Feedback to the Library, October 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
Sun Oct 1 02:21:49 2006 Campus
It would be nice if I could print from my laptop to a printer in the library...or for that matter...any of the other printers on campus. I realize this probably isn't a library issue specifically.
But basically when I am in the library working on my laptop and I need to print something and ALL the computers in the ILC are in use, it would be nice to print straight from my laptop... :)
My previous school allowed this...and we were on a wireless connection too..but they used a different printing software called PrintWise. I just give this for reference...obviously the school isn't going to switch to this other software but maybe someone smart can figure out a way to let people print wirelessly from their laptops.
Library response: We are working on this, but in the meantime you can come to the IC desk and we can put files on our flash drive and print for you. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Sun Oct 1 17:45:12 2006 Library
Reading last months comments just now has me realise that there are in fact many waterless urinals 'in the building.' Rather then install shelving above them though perhaps a sign at the obsolete, unreliable and even unpleasant ones letting people know that downstairs they can use modern equipment, so that they don't ignore that option as I have.
It would help of course if they didn't get locked up most of the day perhaps as they might be now. That just occurs to me though. Interesting relationships between water and stone come to mind but I doubt this cost of only using those new urinals when they make the least sense rationally has been included in any way.
Library response:
Thanks for your comments. They have been passed on to the building manager.
Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Mon Oct 2 13:39:53 2006 Campus
There is a large smelly man who decided to plop down next to me in the computers. He is wearing shoes with no socks, so you can imagine how badly my eyes are watering.
While I know that you can't specifically tell people they smell, I think that it is terrible the rest of us must endure stench and people who spend hours downloading internet games.
This is a school and students should be given first priority.
Library response:
We really can't do anything about people who smell. We do not discriminate based on physical appearance or hygiene. But we don't allow downloading of files in the Info Commons or game playing when it is busy. So if someone is doing something on the computer that they should not be doing -- that can be reported to the IC desk. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Tue Oct 3 16:12:37 2006 Campus
I'm a researcher in School of Natural Resources, and I use (and take) the journal Chelonian Conservation and Biology. It is by now a stable, fully accepted "white literature" source use by all turtle ecologists and conservationists, and also by others in conservation biology. I suggest UA should have an institutional subscription.
Is this the right place to make this request?
Library response:
Thanks for your suggestion regarding the journal Chelonian Conservation & Biology: International Journal of Turtle and Tortoise Research (OCLC: 28739840; ISSN: 1071-8443).
I have added it to the Science-Engineering Team's ongoing wish list. The team is currently figuring how deal with the current and projected information access budget deficit of several hundred thousand dollars, so it will be challenging to add new titles.
We will be looking at price, availability at other libraries in the state or region, interlibrary loan data and local (UA campus) citation patterns for this and all other new titles under consideration.
Chelonian Conservation & Biology is inexpensive (subscription cost for institutions is $100.00 for each volume of 4 issues published over a two year period) and is not widely held by libraries in the region or even beyond.
I will support adding this title to our collection if at all possible.
SET is planning to begin discussions soon on the titles being requested. I'll let you know as soon as possible what the outcome is. Jeanne L. Pfander, Science-Engineering Team
Fri Oct 6 15:06:18 2006 Campus
A student came to see me today regarding an article that he has to find. We started a chat session with a librarian and she didn't help at all. We spent almost an hour and still she counldn't find an article. Not sure what to do in this matter.
Library response:
This comment came with no name or email, so it is impossible to get back to this person to get more details. There are many articles that we do own or cannot get access to in our library, but the person who you chatted with should have recommended Interlibrary Loan. If we cannot provide access to articles from our library, we do have this free service that will get the article from another library and email it to you.
It also could be that not all the information existed for this article, so that what the person was trying to do in the Chat session was verify that the article existed. This sometimes happens and sometimes we cannot locate the article because the information is incorrect or lacking. Without more information, it is really hard to know what was really happening in this Chat interaction. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Sun Oct 8 08:11:05 2006 Off-campus
Dear UA librarians,
I am a recent UA graduate and have been enjoying our rich UA lib. online database for the past 5 years. The school I am currently working with does not have as extensive online database. So, can I pay some fee just to access online databases (psychinfo and many others)? I also learn that there are other graduates sharing similar needs.
Library response:
First of all, I'm happy that you enjoyed and used our resources while you here. They are very extensive and not all students use them to full advantage, so I'm glad you did. Also, congratulations on graduating.
There is no way to offer these resources to non-current students or alums at this time. I know there are other graduates out there who would be interested in this. I will forward your email, as a good idea, to one of our planning groups in the library. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Librarian
Mon Oct 9 13:53:25 2006 Off-campus
Entering into the UofA Library resources could be a gem of an opportunity for my research. I am a Pima College Student and thus, appear to be blocked for research queries online for my parapsychology topic.
What do you recommend for this Pima student?
Library response:
Pima College has some databases that you can access remotely. Go to the Pima College Library page at http://www.pima.edu/library/ Then select magazine, journal and newspaper articles under the heading Library Resources. I would suggest for a parapsychology topic to use these databases: Academic OneFile, OneFile, and Psychology and Behaviorial Sciences. You should be able to find articles on your topic in these. You will need to type in your name and Pima id number.
You can also come into the UofAZ library and use any of our databases. The garage across from the library is open and free to anyone after 5 pm on week nights and all day Saturday and Sunday (except for game days -- on game days it is impossible to get close to campus in a car!)
Finally, the Tucson Pima Public library offers remote access to their databases too. You need a library card, but it is pretty easy to get one, if you don't already. They have access to Academic Search Elite -- which is a good multidisciplinary database. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Tue Oct 10 08:42:42 2006 Library
suggestion- tie look up computer in main library to a printout similar to receipt printer...this would allow us to use the lookup facilities faster, and more accurately..it would free up the search machines and give us a written record for later search or reference it would help if it were in mla or similar reference style.
Library response:
I am the person who reads all the library comments. I have to admit that I don't understand what you are suggesting. What do you mean by the look up computer in the main library? Can you explain your
idea in a little more detail or give me a call 626-3902? Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Library
Wed Oct 11 13:38:30 2006 Off-campus
Sometimes when I try to login on the User Verification page, it seems to get stuck on that page and never logs in. Is this because the library system is too busy?
Thanks!
Library response:
If you keep getting the verification page back with the message "That name or CatCard number was incorrect..." it means there is problem identifying you are a valid user against the data the library downloads from the University's system. Please check that you're using your last name in the form it appears in University records and that the CatCard number that appears on the front of your CatCard is being typed correctly.
If you have just replaced your CatCard there may be a few days delay in getting the new data loaded.
If you keep having a problem please feel free to give me a call. I can double check that we have the correct information for you to log in.
If you aren't getting any sort of message and you have a firewall installed on your computer, please check your firewall settings to be sure that cookies to ezproxy.library.arizona.edu are not being blocked. Gene Spesard, Digital Library & Information Systems Team
Wed Oct 11 20:43:51 2006 Campus
I wanted to let you know that the link to the Wilson OmniFile: Full Text Select is not working.
Thanks.
Library response:
It is working now, 11:50 Thursday morning, in the library. Were you trying it from off campus? Did you just click on it once? I've found lately that many databases take multiple tries to get in. I'll get a can't found page the first time and even the second, but then it works. Anyway, please try again and let us know, if it still is not working and where you are located. Thanks. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Sat Oct 14 09:50:19 2006 Off-campus
Introduction to Algorithms -- A Creative Approach, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, April 1989 (eleventh printing, 1994)i want this book,please help me.
Library response:
It looks like we do not own this book in the library. If you are a student at UA, you can use interlibrary to order this book, but it will probably take from 1-2 weeks to get it from another library. You can find the link to Interlibrary Loan on the library's homepage under SERVICES or you can call them at 621-6438 and ask them about this. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Sat Oct 14 10:37:52 2006 Off-campus
How does one report a missing book on this website? Surely there ought to be a prominent way of doing this.
Yesterday I found that two books, reported to be in the library, are missing. They are
K. J Dover, The Greeks and their legacy, PA27.D734.1988
and
T. Sinclair, A history of Greek political thought, 320.938.S61h.
The Sinclair is an old book and presumably hard to replace, but the Dover is an important contemporary book and the library needs to replace it if it cannot be found.
Library response:
We do not currently offer a way for patrons to report books as missing via our website. The reasoning behind this is because much of the time, the items patrons are unable to find are not in fact missing. They often have different locations, are checked-out, or are found either in the correct place or slightly misshelved. This is why we ask that if you are unable to find an item, please come to the Information Desk found in the 2nd floor lobby; we will be able to assist you in searching for the item, placing a hold on it for you, and/or placing an interlibrary loan request. This is also helpful to other patrons; we will change the status in the online catalog so others realize the item has gone missing. While these are our current policies, I am passing this feedback along to Travis Teetor, a Library Operations Supervisor who will review this request. I searched for the two items you were unable to find, and was able to locate one of them. The following item was not found and I have placed a hold request on it for you. It will go through a two-week search process and you will be notified of the results:
AUTHOR Sinclair, T. A. (Thomas Alan), 1899-1961.
TITLE A history of Greek political thought.
CALL # 320.938 S61h
LOCATIONS mn
We found the other item and I have placed a hold on it for you; you may pick it up at the Open Holds section found on the 2nd floor:
AUTHOR Dover, Kenneth James.
TITLE The Greeks and their legacy : collected papers / K.J. Dover.
CALL # PA27 .D734 1988
LOCATIONS mn
Please let me know if you require further assistance. Rebecca Blakiston, Materials Access Team
Thu Oct 19 11:28:15 2006 Off-campus
This is the 3rd time I have tried to read a series of books & you will have 1 or 2 of the series---but not all of the series. Is it unrealistic to expect that a library would carry a complete series??????
Library response: There are many reasons why we may not have all volumes of a series. Without knowing what titles you are talking about, it is impossible for us to answer this comment. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Thu Oct 19 14:57:52 2006 Off-campus
Just an FYI on a bad link.
I did a search for the book Showdown by Jorge Amado. (PQ9697.A647 T7413 1988) Doing a title search gave me two results.
The first result "Showdown -- See Amado, Jorge, 1912-2001. Tocaia Grande. English" is no good. The link sends me to a page with many Jorge Amado titles with "Your limiting title was not found and was therefore not used" at the top. Title #7 has a link for "Showdown -- See Tocaia Grande. English" which again is no good.
The second result "Tocaia Grande. English" IS good. :)
I also get two results when doing an author search for "Amado, Jorge". The first result is "Amado, Jorge, 1912- " with 76 listings. This result contains the good link for the book Showdown.
The second result "Amado, Jorge, 1912-2001. -- 15 entries" is the one with the bad link.
I'd also like to add that I did a search for In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. I was disappointed to find NO titles in the main library, but THREE listed under special collections. It sure would be nice to have at least one copy of this title for people to check out and read! I also would like to read Yo! by Julia Alvarez, but the only UofA copy is in special collections. :(
Library response:
This one is kind of confusing. Thank you for notifying us about it. If you do a search on Amado Jorge there are two separate files for him -- one with all his titles under Amado Jorge, 1912- and a second one with all his cross-refs that has his death date on it. It is now fixed, so your comment has helped us make the online catalog better for everyone -- thanks. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Mon Oct 23 13:25:49 2006 Off-campus
Hello
Just a little feedback... I am a new Ph.D. student in the history department who is conducting research on rodeo cowgirls in the 1920s-1940s. The U of A has plenty of books that would be of use to me, if I could gain access to them. The problem is that they are all held in Special Collections, regaurdless of if they were written in 1930 or 2006. This means that I have to be able to get to the library within the limited hours of "Special Collections" (which is very difficult because, like many graduate students, I have a work during the day). This also means that I have to essentially transcribe the book for it to be of use to me in writing my article- which is unnecessarily time consuming. It really just doesn't make any sense. If there was some sort of western display where the books needed to be laid out, perhaps I could better understand this situation. But, they are held in a back room and I have to go though a pseudo-security screening to even look at them... it doesn't make any sense to me. It certainly doesn't not help me to conduct research for articals and conference papers that would both benefit my academic endeavors and bolster the school's reputation as an academic institution, and it certainly does not encourage this type of western research. If "rodeo cowgirls" was not an ongoing research project of mine, I would certainly choose another topic, considering the difficulties in accessing the materials I need (most of which is current research and autobiographies).
I urge you to please reconsider this situation
Library response:
Special Collections has a mission to be as comprehensive as possible in acquiring materials relating the Arizona and the Southwest and in building a solid research collection, they buy and preserve whatever they can find that fits their mission. They actually have a special dealer who automatically sends them any new books that come out that fit into being about Arizona and the Southwest. The Southwest is defined in a very broad way dipping into Mexico, New Mexico, West Texas, Utah and Colorado, and also covers topics that are important for Southwestern studies, such as ranch life and cowgirls. As a special archive for this material it is kept perpetually. By being in Special Collections is guarantees that this material is always available and will be preserved for future use. Most scholars depend upon the preservation role of an archive and know that they will have to manage their research according to the archive restrictions. If, however, you know of a specific book that you are using that would be of use to more than the specialized scholar and it is still available to purchase, I’d be happy to order if for the circulating collection. It is also possible that some of the books you need are available at other libraries and you could use InterLibrary Loan to borrow the book. In the note field of the ILL form, say that you need to use this book for research and the copy in Special Collections restricts your usage time. Ruth Dickstein, Social Sciences Team
Mon Oct 23 19:40:33 2006 Campus
It's unfortunate that, as numerous U of A students search for a computer in the ILC, high school students are monopolizing the resources while searching their myspace profiles. I understand that these computers are for everyone to use and that students have first priority however, at 7:30 on a Monday evening in the midst of midterm season there should be a strict 'students only policy' for university computers. The alternative is losing valuable study time which shouldn't be compromised for members of the community to satisfy their play time on the university's computers. Furthermore, as an out of state resident who pays over $7,000/semester to attend the U of A, I don't feel that I should have to wait in line behind these teenagers or any other indivuals who do not attend the university. Bottom line: if people don't have business at the university they shouldn't be in the ILC.
Library response:
During busy times in the Info Commons (IC), UA students have priority. If you believe that computers are being used by high school students, come tell us at the IC desk. We will verify whether or not someone is a UA student and if not, we ask them to leave the computer. So please let us know, if this is happening. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Tue Oct 24 06:39:33 2006 Off-campus
I am not sure why "course reserves" needs to be down for an entire day, however, I would think that at the very least an email would have been sent out to all of those who have an "@email.arizona.edu" email. I am not a happy camper!
Library response:
We would only bring down course reserves in the middle of the semester for an emergency. I doubt if anyone has an email list of all the @email.arizona.edu emails -- but the library certainly doesn't have this. We should have put a notice on the library website, about reserves being down, and I apologize if we didn't do this. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Tue Oct 24 21:54:53 2006 Off-campus
I am wondering if it is possible for a student with learning difficiencies to get a study carrel. I noticed a sign on the main floor of the science/engineering library for the application, but it seems to only be for teaching faculty or research faculty.
Are there any exceptions to this critieria??
I would appreciate your feedback.
Thank you.
Library response:
Per the Library policy, Study Carrels can only be issued to PHD Candidates (who are enrolled for classes and passed exams) and/or active Research Associates, Professors, Emeritus, Associate Professors, Visiting Scholars, and Teaching Assistants. I have a long waiting list for the Study Carrels. At present, there are no vacant Study Carrels available. To be fair, the next vacant Study Carrel will have to go to the next applicant at the top of the waiting list who meets the criteria requirements for a Study Carrel. On the 4th and 5th floor, however, we do have open Study Rooms available for anyone to use on a first come, first serve basis. No sign-up is required. Anjili Marie TaiLin, Materials Access Team
Wed Oct 25 00:13:17 2006 Off-campus
I just want to say the meta search (or whatever you call it) kicks a$$.
Technically it's called Central Search. I appreciate how I can select categories (for me it's area studies and social sciences) and get articles in English and Spanish at the same time across hundreds of journals. This finds that middle ground between big, sometimes clunky search crawlers and the tedious method of going journal by journal or category by category. This makes life easier, and that seems to be a consistent goal of this library (Except when it comes to laptop theft, but that's really personal responsibility isn't it?).
Library response: It's great that you have found Central Search useful and that you are using it. The library is trying to make life (academic, research life) as easy as we can for the university community, but I think few of our customers appreciate this or, at least, comment on it. So thanks for doing both.
We are concerned about laptop theft as well, but you are correct that it is a personal responsibility. I am always amazed at the number of purses, backpacks and laptops I see left unattended each day. Wish we lived in a world where we didn't have to lock our doors or worry about theft. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Wed Oct 25 09:00:15 2006 Campus
Thanks so much for all the organized information and for always being so friendly. I've never had a problem finding everything I need, and it has never been intimidating to ask a question. It has made the transition from High School so much easier!
Library response:
Thank you for your nice comment, it was shared with all staff including all desk staff. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Thu Oct 26 22:29:36 2006 Campus
Hi, I received a notice to renew my books:
10-16-06
Dear Library Customer:
This is a courtesy notice. The item(s) listed below are due
in 11 days. Please return or renew (if eligible)the
item(s) by the due date to avoid late fees.
You can renew your books online at:
https://sabio.library.arizona.edu/patroninfo.
I tried to renew them online but it says I have none checked out. This could be because when I checked them out I did it with my ID and not my cat card. I replaced my catcard. I would like to renew the books. Thank you.
Library response:
You are correct that the books were checked-out on your old CatCard. You actually had two different accounts listed; I have now merged these accounts and deleted your old CatCard number. You should now be able to renew online. Let me know if you require further assistance. Rebecca Blakiston, Materials Access Team
Sun Oct 29 12:57:50 2006 Off-campus
Very nice site!
Library response: Thank you.