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Newsletter 12, June 1996 Library Services: Feedback

Your Comments and Questions Answered

Comments from students and staff on the Library and its facilities and services are being encouraged through the introduction of a Customer Comments Card. We want our users to tell us what they think of us.

The cards have been freely available in the Libraries for you to question us on our provision and policies or to comment on our services and facilities. If you provide us with your name and address, we undertake to give you a personal response, but we also welcome anonymous comments.

Completed cards are placed in a sealed box which is opened once a week by Library staff. A selection of the comments, and our responses, is pinned up on noticeboards in the libraries, and some of the recent ones are reproduced here.

Following the successful implementation of Customer Comments Cards in Library Services, it is proposed to extend the scheme to all of Learning Support Services. Customer Comments Cards will be available at all our service points, and you will now be able to comment upon all of our services. We hope to reproduce further comments and our responses in future issues of the LSS Newsletter.

Would it be possible to get students to replace books on trolleys rather than shelves? This would save frustration when trying to locate books which have been mis-shelved.

All users are asked to return books to trolleys whenever possible. Remember that, if you are unable to find the book on the shelf, you can ask at the Enquiry Desk for a stock query card to be filled in. Staff will then search for the book, and we will inform you if we are able to locate it.

Why are there only three photocopiers in the Brunswick Library?

There are proportionately fewer users per copier in Brunswick than in the other two libraries. Increasing the number of photocopiers would reduce demand on each one and make it more difficult for us to recover our costs, almost certainly leading to increased charges. The Library is open 67+ hours a week and demand is relatively slack in the evenings and on Sundays.

Simple breakdowns - paper jams etc. - although annoying are normally dealt with by library staff. More serious crashes, which need an engineer, may take longer to put right. Response times are normally within 24 hours, though if parts are needed, as happened with two of the machines just before Christmas, longer delays may occur. Machine reliability would improve with more considerate use.

Why is the Brunswick Library not open on Saturdays?

Weekend opening began on a trial basis almost a year ago. With costs in mind, it was decided to open on one day initially and Sunday was chosen as the most appropriate day since experience at both Calverley Street and Beckett Park Libraries showed Saturdays to be considerably less popular.

In fact, take-up has been relatively disappointing with the number of library users rarely exceeding 30 even at the busiest times of the day. Extending weekend opening to include Saturdays is not a viable option given these circumstances.

Users, of course, still have access to Calverley Street and/or Beckett Park libraries on a Saturday.

Is there any possibility of a paper recycling facility in the Library?

The library staff do have a bin for the recycling of paper. We try to ensure that all paper waste goes into this bin and it is then recycled via Business Services.

Mobile phones should be banned from the Library: it is distracting when they ring, but worse still when students conduct their social lives between the bookcases.

We agree with you entirely and are very concerned that this is becoming an increasing problem. It is against library regulations to create any disturbance in the library which might affect the use of the library by others, and this certainly includes the use of mobile phones. Anyone found using a mobile phone in the library is asked immediately to desist or leave, and any incident reported to us will be dealt with accordingly.

The Library is too noisy; users should be "thrown out" when they are annoying others.

Library staff are extremely conscious of this problem and invest a great deal of time and effort in attempting to maintain a quiet environment on the study floors. However, it has to be a two way process and users must take responsibility for their behaviour in the library. We simply cannot "police" the library constantly throughout the day, and particularly without round-the-clock support from Security Staff. However, disruptive users are frequently asked to leave and any incidents reported to library staff will be dealt with immediately.

There are numerous posters throughout the library appealing to users to respect their colleagues and not to disturb others. With increasing student numbers over the years, there is enormous pressure on the space we have available and very few areas within this space, especially at Calverley Street, for group study work. We are constantly looking at ways of dealing with this problem and would welcome constructive comment and support from our users.

The fine system is too harsh.

Fines were imposed so that books could circulate more quickly. Without a fines system, there is no pressure for readers to return books that others are waiting for. We too regret the introduction of fines and keep them at as reasonable a level as possible, but experience shows that fines are the only effective way of ensuring circulation of materials.

Why are the Library and IT suites not open longer hours?

Within our present staffing resources it is not possible to increase opening hours. Our opening hours compare favourably with other universities, but they are under review and could be expanded if more resources become available.

Why are the staff not allowed to give change for the photocopier machines?

We have great sympathy with people who do not have the correct change, and fully understand the frustration of not being able to obtain change on campus. Income from photocopying card machines goes straight into a sealed box which can only be opened by the Finance Division. We are prohibited from giving change from the till on the Library counter as this is considered by the Finance Division to be a security risk.

When the Library does not have a book in stock that is needed for a course, why can it not be purchased?

Every effort is made to purchase material to support course requirements. The selection and purchase of stock is based on guidance and book lists provided by course leaders. Unfortunately, budgetary constraints sometimes do not allow for the purchase of every single item required for a course. This is why we are constantly looking at different ways of meeting demand such as electronic information provision, weekly minibus to the British Library, reciprocal-use arrangements with other libraries and inter-site loans.