Library Logged

Please turn the heat down!

We have received many comments about the temperature in the Library.  Puget Sound facilities staff are working all the time to find solutions to the temperature fluctuations in the Collins Library.

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution. The building is comprised of many different sections that are heated and cooled by separate systems.

As part of the long range improvement plan, facilities intends to upgrade the HVAC in the Library – but in the meantime, we recommend that you be  prepared temperature fluctuations and to move around the Library a bit to find your personal comfort zone

Don’t feel afraid to smack the people who talk too much

We think there is a law about that… not to mention some ethical objections. So while we don’t ever advocate smacking, we certainly do encourage you to ask library users to keep their voices down. If you prefer, bring your concerns to a staff member and we can address it.  Don’t be afraid!

There will always be some noise on the first floor, though—it’s designed for active use. In general, floors 2-4 are quieter study spaces.

the person who left us a comment about the restroom in 141—we called facilities, and they’re working on it as I type!

Don’t play commercials in the library – super unclassy. Great image for prospective students.

The Library has access to cable and on occasion will broadcast news and other relevant programs associated with major news events.  We can’t control commercials that appear on channels, but we believe that the value of the news outweighs the occasional commercial.

On a related note, the Library does not allow any stand alone commercials on the web site or plasma screen and our focus is on providing quality information to our users.

thank you so much for letting us have food and allowing us to have scanning system for microforms! You rock!

Thank you very much!

the 2nd printer doesn’t print double-sided page

and

allow users to choose which printer to send to

We’ve been settling our new printer in to the Learning Commons, and it should have the same capabilities as the first printer. Printing on both is double-sided by default, so it’s more likely a problem with the computer than the printer. Check your print settings for double-sided printing, or ask at the Information Desk for help checking. If you can’t find anyone to ask, and are still having problems, send us a message and tell us your computer number so we can update the settings.

As to choosing a printer, we’ve now enabled users to choose which printer they’d like to use when they send to the print station. If you can’t choose, send us a message with your computer number. We’ll check & fix the problem.

Please, please, please do something about the noise in the learning commons. It is extremely difficult to work when it feels like a zoo in there.

Let’s start with the bad news…The Learning Commons is not designed to be a quiet study space. As the term ‘Commons’ is intended to imply, it’s a space for people to gather and learn, sometimes in groups, sometimes alone. Plus, of course, the Learning Commons has the inherent noise of  two printers, people going in and out of the library and the library instruction room.

Of course, while some learning takes and makes noise, other learning needs silence. For that, we suggest using the two rooms with computers off the Learning Commons, working on a laptop upstairs or in the reading room, or working in the computer carrels in the lower level.

That said, while the Learning Commons is inherently going to be noisier than some parts of the library, if someone is making excessive or disruptive noise, please either speak to them yourself,  since often people just don’t notice how how loud they are, or, if that’s too uncomfortable or ineffective, let a staff member know, and we’ll address the situation.

(I actually wanted to submit this to “Library Logged” but couldn’t figure out where to send it.) I recently found the new macs in the Tech Center and love writing in there. Why does the library close the area so early? I’m always halfway through my paper when we need to leave.

We’re so glad you wanted to submit this and that you read Library Logged! We’ve just added a link to the comment form on the blogroll in the right side of the blog, so you can submit your questions right from here. Look for the link that says ‘Collins is Listening Comment Form‘. We’ll read, respond, and post!

The Library does not set the hours for the tech center but we will be sure to pass your recommendation along to Technology Services, who does. And we agree, the machines are terrific!

Why don’t you laminate your book covers anymore? They’re so ugly and boring and no one will read them unless they are pretty. You know that saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, news flash, EVERYONE DOES. And books don’t last as long when you don’t protect them with a cover. Think of the trees you’re killing by throwing away those covers. Authors put a lot of time into designing a cover they find appropriate to give the potential reader a first-impression of what the book is. I understand that you are trying to cut back on laminating costs so that it can be transferred to other parts of the library, but why don’t tape the covers on without laminating them?

Covers are indeed a great way to advertise the book’s content, but as we reviewed our budget this year, we had to make some decisions about where we could save money. Lamination costs were identified as a savings that would impact the university community less than other possible cuts. Book jackets are rather fragile, so taping them on unlaminated would give us lots of slightly chewed-up jackets we’d need to remove eventually, anyway.

We are currently displaying the book covers around the Library as a way of advertising new books and we offer the book jackets to students – to recycle for their own displays or to use.  We are not throwing them away.

For in interesting discussion of how publicists and authors work together (ideally) to determine a book cover, members of the Puget Sound community can see this article, “Whose cover is it anyway?” from the Journal of Scholarly Publishing.

It is way too hot in the library.

We are in contact with Facilities Services concerning heating issues.