| Questions/Comments |
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Further
Information
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Posted /
Updated |
| Recent and Ongoing Items: |
| Hours: The new library hours for the Fall 2009-2010 school year are ridiculous. What are students supposed to do? Opening at 10 and closing at 10 is too inconvenient for a dedicated student. I know this is probably due to budget cuts, but is it because there is no staff available, I mean are they really necessary? This isn't fair. And closed on SATURDAYS? What are students to do then?? Think about it, lots of off campus students (and on) live in crazy environments that are unbearable for studying, we NEED this library. Please fix these hours back to what it was last year. please |
We appreciate hearing concerns about the Library's shortened hours. We are sorry for the difficulties this causes students and others. We wish the budget cuts had not required this reduction in hours.
Like all units on campus, the Library has experienced considerable reductions to our funding. Over the past two years the Library's budget has been reduced by $1.9M. We have lost many staff positions and have had to reduce our expenditures for student employees. On top of these cuts, mandatory UC-wide furloughs resulted in cuts to staff time up to 10%.
This shortage of staff means we had no choice but to reduce Library hours. We did not make this decision lightly. We have worked hard to absorb earlier cuts without reducing services but the latest round of cuts meant there was no other option. Even then we were able to offset some of the impact on services and hours by reducing expenditures for books and journals by $800,000 per year.
We considered every option available, consulted widely before deciding on this measure, and tried to reduce hours when they would inconvenience the least number of students. The earliest and latest hours and Saturdays are consistently the least busy times for library use.
We do not anticipate added funding from the campus that would allow us to add hours. Nor can we add hours to the schedule without reducing them somewhere else, therefore causing even more problems for a greater number of students.
As one possible solution, we are considering proposing a small student fee referendum in support of adding hours to the Library schedule. If this goes on the ballot next Spring and passes, the funding would be used to return Library hours to as close to 08-09 levels as possible.
Unless we can find some such source of added funding we do not see any way to restore Library hours. As unfortunate as it is, this is the best solution available to us. |
suggest@library.ucsc.edu |
posted:
5 January 2010 |
| Services: |
| MA Box: Uh, yeah, before you took away the MA Box, it had probably two years worth of questions in it. So, what happened to those? Instant clean slate for McHenry? And, uh, do you actually ever reconsider policy based on these suggestions, or do you basically just use them as a soap box to justify non-responsiveness? Just curious. A sincere answer will be most satisfying. I'm sending this November 18 2007, and I'll be curious to see how fast you post a response. |
Uh, it took a bit of asking around, but I learned that Ma just faded away. The person who eventually removed the box doesn't recall finding any unanswered items. We introduced our online suggestion box less than a year after, so if there was a "clean slate" it was likely a small one.
And, uh, we do really want your suggestions. If there is something that's not working and we can fix it, we'll try. Every do-able suggestion is passed onto the person or department involved. That's the sincere answer, really.
On the other hand, we assume that library users are savvy enough to understand the nature of a suggestion box, that there may be reasons--good, bad or inevitable--that things are the way they are, or that for every person that says "it's too cold" there is another who writes, "it's too hot." Sometimes it's just a place to vent.
And, uh, I know people talk, uh, this way, but do they really write, uh, that way? |
suggest@library.ucsc.edu |
edited: 5 January 2010 |
| Printing in the Library |
UPDATE: As of Winter Quarter 2010, the Library switched to a student billing-based system. Registered students are now able to charge their student billing accounts for printing from any computer in both McHenry and the Science & Engineering Library. Faculty, staff, and community members (all non-students) will be able to pay for printing using the green Copier Services Slug cards, as they did the previous library printing service.
In the new system, print from any computer in the library, and you'll see a pop-up that asks you to give your print job a name. Students who want to charge their accounts should use the print release station marked for student accounts and patrons who'd like to use their Slug cards will be able to use the other print release station. The same list of print jobs will be visible on each release station, the only difference between the two will be the method of payment.
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suggest@library.ucsc.edu |
updated:
5 January 2010 |
| Is it at all possible that the library would not charge such an expensive fine for journals and books on reserve? |
This is a complicated issue and therefore the answer is correspondingly complex, but here's the short version:
1) Library fine rates are not arbitrary, but carefully regulated with outside involvement overseeing how charges are set.
2) Fines are meant to help motivate users to return items on-time. This is especially crucial with high-use, course-critical reserves materials. In that sense, reducing fines would be counterproductive and would hurt other users who would not be able to use items if they aren't returned on time.
3) The amount of fines is irrelevant to those (the vast majority) who manage to return items on time. Borrowers have ultimate control over how much they have to pay.
4) If you believe you are being billed by mistake (i.e., you believe you returned the item on time) or when you were late due to circumstances beyond your control, there is an appeal process available.
|
University Library Billing |
updated: 22 April 2008 |
| Facilities: |
| Food and drink in the Library? |
At the beginning of the 2008/09 academic year, the Library implemented a new policy permitting food and drink on a limited basis in designated areas:
- Covered drinks are allowed in most areas, but only if they are in closed containers such as covered cups or water bottles.
- Food is limited to snacks or wrapped items that are consumed by an individual.
- No group meals (e.g. pizza parties) are allowed in public areas.
Some areas are designated as "No Food" or "No Food or Drink" in order to protect collections or equipment. These are marked accordingly.
In addition, we ask Library users observe these guidelines:
LEAVE NO TRACE: Wipe up accidents, throw away or your trash, food containers and bottles in trash containers available throughout the Libraries. Recycling bins are available outside of the libraries.
NO FAULT POLICY: Tell a library staff member immediately if there is a spill so we can ensure that damaged equipment, materials, furniture or carpeting is properly treated and there is appropriate clean-up. |
Food and Drink policy (pdf) |
5 January 2010 |
| Nice building but you forgot paper towels in the restrooms. |
We didn't forget them: they hid them. The paper towel dispensers are mounted under the mirrors, cleverly out of sight. We could claim it was out of environmental concern--cutting down on paper waste--but it we really aren't that cunning. It turns out it was just one of those clever ideas that doesn't work. Even when you know the secret, it takes a few seconds to remember where they are. |
contact: suggest@library.ucsc.edu |
25 April 2008 |
| Would like to request a payphone or other OFF campus phone service available to patrons, both during and before and after regular library hours. |
They removed the pay phone from the lobby of the old McHenry last year, they say because of low use. As a consequence we didn't hold out much hope of service being restored in our temporary setting. Now it appears, "The Phone Company" is getting out of the pay phone business entirely (see link to the right). The best we can manage is to provide a free campus phone in the lobby but we realize that it doesn't meet all the needs of our users. |
AT&T Announces Intention to Withdraw from Pay Phone Business by End of 2008 |
posted:
22 April 2008 |
| Will we be getting new furniture or are we sticking with the "retro" (if we pretend to be chic) or "shabby" (if we're actually realistic) old stock? Or, actually, is Ma McHenry into "shabby chic"? |
Shabby? We prefer to think of them more as "classics," firmly in the retro modern style of the 50s & 60s that is making a comeback.
More to the point, the budget for the building project included funds for new furniture for the addition but not for the old building once it is renovated. Until we can raise money to buy new furniture for the renovated building, we have to plan to reuse the existing furniture once we re-occupy the old building. We needed to put it somewhere while the renovation occurs and this seemed like a good way to stage the furniture replacement process.
In the meantime, think of the old furniture as recycled and appreciate that, for a little while at least, we're keeping the old stuff out of the landfill and not cutting down trees or skinning helpless vinyls to produce new furniture. |
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posted:
22 April 2008 |
| Will we have private study rooms available in McHenry? |
We'll have plenty group study rooms (but not the individual graduate carrels) once the renovation opens in late 2010/early 2011. However, during this phase, while the collections and staff are crammed into half our usual space, most future group studies are housing library staff members.
At this point, there is one group study room in the Media Center and others are planned for Winter 2010. For more information or to reserve a room in either Science & Engineering or McHenry, see the link to the right.
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Study Rooms |
updated: 5 January 2010 |
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