We’ll implement Primo this year, an interface for searching many sources at once. The technologies behind the search, called Metalib and SFX, will filter out duplicate records and present the results in one list that’s easy to sort or narrow.
This will be a much easier way to find information.
Response
Our campus facilities management team tries to keep the library at an even temperature, but it is a challenge to respond to the changing Oklahoma weather in a building that is two buildings in one, built decades apart, and having great differences in hvac capacities, ceiling heights, and other considerations. If you have a comment about the temperature, please tell a floor manager or contact the Physical Plant at 974-2247.
Comment/Question
how did we get the art work. did we have to pay for it. And what about the things the art work is put in. was that given to us. Because if we had to pay for it, it seems the money could have been better spent else where.
Response
The library does not purchase artwork. We have artwork to cultivate a unique sense of place and a cultural space for UCO and the community.
The Murrah Collection, on 1st floor, is artwork that survived the Murrah Federal building bombing, and is on loan from the General Services Administration. The 2nd and 3rd floors display west and central African art and artifacts, on loan from the UCO College of Arts, Media and Design, and used in courses taught at UCO. On the 4th floor is the George Calvert Collection, who was a well-known Oklahoma artist and educator. It was donated by The Melton Art Reference Library and Jack and Pat Welch.
Comment/Question
Environmental improvements are a must. It looks more like a high school library than a college library. All white and metal.
Response
In the past year, we’ve replaced the worn carpet with an updated pattern, added artwork, and upgraded the display cases for our African art and artifacts. We’re planning more improvements to add to the library ambience – better colors, more comfortable seating, and even more plants.
Comment/Question
Put a copy machine in government documents, it is desperately needed.
Response
We had a photocopier in the Government Information department, but too few copies were made there to be cost effective.
There is a copy machine close by, in Archives on 2nd floor.
Comment/Question
Why is it so cumbersome to log into ILL to renew a loan. First, log in the library, second to ILL. "Logged in" should equal "logged in."
Response
Our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system is different from the system that authenticates you as a UCO user. If you are off campus and login to use one of our
databases, you may find an article you need to borrow through ILL. You would still need to login to the ILL system. Maybe someday our ILL software
will be able to detect you as a user who has already logged in, but not yet.
Comment/Question
Make it mobile accessible
Response
We have a simple menu available for users of mobile devices -
http://library.uco.edu/mobile. You should be redirected to this menu
when you login using a mobile device. We may have search capability on these menus in the future, but for now they give you options for contacting the library with your requests.
Comment/Question
One of the most irritating bits of code known to man runs on the library homepage. The "sticky balloon" pop-up associated with cursor movements ... I just want to shake it off!
Response
The pop-up information boxes help our instruction librarians quickly show students what is available in each section of the website.
Comment/Question
we should be able to browse the e-books without having to search them
Response
You could
go directly to netLibrary and browse the 24,000 e-books the library owns on their site. Their website is linked from the "catalogs" tab on the library home page. We also have other collections of e-books, such as reference books, forensics and engineering books, and e-books from the National Academies of Science, for a total of over 30,000 e-books. Searching the catalog by keyword and limiting to e-books may be the best way to find e-books.
Comment/Question
It would be better if the pop-up explanations on the links on the main page of the Web site were real Tool Tips, where they don't slavishly stick to the side of the screen and they come up only after a pause so that it does not obscure other links for people who already know what they mean.
Response
We often review and make changes to our website to improve our services, most often between semesters so the changes won't surprise students in the middle of their research process. Tool tips can be done in many ways, including delayed timing or floating placement - different people prefer different options. Our instruction librarians like tool tips to explain to students what's in each section.
Comment/Question
Your library is a lovely place to study, yet it has one huge drawback. It seems that almost anything I need, I'm required to get it via a seven day loan. There must be a way to get it within 24 hours. After all, many times I am given an assignment and must hand it in the next week.
Response
We're glad you're using our Interlibrary Loan service, but we're sorry you have to use it so often. Sometimes ILL can get an article from another library in 24 hours, but most often, it takes up to seven days. Our databases search for articles in hundreds of thousands of sources, and although we subscribe to almost 40,000 journals in print and online, we can't subscribe to them all. When you're under a deadline and don't have time for ILL, limit your search to full text journals or
ask a librarian for advice.
Comment/Question
Put books in electronic form so we can read them from our PC. Thanks!
Response
We have many thousands of electronic books available through our library catalog. From our library website, click on "Find Books (Catalogs)" and enter your search terms. Limit the results to "E-Books" under Quick Limits. E-books are convenient and always available: they're never late, never lost, never locked in the library after hours, and they're never dropped in a puddle and ruined.
Comment/Question
So how much will student library fees increase with the extended hours for the library? I hope not much because all the extended hours in the fall were used for people to have a place to hang out and not use library resources.
Response
We found that students used the library for many purposes when we were open 24 hours during Finals Week: for group and individual study space, for using computer resources, and for socializing. During Finals Week this spring, if we have enough staff to cover the hours, we will again be open 24 hours a day (April 28 through 6:00pm on May 9). We will cover the costs through our regular budget.
Comment/Question
I couldn't get on the internet in the library because I have a mac and the IT department was closed. What is the point of a 24 hour library if we are unable to get on the internet?
Response
Consistent, reliable, simple connection to our campus wireless Internet is an ongoing problem that the campus IT department is continuing to address, but they need to hear from students.
Call the IT help desk at 974-2255 and express your concerns to them, including having a 24/7 technical help line.
Comment/Question
Try to keep some of our textbooks on reserve like the rest of the universities
Response
We have asked the deans of our five colleges (Liberal Arts, Business, Education, Media/Design, Math & Science) to provide a copy of textbooks so that we could put them on Reserve for you. Ask your professors if they can put a copy on Reserve in the library for your class. You can find what's on Reserve by clicking on "Reserves" on the library home page.
Comment/Question
Allow all library fines to be paid online as an option for those of us that do not live on campus.
Response
Library fines over $5 are added to your bursar account, which you can pay at the bursar counter in the University Center or online through School Services on UCONNECT.
Comment/Question
Get a massage chair
Response
The Wellness Center offers massages - give them a call at 974-3150. It's only a block away from the library.
Comment/Question
more study areas and quiet rooms!
Response
We are planning new group study rooms on 4th floor. We'll keep you up to date on the progress.
Comment/Question
Copy card charges are included in tuition fees at other colleges and universities...that would be a very helpful resource here at the UCO library.
Response
Some other universities have a campus-wide system of debit cards for various goods and services that are issued to students. Our university doesn't have a system like that, but you're right, that would be a great convenience to our students.
Comment/Question
More computers!
Response
Always! We get more computers every semester.
We currently have over a hundred desktop and laptop computers for public use. The computer lab on first floor has an additional 60 computers. We have 2 print stations on first floor, and 1 on each other floor. On 4th floor in the Multimedia Center, we have an i-Mac with an attached piano keyboard for music, notation software for music composition, marching bands, and dancing, and software for creating and editing movies. We also have 45 laptop computers in our library classroom on 2nd floor.
If you ever need a computer and everywhere looks full, ask at the reference desk on 1st floor and we'll probably be able to find an unoccupied one somewhere.
Comment/Question
you should get more marvel and DC comic books
Response
We do have some graphic novels, which is an important genre in art and writing. We also have books on comics illustration and examples of historical styles of comics. Comic books are great tools for learning foreign languages and learning some types of illustration, but as individual issues of comic books, they are too flimsy to put in a circulating collection - they wouldn't last for more than a few checkouts.
Comment/Question
download yahoo messenger and aol instant messenger.
Response
You can use Yahoo Messenger and AOL instant messenger on
Meebo without having to download anything. An added advantage is that when you close the browser, the next person at that public computer won't be able to access your chat.
Comment/Question
you should get Video Games
Response
Some public libraries lend video games, but our mission is to support your academic success. We hear that IT may be opening a gaming center on campus, but that's still in the planning stage.
Comment/Question
get a fiction section, other than juvenile
Response
You may be used to seeing fiction shelved in a separate area, the way many public libraries organize their collections. We have a very strong collection of novels, classic literature, and other types of fiction, mostly in the "PN - PS " sections of the library on 3rd floor. You can either browse it or look up your favorite authors or titles in our catalog.
See a browsing guide to our call numbers.
We also have a collection on first floor called the Ruby Canton Collection, named after a beloved librarian of the 1920s. This collection has current and popular books for leisure reading. You can see what we have bought this year for our "Rubies" on our new arrivals list.
Go there.
Comment/Question
free milk and donuts in the morning pronto
Response
Yum! If you see any free donuts, pass them around! You can always get some not-free goodies in the library cafe.
Comment/Question
more comfortable couches
Response
We recently auctioned our obsolete card catalog cases on eBay and are going to use our portion of the funds to buy comfortable seating.
Comment/Question
add a test bank
Response
Some of the professors have test questions and answers on Reserve for their classes. You can see Reserves by clicking the "Reserves" tab on the library website front page.
Comment/Question
free printing in the library
Response
The money we get for copying goes to pay for paper, toner, copier leases and copy cards. We don't use the money for anything else, and we charge only enough to cover our expenses. One fall semester, we gave out print cards with $30 already on them. The experiment was a great success, but cost the library so much money in paper, toner, and printer lease costs that we couldn't keep doing it.
Comment/Question
I think it'd be a great idea to start replacing cassettes with the CD version and VHS with the DVD version, especially on class-related material.
Response
We agree - moving from an older format to a new format is a constant challenge for libraries. We have to budget carefully when buying new materials, and buying replacements in a new format for materials we already have takes money away from new materials. We assess whether or not to buy a DVD version of a VHS title on the basis of usefulness, circulation (how often it's been used), condition, whether or not it supports current curriculum needs, and other criteria. If you have specific titles that you would like us to buy in DVD, please let us know through our suggestion form under "Services."
Go there.
Comment/Question
Show the open to close dates on the homepage so that students will know how long they have to study each day.
Response
The daily hours are in a box near the top of the home page, as well as on the "About" section and the "Ask Us" section. The semester calendar is under "About."
Go there.
Comment/Question
Make more space for commuters on the parking lot!
Response
That decision is controlled through the Transportation and Parking Office. Their phone number is 974-2780.
Comment/Question
it is too noisy in here. Put a stop to the cell phone talking in here too.
Response
There are quieter areas in the library for studying, but first floor is a noisy place. If you are studying on 3rd or 4th floor and someone is disturbing your concentration, please let a staff person know. We also have group study rooms available on 3rd floor for groups up to 6 people.
Find out more about group study rooms
Comment/Question
Maybe do library improvements like hanging artwork, and replacing carpet, at times when the library is not busy. Perhaps fall break or Saturdays.
Response
It's difficult to schedule improvements that have to be coordinated with contractors who work during business hours, and we do try to take advantage of less-peak times, but
sometimes it's not possible.
And in conclusion...
Here are some comments/questions that we couldn't figure out or couldn't answer. Maybe you'll recognize your comment and send us a longer
message!
"...I am doing a project on scientific method I need to get information on this topic before class.Can you help me out? Thanks Dawn" (Our comment: Please include your contact information if you would like a reply)
"APA style" (Our comment: This and other similar messages - like one that said only "Descartes" - might be users thinking that the comment box is a search box for information. Use our catalog and databases when searching for books and articles.)
"friendlier employees" (Our comment: Please let us know immediately if you encounter unfriendly or unhelpful staff, with as many details as possible - we will work to improve your experience with us)
"You can't - you're great!" (Our comment: blush - thanks!)
