Feedback to the Library, June 2006

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.

Date/time Location

Fri Jun 2 20:45:04 2006 Off-campus

Your Naxos Music Library subscription has expired!
Library response: Thanks for letting us know about this problem. Our subscription runs through 2008, so we've contacted Naxos asking them about this. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Tue Jun 6 17:36:54 2006 Library

I checked my account online and discovered that my hold for an item on search had been removed without my authorization. It is a textbook that I need for next semester. The search had only been placed about two or three weeks prior to the date. I work at the library and was able to put the hold back myself, but was very irritated that the book was still on search and my hold was removed.
Library response: I am sorry you were annoyed by the removal of your hold. When we do not find an item that is "on search" after the 2-week search period, we assume it is stolen or otherwise not going to reappear. We then remove holds so that the customer will not be kept waiting forever. This usually enables them to then get the piece through Interlibrary Loan. Unfortunately, as your requested item is a textbook, the likelihood that it has been stolen rather than misplaced is extremely high, and Interlibrary Loan does not ILL textbooks. If you have further concerns about this process, you may talk to me or any staff member in MAT. Once again, I am sorry for your disappointment! Laura Lee Earles, Library Operations Supervisor

Sat Jun 10 12:12:09 2006 Off-campus

Subject: Netsite for the CCP aka Center for Creative Photography has dead links, and has not received any updates worthy of note since 2001. Let's get this netsite going correctly.
Library response: Thanks for your comment. I have forwarded it to the CCP email address. I've asked them to contact you about the dead links. I don't know if they are working on updating their website or not, but perhaps they will share their plans with you. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Librarian

Sat Jun 10 13:54:05 2006 Off-campus

Hi Good site. It would be desirable to return again and again!
Library response: Thank you for your comment.

Sun Jun 11 12:41:10 2006 Off-campus

Impossible to access the University Catalog on 11 June, 2006 1241 hrs.
Library response: I don't know what the problem was, but it is up and running now. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Mon Jun 12 08:33:17 2006 Off-campus

The SABIO interface is a pain the ass. Select to search by author from the drop down list and it still brings up a keyword search. Why the keyword default? Bring back the old interface.
Library response: The interface for the Online Catalog did change somewhat, but it always had a drop down box to choose the kind of search you wanted to do. I think it is easy to select the wrong search from the drop down menu, I have done this many times, and I think maybe that is what you are doing. The author and title searches do work correctly from the drop down menu. The catalog defaults to keyword search because that is the kind of search that the majority of people use in the catalog. Author and title are great for known item searches, but many more times people know the topic they are looking for but not any specific authors or titles -- keyword works best for this kind of search. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Mon Jun 12 10:16:32 2006 Campus

The library should obtain more thourough subscritions to the journals "Annalen der Physik" and "Z. Physik", these have some very important papers regarding breakthroughs in electromagnetics and optics. Our issues are not complete and do not go back far enough. I was looking for volume 25 from the year 1908 in Ann. der Physik, but the library does not have it. Also I am looking for a book called "Optical Properties of Metal Clusters" this is also a very important book related to optics it seems like all of the other Arizona universities have it except the U of A. If we could obtain a copy that would be great.
Library response: The Library been buying as much ejournal content as we can as publishers digitize complete runs of their back issues. Unfortunately we don't know how long it will be until this digitized backfile is available to the UA community, but the earliest run of Zeitschrift für Physik, v.1-52, 1920-1929, should be available in the basement of the Science-Engineering Library at Microfilm Number 2741 (later volumes are at QC1 .Z44). If we are missing the volume you need, Interlibrary Loan is be the quickest way for you to get a copy of an article not owned by the Library. Go to http://azilliad.library.arizona.edu/illiad/logon.html and enter your CatCard number to begin the request process. The digitized back issues of Annalen der Physik (1799-1997) were recently made available from Wiley publishers. We haven't purchased this content yet, although we'll be sure to look into this possibility asap. Interlibrary Loan should be able to provide you with copies of articles we don't own. Although you can't download the article itself at the moment, you can browse the publisher's site to cut and paste the citation you need into the InterLibrary Loan form. The book you mentioned is out of print, but we'll try to order another copy for the UA Library. Interlibrary Loan can also be used to borrow a copy from another library. Please feel free to contact me if you would like additional information. Jim Martin, Science-Engineering Library

Sat Jun 17 18:46:55 2006 Off-campus

Hi, I would like to suggest a Journal subscription to the library. The the title is Rejuvenation Research, by Mary Ann Liebert publishing. It focuses on engineered interventions against age-related diseases. The impact factor is > 8.5. Thanks.
Library response: Thanks for the journal suggestion. Since the Library is struggling with budget issues, we have had to be very selective with our subscription choices. I will add it to our list of items to be considered. I am also including the AZ Health Science Library in this email, as this is something that they have subscribed to in the past. Marianne Stowell Bracke, Science-Engineering Team

Mon Jun 19 20:32:28 2006 Campus

You should not ask vacum cleaner service when students are studying very hard. You do not have to study, so you do not know the vacum cleaner is too much loud and it bother our study.
Library response: We are sorry that the vacuuming bothered you while you were studying. It is important to us to get the library vacuumed and cleaned regularly and the schedule for this is determined by the custodial staff. They actually do most of this work during the less busy times in the library, so while they may have bothered you, they try to schedule it to only bother the least amount of people as possible. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Tue Jun 20 20:00:38 2006 Campus

Dear the main library, I greatly appreciate all staff including students at Information Common Help Desk on 1F, especially two library specialists, Ms. Crystal Shaffer and Ms. Ginger Culler.
Library response: Thank you for taking time to send us a positive comment about the library and some of our staff. The comment will be shared with all staff. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Librarian

Tue Jun 20 22:12:24 2006 Campus

SILENCE AS A REASONABLE ACCOMIDATION The study rooms are for noisy activities needing sequestering. Those with laptops, alone, should not be asked to leave AFTER those merely alone. BOth should be asked to leave when it is certain that noisier userS will need a place to talk etc. as during exams. Everyone needs silence when alone and those taking meds or not have no special right to better enforcment or private space. Rudeness isn't the right word but using the study room alone is breaking a rule, and during such times groups lacking boldness go without violating the spirit of the meritous rule. Talking groups of two should have priority over large 'study' groups that plan to only use there laptops and/or read silently etc. You should not fear standing up for the rest of us when someone drops the ADHD card!
Library response: I have a feeling that this comment relates to a specific incident around the use of our group study rooms, but I don't know exactly what the issue is and I can't figure it out from this comment. Our rule is that a group is defined as 3 or more people and that groups have preference over one or two users in those rooms. Those of us who work on the Info Commons reference desk are sometimes asked to help a group of 3 or more find a study room. When asked, we will approach study rooms with one or two users and ask them to leave the room so the larger group can use it. We don't have any written rules about who we ask to move -- I think most of us approach rooms with only one person in them before those with two people. I have also heard desk staff say that they will ask single study room users who are not using a laptop before they ask those who are using laptops or they ask those who are not using the whiteboards before asking those who are. But we don't have any policies about who we bump out of the room and we primarily use common sense to make these decisions. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team

Wed Jun 21 15:38:42 2006 Off-campus

I am not able to log on to the UA library website to view E-journals because my CAT card # isn't being accepted. Can you check to see why my CAT card number isn't being accepted? Thanks.
Library response: The reason that you weren't able to access E-journals is due to the fact that your old CatCard number was still listed in our database. Since your new card was issued in the summer and you aren't enrolled for any summer courses, you didn't come through in our download. However, since you were enrolled in the Spring and you are enrolled this Fall, I will manually update your account with your new CatCard number. You should now be able to access E-journals. Please contact me if you still have trouble getting access. Travis S. Teetor, Library Operations Supervisor

Wed Jun 28 13:22:44 2006 Campus

I was using a computer in the library on Jun 28, 1:00 pm, and I was getting many pop-ups. I thought the all computers had pop-up blockers that could not be disabled by users.
Library response: We have no popup blockers enabled on the public computers because this can interfere or prevent our online databases and catalog from working properly. If you would wish to activate the popup blocker while you are using one of the library Gateway computers (not Macintosh), you can do so by clicking the Options button on the Google toolbar within Internet Explorer. You then can check the box called "Popup Blocker". When the computer is rebooted or logged back on, this setting will be reset to off. Mike Birdwell, DLIST

Wed Jun 28 13:45:46 2006 Off-campus

I would like to suggest that you all consider changing the name of your "alumni" borrower's card to the "alumni association" borrower's card because of the requirement that one must also pay for a membership to the UA alumni association in order to obtain your "alumni" borrower's card for $50. Since the cost of a basic alumni association membership is $50 then essentially there is no difference in cost between alumni and community borrower's cards. It's $100 for each. If you really wanted to offer the many alumni of the UA a borrower's card that served them, regardless of any affiliation with the alumni association, you might consider honoring their accomplishments by offering them benefits beyond those extended to community users. Surely we graduates are less of a risk to your cost recovery bottom line than community user's. As it stands, your so-called "alumni" borrower's card is no more than a frequent flyer type of perk for alumni association members only.
Library response: Thank you for your suggestion to change the name of our alumni card. Traditionally we have only offered a community user card, but during the past year we have partnered with the Alumni Association to be able to provide this alumni card. Please know that our library is open to all users. You can come in and use our material and computers free of charge. Even with our continual budget cuts, we work to maintain this commitment. It is only if you really need to check-out material that you would have to purchase a library card. Robyn Huff-Eibl
Team Leader, Materials Access Team