that they are having server problems and are working on it. No estimate about when then will be back up is available. Eugene Spesard, Support Systems Analyst, Senior

Wed Mar 22 13:52:21 2006 Campus

Greetings. I think it would be very helpful to have a link to search the WorldCat catalog up next to the other search options such as ASU, NAU, PCC, TPPL, CRL.
Library response: Thank you for your suggestion. It is a very good one and one that I think many people would really appreciate. I have passed the idea along to the staff in our library who are the experts on our catalog software for their consideration. I'm not sure that technically your idea is possible, but we will definitely explore it. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Wed Mar 22 17:59:11 2006 Library

I've been a community card holder for years. Rates went from nothing, to 25 to 40 to 100 dollars a years. That's too much. You lost me. Was that the idea? I paid 40 but 100?
Library response: Our rates did increase January 2003 from $25 to $60 with a $40 renewal rate. We had hoped at that time that we would not need to raise prices again, but each year we have continued to experience budget cuts and the University has increased it's service fee for units on campus who handle auxiliary accounts. We also conducted studies in 2003-2004 which indicated that we were experiencing significant problems with library users not returning our material. Our campus Bursar is able to take care of the billing needs for our students who do not return library material, but we are not staffed to provide this service for the remaining library users. We have had to begin working with various Collection Agencies to manage this work which does come with a cost. In December 2005 we raised the price from $60 to $100 in hopes that this will be adequate to cover the expenses of offering this service.

Please know that our library is open to all users. You can come in and use our material and computers free of charge. It is only if you really need to check-out books that we have to charge a fee. Robyn Huff-Eibl, Team Leader, Materials Access Team

Thu Mar 23 13:59:35 2006 Campus

Regarding the ILL system: Generally, I'm very satisfied with our ILL system and have used it quite a bit. However, there is one aspect of it that I find tedious and rather confusing. When a person finds an article listed through a database search, sometimes that database will have "article linker." If you click on "article linker" it directs you to an online link of the article or to a page where you can ILL the article. The way this page is constructed is confusing, because it never tells you whether or not the article is in our library. I assumed that something would come up informing me that the articles were in our library and when nothing happenend, I clicked directly onto the ILL link. I did this 37 times. I have recieved emails for about half of these items informing me that they are indeed in our library. I inadvertantly caused a lot of extra work for some poor librarian because the page was so confusing. My suggestion is that somewhere on the ILL page, when you are using the "article linker" feature, a person should be notified of 2 things: 1. whether or not the article is available online and 2. whether or not the artcile physically exists in our library. Thanks.
Library response: Thank you for this feedback. It can be confusing at times to use the Article Linker, once you are in a database looking at the article citation.

If you always do Step 2 - Search the Library Catalog by either/both ISSN or journal title, you will be able to tell if the UA Library owns the journal.

If the UA Library does not own the journal, then proceed to Step 3 - ILL.

If you would like more assistance on using article linker, please talk to the staff at the Main Library, Information Commons Help Desk.

They can walk you through how to read the Article Linker records for items we have in full-text and those we have in print.

I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Linda Dols, Library Specialist

Fri Mar 24 14:51:45 2006 Campus

We have subscription access to Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, but on its page only the JSTOR link to old issues shows up.
Library response: This title is a very complicated one. We do have online access to it from the very beginning to the latest. But the title split and then each split changed it title several times. So to find the links to the most current issues, you have to be looking under the current title for each part. The two current titles are:

Proceedings. Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences

Proceedings. Biological sciences

Both of these titles are on JSTOR up to 2000, but the more current issues, are also available online -- two links from the catalog record for each title. The 2nd link on both record is to Ebscohost EJS and the most current issues are available from this link.

As I said, this is a complex title and complex cataloging for it. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Fri Mar 24 16:36:14 2006 Campus

i went to return a video/obtain a recipt of return today and was upset to see only one person dedicated to service in the front/checkout. i understand that budget cuts lead to modification in services and its hard to decide in favor of service or content, however content w/o service depersonalizes my experience and i just hope that you can open up more people run services. IF YOU SHOULD EVER DECIDE TO PROTEST THE BUDGET CUTS PLEASE INFORM ME I WOULD LIKE TO BE AN ALLY IN THAT STRUGGLE. I'VE BEEN A LIBRARY PATRON ALL 24YEARS OF MY LIFE AND I WON'T STOP NOW, EVEN IF I AM UNSATISFIED WITH MODIFICATIONS - RATHER I'LL BE ADOVCATE.
Library response: Thank you for your patronage and for your offer to support the library should we ever need it.  It is true that, over the past several years, we have experienced regular budget reductions in some areas but decisions as to how to handle these cuts have not been without rigorous analysis of our processes to minimize potentially negative impacts on any of our users.  Mostly, what we have been able to accomplish is to automate many of our more routine processes (such as checking books out) while still providing staff for in-person interactions in the cases where it is most appropriate (such as identifying resources for research).   We still place a high value on this personal interaction and, in fact, have several people available to assist members the public at any given time (if you take into account the staff who work in the Main Library Information Commons, 2nd floor Information Desk at the Main Library, Science-Engineering Library Information Desk, Special Collections, and our Fine Arts locations).  Additionally, we are making efforts to bring some of our student employees out from behind-the-scenes so that they can help users in the lobby of the Main Library.   Again, thank you for your comments and know that we are always looking to find ways to better serve our users.  Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.   Travis S Teetor, Materials Access Team

Mon Mar 27 15:39:16 2006 Off-campus

Please consider ordering the following book for our libarary: Elsevier's Dictionary of Psychological Theories Jon E. Roeckelein 2006 Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier ISBN-10: 0444517502 ISBN-13: 9780444517500
Library response: Thank you for your request.

Tue Mar 28 08:01:11 2006 Library

Hi, I'm not sure this is the right way to do this but there is a hole in one of the window on the second floor. It's small and hasn't cracked the paine but I figured you should know. It's all the way in the north east corner of the second floor, north-facing window, second from the east. It's about head height.
Library response: Thank you for notifying us about this potential problem. Your comment has been forwarded to the Building Manager for his attention. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Wed Mar 29 13:48:37 2006 Off-campus

Unfortunately I forgot to return a few books and had an enormous late fee. I called the library (621-6441) to find out why I owed so much. Mona (last name unknown) was extremely helpful. She helped me resolve the issue (after I found and returned the books) very quickly. She was both kind and prompt. I'd like to say thank you for having such personable and understanding staff. It was actually a pleasure (except the remaining late fee of course) doing business with you. Thank you
Library response: Thank you for sharing your comment with us. It was shared with Mona Ammon and the rest of the Library staff. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Thu Mar 30 07:11:27 2006 Campus

A quite smelly homeless looking gentleman has sat down beside me and is looking at questionable websites (ones involving nudity), which I find quite destracting. Is there any way that people can be kicked out of the library for smelling really bad, or looking at porn on the computers, as it is quite distracting to my studies?
Library response: Our library is open to the public and we made a conscious decision to not discriminate on the basis of appearance or personal characteristics. We did discuss the smell issue -- but it's hard to define "smelling bad" -- what about the person wearing perfume or after-shave that someone finds offensive? I'm not meaning to suggest that the person you are talking about does not smell bad, I'm sure he does. We just don't kick people out of the library for smelling bad.

We also have a policy that we don't censor what people view on the internet, as long as it is not illegal. But there are several things you can do if this happens again. If you come to the reference desk, we can either help you find a different computer -- or during this really busy time of the semester, we will ask the person, to either show us a catcard or get off the computer -- as students have priority. During other times, when there are lots of vacant computers -- we don't ask community people to leave, but we can help you find a different computer. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Fri Mar 31 14:48:41 2006 Campus

Library Photocopy Policy Not Upheld by Librarian The librarian on the ground floor sent about seven copies, two print jobs, to the printer last night around midnight, after stating that he could not accept my money, and that printing hours, even if one uses a credit card instead of a CAT card, end at 8 PM. This is against the library policy. Frankly, supporting a consistent library policy, rather than one of exceptions and special privilage, makes for a better administration for all concerned. 3/31/2006
Library response: I don't quite understand this comment, it appears that the library staff helped someone with a printing job after the Express Document Center was closed and now this person is complaining about it. The library does not have any way of having people pay for printing jobs after the Express Document Center closes. The only office that handles money or credit cards is the Document Center. Sometimes, if it is an emergency, the library staff at the IC desk will print a document for someone after hours. I guess this can be viewed as inconsistent library policy, but it can also be viewed as helping a fellow human being in need. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team