Feedback to the Library, August 2007
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
Wed Aug 1 15:13:04 2007 Campus
Hi, can you please get the SPSS program working again. There seems to be a licensing issue. I need to analyze my data urgently and find it difficult to work without the SPSS program. Thanks.
Library response: SPSS works on most machines in the Main Information Commons and students should try another machine, if it doesn’t work on one machine. We cannot fix the license problem (see explanation below) until early January.
The licensing problem arose a couple months ago when it was time to renew the static SPSS licenses with CATS bookstore. The license activation that had to be done manually to each computer simply ran out due to limitations out of our control. As a result, we are in the process of acquiring network licenses directly from the SPSS company.
Jackie Yabeny-Bahe, Digital Library and Information Systems Team
Wed Aug 1 17:25:26 2007 Off-campus
Am working on a book of my time with Hollis Littlecreek. Would you send me information on what archives you may have there regarding him, so that I may research this. thank you.
Library response:
I could find nothing about him from UA Special Collections general access points. There are websites that discuss his work, i.e. http://theearthkeepers.com/sing/2007/05/ Since he is from Minnesota, perhaps an archive relating to the Red Lake reservation there has more about him. Bonnie Travers, Special Collections
Sat Aug 4 17:19:18 2007 Campus
today on 8/4/2007, I was at 4th floor in the main library. It is way too cold up there. The other person who also studies in the 4th floor wears a sweatshirt in the summer! Actually, every time I use the library, it's too cold. I need to bring a blanket or something. It's not only for me, but also you the University are wasting a lot of energy for this. If you increase even one degree of temperature in the library, the University can reduce a lot of cost for energy usage, I guess. I strongly recommend you overlook the temperature in the library and in the classroom as well to reduce wasting energy use. Thank you for your attention.
Library response:
The temperature for the Main Library is set at 74 degrees to accommodate the customers and requirements for preservation of print collections. The system is monitored remotely by University FM for proper operation and temperature range. When a problem is reported to the Library staff we notify University FM to take action to fix the situation. Jim Fromm, Partners and Technical Services Teams
Mon Aug 6 17:12:15 2007 Campus
Word 2007 doesn't work very well I can't find the help screen and everything is different but not better! Also, the computers in the lower level of the ILC with the new software aren't working very well - it takes forever to go from page to page and when you try to go back you almost always get an error message. I had to put in an URL I knew was good three times and at first I kept getting a false 4040 message. I liked the old computers better
Library response:
We have noticed that some of the computers are not acting correctly since the new software was added. But it would help us to know what computers you were using -- main library IC or science library IC -- and what exactly was sluggish -- just the opening of software (and what software) and/or operations once in the software. The more details you can give us the quicker our tech staff can figure out what the problem is. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Mon Aug 6 17:38:07 2007 Campus
Was sup with the new computers they dont work?????
Library response: This comment was written during the time that the Info Commons computers were being re-imaged. There are always glitches in performance during this period, but they all get worked out, just in time for the next re-imaging. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Wed Aug 8 08:52:05 2007 Campus
I recently ordered a book and CD set through ILL. The CD came, but the book did not. I needed the book for an audition that was just a few days away and called ILL immediately. Linda Dols was so kind, and put a rush order on it. The item arrived the next day and she even called me to let me know when I could pick it up!
I cannot thank Linda enough for her help with this. I have had several negative encounters with UA staff this summer from many areas of campus and I was so thrilled to finally find someone who really cared about their clients/customers. I hope that the library and its administrators realize what a professional, curteous, and thoughful person they have on their staff.
The ironic part of the story is that the audition committee pulled the excerpt from the audition yesterday due to the number of complaints regarding locating and accessing the music. I feel like writting to the committee, snubbing my nose at them, and saying "Well, the UA library was able to locate it!".
:)
Library response:
Thanks for taking the time to tell us about this. It's always good to hear from people who appreciate our staff. The comment was shared with Linda and her supervisor. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Wed Aug 8 20:44:50 2007 Campus
COMPUTER NUMBER ICPUB680 NEEDS NEW MOUSE, HARD TO CLICK WITH.
THANKS
Library response:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Fri Aug 10 08:12:24 2007 Library
Microsoft Office 2007 SUCKS! It really really sucks!
It's going to take me forever to do a paper now.
Thanks a lot.
Library response: Unfortunately all software products get updated on a fairly regular basis. The producer of the software, in this case Microsoft, probably thinks they are improving their products with each upgrade. Those of us who have to work daily with these products are not always sure that the upgrade is an improvement. We have to upgrade our Office products, sooner or later, and we were beginning to have students and faculty using Office 2007 more and more. Also, all the other computer labs on campus were changing to Office 2007, so we needed to stay in line with them. But those of us who will be working at the desk, helping people adjust to the new look of the Office products, are not wildly happy about the very radical changes in these software products. If you need help in figuring out how to use Word 2007, please come to the IC desk and we will try to help you. We are learning it too, but the best way to learn is use the product and teach it to others. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Fri Aug 10 09:29:52 2007 Library
Please consider putting Black's Law Dictionary online. It would save me a trip over to the Law library, which I found out is under some type of construction.
I can't find it by googling it and it doesn't appear to be in your links although I may be looking in the wrong place. It would make my life a lot simpler if it were easier to get to good dictionaries, thesauri and stuff like Black's law online while I'm typing
Thank you in advance for considering this
Library response:
There is no online version available, but the 2004 print edition for the Library and is now available in the Information Commons reference area.
Mon Aug 13 09:14:02 2007 Library
Microsoft word 2007 is NOT better. I have to re-learn the whole thing and THERE'S NO HELP SCREENS
I don't have time to re-learn an application!!!!!
Library response: See the reply above.
Mon Aug 13 12:19:33 2007 Campus
I believe the new software added to the computers in the main library have made the computers annoyingly slow and sometimes stalled. This problem should be corrected in my opinion.
Library response:
We have noticed that some of the computers are not acting correctly since the new software was added. But it would help us to know what computers you were using -- main library IC or science library IC and what exactly was sluggish -- just the opening of software (and what software) and/or operations once in the software. The more details you can give us the quicker our tech staff can figure out what the problem is. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Fri Aug 17 13:09:08 2007 Campus
I noticed that your library doesn't have a section for "fun reads." I'm incredibly disappointed to see that I can no longer just go to a certain section in the library and just scan some popular books and choose one to read. My undergrad school had a section like this - it wasn't huge or anything, but it was very popular nonetheless.
Just a suggestion. Thanks for reading!
Library response:
We do have quite a few novels, so try searching our catalog for your favorite author. Our fiction collection is stronger in classic literature and authors that are taught in classes, rather than a lot of contemporary authors. But you can get a public library card very easily and there is a branch library within walking distance to the university. You can go online, find the books you want have them delivered to any branch (Himmel is the branch close to the University) and they will notify you when the books are there. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Fri Aug 17 13:39:21 2007 Campus
What is wrong with all your library computers?
Please fix them. Very slow. Lock up all the time.
Library response:
We have noticed that some of the computers are not acting correctly since the new software was added. But it would help us to know what computers you were using -- main library IC or science library IC and what exactly was sluggish -- just the opening of software (and what software) and/or operations once in the software. The more details you can give us the quicker our tech staff can figure out what the problem is. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Sun Aug 19 17:15:28 2007 Off-campus
If I start typing a search on the front page, toggle to a different screen to check my search terms, and then go back, my search terms disappear. This is in Firefox.
Library response:
We have 100s of different databases linked from the library's site. I can't respond to this comment because I have no idea what database this problem was occurring in. To anyone reading this, please be specific and give details when you are reporting a problem -- better yet, if anyone is having problems with a library database, either come to the Info Commons desk or call that desk and get help immediately, while you are having the problem. The phone number is 621-6442. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Mon Aug 20 14:42:06 2007 Library
I HATE Microsoft word 2007
I can't change the margins
I can't change the line spacing
I can't write a reseach paper on this thing!!!!!!
EVERYTHING IS UNDERLINED AND I CANT SHUT OFF THE UNDERLINING
Half of my paper starts in the middle of the page and I don't know what to do to get it over to the margin!
Nothing works the way its supposed to work
I can't find the settings I can't change the settings I can't find anything and the help screen is worthless
what good is it to tell me to find the "tables group" if I don't know what that means?
I can't do any school work because of this!!!!
WHY DID YOU INSTALL THIS.
Library response:
See reply above.
Mon Aug 20 14:46:19 2007 Library
Nothing on the Microsoft 2007 help screen has any realtion to the real world
From the Microsoft 2007 help screen
"I can't find the advanced settings I used in earlier versions of Office
To make the user interface of many 2007 Microsoft Office system programs easy to use, many of the less commonly used settings for features such as compatibility, editing, printing, and saving have been placed in the Adv
anced category in the Program Name Options dialog box. If there is a setting that you usually changed in earlier versions of Microsoft Office programs but that you cannot find where you think it should be in the new Program Name Options dialog box, you might find it among the advanced settings.
Note If you upgrade from an earlier version of Microsoft Office to the 2007 Microsoft Office system, the settings from the earlier version are kept.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Access Options, Excel Options, PowerPoint Options, or Word Options.
Click Advanced.
Look for the setting on the Advanced category. The settings are organized by feature category."
I tried this, there is no way to reach these so-called advanced settings.
Microsoft 2007 is completely useless for writing research papers and dissertations -- thanks a lot for making my life a living hell
Library response: The Unversity Library does not control Microsoft and how they change their products. They came out with a new version and we had to change -- we put off the change for as long as we could and it was better to make the change during the summer rather than in the middle of a semester. We did not do this to torment our users and we are struggling with the new look of these products right along with everyone else. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Tue Aug 21 18:10:04 2007 Campus
Will you do something about MS 2007 - it is possessed by Satan
It took twenty minutes to open, it froze the screen and then it opened 9 copies of itself
It froze when I try to save my document
It wouldn't let me recover my document and it froze again when I tried to close it
I accomplished nothing today
It's like a lot of relationships I've had with psychotic ....
Library response: I think the problems this person is talking about were due more to the unstable nature of the computers during the time they were being ghosted (new software being added to all of them), than they were due to MS 2007 -- although it did bring its own problems. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Thu Aug 23 17:34:03 2007 Campus
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a new graduate student at the University of Arizona and although I am impressed with the facilities offered by the library here, the study areas are seriously lacking. I did my undergraduate studies at both the University of Mary Washington as well as the University of Virginia, and the study areas provided by the University of Arizona poorly compare. The library should be a reflection of scholarship, and it seems that little attention has been devoted to making the study environment friendly and or accommodating.
The problems in general concern the 2nd-4th floors.In previous institutions I attended, each desk had an outlet for the computer as well as a lamp built into the desk. Although overhead lights are good, they are not bright enough for students who do a lot of close reading. I have tried to find out if there were any areas in the library that provided this feature, but unfortunately discovered that there was no such area. I am surprised that the desks do not contain these features, and can only hope that there will be some future renovations.
The second problem has to do with the layout and size of the desks in general. The desks are rather small for the the workload of a student especially if one needs to have a laptop on at the same time. For example, if trying to do research, it would be hard to have both books as well as a laptop on the desk. Of course, there are the tables, but this does not always allow for privacy and most importantly concentration if other students are occupying the chairs.
It seems that the furnishings are also a bit outdated. At previous places,many of the desks were built-ins so as to allow for the possibility of plugs and overhead lights. At one institution, they even had a cubby system with comfortable seats and large desk spaces on the top and bottom levels. The comfort level also poses a problem as many of the seat cushions are thinning and make for a very hard seat. I would think that the university would want to update the study areas more.
The last problem has to do with the cleanliness of the 3rd and 4th floors. In the times that I have been up there, it has unfortunately contained trash and even food remains on the floor. It is sad to see that such an excellent institution would not try to maintain these areas in a better fashion. Also, the carpet does appear to be in need of replacement, but as I know this is not always possible, it could at least use a good cleaning.
In general, I am an avid library user, but am quite disappointed at the study areas offered by this one. The information commons is impressive as are the study rooms offered on that floor, but it is important to have other study areas in the library that are just as nice and inviting to students. In all previous libraries that I have used including local libraries, they always seemed to be extremely clean and the desk space was neat and offered the features described above.
I hope that the university has plans to make this library better as it is important to me as a student. I also think it will reflect well on the university while also making the library a more attractive place to study for incoming students. The higher floors certainly have a lot of potential and hopefully more funds as well as effort will be spent on realizing that potential.
From a concerned student.
Library response:
We are always interested in improving study areas in the library, but our main obstacle is our very limited budget. But in fact in this last year, we were able to get some money to repaint all the group study rooms and mount white boards in them. Up until now, most of the study rooms only had chalkboards. We recommended other improvements, including new tables and chairs, but there wasn't money for them.
We will try to make improvements as we can, but for the last 10 years, the library's budget has been cut each year rather than expanded, so money to make improvements is very very limited. We have noted your suggestions for lamps and computer outlets at each study desk. I have also forwarded your message to the group in the library who oversee study space.
If you need more space to study, you might consider using one of the study rooms, either in the Main or Science-Engineering library. Those rooms, even the smallest ones, offer more space to spread out and most have outlets for computers. While these rooms are intended for group work, they are in reality more often used by individuals and many of the rooms in the Science-Engineering Library go unused. Two other nice study areas are the 1st floor research area, to the left of the desk when you enter the library, and also the Special Collections reading room. Also all floors of both libraries have wireless access, so computers with wireless should work everywhere.
As a graduate student, you will also be eligible to apply for a study carrel, if you are a Ph.D candidate beyond your prelims. I realize this won’t work for you as a new graduate student, but perhaps it work later. The information about study carrels is at: http://www.library.arizona.edu/services/carrels/application.html
You are correct in noting that furnishings of both these libraries are older and are showing their wear. Our first priority is for new tables and chairs in the Science-Engineering Library, which is in much worse shape that the Main Library. We are also very concerned about the upkeep of both libraries, but particularly the Main Library. The Main Library is open almost almost 24x7 and we have thousands of students using the Information Commons and the rest of the Main Library every week. Our custodial help is not adequate to keep up with the tremendous use of this building. We are constantly trying to get Facilities Management on campus to provide the library with more hours and/or custodial staff. You are concerned with the cleanliness of the 3rd and 4th floors, but we are concerned with the cleanliness of the whole building. We just aren't sure what to do about it. The library staff is stretched very thin just trying to do our library jobs, we really can't take on cleaning the building too. I'm afraid I don't have any very positive answers to your comments. But one thing I can suggest. You can send your comments and your concerns to the University Administration. Perhaps your comments would be the impetus for them giving the Libraries more money for the physical environment and for increased custodial care. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team
Mon Aug 27 18:29:08 2007 Off-campus
I am finding it almost impossible to use the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the wait time for pages to come up is interminable (and my system often times out before the page comes up). Do we have enough subcriptions to the resource? or is there some other problem?
Thanks for checking.
Library response: There must have been a problem with the server or the vendor of this online encyclopedia, because we heard from this person and it was working the next day. Vicki Mills, Undergraduate Services Team.
Fri Aug 31 20:21:16 2007 Campus
I was wondering if there were any plans in the future to improve the study spaces in the library which would include adding individual lamps and outlets to the study desks. I have provided some links below of what I was talking about in a previous e-mail I sent to you. http://www.library.umw.edu/tour/lobcarrels.html http://www.library.umw.edu/tour/treehouse.html
Library response: See long response to similar question above