Library | University of St Andrews

Trending Issues

Here are the top 3 topics from Semester 2 2011-12:

1. Policies - people were concerned about food, talking and behaviour policies.

2. The reorganisation and removal of stock for the summer renovation project was queried.

3. Hot water, or the lack of it out with Cafe hours, was discussed.

Semester 2 2011-12

"I recently lost a book (totally my own fault!), and gave you permission to order a new one. I got the bill through & was suprised to see additional administration costs (man at desk said he would get it as cheap as possible!). Just a note to say that it would be good to let people know this in advance! Thanks!"

Thanks for taking the time to complete a library comments card.

I agree that we should have told you about the £5 admin fee that applies to ordering a replacement for a lost book. Please accept my apologies for not making this clear. The fee represents the cost in staff time in looking for lost items, correspondence with users, then the ordering, cataloguing and processing of the replacement item.

Please do not hesitate to get back to me with any further feedback on our service.

kind regards
Graeme Hawes

Graeme Hawes
User Services Manager

"As a visiting lecturer from Strathclyde University I was most impressed by the courtesy and efficiency of all three staff with whom I spoke today. The IT support was great and your two library colleagues dealt with my requirements with courtesy and speed! Thanks."

Thanks for taking the time to complete one of our Library comments cards on your recent visit to St Andrews.

It’s always nice when a user makes the effort to give us positive feedback when they feel we’ve done well. I’m delighted to hear that my frontline colleagues gave you such excellent service and I’ve shared your comments on our internal Library staff portal.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Best wishes

Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"How about putting in food waste bins, especially on the groundfloor, as well as the cafe. It seems very wasteful to not have these, especially given the university's attempts to be green. Also, how about installing recycling for all plastic containers, rather than just bottles."

You make a good point about food waste and non-bottle plastic recycling bins and this is something I’ll raise with our colleagues in the University’s Environment Team. I’m not sure how practical it would be to fit more types of recycling bins into the café but we can certainly investigate.

You may be interested to learn that we have just ordered some additional bins for cans, plastic and general waste for distribution across all 3 public floors of the Library. We have also for the first time ordered cup recycling bins that will come not only with side pods for unfinished drinks but a second pod for coffee/drink cup lids. There will be 2 coffee cup recycling bins per floor. We’re delighted to be able to start recycling coffee cups, particularly given the many hundreds that are disposed of within the Library on a daily basis.

Some of the furniture currently being installed on Levels 3 and 4 is new but we have also recycled much of the original furniture from upstairs – i.e. single and double carrels as well as large open study tables. These desks have been refurbished to a very high standard and we hope that students will not only be pleased with the results but appreciative of the re-use of such a large amount of furniture.

We have also of course brought the heating, ventilation and lighting on levels 3 & 4 up to the same standards as level 2, thus improving the environmental efficiency of the building as a whole.

Thanks again for your comments on the food and plastic waste. We will look into it but I hope you do still feel that we’re trying to be environmentally responsible in other ways.

Best wishes

Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Why not install a returns only machine in the entrance? Once again, I have had to come all the way in past the barriers just to return books. It could also help reduce queues at the machines in busy times. This is a service offered at Oslo University Library and seems a logical use of space."

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card recently. I agree with your observations about the return machine and that it would have been ideal to have located an additional returns machine near the entrance. However, given the significantly reduced budget that the University gave us for our redevelopment and the fact that the building was not being increased in size, we had to make significant compromises on design.

The following points may help explain a bit more the rationale behind the current arrangements:

- Other university libraries have been able to put external return hatches as you point out has been the case at Oslo. I don’t know the detail of the Library building at Oslo but having just taken a quick look at their website, it does look like a more comprehensive and expensive project than that undertaken at St Andrews.

- Some of these have been points that allow simple deposit into a returns bin whereas other more sophisticated models also connect the external returns point to the sortation device.

- We did originally plan to position the return point opposite the Welcome Desk but changed our minds for 2 main reasons. First the space required for the sortation room would have significantly reduced the size of an already modestly-sized café. Secondly, as you have pointed out, we can get queues at the return point (just as we did at the old IT Service Desk) and the small lobby space at the front door would not have coped with this. The final reason we decided to position the return machine where we did was because of its proximity to the lift (which speeds up the re-shelving process) and our IT Service Desk staff.

- Our staff at the IT Service Desk do keep an eye on the queues at the return machine and are encouraged to offer to take books back at the IT Service Desk. You can also return items to the staff if you are in a particular hurry.

- The process of coming into the Library through the security gates should be sped up with the introduction of proximity antennae. These will allow for far quicker scanning of ID cards that is currently possible through the use of barcodes.

I hope this helps but please get back to me if you’ve any other questions. Thanks again for the feedback.

Best wishes

Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"The library hours are appalling. 10-2 on a Saturday and closed Sunday. Where do you think we can work? I honestly cannot believe that the library administration thinks that these terrible hours are even remotely ok. Once again I’m struggling to understand why I’m paying so much money for absolutely terrible resources. The only decent thing about the library is the desk staff … (they at least try to be helpful and all very sympathetic)"

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card a couple of weeks ago.

I agree with many of your comments – our opening hours during summer vacation at weekends are definitely inadequate and we would like to be open longer. I’m afraid, however, that resolving this situation is something that takes time but we are making progress.

To summarise:

- Historically, the Library has only ever opened during vacations on a Saturday morning with no hours offered on a Sunday.

- The staffing of the Library has traditionally been based around semester operations, particularly in relation to the frontline teams (e.g. Building Operations/Security and User Services/IT Service Desk).

- We currently have no IT Service Desk staff contracted to work in the evenings or weekends outside of core semester hours.

- We have over the last 12 months been growing our Building Operations staff who are required to open and close the Library, staff the security/welcome desk and to provide support for general enquiries. This too had been a team that was very much based around a semester only operation.

- By the end of the summer vacation we will have sufficient Operations staff to allow us to open 7 days a week throughout the calendar year, probably something like 9am-10pm Monday-Friday and 10am-6pm Saturdays and Sundays. We hope to begin these extended vacation hours as of Spring 2013.

- What we don’t currently have are enough IT Service Desk staff to cover these hours of opening and I’m working with colleagues to establish what we do need, how much additional staffing budget it would take and to then go through the process of asking the University for the budget and then go through the necessary recruitment process.

- We also of course need to negotiate with our colleagues in University Estates for the additional support required from Cleaning Services staff if the Library is to be open longer than it currently is. In addition, we would need to work with IT Services to establish what kind of extended IT Service Desk support they would be able to offer.

- We very much recognise that despite our opening hours having been considerably improved in recent years, we are falling behind other institutions with regards to vacation periods and our lack of service to the postgraduate community.

I would love to be able to keep the Library open longer at weekends straight away but I’m afraid it just isn’t possible at the moment. Please be assured that we are aware of the problem and are actively working on a solution.

On a final note, thank you for the kind words about our IT Service Desk staff.

Please get back to me if you’ve any more comments or questions.

Best wishes

Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Please build more toilets (male). They are always occupied and it really disturbs my studying to go and check whether or not they are free. Especially now during the examinations period they are always occupied."

Thanks for your feedback and I agree that we do have real problems with insufficient toilets. We would love to have built many more during the redevelopment project but the relatively modest budget did not allow us to do so. We did, however, include one additional cubicle in each of the female toilets, one additional urinal in each of the male bathrooms and will be providing disabled toilets for the first time on levels 3 & 4 during this summer’s refurbishment work.

The sinks, which have been a real issue in terms of being too small and causing flooding in the toilets, are being replaced this summer with what will hopefully prove to be a more effective solution.

Ultimately, however, we will probably continue to struggle with the lack of toilets in a building that is so much more heavily used than it used to be.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"You could put live usage numbers on the main uni/lib site so people can check how busy the lib is before leaving home."

Thanks for completing a Library comments card recently. You make a very good suggestion about using the live usage numbers in terms of occupancy of the Library on our website. This is something that we’re keen to do we and other libraries who use the same system, have been discussing this with our supplier.

I’m particularly keen to be able to replicate this type of live data on mSaint, the website and digital screens throughout the University, much in the same way that we already have for PC availability.

This type of useful public data is of course only achievable because we now have this system and because we require users to scan out of the building when they leave. It’s encouraging to get your feedback as it demonstrates that some users are starting to see the positive aspects of the system, something we’ll continue to work on developing.

Best wishes
Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"You did pretty well."

Thanks for completing a Library comments card the other week – we appreciate all the feedback that we get and it’s nice to learn that you think we’ve done a good job.

Best wishes
Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Thank you for all your efforts in improving the main library.

I consider myself lucky to have been here during all phases of the modernisation, and so am able to really appreciate the positive change.

I know you get a large quantity of student complaints, but I've nothing to complain about: despite inevitable 'teething problems',* the changes we've seen this year have been excellent, and I only look forward to next year and the full transformation.

*you have clearly done your best to deal with them."

Thank you for your comments and can I say how refreshing it is to receive such overwhelmingly positive ones. You are right when you say that we do get a fair number of complaints which, as much as we encourage the dialogue with our user community, can be a bit depressing to read sometimes!

So with that in mind, it’s nice to know that some people believe that we’ve done a good job and delivered a successful project, despite the limitations of time and budget. I’ve shared your feedback with my colleagues on our own internal staff news portal.

Thanks again and I hope you are pleased with the changes we’re making this summer when you see them completed.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"The way in which the re-shelving process of all the books before the summer closure is frankly the most illogical and incompetent system I have ever come across in a library. There is no cohesion of alphabetical order on the shelves and fragments of different sections are distributed across the floors. Saulcat is unclear as to which books are and are not in storage and the library staff although they try to help have no idea where the books are either. This is a complete waste of everyones time."

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card.

I’m sorry that you feel the way in which we’ve temporarily organised stock over the last few months has been both illogical and incompetent. I would agree that initially some of the sequencing may have seemed illogical but this has been caused primarily by the complexity of the project.

In particular I would draw your attention to the extremely short space of time during which we had to move in the region of 6 linear km of stock from the upper floors into storage. This was enormously challenging particularly given the lack of easily adaptable free space available to us. We continue to work on our records for SAULCAT in order that they are as accurate as possible but appreciate any specific feedback about which records are incorrect.

One thing that the redevelopment project has allowed us to do is finally arrange the books and journals on the upper floors into more logical sequences – e.g. journals on level 4 and books on level 3. Despite first impressions, there are clear benefits from the project for users navigating their way around the stacks.

I do disagree that this work has been done incompetently. The complexity of this project and the logistics involved have been highly demanding and been managed by an exceptional team of Collections and shelving staff. I believe that their hard work and talent has been pivotal to the successful removal of all of the required stock over the last few months, a project that was completed ahead of schedule.

I’m sure they would be happy to spend time with you if you would be willing to share your own ideas on how this process could have been managed – we’re always grateful for the feedback.

Best wishes
Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"A Large amount of printing takes place on a daily basis at the JF Allen Library. For this reason, I think a double-sided printer would be a very good and welcome investment, not least due to the environmental benefits of regularly cutting such large amounts of paper consumption in half. Overall, though, I am very satisfied with the Library's services."

Many thanks for taking the time to complete a library comments card and please accept my apologies for the delay in my reply.

You make a very good point about double-sided printing and I’m pleased to say we are in the process of introducing new multi-function printing and copying devices throughout the University – so double-sided printing will soon be available right across the campus.

Please do not hesitate to get back to me with any other comments of suggestions.

kind regards

Graeme Hawes

Graeme Hawes
User Services Manager

"Having met Mr *****, who used to work in St. Andrews Univ. Library, I now understand more exactly that you are permitted to talk to one another in Level 2 of the recently refurbished St. Andrews Univ. Library. In the area near to the DVD screens they sometimes will talk to one another but I was guilty of that myself having conversed with Mr *****, who has recently written another book about St Andrews in collaboration with I think - the St Andrews Univ. photographer Mr *****. While I was a student at Dundee Univ. (1996/2000) the authorities there placed notices on some of the tables in the library in order to request that the users refrain from speaking too loudly."

Thanks for taking the time to complete a comments card a few weeks ago – my apologies for the delay in replying.

We appreciate all user feedback and I note your comments about the library at Dundee University. I worked at Dundee between 2003 and 2009 before coming to St Andrews, having been based in the Main Library during its extension/zoning project and latterly managing the Law Library.

I do hope that you were able to complete our recent online survey on noise and other zoning/behaviour issues in the Main Library. We had over 1300 responses from staff, students and other users and the comments were predictably varied!

What’s particularly clear from the survey is that for as many people who find level 2 (our ground floor) too noisy, there are as many users who find the upper floors too silent or too quiet. This applies even to those users working alone – they like the noise of other people around them as they find silence too distracting.

It’s not clear from your original comments if you’re asking for any particular action to be taken by us but please do get back to me if you have any specific requests.

Best wishes
Ewan

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Please can we be allowed to bring paninis from the library café onto the ground floor of the library? I know they count as 'hot' food but really they are just a warm sandwich.
I can understand not letting soup through the gate but not letting us eat a panini purchased from the café on the ground floor seems a bit odd."

Thanks for filling in a Library comments card a couple of weeks ago – we always appreciate feedback from our users.

As you may know, we have just closed our recent month-long survey on the Library’s rules on food and drink and I hope that you were able to take part. Your view, that hot food should be allowed in the library, is echoed by those of other users who have responded to our survey. There are also others who think we should allow food everywhere. However, there are equally strong opinions within our user community that are in total opposition to any food (and hot drinks) being allowed anywhere in the Library.

St Andrews does, believe it or not, have some of the most liberal policies in the country in relation to food and drink in the Library. Many other university libraries allow bottled cold drinks only – no coffee, no food (hot or cold) anywhere, no talking.

We don’t currently allow hot food everywhere on level 2 primarily because of the smell – some users object to their study space being affected by the smell (and noise) of other people’s food. We also have to consider the amount of cleaning that is required when food and drink is allowed in the Library, something that we keep under constant review with our cleaning colleagues in Estates.

We’re processing the results of the survey and will publicise these and our responses in due course. For now, you can of course eat your hot food in the café or make use of the outside seating provided last year – although I appreciate that the weather in St Andrews isn’t always good enough for lunch outdoors!

Best wishes
Ewan
Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Can we have a 'please keep your shoes on' policy? I'm sick off having to sit next to people in stinking socks who think its ok to treat the library like their flat. There is such a thing as too casual!!!"

Thanks for your comments and I appreciate that your experience of other users taking their shoes off in the Library can be frustrating. We’ll keep an eye on this situation as we are currently looking at a range of user behaviour issues including the reserving of study spaces, food and drink, zoning etc. The challenge for us is to have practical policies in place that meet the vast range of user needs in a relatively small building.

Having a “shoes on” policy sounds good in theory but may prove difficult to enforce in practice.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"I want hot water! HOT! NO hot water after café closed."

"Dear Librarians,
You’ve done a great job for providing us an amazing library, but there is one thing I’d like to ask, is there any possibility that we can get free hot water here? Or we can pay as long as we can get it after the café closed. I know there is a tub, but the water is freezing all the time."

Thanks for completing a Library comments card last week. It’s encouraging to hear that you generally think we’ve done a good job. I’m afraid that we have no plans to install hot water urns in the Library at this point in time.

This is mainly due to lack of space that we would require to install some kind of heated supply – although we are installing new water fountains on each of the upper floors this summer – but also because our rules on food and drink are already very generous. Most university libraries do not allow any hot drinks (let alone food) anywhere in their buildings. You are more than welcome to bring in your own flasks of hot water to the Library.

Best wishes
Ewan
Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"If the sun is not shining directly through the windows, it is a bit too cold in the library and I often have to wear gloves while working. Especially moving from the 'middle' of the library towards the outside walls you can feel the temperatures dropping and it is unpleasant to sit at the most appropriate desks to study at."

Thanks for completing a comments card in the Library the other week – sorry for taking a couple of weeks to reply. It’s not clear from your feedback which level of the Library you tend to be working on when you experience the cold temperatures but I’m assuming it’s either level 3 or 4.

As you may know, the redevelopment work last summer only allowed enough time for the introduction of new perimeter trunk heating on level 2, meaning that temperatures on the upper floors this year have still tended to be unacceptably low. The trunk heating system – along with other refurbishment works – will be installed on both of the upper floors this summer so hopefully the problems you’re experiencing at the moment will be short-lived.

Until a couple of years ago we didn’t allow students to take any hot drinks into the Library so at least now – despite the cold – you can take a coffee or tea upstairs to help keep you warm.

I hope this helps but please let me know if you’ve any more questions or comments at this stage.

All the best
Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Public Services)

"You do very good - thank you for that.
- the entrance machines however are absolutely useless - the gatekeepers let you in anyway
- and the tables do not have enough plugs."

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card and for your positive feedback.

I’m sorry you feel the gates are useless. The technology that the gates currently use is based on the barcode on your ID card. Whilst the system has improved dramatically in recent weeks – most cards scan pretty easily now – there are clearly some cards that don’t read as well. I had similar problems with my own the other day.

We are working with IT Services and our suppliers to introduce a system of proximity chip (which most ID cards are enabled with) scanning over the next few months and this should improve the situation dramatically. Prox scanning usually allows for cards to be read even if they are still in a wallet or purse so it’s a far smoother process. I was at Aberdeen University’s new library yesterday and they use the same system as us but with prox and there was a constant and smooth flow of students in and out.

As you pointed out, the Attendants will currently let people in who are without their card or with card that’s not working properly. It was always our intention to introduce this system with a light touch in order that people got used to bringing their cards in. However, the current system of allowing people in without cards will not last as we intend to introduce a strict no card no access policy during the summer. People who forget their cards will be allowed up to 3 day passes within a set period of time (either a semester or full academic year, yet to be determined) and we’ll have a range of visitor passes available for those people coming in from outside of the University.

We have added far more power point provision in the last year – pretty much every study space on Level 2 has power and this is because of the raised floor access that we were able to build. There will be more power points installed on the upper floors this summer but unfortunately, due to the relatively modest budget for redevelopment, we are unable to install a raised floor on these levels so additional sockets will only be around the perimeter of the building.

Please get back to me if you’ve any more comments or suggestions.

Best wishes
Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Public Services)

"I do not think this is at all a good idea practically or logistically. Requiring the card to get in and out causes hold-ups and is rather frustrating, especially since now moving between the cafe and toilet or Library and cafe is a strenuous task. Getting your ID card in and out just to use the Library seems highly unnecessary."

I’m also sorry to learn that you find the new security gates frustrating. The technology currently in place uses the barcode on your ID card and occasionally some cards don’t read as smoothly as they should. We are moving towards a system of proximity chip scanning – this will mean a far quicker and smoother process with cards being read even when they are still in wallets or purses. Queues don’t tend to last and our staff at the Welcome Desk are now instructed to over-ride the gates if a queue does build up towards the entrance doors.

By introducing this system, we are able to not only improve the security and safety of our staff and students but also generate invaluable data on how the building is being used. Without such data, it is more challenging for us to make the case to the University for on-going investment in staff and services, including the maintenance of our long opening hours.

To illustrate this point, there was a theft in the Library last weekend but that had been the first one since the introduction of the security gate system. In addition, I am in the process of making a case for additional staff to the relevant University committee that makes those decisions, in order that we can continue to improve our opening hours. Part of the evidence that they have requested is data on the occupancy levels and patterns of the building, something we only have now that this new system is in place.

The system that we’ve introduced is standard at most other university libraries so St Andrews is really just catching up with everywhere else. The technology will improve over the coming months but I’m afraid this system is now a permanent feature of the University and will not be removed.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Public Services)

"I just wanted to point out how I enjoy the new Library. The entrance and ground floor look vibrant and modern. It is a shame that the 2nd and 3rd level still have the lovely mustard feel. The 'You said, we did' board is very useful since it shows us our feedback isused. Thank you for trying your best to improve our Library."

It’s lovely to hear such positive feedback about the Library and reassuring to know that, for some of our users at least, the changes on Level 2 have been a success. I agree that it’s a shame we couldn’t refurbish Levels 3 and 4 at the same time but our budget and project timescale didn’t allow for that. They will of course be redeveloped this summer and will hopefully be equally well-received.

We would like to get the publicity for our “You Said/We Did” service generated more quickly than we do just now but have a new member of staff starting shortly who will be able to help with this important work.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Public Services)

"I just encountered problems with shelving - which is absolutely fine as the library staff were all so helpful. Made the experience so much better. Thank you!"

I’m delighted to hear that you have had helpful support from our shelving staff – that’s what they are there for. We’ve made significant efforts in recent years to make our staff more visible in the public areas through the wearing of ID and branded clothing – this seems to have made a difference to students and other users looking for help.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Public Services)

"To be blunt, whoever is in charge of 1. the Library and 2. the 'renovations' is doing an awful job. I'm not quite sure why it was necessary to wait until the middle of the year, when students are using the Library most, to strip teh shelves of the books, but it was a bad idea. Also the gates are a moronic idea; St Andrews is a safe town and all the gates have done is created lines and frustration and served as a colossal waste of our tuition."

As the senior member of staff with responsibility for frontline services and who was heavily involved with planning of Level 2, I’m sorry to hear that you feel I – and my colleagues – have not done a good job. To answer your points in turn:

In order to create the space necessary for our contractors to start phase 2 of the renovations in May, this work has to be done now. The project that the University asked us to deliver over 2 summers was to a very tight timescale and with a heavily-reduced budget from that originally planned. If you have suggestions as to when we could have moved such large volumes of material from the upper floors please let me know – it would be very useful feedback as you may identify options that we didn’t consider.

We are of course moving such large volumes of material because we’re trying to create more study spaces on the upper floors and this can only be done by reducing the amount of stock in the building. Ideally we would have a bigger building and limitless storage but neither of these are a reality.
St Andrews, as much as you may feel it is, is sadly not as safe a town as you say it is. Students and other users of the Library have been victims of numerous thefts over the years as well as more serious incidents including physical assault.

We are moving towards a system of proximity chip scanning – this will mean a far quicker and smoother process with cards being read even when they are still in wallets or purses. Queues don’t tend to last and our staff at the welcome desk are now instructed to over-ride the gates if a queue does build up towards the entrance doors.
By introducing this system, we are able to not only improve the security and safety of our staff and students but also generate invaluable data on how the building is being used. Without such data, it is more challenging for us to make the case to the University for on-going investment in staff and services, including the maintenance of our long opening hours. We are also able to restrict access to the building to just our students and staff at peak times of occupancy – e.g. exams.
To illustrate this point, there was a theft in the Library last weekend but that had been the first one since the introduction of the security gate system. In addition, I am in the process of making a case for additional staff to the relevant University committee that makes those decisions, in order that we can continue to improve our opening hours. Part of the evidence that they have requested is data on the occupancy levels and patterns of the building, something we only have now that this new system is in place.

June/July/August 2011

“How about putting in a subscription for The Daily Telegraph for the new library, for those of us who aren’t raging militant lefty hippie student protestors?”

You will not be surprised to learn that the question of provision of access to newspaper content is something we are asked about by many users of the Library and is something we review on a regular basis. Our current policy is to provide access to a limited number of papers in hard copy and to focus our resources in ensuring as much newspaper content is available to our users online via services such as Nexis and Factiva. I am aware that reading newspapers online does not offer the same experience as reading papers in hard copy. However, we believe for academic purposes, the provision of newspapers online does provide the breadth of access and functionality researchers need in cost effective manner. I can confirm that the content of the Daily Telegraph is available both from Factiva and Nexis. Your relevant liaison librarian would be very happy to provide you with more information about how to use these products if you have any questions (http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/contact/academicliaison/).

Regarding the print versions of newspapers, the Library currently only pays for subscriptions to the Times, the Guardian, the Scotsman and the Citizen. We do also take a small number of foreign language papers. This selection is supplemented by donations of other titles from Library users.

I am sorry we are not able to take on a subscription to the paper version of the Daily Telegraph at this time. I hope you will see that this is not a case of us trying to restrict access to a broad range of viewpoints but rather trying to find a compromise position within the restriction of a limited budget.

Jeremy Upton
Deputy Director of Library Services

“I was wondering if the library had looked into getting rid of its physical journal collection that are on the fourth floor. I know that the plans have already been drawn up for its re-development, but as that is phase two I was wondering if maybe St. Andrews wasn't missing out on an opportunity to really provide more study space. As you are probably the lack of reading room is a dire problem for students. If the library were more willing to move those collections online and move the physical collections into storage, this might be able to free up more space.

As an intern at Ithaka S+R (the non-profit which runs JSTOR), this summer I have been dealing with research in this area and St. Andrews had frequently come to mind. I do recommend looking at their published works as they offer some insight that may be able to help the state of our library. Below is a link. As more and more journals are being moved online, this would still provide access while freeing up the physical room we desperately need. I hope my input is helpful.”

Thank you for making the time to send in your comments and thoughts on the issue of how the move to an increasingly digital information environment is affecting Libraries.

The idea of removing back runs of journals where we have secure electronic access is a collections policy we have been operating in many subject areas for a number of years. This policy, in combination with a programme to remove low use material to store (including the print back runs of the JSTOR titles) is at the heart of our redevelopment plans for levels 3 & 4 in the Main Library. If you would like to see in more detail how we are going to be able to use the space created by the removal of this stock, please take a look at the level 3&4 floor plans for the redevelopment available from our redevelopment blog (http://libraryredevelopment.wordpress.com/what-will-it-look-like-2/) In the UK we are fortunate that the disposal of low use print journals is being carefully co-ordinated through the UKRR project which will ensure 3 print copies of journal titles are preserved for and remain available to the academic community into the future.

We will have removed approximately 5,000 metres of print materials from the open shelves by the end of Summer 2012. This will allow us, in combination with the other changes we are making the building, to provide over 300 additional study spaces from October 2012.

If you would like to learn more about our Collections work and our future plans, please do not hesitate either to drop me an email or to make contact with our Collections Manager, Jenny Evetts (jse@st-andrews.ac.uk) I was interested to hear that you managed to arrange an internship with Ithaka. You were very fortunate to have the opportunity to work for this very forward looking and innovative organization.

Jeremy Upton
Deputy Director of Library Services

“Out of hours access to the JF Allen Library for Computer Science Honours students, please.”

Out of hours access to the JF Allen Library is not currently controlled by the Library but by the School of Physics. I understand that it is only Honours and Postgrad Physics students who are able to access the building outside of its normal opening hours.

24 hour access to a computer classroom (Room A21) is available at the Bute building over the summer. For full details of Library study space provision over the summer please see http://libraryredevelopment.wordpress.com/summer-study-space-provision/

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

April/May 2011

“More power supplies would be useful in all the work areas, two sockets per table of eight is not enough.

Bins could be emptied throughout the day (especially during busy times) – the second/first floor bin was overflowing at 6pm.”

You’ll be pleased to hear that we will be increasing the number of sockets in the Library as part of the summer refurbishment. Level 2 of the Library will have a raised floor access layout, meaning we will have far greater flexibility with the numbers and location of sockets.

Thanks also for your comments on the overflowing bins. Our colleagues in Estates/Cleaning Services have recently increased the numbers of staff on duty in the Library during weekends. Clearly during exam times we are particularly busy and I apologise for any inconvenience caused to you by the bin being full on this occasion.

There are obviously two main options available to us to help with this problem – provide additional bins and/or provide additional cleaning. I’ll shortly be talking to colleagues in Estates about various matters and will be sure to include this issue as a topic for discussion.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Need cardboard bins – coffee cups are probably the most thrown-away thing in this building and you can’t recycle them at the moment.”

I’ve spoken with the University’s Recycling Officer who has confirmed that we are currently unable to have coffee cups recycled.

This is due to the waxy coating used inside the majority of coffee cups which is apparently incompatible with the current recycling process. Even if we bought cardboard bins, they wouldn’t resolve this issue of the cups being non-recyclable.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Could you do short loan fines by the minute – like at Edinburgh Uni (2p/min there)?”

Unfortunately our library management system doesn’t have the capacity to introduce per-minute fines in the way that Edinburgh does. We can only charge per hour or per day.

I’m sorry this isn’t the answer you were looking for but please get back to me if you’ve any more questions or comments at this stage.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Printing stations so people can print when all the computers are being used.”

I’ve checked with colleagues from the IT Service Desk and they’ve confirmed that there are printing stations on levels 2, 3 and 4 of the Main Library.

If you have any further questions about the use of these printing stations or printing in general, I’d encourage to you speak to IT Service Desk staff or to email itservicedesk@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The toilets are gross, especially the women’s. There’s never any toilet paper by later on in the evening and the sanitary bins are often overflowing, which is incredibly unhygienic. Same goes for the general waste bins, which probably isn’t as likely to transmit germs but still pretty terrible.”

The comment card received by the library was completed on 2nd May so I am assuming this is probably the day you found fault with the services. This was brought about by a set of circumstances, the main reason being as you are no doubt aware, the University was on holiday on Friday 29th April due to the Royal Wedding and Monday 2nd May which was the May day holiday. We found some difficulty in covering the various events and buildings with cleaning provision as many of our staff wished to take annual leave.

We wrongly made the assumption that the library may be quieter due to the holiday weekend. We had 2 regular Library staff covering from 6am until 11am on the Friday and Monday and 2 staff working 6am until 9am on Saturday and Sunday. There was no evening cover on these days. I am sorry you were not happy with the toilets in the evening and I apologise for any inconvenience you may have experienced. I will ensure in future that we have an evening cleaner over this weekend.

Normally during term time we have cover throughout the day and evening from 6am to 9pm, 7 days a week. The toilets are checked regularly for cleanliness and to replenish toilet paper and general waste and recycling is emptied regularly. The sanitary bins are replaced every fortnight and we have additional spares which are used if required. I will ensure the staff look for any that may require changing before the scheduled visit. The bins were all changed on Tuesday 3rd May. While the cleaning staff do try to maintain a good standard of cleanliness in the library, we also rely on the users of the building to be thoughtful when using the facilities to help with this.

I would be grateful if you could either inform the library or myself should you find any further cause for complaint to enable me to rectify any issues.

Gillian Kathryn Jordan
Cleaning Manager
Estates

“The stairs in the Library should be repaired during the renovation process. The steps of the stairs are too small and a lot of staff and students can easily fall….that’s why: please normal stairs!”

I agree that the pitch of our steps on the main stairwell could do with being adjusted and this was to be done as part of the original Redevelopment Project.

However, given the reduced budget that we are working with, this is not an improvement that we will be able to introduce. There are other improvements that will be made to the stairwell, not least new carpet and the inclusion of new fire lobbies which will drastically reduce the amount of noise that currently comes from the stairs onto the upper floors.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The ‘Suggest a Title for Purchase’ system online is good in principle; however, I would appreciate it if students were to receive feedback about their suggestions i.e. whether they are deemed worthy (!), how soon the Library intends to acquire them, etc.

Moreover, can you create a similar system for audio-visual material? Although the Library’s DVD collection is truly fantastic; there are some glaring omissions e.g. ‘Broadcast News’ (Brooks, 1987), ‘The Lion King’ (Allers & Minkoff, 1994), ‘The Jazz Singer’ (Crosland, 1927 – you only have the Neil Diamon version of this film – urgh!!)."

We would normally get back to any student who has made a recommendation for purchase (we often reserve the new purchase for them to pick up once it's available). The only instance I can think of for not doing so would be that if it was made via SAULCAT we unfortunately don't receive the contact details of the recommender. If you would like to get back to me with the title of your suggested purchase I'll follow this up for you.

Increasingly, students have been using the morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk e-mail address to make recommendations, and we welcome recommendations for any type of resource, including DVDs. Our DVD collection, while widely used by students and staff across the University, is primarily focused on supporting teaching within Film Studies, and the selection of many of the titles is made on that basis.

Please get back to me with regard to your previous suggestion for purchase and in the meantime I will pass on your DVD recommendations to my colleague, Dr Alice Crawford (Academic Liaison Librarian for the Arts).

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“It’s be great if SAULCAT could allow for persistent login when using a personal computer – it’s a pain having to dig out a card every time I want to renew a book or recall an item.”

There are two things governing this - settings on the Millennium side and your local browser settings. For 'My Millennium' within the Millennium web options we currently have My Millennium set to logout after 5 minutes of inactivity. There are no plans to alter this in the short term.

For searching of the catalogue without being logged in, we don't have a timeout set. However SAULCAT does uses cookies to provide a persistent session on the server. If the local browser doesn't have cookies enabled then you can experience timeouts when the server cleans up what it thinks are dead processes but in reality is someone sitting with their browser open.

I also understand that there is an overnight process that cleans up web sessions that are still open but if you want a more persistent session then I would recommend that you try enabling cookies on your browser and see if that helps. You can set it to just allow cookies for our website (http://library.st-andrews.ac.uk) if you don't want to enable cookies for all sites.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Please alter the width/height of the stairs’s steps as I pulled my hamstring mounting them a couple of weeks ago.”

I quite agree that the pitch of our steps on the main stairwell could do with being adjusted and this was to be done as part of the original Redevelopment Project.

However, given the reduced budget that we are working with, this is not an improvement that we will be able to introduce. There are however other improvements that will be made to the stairwell, not least the inclusion of new fire lobbies which will drastically reduce the amount of noise that currently comes from the stairs onto the upper floors.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“During the Easter Vacation the opening hours were appalling. Many people stayed in St Andrews in order to have a productive break but with the Library closed on weekends we felt the Library did not support this.

Both Medicine students and those with dissertations don’t see this period as a holiday and the Library should be open accordingly.”

* * * *

“I think that the Library should open on the Sunday before term time starts.”

I quite agree that our opening hours during Easter aren’t good enough and this is something that we’d like to improve. Unfortunately at the moment, we have a staff situation when many of our evening and weekend staff are on term-time only contracts and are therefore not required to cover the Easter period.

However, the refurbishment this summer will allow for the introduction of more self-service technology, improved security access and service points. This gives us greater capacity to operate the Library for longer hours with a reduced staff. We will also be looking at staffing levels required to keep the building open, any contractual considerations and the likely cost to the University.

We are also trying to provide extended term-time opening hours when we re-open the building in September. We are very aware of the demand for the Library to be open beyond midnight and even longer at exam times.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“This Library needs more bathrooms!”

I agree that we could do with having additional bathrooms in the library. During the second phase of our refurbishment in Summer 2012, one additional disabled toilet will be installed on Level 3 & 4 respectively. There won’t, however, be any additional bathrooms on Level 2 as the budget for the redevelopment doesn’t allow for this.

The existing bathrooms will be significantly refurbished and improved as part of the redevelopment project.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“As the current short-loan system can make it very difficult to get hold of books if they are in high demand, it could be useful to update the system so that if books are returned early, people can choose to have automatic e-mails sent to them (or text messages) informing them of the status of their required book.”

Your suggestion is a great one and we would love to be able to do something like that but it’s not currently possible technically. We’ll certainly feed this back to our Library systems supplier as something that would be useful.

If you are having problems getting hold of any library material, I’d encourage you to do one of the following:

Speak to a member of our IT Service Desk staff straight away. They are there to help you.
Send the details of the books you’re struggling to get hold of to our morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk address. Someone will pick this and action the request very quickly.
Contact your Academic Liaison Librarian. We have a team of specialist librarians who work closely with the different academic schools and their students. Their contact details are on our website at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/contact/academicliaison/ or you can ask for them at the IT Service Desk. The Liaison team can help resolve any book shortage issues but also help you to find other or additional sources of information so I’d encourage you to get in touch.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“More water fountains please – perhaps one on each floor.”

You’ll be pleased to hear that we are in fact introducing water fountains on both levels 3 and 4 as part of the redevelopment project.

You can see the position of where these new fountains will go from checking our floor plans, available on our website or the redevelopment display boards on level 2.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Hello, this is more a comment to avoid future disappointment…could you please change the carpet colour to something darker (so you’ll see less spots) like dark red or dark green. It will make the Library classier than the current mustard carpet. Or at least, allow students to vote for their favourite colour. Thank you.”

You’ll be pleased to learn that we are in fact replacing the carpet in the Library as part of our redevelopment project although the final decision on the colour hasn’t been made.

When we re-open the building in September, the whole of level 2 will have been re-carpeted and levels 3 & 4 will be changed in summer 2012. The entrance lobby and café area will have different floor finishes. There’s always information on what we’re doing on our redevelopment display boards on level 2, our website and our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The Library should really stay open past 1pm on a Saturday during holidays.”

We are aware that Library opening hours during the holidays (as well as during Semester) are an issue and we have received a fair amount of feedback on this topic of late.

At present some of our staff are contracted to work during term-time only, which restricts our options with regard to opening hours during the holidays. However we are presently working with colleagues across the University to try to increase the number of hours we are open in the next academic year.

We will be sure to advertise any changes in opening hours as soon as we are able to.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“All the books relevant to my course were kept in Short Loan – therefore the whole of Spring Break was spent at University. It is very disruptive to work to have to go back and forth every 4 hours to the Library. Also one of the books was required when I went home, however this was not possible and has hindered essay writing and studies.”

I’ve had a look at the short loan material for the modules you are taking and have been in touch with the relevant lecturers to discuss purchasing extra copies of some titles. We can and do react quickly to provide extra copies of books where required and I appreciate you bringing this issue to my attention.

We encourage all students to let us know of any library resource issues straight away – speak to staff at the desk, e-mail morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk or talk to your Academic Liaison Librarian.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

March 2011

“I am a Computer Science & Maths student and I usually go to study in the JF Allen Library. It is the perfect place to do your reading in between lectures or before tutorials. It is always nice and quiet and the staff are friendly and helpful. The group study rooms are great! I also like the new policy about letting students have their coffee in the Library.

The only thing I would recommend is to have 2 or 3 more computers, if possible.”

Thank you very much for your positive feedback – I’m glad to hear that you find the JF Allen Library a good place to study and that you like the recent change in policy with regards to hot drinks.

We have run a report on the use of the PCs in the JF Allen Library and they are not actually used that heavily. There does seem to be a busy period in the late morning but thereafter use drops away quickly. With other PCs normally available close by (Physics PC Classroom, through the link corridor to Medicine) we do not plan to increase the number of PCs in the Library at this time. However we will continue to monitor usage in the future.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“You should put up a divider between the two urinals. If one urinal is occupied, people often don’t want to use the one close beside it. Not just me either – this is a common complaint!”

Thanks for your comments about the layout of the male toilet facilities. As part of the refurbishment, new china dividers will be introduced to improve privacy, along with complete replacement of all sanitary ware, new tiling and décor. Work will be carried out in the level 2 facilities this summer with levels 3 & 4 upgraded as part of the next phase of refurbishment.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The Uni Library is my spiritual/intellectual home in St Andrews. Pity Special Collections is off to the North Haugh. It will divide my affection.

1) Like the new area by the papers and the sofas

2) Like the idea and flexibility behind it

3) The staff are always likeable.”

Thank you very much for your positive feedback. I’m glad you like the changes to the Main Library and hopefully after the Summer redevelopment you will find there have been many more improvements made.

In order to make these improvements, however, the move of Special Collections to the North Haugh has been unavoidable. The next stage of the Library’s redevelopment will be the planning of and fundraising for the creation of a dedicated home for Special Collections. This will not only allow for the provision of high quality accommodation for our collections and staff but also much improved public areas for teaching, consultation and exhibitions.

In the meantime, our team will continue to provide the highest levels of service from their temporary home. I hope that you will continue to make use of our services from the North Haugh but also take the opportunity to enjoy the much improved Main Library space when it re-opens in September.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I think it would be a really good idea if the Library had a coffee machine in the vending machine area. I believe many people would use this and appreciate it.”

The good news is that following the refurbishment in the summer we will have a Library café that will offer a range of hot and cold drinks as well as snacks and a seating area indoors and out.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Food and Drink – allowing food and drink into the Library has been a huge improvement – thank you.

Extended hours – I appreciate that opening hours over the weekend have been extended in the past but I feel it would be beneficial to extend them further. Closing at Midnight is early compared to other university libraries, never mind 10pm and 9pm on a Friday and Saturday. If you can’t extend hours during the week, can we at least have until Midnight on a Friday/Saturday?

Short Loan – I agree with the need to have a 4 hour maximum loan for short loan books, however, I think it is unfair that this isn’t continued over the weekend. If someone takes a book out at 4.30pm on a Friday they can have it until 9.45 on a Monday. This doesn’t seem fair.”

I’m glad that you like the new policy with regard to food and drink – it does seem to have been very well received in general.

I do realise that extending opening hours would be welcomed by a significant number of our users and we are currently working with other colleagues in the University to establish if we will be able to offer additional opening hours in the next academic year.

You also make a good point with regard to Short Loan books over the weekend and we will take this on board and consult with students on what they would prefer. We do need to be careful as some of our users (commuting students, for example) appreciate and benefit from the current arrangement.

We will be looking at both of these issues in the weeks and months ahead and will keep everyone well-informed of any proposed changes.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I have always been pleased with the Library and staff, my only concern/query is why isn’t the Library able to be like all other university libraries, open 24 hours?

People don’t like working in their flat or Butts Wynd and many people work well at night. I understand that library staff can’t stay open all night but one person on security watch is all that is necessary. And if safety is still a concern then maybe like most buildings in the University they should have a swipe access with our matric cards and non-university staff/students who use the Library will need to come when the Library staff are working.

This is a request from many students and since the Library is for them maybe it is time to reconsider traditions or whatever is holding the Library back.”

Thanks for your supportive words on the Library and our staff.

Whilst there are some requests for 24 hour opening, the evidence from St Andrews (where we trialed this a few years ago) and indeed from other UK university libraries who have tried this, is that demand tends to tail off between 2am and 8 am. All year round 24/7 opening in UK academic libraries is still relatively unusual.

However, the refurbishment this summer will not only improve the environmental conditions of the building but also the security, meaning that longer opening hours are more viable in theory at least. In fact we will have swipe access in and out of the Library, as you suggest.

We are currently working with other colleagues to establish to what extent, if any, we will be able to offer an enhanced offering of opening hours post-September. There are not insignificant cost, staffing and contractual considerations that will need to be addressed if hours are to be improved.

We have certainly taken your comments on board and will keep all our users up to date with any plans to extend opening hours in the near future.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Not too keen on the new ‘zoning’. Ground floor is rather too noisy (there are plenty of spaces for ‘group work’ throughout the University – why give over the largest study space in the building to chattering students?) and on the other hand it seems insane to ban phonecalls etc. in the stairwell.

It’s the ideal place to take a call, and everyone does it anyway, instantly undermining the authority of the entire system.”

I’m sorry you are not too keen on the new ‘zoning’ policy. It’s certainly a challenge to cater to a large variety of users and what pleases one individual might displease another. Our aim is to strike a balance and provide as much variety in terms of study spaces and zones as we are able to.

Your comment on phone calls in the stairwell is a good case in point. We have received complaints from several students about the noise generated from phone calls disrupting their work on Levels 3 and 4.

Fortunately the refurbishment project will introduce lobby spaces at the top of each stairwell so that the noise generated from calls/conversations can be more easily contained.

We are also aware that we cannot constantly patrol every area of the Library to enforce regulations on noise, food and drink – we do need students and other users to support the zoning policy by sticking to the guidelines and considering other users at all times.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Bring back silence to the Library! Please!

It’s good being able to eat lunch inside when it’s cold outside and there’s nowhere else to go, but the noise levels have become unbearable. It’s impossible to work!”

I’m glad you like the new regulations with regards to food and drink and am sorry you find the noise on Level 2 impossible to work in.

We have had a lot of positive feedback from students on the zoning of Level 2 and it continues to be a well-used area. We also realize that we are attempting to cater to a wide variety of users and study practices and that it is an ongoing challenge to get that balance right.

Following the redevelopment over the summer there will not only be more study spaces available on Level 2 but also a greater variety of spaces, including rooms for group work and consultation pods as well as a range of clustered PC and non-PC spaces.

We will continue to assess the zoning policies and adjust them where necessary to accommodate our users as best we can. In the meantime please do keep in mind that Levels 3 and 4 are available for silent study.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“It seems there are now people coming along forcing us to unplug our laptops of the cords are going across an aisle. While I understand that it may be a fire hazard, this action nearly always halves the number of laptop places in the Library, meaning I will often need to find somewhere else to work due to overcrowding.

Given how many people a laptop is essential for, I hope you are working on installing more plugs.”

The redevelopment will provide several hundred extra study spaces, with additional power supply delivered to Level 2 over this coming summer. Hopefully this will go a long way to reduce the problem you have identified.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I struggle to find books in the JF Allen Library. Is there a chance you could include ‘sticky-outy’ things half way along shelves to mark major changes in the code? Or have some other system that achieves the same.

On the other hand the staff are very helpful and very quick at finding books.”

Thank you for your kind words on our staff – we’re always happy to help.

We do actually have the ‘sticky-outy’ things you refer to around the ‘busy’ QA76 (Computer Science) classmark in the JF Allen Library, as well as signs on each shelf end. However we will review the collection as a whole and add further signage where we think it might prove useful – thanks for the suggestion.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I think the changes that have been made so far are great, especially the new rules for the ground floor – having a place to eat and chat while you work is really helpful. One thing which may be useful would be if there was a place to buy stationery items such as pens and pencils or notebooks, this could be operated through BESS – the union shop which sells these items. Thank you!”

Thank you for your positive feedback – we’re glad you like the changes made so far, and there are plenty more to come!

We do actually sell pens and pencils at the service desk, at least for the time being. However we are likely to discontinue this following the refurbishment over the summer. BESS, along with other shops in the town provide a wide range of stationery equipment.

We would rather concentrate on providing a Library café, something which students have requested for a long time and which should further add to the diverse learning spaces within the Library.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I find it incredible, how different the definition of silent zones seems to be. Loads of students being so ignorant in terms of throwing electronic equipment on the tables, undressing or even eating crisps and talking. There seems to be no respect that people might have difficulties to concentrate.

Students must act to rules and the Library must install a changing area at the entrance, saying that all jackets, foods and laptop covers should not be taken to the silent zones. Boxes like Tesco’s will allow people to collect books and carry their equipment up and down without disturbing others. Thanks.”

I’m sorry that your studying has been interrupted by the inconsiderate actions of others. I would ask that you please report any inappropriate behaviour to a member of Library staff straight away.

Unfortunately we simply do not have the space in the Library to provide the kind of changing or storage area that you describe (beyond a limited number of lockers). To some extent the moving of people and belongings around the Library will always be a potential distraction but that does not excuse eating or talking in the Silent Zone.

I do agree that in order to create the kind of diverse learning environment we seek to provide we very much rely on the mutual respect of our users.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“We should have plastic cups near the drinking fountain because people start slurping the water and it’s annoying or maybe the Library can sell plastic library embroidered cups.”

For environmental reasons, we are actually looking to reduce the use of plastic cups in the Library and have recently removed them from staff areas. Therefore we have no plans to either provide or sell plastic cups within the Library.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“With the renovations we should make a part of the library that has a patio of some sort or maybe an area where windows can be opened so we can get fresh air.”

While we will not be replacing the windows as part of the library refurbishment we will have a seating area outside the new Library café. This should hopefully provide the kind of environment you are looking for.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The weekend short loan system needs to be changed. By allowing one student to take books out for Friday evening, the whole of Saturday and the whole of Sunday it completely eliminates the point of short loan in the first place.

I have two essays neither of which the books are available for. Extending the four hour loans to the weekend would benefit all students instead of a minority. One major problem is that there is only one copy of most of the books in short loan. More copies would allow students greater access to the items they need. The library main priority should be supplying students with the books they need for learning.”

I’m very sorry to hear you are having problems getting hold of the books you need to write your essays. I’d be obliged if you would e-mail me back with details of the books and the modules you are taking and I will look at getting extra copies made available on short loan as quickly as possible. I assure you we see the provision of books and other resources for learning as a main priority.

Normally a lecturer will request that a certain number of copies of books are put on short loan. We do assess usage levels but it’s also really important that students report difficulties in getting hold of books straight away. The easiest way to do this is to speak to a member of the Academic Liaison team at the Main Library or to staff on the service desk. We also have a dedicated e-mail address morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk.

With regard to extending the four hour loan periods to over the weekend, I think you make a valid point. We did consider changing this previously but opted to stay with the existing arrangement. However we will consider this again as we look ahead to the first semester of the next academic year.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Could you please offer a few (just 2-3) healthier snacks in your vending machine? For example cereal bars, yoghurt bars, dried fruit, granola bars, Fig Newtons, oatmeal biscuits and low-salt pretzels would all fit this request. Thanks!”

Having checked the machine, I agree that at the moment there are not any healthy snacks available – sorry about that. We have been in touch with our suppliers and have asked them to include some healthier options every time the machine is restocked.

It is also worth noting that following the refurbishment over the summer, the new Library Café will provide a much larger range of food options, including a range of healthy snacks.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The new zoning policies are great for allowing people to work socially without interfering with private study. I do question the need for a café though. It will be busy, noisy and disruptive and the Old Union and Costas are two minutes away at most.”

I’m delighted to hear that you like our new zoning policies. Many other Library users have been similarly positive about this initiative and we really appreciate the feedback.

I note your comments about a café although I disagree that it will be disruptive. The location of the café on the corner of level 2, next to the entrance, means that it will be some distance from the designated silent areas of the building. It is a comparatively small space and we believe that it is a positive inclusion in the redeveloped space and one which will be immensely popular.

There is significant demand for this type of facility within the Library and cafes of this type are a common feature of new or refurbished university libraries throughout the world. Despite facilities such as the Old Union Diner Café and Costas, they will not be able to match the Library Café in terms of opening hours.

For example, the Old Union Diner Café is only open 11am-4pm and on weekdays and Starbucks in St Andrews closes by 7pm during the week. The Library Café will be available 7 days a week for the full range of our opening hours (the café servery is likely to close earlier in the evenings but self-service will be available until closing time).

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“There is nowhere near enough study space in the Library. It is entirely unacceptable that Honours students should only be able to get a desk/computer after 10pm or as soon as the Library opens.

Something should be done about the ridiculous people who leave their possessions at desks (without themselves being in the Library) for hours at a time. I understand that this is difficult to control but it is a huge problem.”

I note what you say about the lack of study space in the Main Library and I completely agree with you. We have been aware for many years that the seating capacity of the building is completely inadequate for the daily demand placed upon it.

We are, however, going to be able to increase the seating from the current figure of around 700 to around 1200 once the redevelopment of the building is complete. The first phase of this project begins in late May and will be completed by mid-September. Level 2 will see the introduction of additional seating including a greater variety of seating in open plan, group study room and café areas. The second phase, covering levels 3 & 4, will take place in Summer 2012.

We also believe that the other key to providing easier access to study space is to increase our opening hours. We are currently working on a strategy to increase opening hours at the start of the new academic year but this will depend on the University allocating the necessary staff budget.

I agree that users leaving their belongings at desks for prolonged periods is a problem, one which we are equally frustrated with. It is, as you acknowledge, very difficult to control but I would be delighted to hear of any suggestion you may have to help us improve the situation.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The whole process is smooth and comfortable. Officers are helpful all the time. Good job. However, IT service is not efficient. It took weeks to investigate the problems, still not working. Thanks.”

Thanks for your positive feedback and the compliment to Library staff – it’s much appreciated. I’m sorry to hear you have been experiencing IT problems and have passed your comment on to my colleague Kevin Donachie, who is the IT User Services Manager.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The self-return system in short loan is a welcome improvement.”

Thanks for your feedback – it’s much appreciated. We had a few issues with the self-issue and self-return in Short Loan at the start of the academic year but since then the system seems to have been working well.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Sunday evening toilet facilities are poor. Clear no cleaner had been working (e.g. no loo paper in any of the ladies bathrooms, and general mess).

Also the Dyson dryers are great but cleaning them and the floor around them once in a while couldn’t be too hard?!”

I apologise for the poor state of the toilets on a Sunday evening. We were aware that there was an issue and have been working with colleagues in Estates to improve weekend cleaning.

Since your comment was received we have two new cleaning staff, one for weekends and one Monday to Friday (1900 -2100). We are sure this will make a difference to the standard in the Library which is difficult to maintain on account of the volume of people using the facilities and occasionally some Library users not being completely considerate to others who use the building. We will review this situation in a few weeks and make any adjustments in terms of times of cleaning if necessary.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

February 2011

“Could the missing hook on the back of the door of the first toilet on the right in the ladies’ toilets on the top floor be replaced? It is very inconvenient having to use the toilet without having anywhere to hang up one’s coat and bag.”

Thank you for completing a feedback form. I have reported this to our Library attendants and we will try to get this fixed as soon as possible.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I’m afraid it seems as if the ‘Silent Zone’ signs on the top floor of the Library do not seem to work very well. At least once every morning and every afternoon my studying is disrupted by people noisily listening to music or eating (the latter is much more frequent). Could the ‘Silent Zone’ signs be made more prominent? Or could a sign be put on each desk saying ‘no food’?”

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to fill out one of our Library feedback forms.

I’m sorry your studying is being interrupted by people listening to music or eating. We have increased the number of patrols by our attendant staff, however we cannot always be on hand when these issues arise. I would really encourage you to report any problems to staff as soon as they occur so we can act immediately and follow this up with repeat visits to the area in question.

With the Library redevelopment beginning this summer we will be introducing a new permanent signage system to make clear the behaviour expected on each floor of the library. Obviously we don’t want to spend more money on short term signage but we are currently considering how a short awareness campaign might effectively address this problem, as we have had similar feedback from other Library users.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“As a modern languages student, I have been disappointed with the French-English and German-English dictionaries here. The newest German dictionary you have is 1995, which means that I can’t look up any modern vocabulary in it. Obviously there is the internet, but I don’t want to lug a laptop here!

Your new(ish) French dictionary has its spine ripped off! Could we pretty please get some new ones?”

Thanks very much for completing a comments card.

Our most recent German-English print dictionary is the Collins 2007 edition, located on Level 2. The same edition is also available online through Credo Reference. We also provide access to Oxford Language Dictionaries Online, which is a very useful resource, although we do appreciate that some users will still prefer print for various reasons.

We’re quite happy to purchase additional dictionaries – as you note they do not wear well, the spine and covers tend to be damaged rather easily.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Is it possible to make a section in the Library where people cannot text or type on the computers? Many times this makes an annoying noise and it’s distracting.”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a feedback form.

While I do sympathise with your comment, I don’t think there is any way we could reasonably ban laptops, mobile phones or other electronic devices from a part of the Library. Many of our resources are now only available online and we would effectively be preventing users from accessing material they might need for study or research.

Certainly all mobile devices should be switched to silent mode on Levels 3 and 4 of the Library – if you encounter any instances of this not being adhered to please let a member of staff know straight away.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I work in the Library regularly and find that students chat a lot in the so-called silent areas. They also talk loudly on the stairs. They also eat, talk on the phone, receive and send text messages etc. Could you not put signs saying ‘Silence Please’ on desks.

Also library staff reshelving talk loudly whilst moving between the shelves. And cleaners do the same. There isn’t an ethos of work and silence in the Library. What are you doing to promote it?”

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to fill out one of our Library feedback forms. We’re sorry to hear you’re experiencing problems with noise levels in parts of the Library.

Staff do regularly patrol the silent zones to encourage compliance with the rules, but if you find there is a problem with students talking, eating etc in areas where they shouldn’t, please just send me an email with details and I will look into it. We are particularly concerned to hear of Library and cleaning staff talking in the silent areas, so if you find this happening again, please email me with dates and times and I will ensure that the matter is reported to the relevant line-managers and followed up.

With regard to noise in the stairwell, we are confident that when new fire lobbies are installed there as part of the library redevelopment project, the noise will be contained and the problem resolved. Again, with regard to “silence please” signs, we are currently working with the architects to produce a new, permanent signage system which we hope will make the expected behaviours in each library area even clearer – we are reluctant to introduce any further temporary signing at this interim stage as it would only add to the over-abundance of signs currently on display in the building. The new, streamlined signage system which will appear in the redeveloped library when it opens should effectively address this issue.

Dr Alice Crawford
Senior Academic Liaison Librarian (Arts and Divinity)

“Even if you want all the keys back for summer (nothing wrong with that) we shall have a whole semester left in which people still want the facilities (lockers) to be available.”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card and giving us your thoughts on reduced locker provision.

Whilst I fully appreciate that you and other Library users would like to have access to lockers for the full semester, this simply isn’t possible. All Library staff and the entire contents of Levels 1 and 2 of the building need to be cleared by May 27^th in order that the builders can start work on Monday 30^th.

If we were to allow locker access right up until the end of semester, there would be a risk of some key-holders not coming back with their keys on time and leaving items in their lockers. Whilst I’m sure you would be fully compliant with bringing your key back and emptying your locker on time, we do have regular problems with other students not doing so and who we then have to chase.

We are doing everything we can to maintain as normal a Library service up to and including the last day of semester. However, the task of doing so while gradually moving staff and operations out to temporary summer accommodation is immense. Making sure that all lockers are cleared 2 weeks before the end of semester helps us in the process.

I am sorry for the inconvenience that this causes you but some disruption to services in advance of such a major redevelopment project is unavoidable.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I want to point out the level of disrespect for the silent areas in the Library, especially in the common stairs (where it is very loud and trespasses to the post-grad desks). The area of carrels for PhD students is also noisy, people talk, whisper constantly and disturb my work as well as others.

I am a PhD student and this is the only area where I can work, but the disrespect of others makes it extremely unpleasant and difficult.”

Thank you for taking the time to complete a feedback form.

I’m sorry that the thoughtlessness of a few fellow students is causing you such problems. We have increased the number of patrols by our attendant staff, however we cannot always be on hand when these issues arise. I would really encourage you to report these problems to staff as soon as they arise so we can act immediately and follow this up with repeat visits to the area in question.

We do rely on mutual respect and the self-discipline of the student population to make sure the zoning policy works for all. This is perhaps something we could look at highlighting more actively to try and bring it to the attention of all Library users.

The refurbishment project will introduce lobby spaces at the top of each stairwell so that the noise generated on the stairs can be more easily contained, so in the longer term this should become less of an issue.

In the meantime please do report any inappropriate behavior straight away.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The Library is, in my view, a fantastic place to study. I do have a couple of small items to mention though: (a) it is quite cold here and (b) I find the flashing of lights (on/off) at close of play to be headache inducing.

Congratulations though on the Silent Zone rules.”

Thanks for your comments.

I’m sorry you have felt cold in the Library. We have found that since the New Year heating levels have been far more comfortable than during the cold spell before Christmas. However we have had a couple of comments on low temperatures of late. I wonder if this problem may be quite localized and would ask you to report the problem area to staff so we can investigate further.

With regards to the flashing of lights, I do apologise if you find this to be uncomfortable, but it is only for a couple of seconds. This approach is taken by the Library Attendants because a small minority of students were not responding to the ringing of the bell to signal the closure of the Library (because they were listening with headphones).

Finally, thank you for your kind words on the Silent Zone policy.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“It’s too cold to work for any length of time in the Library. Can you please increase the heating?”

Thanks for completing a comments card.

There certainly was a problem with low temperatures in the Library during the spell of cold weather in the month before Christmas. However, since the start of this year, heating levels have generally improved, and we were no longer receiving comments about the cold (until now).

I’ve just walked around all the floors and conditions seem comfortable enough. However, if you feel uncomfortable in any part of the building please let staff know straight away – temperatures can vary considerably from one area to another.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Please don’t include entry gates and CCTV. There’s enough state tracking in the world.”

Thank you for your comment.

We do plan on introducing CCTV and security gates as part of the summer refurbishment. However the primary reasons for having them are the safety and security of our users and our stock. Unfortunately thefts do occasionally occur – a laptop, backpack and other valuables were stolen from a student in the Library earlier this month.

Accurate usage figures will also prove useful to us, they should help inform us on where we might best alter or extend opening hours for example, and allow us to calculate how many staff we need to provide the best levels of service at any given time.

I can assure you we have no interest in tracking individuals.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Please clean the windows.”

Thanks for your suggestion which I have passed on to colleagues in Estates.

The Library windows are normally cleaned twice per year. However the vagaries of the Scottish weather and our coastal location mean that sometimes they appear dirty again not long after being cleaned!

The next scheduled clean for the Library was to be mid-April, but as the cost is high and the Library refurbishment will get under way a short time after, a decision has been taken to postpone the clean until after this work is finished.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I know the Library gets a lot of flak for the various problems it faces but I really enjoy it and find my time productive and well spent in the Library. Staff are generally friendly and it’s nice to be able to have a coffee and read in an environment where everyone is busy working.

When you buy new chairs, check the height – I’m short and the current chairs make working on my laptop tough.”

Thank you for taking the time recently to complete a Library comments card.

I appreciate the effort you and many others have made to give positive feedback on the Library and our staff. We have already started to make changes but with the University’s financial commitment and the first phase of the refurbishment this summer we will be working hard to continuously improve the Library environment (and our resources and services) in the years to come.

The refurbishment will increase the number of study spaces, and provide a greater variety of types of spaces – formal, individual, informal, group and café seating. Hopefully this will accommodate all our users, regardless of shape or size.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Like:

Library staff are very helpful and approachable
Reorganizing of floors – I am glad that we can use the ground floor to talk to our peers

Improvement:

Wish you could eat on the 3^rd and 4^th Floors. It is nice that those spaces are Silent Zones, but is a hassle if you just want to grab a quick snack as you would have to get up and leave the floor.”

Thanks for completing a Library comments card.

I’m glad you like the zoning of the floors to allow eating on Level 2. I also understand why you would like to be able to have a quick snack while studying on the Silent Zone floors. However, if you imagine large numbers of students eating on those floors, the noise and smell of food being consumed might become distracting. For that reason we restricted Levels 3 & 4 to drinks only, and allowed food in the more social space on Level 2.

Thank you for your comment on our Library Staff – it’s always very rewarding to receive such positive feedback.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I am unable to use my smartphone on Eduroam. It is a Windows mobile, using Windows 7 as the operating system.”

Thanks for completing a Library comments card. As this is an IT issue I have passed on your comments to my colleague Kevin Donachie who is the IT User Services Manager.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“While I commend the Library’s attempts to provide students with a multifunctional place of study, I think the new zoning system has only reduced the available study space by an entire floor. Many students agree that the ground floor has become little more than a social area, with levels of volume that make studious concentration nigh on impossible. If people want to engage in group work, let them use one of the side rooms or the facilities within their respective faculties.

P.S. I have no qualms with Library staff – you are all great!”

Thank you for taking the time recently to complete a Library comments card. I’m glad to hear that you think Library staff are all great – we always appreciate a compliment!

I’m sorry to hear that you don’t like the General Zone but we have had many comments from other users who take the opposite view and have welcomed this initiative. The General Zone was introduced in response to long-standing and increasing demand from many Library users for a more social and interactive space and we believe it’s important to provide students with this choice.

Two thirds of our public study space is designated as silent and we regularly patrol these zones. Levels 3 and 4 will also be improved as part of the redevelopment by having lobbies built at the entrance to the stairwell, which should significantly reduce the noise that can travels into the Silent Zones.

The redevelopment work taking place over the summer will create a truly flexible Level 2/General Zone including a café, group study rooms and consultation pods as well as a range of clustered PC and non-PC study spaces. This more zoned or modular design on Level 2 should make it easier to find even more choice between social, quiet and silent workspaces.

In the meantime, I’d encourage you to use Levels 3 or 4 if you are looking for a quieter area to work in.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I am thankful for the clean bathrooms – but I must say that the size and location of the sanitary bins make it awkward to sit on the toilet. If the bin actually needs to be used it is even more awkward positioning as one has to lean to one side or get up to open the bin which has to be pulled open. Just a thought smaller bins may be better.”

Thank you for your comments and for the complement about the clean bathroom facilities. I have passed this information on to my colleagues in Estates who managing the cleaning of the Library building.

There is a smaller bin that could be used but it would then need to be changed even more frequently. Cleaning managers have a meeting on the 17th of February with Initial, the bin supply company, and they will raise the matter then to see if a better solution can be found.

I hope this helps and thank you again for the feedback.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I like the new social section, but it’s still a library. The amount of noise, phone calls and chatting on Skype is ridiculous.”

Thank you for taking the time recently to complete a Library comments card.

I’m sorry to hear that you don’t like the General Zone but we have had many comments from other users who take the opposite view and have welcomed this initiative.

In the meantime, I’d encourage you to use the designated Silent Zones on levels 3 or 4 if you are looking for a quieter area to work in.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

January 2011

“I think it’s utterly ridiculous that the library is open so late in the mornings (specifically on the weekends). Schools have 24/7 libraries all of the time, and this is exam week. St Andrews shouldn’t be able to compete with other top UK universities, because it’s so obvious it is of a lesser quality. I am embarrassed by the University of St Andrews Library.”

Thanks for completing a Library comment card. I’m sorry that you feel our morning opening hours aren’t good enough, particularly at the weekends. You may be interested to know that St Andrews does have some of the most extensive opening hours of any university library in the UK – currently 105 hours per week during semester.

Last year we increased our opening hours on a Sunday in direct response to student feedback, from a 1pm opening to 9am. The Library has also, in recent years, begun opening at 8am Monday-Friday rather than 9. In addition, we will be increasing our opening hours at inter-semester break and Easter vacation this year.

However, we are aware of demand for even longer opening hours, particularly around exam and vacation periods. The redevelopment work taking place this summer, including the introduction of card-controlled security turnstiles, provides us with an opportunity to increase hours later into the night. We are currently developing a strategy for future opening hours and will consult with the Students’ Association and Student Library User Group (and others) on the best way forward.

Keeping the Library open longer would of course involve additional staffing costs.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The water cooler is very useful, but it would be even better with cups (in case people forget their bottles).”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card.

We aren’t likely to introduce free cups at water fountains for two main reasons – cost and environmental considerations. In fact we have recently removed cups from staff water coolers for the same reasons. We will, however, be providing new water fountains on levels 3 & 4 respectively as part of our refurbishment plans.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Cups…please put some cups near the water cooler? It would make the library experience all the better. Thanks!”

Thanks for completing a Library comments card.

Yours is not the only request we have had for cups this week but we aren’t planning to introduce free cups at water fountains for two main reasons – cost and environmental considerations. In fact we have recently removed cups from staff water coolers for the same reasons. We will, however, be providing new water fountains on levels 3 & 4 respectively as part of our refurbishment plans.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“People in the computer area think a relaxed policy on talking means they can shout at each other. More patrols. Not enough seats available in the quiet areas.”

Thanks for your comments.

We have recently increased the number of staff patrols, particularly with a view to stopping conversation in the Silent Zones on Levels 3 & 4. However, if there is anti-social behaviour occurring anywhere in the Library please do report it to staff straight away.

We also appreciate that the Library has been particularly busy this semester. We were able to add 36 study spaces at the start of term but the forthcoming £7m refurbishment will increase the number of study spaces in the Library from around the current 750 to roughly 1250. This will include a greater variety of types of spaces – formal, individual, informal, group and café seating.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Concerning planned refurbishment: will there still be desks reserved for postgraduate students? Or will they, once again, come second? So far it looks like the students who pay most fees will not be able to access one of the few study spaces on campus just so that undergraduates have more space to revise for exams i.e. just so that postgrads can be forced to study somewhere else.

Not that the carrel system has to continue as it is – a substantial amount of desks could be bookable for a short amount of time (up to a month) by postgraduates and researchers only.”

Thank you for taking the time to complete a Library comments card.

It is likely that we will still have a number of desks that can be used (or allocated) to PG research after this first phase of the redevelopment is complete. I should stress, however, that the fine detail of exactly what we will be able to offer is yet to be decided.

As you know, we made changes last semester to the way in which the previous PG carrel system was run, reducing the total number of desks by 25% and restricting access to PG research students. These changes were made after consultation with the Students’ Association and the Principal’s Office.

The overall number of study spaces in the Main Library will increase from the current 750 to around 1250 once this first phase of the redevelopment project is complete by 2012. The redeveloped Level 2, to be complete by September 2011, will provide a much more flexible, diverse and comfortable environment for all Library users to work in. Those choosing to work in a quieter environment will still have the option of using Levels 3 or 4 which will continue to be designated as silent zones.

Your suggestion for the shorter-term allocation of PG desks is an interesting one. We’ll think about how such a system could be implemented on a practical level. In the meantime, if you have any other comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

The new and planned changes are great…but please get a hot drink vending machine! We need to brave the snow just to get a cup of coffee!”

Thanks for your comments about a hot drink vending machine. As much as we would love to introduce this kind of facility sooner, I’m afraid it isn’t possible right now. To put a hot drinks machine into the Library would involve re-routing servicing (plumbing etc.) to the appropriate location. The cost and disruption involved wouldn’t be worth it when the whole of Level 2 is about to be refurbished.

We will, of course, have a café with server and new vending facilities available from September this year. In the meantime, I hope that the Library’s new policy of allowing you to at least bring a coffee into the building is a step in the right direction.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The photocopiers on Level 2 are beginning to prove a real headache. Not only are there insufficient but they seem to have a mind of their own; even if you set your page/book to be printed landscape or portrait (within the page boundaries) for about 30% of the time the copier prints it the other way, cutting off half the page. Not only is it frustrating because it wastes time, but it’s also costing money at 7p a sheet.”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card and I’m sorry to hear you’re having problems with our photocopiers.

As you may know, we recently reduced the number of machines in the Library because of a reduction in use but we are keeping the situation under review. We are also having on-going discussions with colleagues in Procurement and IT Services about opportunities for the introduction more modern, multi-functional devices which would copy, print and scan.

In the meantime, if you are having any problems with the use of these machines, please speak to a member of our staff at the time. If the copier has been faulty and produced an incorrect copy, we will be happy to reimburse you.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The 3^rd Floor needs more paper bins – one by the door and one by the computers! People are always trashing paper with general waste because there is only one paper bin…”

Thank you for your comments about paper recycling bins in the Library. You make a very good point about people putting general waste (like coffee cups) into these bins and this is a problem that pre-dates the recent introduction of additional recycling bins in the Library.

We are looking at various options including the re-positioning of the current cardboard-style paper recycling bins next to our new-style waste bins. We have recently put additional signage in the Library encouraging people to clear study desks when they are finished, to recycle/dispose of their waste considerately and to use the correct bins.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

Comments and Suggestions, December 2010

December 2010

“I think the new system of a floor where it’s okay to talk is good – but it feels like it’s leaking over onto the other ones! On the 4^th floor where last year you could hear a pin drop, people are nattering away. Is there a way to enforce the rules – some angry looking staff members perhaps? Or signs that explicitly say ‘no talking’?”

We’re glad you like the changes but we are aware there has been an issue with noise on Levels 3 and 4 on occasion. We would ask that you please report any such behaviour to a member of staff straight away. We do patrol the floors regularly, but unfortunately cannot always be there when the problems occur.

Your point about signs is interesting – we have clearly marked Levels 3 and 4 as ‘silent zones’. However we would always consider additional signage where it may prove to be beneficial so that is something we will look at, along with increasing the staff presence during the forthcoming exam period.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I’m sorry, but what did you do? Except change the computers, which now take 10 minutes to log on! The new chairs are nice, but not enough, as they are always taken!”

Thanks for your comments: I have passed the point about the log-in times on the new PCs to my colleague Kevin Donachie, who is the IT User Services Manager.

I’m glad you like the new chairs, but they, along with the rezoning changes are just the beginning of the process of redeveloping the Main Library. Creating more space for users, with more flexible seating, is one of the key aims of this project. The latest plans are currently located just inside the entrance on Level 2 and we encourage all students to have a look and make comments and suggestions.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I just did some ‘research’ on my own and found out that, unfortunately, hot water dispensers appear to be rather rare in the UK (as opposed to China where it's the standard). It's basically the same as the dispenser you have now, just with the additional option to have hot water, e.g. for tea, coffee, instant food. I am one of the many students who take vacuum flasks to the library, so I thought this could be a good addition.

Please deploy Google Chrome to the workstations. A new msi installer has just been released for convenient deployment.”

Thanks for your suggestion with regards to hot water; it’s certainly an interesting idea.

While I can’t make any promises I have passed your suggestion on to colleagues working on the Library redevelopment plans and we will investigate how feasible it would be to add hot water dispensers. We will be adding a cafeteria to Level 2 of the Library – so that will also give students more options with regards to food and drink next year.

In terms of your recommendation on Google Chrome, I have passed this onto my colleague Kevin Donachie, who is the IT User Services Manager.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“We really appreciate all the Library staff are doing to let us bring yummy food and coffee into the Library. Thanks.”

Thank you for taking the time to let us know you are happy with the recent changes we’ve made!

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Too full. Too noisy. No accurate database. Please do your job!”

We welcome all comments and suggestions but we do ask that they are as specific (and preferably constructive in nature) as possible. The last two points made are difficult to reply to without more information.

We are certainly aware of how busy the Library is and one of the things the redevelopment will offer is more study spaces by September 2011. In terms of noise, Levels 3 and 4 are designated silent study areas, in line with the recent rezoning of the Library. If there are any problems with noise on these floors please do report it to staff straight away.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I would like to ask why the toilet provision (from what I have observed on floor plan Level 2) are bigger for men than women. Considering we do have more female students, and the fact that women always have to queue for loos everywhere, why aren’t you providing adequately?”

Thanks for completing a Library feedback form. You make a good point about the relative sizes of the toilet facilities shown on the level 2 floor plans for the Library Redevelopment project.

I can reassure you that the male and female toilets will remain the same size. The plans do make it look like the men’s is larger but I think that’s because the riser space goes in between the 2 bathrooms. These toilets will be refurbished as part of the redevelopment project next year.

I hope this helps explain the situation but please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if you have any more questions or comments.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“(1) Students would be grateful if the opening hours of the library can be extended in the revision week and exam period (especially Friday and Saturday nights). (2) I really like the zoning systems of the Library.”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library feedback form. I’m delighted to hear that you like the recent introduction of zoning in the Library so thanks for the positive feedback.

In terms of opening hours being extended at exam time, this is something we normally do each year. The plan for January is to extend on a Friday night from 10pm to midnight and from 9pm to midnight on a Saturday during the 2 week exam period.

We are also looking at opening hours during the Easter vacation period next year as well as a longer term strategy for increasing opening hours post-redevelopment.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“An idea: consider sending an e-mail to every student (undergrad and postgrad) that no book must be defaced. I am appalled by the defacements of books – both in pencil and pen! Anyone with respect for books should not write in them – unless the person owns his or her own copy.”

Thanks for your comment. Like you we are very disappointed to find books which have been written on, highlighted or indeed physically damaged. Unfortunately this is a fact of life in every Library – we rely on the goodwill and cooperation of our users to look after books in their care, and there is always a small element who will choose to ignore this.

If we find evidence of mistreatment of books (most obviously lost items) we will charge for replacements. I would also encourage you to take any examples of books in a poor condition to our staff – in this way we can identify and replace defaced stock.

We would not wish to e-mail all students about this however – we think all of our users are well aware of how they should be treating library books and and an e-mail will unfortunately not convince those who choose to act selfishly to change their ways.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I’m a real fan of the fact that we can now have food/hot drinks in the Library – it means that work does not need to be interrupted. Whilst the zoning is good for the above reason some people are taking advantage of the ‘non-silence’ rule to the extent that sometimes work is interrupted by other people chatting loudly (not work-related). It’d also be nice if cups were provided for the water fountain.”

Thanks for recently completing a Library comments form. I’m pleased to hear that you like our new policy on allowing hot drinks into the Library. Your comments reflect the vast majority of others that we have received.

I’m sorry that you’re finding that people talk in the silent zones. We do regularly patrol these floors to encourage compliance with the rules. If you do find others ignoring the rules, please don’t hesitate to alert a member of our staff and we will certainly speak to those concerned.

We aren’t likely to introduce free cups at water fountains for 2 main reasons – cost and environmental considerations. We will, however, be providing new water fountains on levels 3 & 4 respectively as part of our refurbishment plans.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Improvements overall are good! More needs to be done about talking on levels classed as ‘silent zones’ – very annoying!”

I’m glad to hear that you like our recent improvements but am sorry that you’re finding people are talking in our designated silent zones. We do regularly patrol the silent floors to encourage users to comply with the rules. If you are particularly disturbed by other people talking, please don’t hesitate to alert a member of our staff and we will speak to those concerned.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“How about just building a new Library?”

We would be delighted to have a completely new building but the cost of doing this is currently unaffordable. The University has recently committed to an initial £7m’s worth of refurbishment as part of the first phase of a longer term strategy for the Library’s redevelopment. This refurbishment will take place over the next 2 summers and will deliver a large range of improvements. These include better heating and lighting as well as more group study spaces, a café and a new entrance. More information on these developments can be found on the noticeboards currently on display in level 2 and we welcome all comments on the plans.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Too small, not enough seats!”

We’re very aware that the current Library space is inadequate for the demands placed on it. The forthcoming £7m refurbishment will increase the number of study spaces in the Library from around the current 700 to roughly 1200. This will include a greater variety of types of spaces – formal, individual, informal, group and café seating. Whilst the current refurbishment plans will not give us any more physical building space, we believe that by getting this number of additional study spaces into the existing Library, we are delivering the best value for the budget that we can.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The new regulations about the different areas may be a good idea for turning the Library into a social area. However I strongly believe that a library should conform with the stereotypical image of a quiet, respected study and research facility. By allowing conversations on the ground floor – those should be still of academic nature and be held in a quiet manner – the mentality of libraru users has changed throughout the building.

Since the beginning of the year I observed conversations being held throughout the building. As in other study areas within the University no regulations on quietness are being enforced there is virtually nowhere where one can study in peace. This is frankly unacceptable as I believe the library used to be very liberal anyways as drinks, handbags and coats were allowed into the building.

There are sufficient facilities in town for group discussions – the library which by its very definition is a place to promote reading should not encourage anti-social and disrespectful behavior towards the institution and students who have the right of peaceful studying.

Plus – it has been very cold on certain days on the two upper floors – please adjust the temperature.”

Thanks for recently completing a Library comments form. I’m sorry that you don’t like our recent zoning initiative and feel that the Library should be a completely silent/quiet space.

Whilst I appreciate that your view of libraries is that they should be a place for quiet, individual reading, this is not a view shared by everyone. We have overwhelming evidence from many other students who want their library spaces to provide areas that are more relaxed, informal and where talking can take place. As librarians we believe that we have a responsibility to cater for these types of users as much as those who prefer a more traditional space.

I would also say that 2/3 of our current public floor space is committed to silent study and we regularly patrol these spaces to discourage conversation. Please alert a member of staff if you find others are ignoring the silent rules and we will speak to those concerned.

Finally, thanks for your comments about the heating. There have been some problems recently which University engineers have been working hard to fix. Fundamental problems with the Library’s heating and ventilation are long-standing but will finally be addressed by the forthcoming refurbishment.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

Comments and Suggestions, November 2010.

“The recent changes to what we’re allowed to do and where are excellent, however, I’d recommend a couple of further changes: firstly, I see no reason why snacks shouldn’t be taken onto the upper levels; secondly, mobile phone calls should be permitted in the stairwells.”

I’m delighted to hear that you like our recent initiative allowing food and drink into certain parts of the building. To answer your individual points:

Why can’t we allow food on to levels 3 & 4? - Introducing these new rules does have an impact on our cleaning services infrastructure and we need to carefully manage this. We also have evidence from other Library users who say that they do not want to work in areas that allow food to be consumed. It’s very difficult trying to support the wide variety of needs of our different users but we feel that the current arrangement is a fair compromise.
Mobile phones should be permitted on the stairwells – We do actually receive complaints from other users about noise travelling up from the stairwells into the study floors from people’s phone calls and other conversations.
The refurbishment project will introduce lobby spaces at the top of each stairwell so that the noise generated from calls/conversations can be more easily contained. I appreciate that you don’t feel it’s too disruptive at the moment but we have to consider the whole range of opinion.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The new ‘silent zone’ policy needs to be enforced. Glad that soft drinks are now allowed – makes studying for longer periods much easier. Communal/group work area downstairs a good idea but risks reducing effective study space during exam season. Open up the library ‘classrooms’ as study space – empty and unused 95% of the time.”

Silent Zone enforcement/Students talking on mobiles in silent zones: If you are having problems like this, please do tell a member of Library staff as soon as possible and we will speak to the offending individual. Our staff are hopefully more identifiable now that they are wearing ID and/or branded polo shirts so that should help a bit!

We have just employed a new team of Attendants in the Library who, as part of their duties, will regularly patrol the public areas to encourage compliance with the regulations. This full team will be in place in the next week but, in the meantime, we’ll do our best to keep an eye on things and to patrol the zones.

Drinks – I’m glad you like the fact that we are allowing drinks to be brought into the Library. This is proving to be very popular.

General Zone – I note your comments on the need for effective study space at exam time. Clearly we’re very limited with the space that we have when we’re trying to respond to massive and varied demand for different types of space at different times of the year. We can look into options like temporarily re-designating parts of the General Zone as a temporary silent zone during exams but I’m not sure how practical this would be to enforce or would people find it confusing to have a change? What do you think?

Seminar rooms – within the next year, the first phase of the interim redevelopment project will be complete. At this stage, we expect this to have dramatically increased the number of bookable group study rooms available to students. In the meantime, I’m working with Library colleagues to make sure that we administer access to the 2 existing rooms as effectively as possible.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I like how hot drinks are now allowed on Level Two. But I think telephone conversations or talking out loud in general should be prohibited. It is after all a place to study.”

I’m glad to hear that you like the fact that hot drinks are now allowed in the Library. We’ve had many positive comments from other users about this initiative so it’s very encouraging.

I note that you feel phone calls and talking in general should not be allowed on level 2 as it is a place for study. We’ve taken the decision to zone the level 2 area in this way for various reasons. Firstly, as our publicity highlighted, we’ve had consistent and growing demand from large numbers of students for this kind of space. The vast majority of university libraries have started to provide this type of facility in recent years, recognising that the traditional, silent, individual form of study is not necessarily the preferred choice for all students all of the time.

Two thirds of our public study space is designated as silent and we will be regularly patrolling these zones to encourage observation of the silent rules.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“On the 3rd and 4th floors, it seems there’s air conditioning and it is really cold. It is not very comfortable to study in such conditions. Is there any possibility of turning off the air conditioning, or make it a little bit warmer?”

I’m sorry you’ve been finding it cold – I’m afraid that fluctuating temperatures are a common problem that we experience in this building. It’s often too cold in the winter and far too hot in the summer.

We have reported this particular problem to our colleagues in Estates and have asked for it to be investigated. You may be aware that a £7m refurbishment programme of the improvements to the building is due to begin in June next year. A key part of these refurbishments will be to repair and fix many of these long-standing environmental problems.

Until then we will hopefully be able to address the immediate problem with a visit from our engineers.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Your online SAULCAT is extremely useful and saves time. The ML section has lots of fine books on music and composers, scores and journals. Staff are always friendly, kind and very helpful and patient. The reference and rare books sections are honestly thrilling and a great privilege to use. SCONUL is a Godsend. The £15 ILL fee is not. ”

I’m delighted to hear such positive comments about our services and staff, it’s very encouraging and I shall pass these on to colleagues.

With regards to your complaint about our inter library loan charges. We are unfortunately not able to offer a subsidised service for inter library loans for admitted/external readers. The University is charged £9.50 by the British Library for book loans and we have to add our postage and packing charges on to this. The £15 charge contains no element of profit for the Library.

I understand that the local public library in St Andrews can sometimes obtain inter library loans at a lower cost so that may help you. I will, of course, pass your comments on to my colleagues in our inter library loans team and ask if that we keep our policy and prices under review.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Changes in the food and drinks rules are great. Some of the resources, mainly texts/books could be updated. My biggest problem/complaint is that you/the Library are only open till 9pm on Saturdays. I know this seems odd to complain about, but Saturdays are my main late night working days. I am not sure if there are enough people to justify a change though.”

I’m sorry you feel that some of the books need updated. This is something we can address but we of course need specific information. I would strongly encourage you to contact a member of our Academic Liaison Librarian team with some specific details? Our Liaison librarians work closely with academic colleagues to ensure that the collections sufficiently reflect the needs of teaching, learning and research in the University. There’s a liaison librarian for each school. They can help with all manner of things related to the Library and are paid to answer your questions so please don’t hesitate to contact them!

Saturday evening opening hours. Our hours are under constant review and have been extended recently to incorporate Sunday mornings. Believe or not, St Andrews does have the some of the most extensive opening hours of any UK university library. We open 105 hours a week during semester and are the second longest in Scotland after the University of Glasgow.

However, clearly there are times of the week where we could do better and I’ll take your comments about Saturdays into account. We’d already identified a number of times this year where we felt we needed to improve – e.g. exams and the Easter vacation.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“What did you do? Signs saying that we should love our Library, bins to put various items of waste in, and some pointless pieces of furniture downstairs? What was the process by which you came to these implementations? Did you brainstorm these ideas? Take a straw poll?

None of these things deal with the problems of this library: (1) not enough space to work (I have had to leave two times this week due to no space) (2) no heating on the top floor (on Saturday me and a friend were in blankets) (3) not enough books (4) horrid interior, carpet and lighting.”

I'm sorry to hear that you're not happy about our recent changes of policy, zoning, furniture and the new recycling bins. To answer your points in turn:

Signage. We felt it important to promote the new zoning clearly and visibly to all users of the building and it does appear to have worked. Signage, as with all parts of the campaign, was developed in consultation with the Students' Association.
Recycling bins. Recyling in the Library since the introduction of these bins has increased dramatically which we believe is a good thing. The installation of the bins was a necessary part of being able to revise the rules on food and drink in the Library.
"Pointless furniture downstairs" - We have seen growing demand from a range of users for several years for the introduction of this type of facility. Clearly many students want to sit in more relaxed areas and this new furniture has actually increased the total number of seats available in the Library. I'm sorry that you don't personally like it but the immediate popularity of this space is quite evident.
How did we decide on these changes? As our publicity stated, we have had numerous requests from students for many years for all of these changes - e.g. people wanting to bring coffee in, find soft seating, work in groups etc. This has been collated from daily comments, academic/student liaison and more formally through student surveys.

I'm sorry that you don't feel that these changes deal with the problems of the Library. We have had comments from many other students who take a different view and feel that these have been positive changes. To answer your specific criticisms:

Not enough space. We quite agree, the Library is far too small for the current demand placed on it by students. The interim redevelopment project due to begin in June 2011 will not increase the physical building but it will dramatically increase the number and types of seating spaces for students. Until then, we have to work with the building as it is. The introduction of the soft seating has provided an additional 36 study spaces.
No heating. There have been problems with the heating in recent weeks and engineers have being doing everything they can to improve things. I'm afraid that the fundamental heating/ventilation system in the Library has been in need of replacement for some years. This will cost a significant amount of money to repair and the basic problems will finally be resolved next year when the interim refurbishment project begins.
Not enough books. If there are specific resources that you don't feel wehave enough of, please do let a member of our Academic Liaison Librarian team know (contact details are on our website). They work closely with members of academic staff to make decisions on the resources that we have. Often the reason we don't have enough books is lack of information from the people who need them. If we have specific details of which books you need, we can certainly address the problems.
Carpet/lighting. You will find many others, including myself, who agree withyou on the carpet and lighting. These have been issues for a number of years but it is only now, with the University's investment of £7m next year, that we can replace the carpet and lighting.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I love working in the library, however every floor except the main level is always freezing. I would work on the main warm floor, however the noise level is distracting. Is there any way to turn up the heat so I don’t have to get dressed for an arctic expedition when I come to the Library to study?”

I'm glad to hear that you love working in the Library but am sorry you've had problems with the heating. It's true, there have been some difficulties in the last couple of weeks and our engineers have been doing their best to solve them.

I'm afraid that the fundamental problems that we have with the Library being too cold in the winter and too warm in the summer are long standing. It's only now that the University is investing £7m in the interim redevelopment project (due to begin in June 2011) that these essential improvements can be made.

Until then, please do keep feeding back to our staff if you're having problems in specific parts of the building. There are sometimes quick fixes that we can make to alleviate the problems to some extent.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Top floor is very cold. Hard to find somewhere to sit and work. Some areas have nowhere to plug in laptop chargers.”

I'm sorry you've been finding it cold on the top floor. We have been having some problems and our engineers have been doing everything they can to make things better. The Library has, unfortunately, had long-standing problems with being too cold in the Winter and too cold in the Summer.

With the £7m investment in the Library redevelopment project due to begin in June, we will now be able to address the fundamental problems with the heating and ventilation infrastructure. Until then, I can only apologise for any discomfort you are feeling and encourage you to keep Library staff informed about problems you're having.

We are often asked for power points for laptops and provision of sockets has actually been significantly increased in recent years. The problem of course is that we have a building designed at a time when there was no demand for laptop power.

The redevelopment may allow us to increase the number of power points on level 2 but there will still be spaces on levels 3 & 4 away from the perimeter of the building that we won't be able to provide power to.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The division of the Library is a good idea and has been very well done. However some students are persistently gathering on the stairs and talking in groups or are conversing on mobile phones, where it is clearly marked that this is prohibited. Some enforcement required please.”

I'm glad to hear that you like our zoning initiative and that we've got the balance right.

We do try to enforce the rules as much as possible but I would encourage you to please let a member of our staff know if you are having problems with particular users at any time. If we know there is disruption, we will be happy to speak to those causing it.

By way of patrols, we now have our new Library Attendant team in place. This team, members of whom will be on duty whenever we're open, will be able to patrol the public floors and stairwells to encourage compliance with the new regulations. Hopefully this will help matters.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“(A) The general zone could be a little larger and those red seats aren’t that practical but it’s generally good.Might be better if it was somehow more separated from the area where people study. (B) There should be a cheap (!) coffee machine like the one in Purdie which has coffee for 20p. (C) How about some art on the outside façade? Something like the things Ned Kalin does would work.”

I’m glad to hear that you like the principle of the General Zone but note that you feel it’s not large enough. The General Zone is the entire floor space of level 2, not just the area with the new soft seating and group study tables.

We’re unlikely to be able to introduce a coffee machine between now and the interim redevelopment project starting in June next year. There will be a café facility in the new space on level 2 including coffee and other vending facilities.

We would be delighted to see improvements made to the outside of the building and the interim project will allow us to achieve a great deal. The entrance to the building will move to the east side and will include a far more welcoming approach to the space for users. We will have the opportunity to consider the use of artwork later on.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The online chat function is really good. Staff always reply in time and are very friendly, not only online but in general. Two things need improvement: (1) The copy machines are slow! Please get new machines, it takes ages to make copies. (2) Printing at St Andrews Uni is a disgrace. Please get a system where you send a job to a central server and then print your stuff off by logging into the printer anywhere on campus. (3) Please get more vending machines in the entrance area, with stuff like Coke/Red Bull/Chewing Gum.”

Photocopiers being slow – I’m sorry you’re finding the machines too slow. If you could identify particular machines that are slow that would be useful – we could then investigate. If it’s a general problem, please let me know and again we can ask our engineers to check them out.

Printing problems. There’s been an acceptance for some time now that printing for students need to be improved. To that end, our colleagues in IT Services (who run the printing system) have just installed 4 new print kiosks in the main library on levels 2, 3 and 4. You can now send your print jobs to the central print queue from anywhere in the University and then sign into the kiosk to print out your work. Instructions are next to the printers and wider publicity about this change will be coming out shortly.

Vending machines – we’re unlikely to be able to put any additional vending machines in at the moment due to space restrictions. We’re happy to investigate with the suppliers the possibility of introducing some of the items that you mentioned in your feedback into the existing machines. Catering will generally improve with the introduction of a Library café by Autumn 2011. This facility will include a servery area for cold food and hot drinks along with additional vending facilities.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I notice you have changed the rulings pertaining to the use of mobile phones and there are some other rulings I will now have to scrutinize. I should take the opportunity to thank you for the use of a personal computer in the main library and despite the obvious distractions hopefully I can improve my Spanish.”

I am glad to hear that you find the computer access in the Library useful. Please get back in touch if you have any other comments or suggestions.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Where have the paper recycling bins gone? Paper is one of the biggest wastes in the Library!”

I note your comments about the paper recyling bins. Our cleaning staff have been moving them around a little bit since we introduced our zoning/food & drink policy changes recently. There should still be paper bins on each floor along with the new bins for bottles, cans and general waste.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“As a commuting student, it’s great that I can now eat in the Library on the entrance floor – it has saved me a lot of money by not going to coffee shops for lunch for the sake of having somewhere dry to sit and eat a packed lunch.

However, it would be good if the new rules and regulations were more strictly enforced. For instance there are always people talking on phones, especially on the stairwells, which is disturbing and distracting (especially if you are studying nearish the door on 3^rd level. New rules are ace, they just need enforcing. Thanks.”

I'm delighted to hear that you like our initiative allowing drinks and food into sections of the Library. I should say that the needs of commuting students were a factor in driving this decision forward.

I'm also glad to hear you like our zoning. We are doing our best to enforce these regulations and have just employed a new team of Library Attendants who will be patrolling the building to encourage cooperation. This team will be complete and in post by Friday 12th November.

In the meantime, please let a member of Library staff know if you are having particular problems with noise from specific people. We will certainly speak with students causing any disruption in the areas designated as silent etc.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I appreciate the introduction of new sofas on the ground floor however I wish measures could be taken to prevent people putting their feet on the sofas. On a number of occasions I have been prevented from sitting down because the sofas are dirty. On public transport there are signs asking people not to put their feet on seats, why can the same not be done here? Additionally there is always a security guard a few metres away, can they not be responsible for upholding certain standards?”

I'm sorry you're finding the behaviour of other users in the soft seating area annoying.

We have been aware of students putting their feet on the furniture but have taken the decision to adopt a "wait and see" approach just now. Clearly this type of furniture will encourage a more laid back atmosphere and some students are perhaps more relaxed than others.

I have asked our cleaning colleagues to keep an eye on the situation and we will review it towards the end of semester. If we find that the furniture is becoming consistenly dirty/damaged as a result of user behaviour, we will have to consider a different approach.

Thanks again for your comments and we'll certainly keep them in mind when reviewing the situation at the end of the year.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“While I understand the university is under a lot of pressure to accommodate changes across the board, one of the main ones I would love to see implemented would be making the Main Library a 24 hour library. I believe this could be done with minimal staffing (only a security guard for the night shift).

This would increase the study space available at night, increase access to resources, and possibly even increase student morale as all-nighters all alone in one’s bedroom can be a depressing thing. I know it would take a lot of work to implement such a change but I feel it would be greatly appreciated by the student body.”

We are often asked about the possibility of 24 hour opening and it's something that we would like to consider at some point. We have increased opening hours steadily over the last couple of years - e.g. opening on Sunday mornings for the first time this year. St Andrews does now have some of the best opening hours for a university library in the UK.

We are likely to consider 24/7 opening at certain times initially - e.g. exam time - and then keep things under review. There is in fact quite a lot planning to do for something like this - staffing provision, budgets for any increased staffing budget, impact on the building's heating/lighting and the potential impact on cleaning of the building.

So thank you again for your comments. We will continue to review opening hours in response to demand but 24/7 opening is unlikely to be introduced imminently.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“The new rules on food and drink have improved this library no end as it ends the silly and pointless trip outside for a sandwich. The staff are always incredibly helpful and friendly and a pleasure to deal with.”

I'm delighted to hear that you like our food & drink initiative. We've had many other positive comments which is very encouraging. As publicised, we will make a final decision on the permanent retention of this policy after the New Year.

Thank you also for the kind comments about our staff - it's great to hear that their hard work is appreciated!

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

"The marginal cost of talking and phone calls is equal to the reduction in produced output by those agents who are distracted. The production of output, i.e. research activity, is negligibly low on the stairwell. Hence it makes absolutely no sense to forbid the above-mentioned activities. I have never talked on the stairwell and I do not use a mobile phone. It is merely a matter of general economic efficiency.”

I note your comments on the stairwell and that you feel it makes little sense to restrict phone calls/conversations in this area. We've taken the decision to discourage these activities for 2 main reasons:

The physical infrastructure of the stairwell means that noise from conversations on phones or between individuals does tend to travel quite easily. We do in fact receive complaints from other users that they find this "travelling" noise distracting. The Library redevelopment project will allow for the introduction of lobbies at the top of each stairwell - this should significantly help contain noise.
The stairwell is the primary fire exit route from the upper floors of the Library and it is therefore important that we try to keep it as clear as possible. It's a busy area and people sitting on the stairs taking calls or having other conversations can be obstructive for others.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I’m confused by the ‘do not use mobile phones’ sign in the men’s bathroom on the 3^rd floor. Is it because people talking on the phone may be heard by people trying to study? If so texting should be fine. I feel like the sign should read instead ‘please refrain from talking on mobile phones’. This way students can see the intent of the sign and not feel impolite for using their phone for ‘non-call functions’ as other signs have called it.”

This sign was out of date and not in line with new policy – it has now been removed.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“I think the bikes in the bike shed need sorting out – most of them are permanently there and it’s really irritating when you can’t find a place to put your bike. You could put a tag on each bike saying something like ‘if you don’t remove it soon it will be taken away.’ Then you can have a bike sale of the leftover ones!”

The bike shed falls under the remit of Estates rather than the Library and the suggestion has been passed on accordingly.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Ground floor is far too loud now – people not doing ‘group work’ but just chatting and making noise. I much prefer last year’s system – it is difficult to focus anywhere in the ‘General Zone’.”

We’ve taken the decision to zone the level 2 area in this way for various reasons. Firstly, as our publicity highlighted, we’ve had consistent and growing demand from large numbers of students for this kind of space. The vast majority of university libraries have started to provide this type of facility in recent years, recognising that the traditional, silent, individual form of study is not necessarily the preferred choice for all students all of the time.

Two thirds of our public study space is designated as silent and we will be regularly patrolling these zones to encourage observation of the silent rules.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Longer opening hours please. Especially during Easter holidays when the entire Medical School is studying for exams. Most importantly, longer opening hours on Friday and Saturday!”

We have increased opening hours steadily over the last couple of years - e.g. opening on Sunday mornings for the first time this year. St Andrews does now have some of the best opening hours for a university library in the UK.

It is also very likely that we will have extended opening hours over the exam period – we will advertise this well in advance. We will continue to review opening hours in response to demand, but it is unlikely that Friday and Saturday opening hours will be extended in the immediate future.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“How did we do? Not very well. The zoning system was simply put in place, by way of expensive posters and bins, a system that was already widely carried out by students anyway. The allowing of mobile phone calls on the ground floor has reduced the usefulness of the area and forced more people upstairs. This makes it harder to find desks and harder to concentrate as people continuously walk past in search of desks.

On top of this the cafeteria referred to by the student on your posters clearly referred to a place to buy food e.g. the Old Union diner style of food. Is it too much to ask to be able to buy a hot cup of tea or a sandwich. A poor effort – the Library remains a disgrace to this fine University and an insult to the students who try to study here.

We are ‘students’ not ‘customers’, your attitude is wrong.”

I’m sorry you don’t like the recent changes in zoning policy but the results show that it has been embraced by many students – the General Zone is a hive of activity and we have received a lot of positive feedback from students.

Two thirds of our public study space is designated as silent and we are regularly patrolling these zones to encourage observation of the silent rules. Catering will improve with the introduction of a Library café by Autumn 2011. This facility will include a servery area for cold food and hot drinks along with additional vending facilities. This will be part of an ongoing redevelopment of the Library – a clear sign the University is committed to improving the Library and its services.

With regard to use of the word ‘customer’ It is worth remembering that the University Library serves not just students and staff but members of the general public – we aim to make all welcome.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Good work, but coffee machine needed! Cannot be too expensive, e.g. up to 30 pence per coffee (like in Purdie Building).”

A popular suggestion, but we’re unlikely to be able to introduce a coffee machine between now and the interim redevelopment project starting in June next year. There will be a café facility in the new space on level 2 including coffee and other vending facilities.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Upper floors are freezing.”

We have reported this particular problem to our colleagues in Estates and have asked for it to be investigated. Following this temperature levels do seem to have improved on the upper levels.

You may be aware that a £7m refurbishment programme of the improvements to the building is due to begin in June next year. A key part of these refurbishments will be to repair and fix many of these long-standing environmental problems.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I’m not entirely sure what has been accomplished with this ‘face-lift’. It was an unwritten rule that the top floors were for study and the ground floor for socializing. I do hope that the money for all the flyers and posters has not been taken out of the book fund. The ground floor is now a cafeteria and a coffee lounge.

For the solitary student who favored silence this is a slight drawback. Then again, at least it is a step in the right direction to specify clearly where people can socialize and where they can study. I hope the Rare Books collection (the best asset the Library has) will not suffer from the facelift.”

It is important to distinguish between the move to rezone the Library and the first phase of redevelopment which will begin next year. It has been important to clarify exactly what behaviour is expected in different zones, to try and develop a Library which accommodates all our users (as far as is possible).

The University has recently committed substantial sums of money for additional resources, including the ‘book fund’ – and this is most welcome on top of the plans to improve the physical building. We are well aware that our Special Collections (including Rare Books) are a unique resource and all the work being undertaken now is with a view to further strengthening and increasing the visibility of our Special Collections.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Amazing! Very, very pleased with the changes – cold food and drink, talking/group work zones and silent zones are all great! Also pleased there is someone on the desk after 5pm. The Library has made some fantastic improvements. Only remaining complaint: worst ever hours for a Library! Can’t believe it’s not open past Midnight ever, and closes at 9pm some nights. Longer hours would make those of us with late jobs very happy.”

We’re glad you like the changes! With regard to opening hours, believe or not, St Andrews does have the some of the most extensive opening hours of any UK university library. We open 105 hours a week during semester - the second longest in Scotland after the University of Glasgow.

However, clearly there are times of the week where we could do better and I’ll take your comments about Saturdays into account. Our hours are under constant review and have been extended recently to incorporate Sunday mornings. We’d already identified a number of times this year where we felt we needed to improve – e.g. exams and the Easter vacation.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Too cold, especially on the first floor. Otherwise the new system is very good as the University is lacking somewhere you are able to bring your lunch and do group work.”

Thank you for your kind words. With regard to the temperature we have been having some problems and our engineers have been doing everything they can to make things better. The Library has, unfortunately, had long-standing problems with being too cold in the Winter and too warm in the Summer.

With the £7m investment in the Library redevelopment project due to begin in June, we will now be able to address the fundamental problems with the heating and ventilation infrastructure. Until then, I apologise for any discomfort you are feeling and encourage you to keep Library staff informed about problems you're having.

The redevelopment should also allow us to offer more versatility in terms of food, drink and group work space.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I appreciate the new recycling areas as I want St Andrews to be as green as possible. The newly renovated area outside the Library looks improved as well as the ‘zone rules’. However the heating needs to be fixed on the first floor.”

Thank you for supporting our new initiatives. The heating issue has been a recurring theme in the first wave of comments and suggestions we have received. We have engineers working on the heating problem in the short term and hopefully all floors will be kept at more comfortable levels.

With the £7m investment in the Library redevelopment project due to begin in June, we will now be able to address the fundamental problems with the heating and ventilation infrastructure. Until then, I apologise for any discomfort you are feeling and encourage you to keep Library staff informed about problems you're having.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Three things I have taken issue with since I first entered our Library which, for me, if attended to would make this a perfect place to work.

Practical: There were only 4 comfy chairs in a Library that caters to 7,000. I am glad that couches have been installed downstairs but some in the quiet zone would be nice. I know workspace is limited but these would certainly be used for work.

Aesthetic: the carpet colour. I understand this type of tiled carpeting can be replaced relatively cheaply. This is preferable to spending large amounts to paint the outside of the building.

Workspace: the nonstop electric hum is why I do not study or work in our Library. Ever. Perhaps I am alone in finding this distracting.”

Most of these issues will be tackled by the Library redevelopment next year. We certainly plan to offer more versatile seating – one of the problems with our existing building is that it was built to accommodate half the number of students that now study here!

I don’t think anyone would argue against the carpet needing to be replaced – and again this is something we are looking to do next year. Your final point is interesting – as far as I know we have not had any similar comments. However the redevelopment may well address this issue of noise from the plant machinery (though I can make no promises).

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I really like the new zone system, it means I can work with friends on the bottom floor or really get my head into an essay in silence upstairs. Also really appreciate having drinks and snacks on the ground floor – keeps us going a bit longer! Although I don’t really see why we can’t take phone calls on the stairs as long as it’s quiet?”

We’re glad you find the recent changes to be positive. With regards to phone calls on the stairs we do receive complaints from other users about noise travelling up from the stairwells into the study floors from people’s phone calls and other conversations. With this in mind we decided to limit the making and receiving of phone calls to Level 2. The stairwell is also a fire exit and so needs to be kept clear – allowing phone calls might encourage people to sit on the stairs and potentially cause an obstruction.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I love my Library and spend a lot of time in here. So glad we can finally bring food and drink in – I’m really happy with all the changes this year. Also the staff is always helpful. Thanks!”

Thank you for your comments – we do work hard to try and constantly improve the service we offer and feedback such as this is much appreciated by all staff.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Is there any way to police the Library a bit more? I know this sounds extreme but people do not always follow the rules and there are only so many times you can ask people to be quiet. The new zones are great but they aren’t worth anything unless people are forced to follow them.”

We now have Library Attendants in place and part of their job will be to regularly patrol the Library to try to ensure the zoning guidelines are adhered to. Please report any unsuitable behaviour to a member of staff and we will happily speak to those involved. However, ultimately we do also rely on the goodwill of students to co-operate with the guidelines and ensure the zoning works for everyone.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Recalling books: if another copy is available, you shouldn’t be able to recall one someone else has. I have had books recalled a few times now when I look at records and go into the Library there are other copies of the book on the shelf – other people just haven’t found or even looked for it.”

Unfortunately our Library Management System does not permit us to do this. We do rely on students checking SAULCAT carefully – it is in nobody’s interest to recall a book when there is a copy available in the Library.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The study levels are very cold. I find it hard to study as my hands are almost numb. Many of my friends also complain about this. Can it be arranged to have the heating turned up?”

The heating issue has been a recurring theme in the first wave of comments and suggestions we have received. We have engineers working on the heating problem in the short term and hopefully all floors will now be kept at more comfortable levels.

With the £7m investment in the Library redevelopment project due to begin in June next year, we will finally be able to address the fundamental and long-standing problems with the heating and ventilation infrastructure. Until then, I apologise for any discomfort you have experienced and strongly encourage you to keep Library staff informed when you feel the temperature is too low.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The upper levels of the Library are much quieter since the zoning, for which I’m very grateful. But every time I go up or down stairs there are students shouting into their mobiles. Please can you do something to discourage mobile use in the stairwells, as it’s very distracting each time the door opens.”

Interestingly we have had comments both for and against phonecalls being allowed on the stairs. We agree that the noise does travel and potentially disturbs users in the silent zones. Our newly appointed Library Attendants will be patrolling all areas regularly to try and ensure users adhere to the zoning policy, which includes no talking on phones in the stairwells.

The refurbishment project will introduce lobby spaces at the top of each stairwell so that the noise generated from calls/conversations can be more easily contained, so in the longer term this should become less of an issue.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I think the new rules in the Library are great, and much prefer the new logo to the old one. It’s nice to finally see the Library changing although you’ve always been great at listening to book requests. I would suggest getting foam blocks to facilitate reading positions – and a 24 hour Library?”

Thank you for your comments. We have just put up plans showing the redevelopment timetabled for next year – and this will include more versatile and improved study areas.

With regards to opening hours, we have extended our Sunday opening this year and we are planning to offer additional hours at key times such as prior to the exam period. 24 hour opening is not currently under consideration but it is a fluid situation and we will continue to listen to comments and suggestions from our users on this matter.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I have a desk on the 4^th floor but it is so cold that it’s very hard to work. The AC is way too strong and I really do not understand why. If you check, all of the students working at the desk are wearing their jackets and scarves. It is just very cold and extremely uncomfortable.”

I’ve just been up on Level 4 and it’s still far too cold. I apologise for this. We have had engineers in working on the heating and I will again raise this issue this afternoon.

Longer term the well-known heating and ventilation issues in this building will only be addressed fully during the redevelopment project next year but in the short term we have to do better in providing a comfortable environment for students.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“In my honest opinion there has been little change in the Library. Apart from the change of rules about eating and talking (the zone-ing) and the few sofas on the main floor, there is little change.

The heating on the 3^rd and 4^th Floor especially is not adequate, and I also think that the toilet facilities are well below standard. These need to be improved before there will have been any major change.”

The new furniture and the zoning policy are just the beginning of changes to be made in the Library. Next year we begin our refurbishment project and we have just put plans up near the Library entrance that you might want to take a look at. The long-standing heating issues in the Library will only properly be addressed when the redevelopment goes ahead next Summer but we have had engineers in to try and make Levels 3 and 4 more comfortable in the short term. In terms of the toilets, the details are still under consideration as part of the project.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I would like to make an appeal to the Uni Library to change their policy about reserving rooms on the day to the evening before at least. This not only makes sense but is more helpful to those who are well planned and committed to reserving rooms. Especially since these are group rooms it lets the group be aware if two rooms are available; thus alternative plans can be made accordingly.”

Thanks for your comment, you make a very fair point. Unfortunately at the moment we have a fine balance between needing the Library Seminar rooms for staff (including information skills sessions held for students) and trying to make it available for students at other times. We did previously have an advanced booking system but unfortunately it caused more problems than it solved, with many repeat/block bookings for example.

The good news is that following the start of the redevelopment next summer we will have more group study rooms (some dedicated to students) and hope to offer a far more flexible online booking system. I appreciate that this does not solve the issue straight away but at least we are aware of what students want and have plans to meet those needs.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Don’t like the way that the bottom floor is a ‘general zone’. Very difficult to work in, especially with people making phone calls and having full conversations. Library is small enough without taking away one of the zones for working in.”

I’m sorry you don’t like the changes introduced by the new zoning policy. However we are responding to student demands for more versatility in how our Library space is used, and I think it is fair to say that Level 2 has been very busy and popular since the changes were implemented. In addition we have received a lot of positive feedback from students and other users.

Two thirds of our public study space is still designated as silent and we will be regularly patrolling these zones to encourage observation of the silent rules.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I appreciate that we can now bring hot drinks/snacks into the Library. I think that it is unacceptable that talking is allowed over the entire ground floor of the Library. Talking near the couches is fine, but the large tables near the computers and the desks around the windows represent a significant proportion of the total available study space in the Library, which currently cannot be fully utilised for studying given the high level of noise.

Talking shouldn’t be allowed here (as it was before) so that people can actually study in the Library. Moreover, given that a lot of desks on other floors are reserved for postgraduates this area on the ground floor is the only place undergraduates are guaranteed to not be evicted from.”

Thanks for your comments. I think it would have been very difficult to divide Level 2 into different zones: noise from the comfy seating area would inevitably have leaked over into the ‘large table’ area. This latter area is as popular as ever with students which suggests, along with feedback we have had, that the ‘General Zone’ has been warmly received by many.

The Library is very busy (which is great) but we are aware that we need more study spaces – the building was designed for a time when student numbers were half what they are now. The forthcoming redevelopment will add study spaces, beginning next year.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I really like the General Zone – the tables and chairs are the right height and the sofas are really comfy but solid enough to work sitting on.

Library could do with more space, more seats, more plug points. A larger Short Loan section. Hot beverages (tea!), vending machine. Better heating/air conditioning.”

I’m glad you like the new General Zone. We are in agreement about the other things you list (except for the larger Short Loan section). These issues will be addressed by the forthcoming redevelopment beginning next year. We have plans now on show on Level 2 – please take a look and let us know what you think.

With regards to a larger Short Loan section: the Library already has more books than the building can accommodate. Increasingly key core texts and readings can be provided by means of e-books and digitized scans. We will be looking to expand the number of students who will be able to access core short loan items, but this will likely not be by putting more print books into Short Loan.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The Library is consistently cold and draughty. It is fortunate the new policy of allowing hot drinks has been implemented, because they offer some source of comfort in an otherwise chilly environment! As one of the main University buildings, I think making the Library an inhabitable temperature should be a priority.”

Unfortunately there are long-standing heating and ventilation issues in the Library which will only be addressed by the redevelopment of the building, beginning next year.

However in the short term we continue to work with Estates to try and make temperatures more comfortable. Engineers have been back in the building today (26/11). I apologise for the discomfort and would encourage all students to report instances of cold draughts and low temperatures to Library staff straight away.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The state of the lavatories over the weekend is really poor. The lavatories should be cleaned more regularly. Thank you!”

Thank you for your comment. I have passed it on to the University’s Cleaning Manager.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Please could you look into getting a water fountain on every floor? It would save a lot of time (that should be spent working) going up and down the stairs. Thank you.”

As you'll see from redevelopment plans we'll be publicising shortly for levels 3 and 4 of the Library, we do intend to include water coolers on these floors. The main refurbishment work next summer will focus on level 2. I will, however, raise with our project team the possibility of getting the coolers installed on levels 3 and 4 in 2011 rather than 2012.

I know this doesn't resolve your issue immediately but hope that it at least shows we're heading in the right direction.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director of Library Services (Public Services)

“Hi, I am a frequent library visitor. I really enjoy studying in the Library rather than in the dormitory. However I find that recently the ground floor is gaining noise and the first and second floors are both very cold, which is not comfortable to study, as winter comes. It will be even better if there is access to hot water in the Library. Thank you!”

Thanks for your comments. The ground floor is noisier as a result of the new rezoning policy, which means it is open for group work and general conversation, something which has proved to be very popular with many of our users. Levels 3 and 4 are silent study zones but I appreciate that it has been cold of late, especially on Level 4.

We have had engineers in several times over the last few weeks and hopefully the temperature levels have now improved. However, there are long-standing issues with heating and ventilation in the Library, issues that will only be fully addressed with the start of the redevelopment in June 2011. In the meantime please be sure to report any cold conditions to Library staff.

I presume by hot water you mean hot water for drinking. The redevelopment will also allow us to open a library café which will include the provision for hot drinks. Please keep in mind that, following the rezoning initiative, you are now able to bring hot drinks into the Library!

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“It is quite cold on the top floor. Could maybe do with more heating. Everyone has kept their jackets on!”

Thanks for reporting the problem with temperature levels – we encourage all students to let staff know when it is too cold (or warm). I would also like to apologise for this problem – one that has been touched on in many of the comments we have received.

Graeme Hawes
Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

September/October 2011

“Aside from the fact that there seem to be fewer study spaces and fewer computers than there were before the renovations, I feel that the stairwell ought to be better signposted (inside). Before, there were signs stating which floor you were on and which collections/classmarks could be found there, as well as which ones were further up/down. Now that these have been removed the stairwells all look the same and I find myself on level 1 when I am trying to get out via level 2. Moreover, it is more difficult than before to know which floor to go to for a specific classmark as the information is no longer in plain sight.”

I am sorry to hear that you have found some aspects of the changes confusing.

We are aware that the lack of signage at the entrance to and inside the stairwells in the Main Library is confusing. The good news is that we have almost completed the design work for the slat directories to be located in the stairwells at the entrance to each floor and that the directories for levels 3 and 4 will include information about the class mark ranges located on the floor. We had hoped to complete this work before we re-opened on the 26th September but as we only had one week to ensure all the key public services were up and running, we had to give this work a lower priority.

Regarding the number of study and computer spaces, the first part of the redevelopment work completed this summer has delivered 150 new study spaces and bookable group study rooms. When we complete the work on levels 3 & 4 in summer 2012, we will add a further 260 seats on these floors. The number of computer spaces has dropped slightly over the summer on level 2. However, we will be putting new computer spaces on to level 3 & 4 and as a result, we will have more computer spaces in the Library for the start of academic year 2012-13 as well as much better access to power for people who wish to use laptops and other mobile devices.

Jeremy Upton

Deputy Director of Library Services

“You did quite well. However going up the staircase I wondered why the bricks hadn’t been painted. You could still do it during term and it would look that much better.”

I am pleased to hear that overall you think the changes we made over the summer have improved the working environment in the Library.

You have asked why we did not choose to paint the brickwork in the staircase between the floors. Although we have decided to line areas of the brickwork on level 2 with plasterboard to produce a smoother, brighter finish, we also recognize that unfinished brickwork can provide an attractive surface which is both hard wearing and low maintenance. In the Library Project Board meetings we did discuss in some detail the choice of finishes to be used in our refurbished space. Like you, a number of people were keen to reduce the amount of brickwork on display. However, there were also a significant number of people on the board who liked the brickwork and felt it could help to give spaces character. You will be aware that we have re-carpeted and re-lit the stair area and installed new banisters with safety glass panels to make sure the stair areas comply with the latest building standards.

Jeremy Upton

Deputy Director of Library Services

“Please designate some of the shiny new ground floor as silent! I love the tucked away desks in the back left hand corner, but couldn’t read there this evening because of people talking!”

I am pleased to note that you like the new layout for level 2 but also note your comment that you are finding the study spaces in the north-west corner too noisy.

The main driver behind the changes we have made to level 2 this summer was our desire to be able to offer students more choices about the types of spaces available for study. We recognize that not all students study in the same way and one individual may have need for different types of study space depending on the kind of work they are needing to do. We introduced our zoning policy last year to give people more choice about types of environment available in the building as we know some people need spaces where they can talk to colleagues or work with a little noise, and others prefer silence. We are still giving a significant amount of our seating over to traditional, individual silent study spaces on levels 3 & 4.

I am aware that the refurbished spaces are only located presently in our noisier zones and that people who prefer silent study space will need to wait until the end of summer 2012 before they can enjoy the same standards of furnishings, decoration and environmental control we have introduced to level 2 on levels 3 & 4.

Although we are currently sticking with our zoning policy of allowing noise on level 2, we are watching closely how the use of the space on level 2 develops and may review our policy once we have had time to see what patterns emerge. One option might be to designate the space in the north-west corner as quiet space.

Jeremy Upton

Deputy Director of Library Services

“Too much hierarchy.”

Thanks for your comments but I’m unclear as to what you mean by “too much hierarchy.” If you’d like to let me or another member of our staff have a bit more detail we’d be happy to respond more fully.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Quiet levels too cold to work in for long periods – please increase heating.”

I’m sorry you’ve been finding it cold on the upper floors. The air handling/ventilation system has been replaced throughout the building this year. This should mean that when warmer air is circulating through the system, it should have some impact on the temperature on the upper levels. Our engineers are still on site at the moment and are calibrating and adjusting the settings on an on-going basis. The air flow should start to settle down shortly.

However, the new trunk heating that you see around the perimeter of level 2 will not be installed on levels 3 & 4 until next summer. We therefore expect that we will still have some on-going problems with cold on the upper floors this winter. We apologise for this but it was not possible to change the heating system throughout the building in phase 1 of the project.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“I very much like the new “level 2” although I am looking forward to more study space on level 1 (?) as this year, temporarily, there is less. Café 1413 is a great addition. I look forward to using the library more now I’m in Honours.”

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete a comments card. I’m glad you like the redeveloped Level 2 and Café 1413.

With regard to Level 1, Special Collections moved out and is now located over on the North Haugh. We moved some Library staff downstairs to create the extra study space on Level 2, and the rest of the space downstairs is used to store low-use Library stock.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The new plan (layout takes some getting used to). Café ok. Pretty unimaginative. Better toilets location.”

We’re sorry to hear you think the Library’s café is unimaginative. We’re delighted with the result and think it’s part of the project that has been very well executed given the limitations of budget and space that we had to work with. The fact that it is so consistently busy suggests that many of our users enjoy it as a new space.

The toilets are in the same location as they were last year. Ideally we would have liked to install additional toilet facilities this year but the budget did not allow for it. All of the bathrooms, including those on levels 3 & 4, have been refurbished this year and we have increased the number of female cubicles from 2 to 3 for each toilet. One additional disabled toilet will be introduced on each of the upper levels next summer.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“The downstairs is great. However , a small issue I have is that the classmarks are gone on the shelves upstairs. Harder to find books.”

With regard to the classmark signs on the shelves on Levels 3 & 4 – we apologise that some of these were removed during the building work over the summer and we will have them put back up as soon as we can.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Please don’t let people eat hot food in the library because it smells! Thanks! This place is really cool though! Much better!”

Thanks for your comments and I’m sorry for the delay in replying. I’m glad that you thing we’ve made the Library better as a result of the refurbishment this year.

I agree that hot food in the Library is a bad idea because of the smell and this is precisely why our current regulations are clear – only cold snacks can be consumed in the Library and only on level 2. We allow drinks only on the upper floors.

Hot food can be consumed in the café but if you are aware of people eating hot food in non-café areas, please alert a member of our staff immediately.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“1) Really like the new toilets however can’t understand why the basins are so ridiculously small! Why not have a trough like basin – saves mess (all the drips on the floor) – more hygienic.

2) Why is there only ONE water fountain in the whole library? (Which has been out of order this week)!!

3) Overall Great job on ground floor!”

Thanks for completing a Library comment card and my apologies for the long delay in replying. I’m sorry you don’t like the design of the new sinks in the toilets and I note your comments on the water spilling on the floor.

We felt that this design was the best option available to us given the size of the toilets and our budget. There have been problems with the water spilling on the floor but this seemed to be caused by faulty taps – sensors were not properly adjusted meaning that hands needed to be right up at the tap in order to get the water to switch on + aerator valves were not fitted on all taps. This fault had meant a stronger flow of water was coming out of the taps.

A plumbing engineer visited the Library last Friday and made adjustments to most of the taps. There is still some work to be done but so far the work seems to have made a difference.

I’m really sorry about the water fountain and this is something that I have been personally chasing up with senior management colleagues in Estates since last week. Estates have been let down by the supplier of a replacement part (required to fix the fountain) but are doing everything they can to expedite a solution.

Water fountains will be installed on levels 3 & 4 next summer as part of phase 2 of the redevelopment.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“A triumph of form over function!”

Thanks for your comments. I’m sorry you don’t like the redeveloped Library. If you’d like to give us some more detailed comments, we will be able to respond more fully.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“In general I think that you’ve done an excellent job. One area where I think you’ve made a big mistake is with the lockers. Quite apart from the 5x increase in the hire cost, they are no longer located past the scanners. This means that I can put reference books or books I have not borrowed in there without having borrowed them out of the library! This will bypass any recalls and allow locker holders to keep books indefinitely.”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card – sorry we’ve taken a while to reply. I’m really pleased to see that you think we’ve done an excellent job with the refurbishment.

I note your comments about the new location of the lockers and your points are very well made. When we started to look at the design of the new level 2 layout, we had to consider a huge range of issues. We were keen to remove the old foyer (where of course the lockers were previously located), move the entrance, retain the plan for a café and still keep the lockers.

As you can see from the new entrance, the only place outside of the security perimeter that we could keep the lockers would have been where the café is and that really wasn’t a viable option. The only other way we could have done it was to put the lockers somewhere in the north east corner of the building but this would have meant the loss of much-needed study spaces.

The other option was to remove the locker service completely but we knew that would be very unpopular. The only realistic solution we could come up with was to move them to their new locations opposite the toilets and near the old entrance. A key part of this process was a review of the terms and conditions/contract that students previously signed when renting a locker.

We’d always reserved the right to inspect the lockers rented by students and this was stipulated in the old contract. The new contract is much more specific about the right of the University to inspect all lockers on a regular basis and there are now tougher sanctions available to us in the event of any contractual infringement. We also now have a system in place where our staff check all lockers (and postgraduate study desks) much more regularly, keeping a note of all searches and anything found in lockers that should be there (e.g. unchecked books).

Any infringement of the regulations will result in the immediate termination of the contract, retention of the entire rental fee and possible disciplinary action if the infringement was sufficiently serious. The new terms and conditions are available on our website at st-andrews.ac.uk/library/services/other/lockers. We’ll keep the system under review this year and make changes where necessary.

In terms of the price increase, I’m sorry that you feel it’s too high. The prices for renting lockers had not been reviewed for more than 15 years and that, combined with the increased amount of administration involved in providing this service, meant that we had to review the charges. It works out at about £1 a week and we believe this represents good value for money for a service that many other university libraries don’t provide at all.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Staplers by all printers please. Enjoying the cheap café, Thanks”

I’m glad you are enjoying the new café – it is proving to be very popular. You make a good point about staplers. We have been putting out staplers beside the photocopiers but unfortunately they are being removed. We do need to come up with a better solution and I will act on this as quickly as I can.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The entry gates could do with signs denoting the entrance and exit, as the number of people who cannot sensibly enter and exit the library without blocking the gates is staggering.”

Thanks for completing a comments card. You have gathered from the use of the Tensabarriers that the current arrangements for entry and exit are temporary. The new security gates that have been in place since we re-opened are not yet fully operational.

Work will commence during Reading Week (w/b November 7th) to finish this project and, shortly after this work is completed, we will enable the gate system. At that point, users will enter on either of the 2 left hand side channels, scanning the barcode on their ID cards first. Exit will via the two opposite channels with users required to scan their cards on the way out.

The same software will also run access to the new group study rooms on level 2 of the Library. This will allow for advanced booking online or via a keypad situated outside each door. Users scan their ID card, enter a unique PIN that will be issued with the booking and the door will unlock.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Hi, it would be great if you could put in some microwave ovens for us poor students to heat our lunch in, so we don’t have to buy food every day. Bringing lunch from home is healthier and cheaper.”

Thanks for giving us your suggestions on a Library comments card last week. I’m afraid we won’t be able to install microwave ovens in the Library for you to heat food up in.

As you know, we don’t allow for hot food to be consumed anywhere in the Library other than the café and there really isn’t enough room in the café for such a facility. I’m sorry this isn’t the answer that you were hoping for but I should say that until a year ago the Library didn’t allow any food to be eaten in the building.

Even though we only allow for cold food on level 2 and hot and cold drinks on all floors, we believe that this policy’s introduction last year was a major improvement in terms of supporting students.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Please fix the water fountain. For those of us who spend a long time here every day it’s easy to go through our own bottled water within a few hours. Using the sinks shouldn’t be necessary. Thank you!”

Thanks for your comments and I’m really sorry that the water fountain is still not working. We are equally frustrated by the delay and appreciate how inconvenient it is. Our colleagues in Estates have advised us that they are waiting for a new part to be supplied from the manufacturer.

I have contacted Estates directly this afternoon to escalate the repair and also to ask for a more definitive timescale for the work to be completed.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Although I appreciate the new bathrooms they were not well constructed/thought out. The shelf used previously to keep your books is gone, and some of the coathangers in the stalls have already ripped out. The counter with the sink is always soaked because the strength of the water pressure plus the angle of the dinky sink means the water splashes everywhere. They look very pretty but as the Bauhaus would say, form should follow function not fashion.”

Thanks for your comments. We’ve been aware of the problems with the taps and the water pressure. Various things haven’t been right including the lack of aerator valves in half of the taps. This system allows for more of a “droplet” flow of water rather than a strong stream. There have also been problems with the sensors on the taps not being set properly. This has resulted in people having to put their hands very close to the taps in order to activate the water flow. This proximity to the tap/counter combined with the water pressure has caused the flooding.

A plumber has been on site this morning and adjusted the sensor settings on all of the taps. Our engineers have been asked to add the missing aerator valves as a matter of priority.

I note your comments on the lack of shelves in the bathrooms and will ask our project team if this is something that we can reintroduce.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Please fix the water fountain. It would also be nice if there was a water fountain on each floor rather than just downstairs.”

I’m pleased to say the fountain has now been fixed, though I apologise for the length of time this took. Water fountains will be installed on levels 3 & 4 next summer as part of phase 2 of the redevelopment.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Great.”

We’re glad you are happy!

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Please fix the drinking fountain, it has been broken for weeks and that is quite annoying.”

The drinking fountain is now working again – we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused by the delay in getting this fixed.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Terrible! The machine does not scan cards that have their barcodes worn. So I couldn’t checkout books.”

It is your responsibility to make sure your student card is not damaged. To replace a damaged card e-mail idcards@st-andrews.ac.uk from your @st-andrews.ac.uk email account and request a new card. You should state your student ID number (the 9 digit number on the top left hand side of the card) and the nature of the damage to the card.

If you email before 12 noon you will be able to collect your replacement card from the IT Service Desk in the Main Library after 4pm on the same day. If you email after 12 noon you will be able to collect your card from the IT Service Desk on the following day after 10am. You must take your damaged card with you and exchange it for your new card.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I’m not impressed with the Library remodel. In my opinion it was a huge waste and did not solve any fundamental issues, just made the first floor look nicer. If I had been aware it would only be the bottom floor with no other changes I would have raised my voice sooner. I also don’t understand the need to move everything from the Library and have it closed for so long if this was the case.”

Thank you very much for making the time to complete one of our Feedback Forms to let us have your comments about the redesigned Library space. I am sorry to hear that you do not think the work we have done over the summer has resolved any of the fundamental problems with the Main Library building and environment.

The work we have done this summer is only the first part of our redevelopment project. Further work will be carried out on levels 3 & 4 during summer 2012 to bring the environment on these floors up to the same standard as the new level 2 with improved lighting, heating and ventilation, new carpet and furniture. The changes will provide the student community with an additional 260 study spaces on these floors. We expect to be able to carry out this work without the need to close the building over the summer.

Regarding the changes on level 2, most of the changes we have introduced were driven by feedback from the student community regarding the kind of study space they wanted to be available from their Library. We are now offering more choice of learning environments from individual to group study spaces, some with computers some without with overall much better access to power. We have introduced 4 bookable group study rooms. We have made it possible for students to collect books they have recalled from the short loan area when the IT Service Desk is unstaffed. We have introduced more self-service technology so that we have been able to extend the opening hours of the Library significantly up to 2.00am on most days. We have now provided a café and have upgraded the heating, ventilation and lighting. All these service improvements were requested by students.

Regarding our services over the summer, although we could not provide access to the Main Library building, we continued to offer a full range of services from our service point in St Mary’s Library. Almost all the books in our collections were available via recall and over 17,000 books were delivered to users during this period. We had to decant our Special Collections down to the Library Annexe on the North Haugh to ensure they were not damaged during the building work. The Special Collections Department was also available over the summer for use by students and other researchers.

Jeremy Upton

Deputy Director of Library Services

“Love the layout and designs but there remain some major ventilation problems. There isn’t enough air circulating.”

Thank you for making the time to complete one of our Library Feedback forms to let us know what you think about the redesigned Library space. I am very pleased to hear you like the new layout and design. We are very pleased with what we have been able to achieve this summer and look forward to completing the work in summer 2012.

You commented that you feel the ventilation system is not working properly and not enough air is circulating around the building. We have installed new plant for both heating and ventilation as part of the refurbishment programme and this new system is now in operation. However, as we have only been in the building for just under 2 weeks, we are still calibrating the system and the system sensors It will be a little longer before this work is complete. Once this work is done, we should have building system which can respond effectively to changes in inside and outside conditions. Most building projects would allow 4 weeks for a new system to be properly commissioned.

The current situation on levels 3&4 is different from level 2 as we did not have time this summer to install the new heating system on levels 3&4. The full benefits of the investment in new plant will not be felt on these floors until the start of semester 1, 2012-13.

Jeremy Upton

Deputy Director of Library Services

“Everything’s great but computers on Level 2 are shaking (the tables are not very stable) and it makes reading difficult. Also, highly recommended would be clocks visible in the study area on Level 2.”

I note that you have found the new circular computer tables on level 2 are a little wobbly and you are finding the movement is making it difficult to read from the screens. We have not received any other similar comments yet regarding this issue. However, I agree there is some movement on the tables when people are typing and I will take this up with our architects to see if there is anything we can do to make the tables more secure. I note that the tables round the edge of the computer clusters are more stable.

You also pointed out that we currently do not have any public clocks on level 2. I agree it would be helpful if we had some clocks on the walls and again I will take this up with our architects to discuss where it might be appropriate to site a couple of clocks.

Jeremy Upton

Deputy Director of Library Services

“A room for reading/writing would be lovely (i.e. no laptops and comfy sofas). I have seen one very successfully run at the DOE Library at UC Berkeley.”

We have used the refurbishment to create a variety of versatile study spaces, from bookable group study rooms, through computer clusters to single and group study desks. While it might be an appealing idea we unfortunately just do not have the space to set aside an area with sofas where laptops are not permitted. With a large amount of our resources now only available online we have to allow students internet access throughout the Library.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“It would be really great if there were a microwave available to students to use; it could be in the cafeteria (?) to reheat brought food for cold and long winter study days. Thanks.”

Café 1413, within the Main Library, sells both cold and hot food and we allow cold food, brought in by users, to be consumed elsewhere on Level 2. We feel that this offers a good deal of flexibility to our users and is a major improvement to the Library environment. Unfortunately we are not able to provide a microwave for use by students because of Health and Safety considerations. In addition there is also the issue of wishing to confine hot food smells to the new café area.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Really like the new Library and appreciate the effort that has been made at improving the Library. However there are a few things that could be improved:

Borrowing of Ref-only DVDs – any chance those can be taken out as well, maybe over the weekends?
Provision of soy milk in the 1413 Café
Recycled printing paper in maybe one printer

Thanks.”

Thanks for your kind words on the redevelopment – it’s very rewarding to receive this kind of feedback from our users!

With regard to your points:

DVDs are normally made reference-only if they do not have a British Board of Film Classification certificate – these must be viewed in the Library and cannot be taken out.

We have had other students requesting soy milk and have passed this on to colleagues in Residential and Business Services, who look after Café 1413 – please feel free to speak to staff in the café about their range of food and drink.

Lastly, we do normally have recycled printing paper in our printers – please do get back to me if you would like any more information on this.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I really appreciate the friendly staff, and the user friendly opening hours and the feedback form! Students are still talking within the study areas on Levels 3 & 4. This disturbs studying persons.

The light on Level 4 is very uncomfortable when reading and studying in the evening. The shadow of your own hand is annoying and blocks the reading material.”

Thanks for your kind words on our Library service.

I’m sorry you have been experiencing problems with students talking on Levels 3 & 4. We do patrol these areas but cannot always be around – please report any problems to staff at the IT Service Desk and we will speak to those involved. We do need all students to abide by the rules in order for the Library spaces to work as a flexible environment for all.

Turning to your comment on the lights, we will be replacing the lighting as part of the refurbishment work to be carried out on Levels 3 & 4 next summer (2012). While this won’t solve the problem in this academic year, we are aware that the lighting and other environmental features (heating, ventilation, furniture) need upgrading and the second part of our refurbishment will address that.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“[How did we do]…pretty well. The round desks are a little too cramped. Well done on reducing the amount of open savanna for viewing distractions.”

Thank you for your positive feedback and I’m glad you like the redeveloped Level 2.

I take your point about the round desks being a little cramped at times but we did have to try to create as many new study spaces as possible and make best use of the limited space available. Hopefully, with a variety of spaces available you will be able to alternate your working area depending on the type of studying you are doing.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“I really like the new ground floor. Every table having enough plug sockets for each person is a huge improvement.

Would it be possible for the café to take cards please. As someone whose wages are paid into my bank account I try to use card as much as possible so I can track my spending. Thank you!”

Thanks very much for your positive feedback – it is much appreciated.

We’ve had a few requests with regard to being able to use cards at Café 1413 – we’re working on it and you should be able to use your card in the near future.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“Looks pretty good but isn’t hugely functional (queues in toilets, Short Loan at 10am etc). P.S. Lockers are dear this year - £30).”

I’m sorry you don’t feel that the redeveloped Level 2 is functional but I respectfully disagree – I think that we have created a far more versatile and user-friendly environment.

I apologise for the queue you experienced in the toilets, while we were able to add extra facilities we had no additional space to work with. With regard to Short Loan – it is by its very nature meant to allow users only short-term access to core texts to make photocopies etc. If you feel there should be more copies of any particular titles in the library please e-mail us at morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk with the details. We have just invested some £100,000 in e-books that feature in our Short Loan connection.

In terms of the price increase for the lockers I’m afraid this had to be done for 2 main reasons. Firstly, the prices hadn’t actually been reviewed for many years and were long overdue for a review. Secondly, the cost to the University in maintaining this facility is considerably greater in terms of staff time so we also had to factor that into the price considerations.

I’m afraid I disagree that £30 for access to a private locker for 2 semesters is too expensive. Again, I’m sorry that you feel that this is an unreasonable price but it’s obviously up to individual users to decide if they feel they are prepared to pay it. I should add that the Students’ Association were consulted on the price increase that we are introducing and were in full agreement that it was reasonable.

Graeme Hawes

Assistant Academic Liaison Librarian

“The ground floor does look great and the new seating areas and desks are fantastic! The café is a great addition and the whole place looks more inviting and (obviously) fresher. The staff are so helpful as always. However, I’ve heard so many people say that they are really far too hot in here and so in spite of the new ventilation system, I think the lack of air-conditioning is letting the place down. Overall – so much better!!!”

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library feedback form. I’m delighted that you are so happy with the improvements that we’ve made to the building this summer – the positive feedback is very much appreciated.

Yes, it was hot last week and for that I apologise. Even though the air handling/ventilation has been improved throughout the building, the new trench heating system has only been installed on level 2 this year. We always knew that after we reoccupied the building our engineers need a few weeks to properly calibrate the ventilation and heating.

This will settle down soon but obviously the particularly warm weather last week didn’t help, lovely as it was outside.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Women’s toilets – water accumulates on the surface around the sink and there is no longer anywhere to rest books, bags/ laptops whilst using the loo/washing one’s hands. – Overall not an improvement. The toilets seem designed by somebody who doesn’t use a library. Little common sense!”

Thanks for completing a Library comment card last week. We are aware of the issue with the bathroom sinks and the accumulation of water and this is on our snagging list of matters to address.

I’m sorry you find the lack of a shelf inconvenient but clearly space is very limited. We did of course manage to increase the number of cubicles in the women’s bathrooms from 2 to 3 which we felt was a significant improvement.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“£30 / year for a locker is too much! Please make it cheaper and provide more lockers!”

Thanks for completing a Library feedback form yesterday. I note your comments about this year’s charges for locker service and the numbers.

We took delivery at the end of last week of some new storage lockers as well as laptop lockers and will eventually have around 200 lockers on level 2, more than we had before. We will also be providing in the region of another 150 lockers spread between levels 3 & 4 as part of the refurbishment project in Summer 2012. So provision has been increased and we will shortly make lockers available to rent through the University’s online store.

I’m sorry that you feel the charge is too high but we believe that it still represents reasonable value for money for a service that many university libraries don’t supply at all. Prices had not been reviewed for many years and there is a significantly higher amount of work involved this year for our staff in terms of the administration of this service.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“I am very disappointed that lockers are still unavailable more than a week after the library reopened. As someone with a back problem, a locker makes my life so much easier but this past week has been hell; trying to get into and around town with 10+ heavy books on top of a laptop etc. I am also disappointed with the cost of renting a locker. I understand a small rise in price from the previous year, but going from £6 to £30 is ridiculous. As if St. Andrews isn’t already expensive place to live in; some students do not have the luxury of spending excessively.”

Thanks for your comments and I’m sorry that you’ve found the delay in locker availability frustrating. Our priority was to re-open the building on time on September 26th which of course we achieved. The pressure under which our staff were working in order to ensure that we did re-open on time meant that some additional services, like the locker rental, couldn’t be available straight away.

We have changed the way in which lockers are paid for and (this will now be done through the online shop) how terms and conditions are agreed to. We have also had to renumber the original lockers which have been brought back into the library in a different sequence and ensure that keys matched locks. All of this has taken time and our staff have been working as quickly as possible to get the service up and running.

Some of our original lockers we expect to be available through the online shop this week. The newer lockers (including laptop lockers) will be available shortly afterwards.

In terms of the price increases I’m afraid this had to be done for 2 main reasons. Firstly, the prices hadn’t actually been reviewed for many years and were long overdue for a review. Secondly, the cost to the University in maintaining this facility is considerably greater in terms of staff time so we also had to factor that into the price considerations.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Hot water not working in downstairs ladies toilets. Sink a bit of design flaw in general - flooding water.”

Thanks for letting us know about the hot water in the level 2 ladies’ toilets. As far as we know this problem has been fixed. I would urge you in future to please speak to a member of our staff if you find any problems with something like this – the sooner we are made aware of the problem the sooner we can fix it.

I also note your comments about the sink design problems. We are aware of the problems that the shallow sinks and new taps are causing and are working with our architects and project team to find an appropriate solution.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“There should be:

a complete price list for the cafe
a bin or otherwise for recycling the coffee cups in the café
more printers or a return to the Central Print Queue Printer."

Thanks for completing a Library feedback form a couple of weeks ago – my apologies for the slight delay in getting back to you. I’m afraid that the University doesn’t currently have the facility for the recycling of coffee cups. It’s an issue that our colleagues in Estates (who manage the recycling process) have discussed with us in the past and they are as keen as we are to see this introduced.

I will follow the matter up with the University’s Environment Officer to find out what the latest developments are but please be assured that as soon as we can offer this facility it will be introduced.

I also note your comments on the printing situation. My colleagues in IT Services (who are responsible for the printer system) are aware of the issues with printing in the Library and are working on solutions at the moment.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“The doors to the (stair)well are unfortunately too loud when they close! Every time someone enters or leaves the room/level the doors shut with a loud bang! Would be great if you find a solution for that! Please put wedges under the doors!!!”

Thanks for your comments about the doors from level 2 on the stairwell. I’ve added this to our list of “snagging” items – i.e. things that need to be fixed as part of the overall redevelopment project. I’m sure something can be done to ease the volume at which these doors close.

I’m afraid we aren’t able to put wedges under them as they are fire doors so need to remain closed for safety reasons.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Dear Library,

The refurbishment looks and feels great. However there are two things I would like to comment on:

1. The study area behind the computers (in the corner) is either very warm(middle of the day) or very cold(evening). It seems weird that this area is very different in temprerature.

2. I know it is still early, but it would be great if there was a non-dairy(soya) option in the café for those of us who are lactose intolerant or vegan.

Thank you for listening.”

Many thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comment form. I’m glad that you like what we’ve done with the building. In terms of your specific comments:

1. I’m sorry that the temperature has been unstable in the south west study area. Even though the ventilation and heating has been replaced on level 2 this summer, our engineers are still calibrating the various levels so this will take a while (but hopefully not too much longer!) to settle down. Obviously the unusually hot weather we had in the first week of semester didn’t help albeit very pleasant outside!

2. I’ve spoken to my colleagues from Residential & Business Services who run Café 1413. They do provide a soya milk option and are happy to offer this on request.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

November/December 2011

"I have mentioned this before; There is still no cardboard recycling in the café or elsewhere in the library for the coffee cups. The university has provisions for cardboard recycling, it just needs to be collected instead of being binned!"

Thanks for filling in a Library feedback form last week. I know that we have previously corresponded on this issue and I’m afraid the situation is still the same. As I understand it, the University does not currently have the facility to recycle coffee cups.

You’re right to point out that cardboard can be recycled but the issue is complicated by the coating found within the cups themselves. This coating prevents them from being recycled in the same way as standard cardboard.

Clearly the volume of coffee cups being brought into the Library has increased with the provision of the new café and we are equally keen to see cup recycling in place. I’ve contacted the University’s Environment Officer this morning for an update on the issue.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"I like the new look! Since the rebuild the water fountain doesn’t work so well, pressure is non existent (1^st floor). Also ladies bathroom floor always soaking, perhaps a slip danger! Lastly, the left hand ladies loo forever flows water. I dread to think how much it’s wasting."

Many thanks for filling in one of our feedback cards last week. I’m glad you like our new look.

We’ll look into the issue of the water fountain pressure – I hadn’t been aware of the problem until now. The issue of the wet bathroom floors has been in part due to incorrect settings on the tap sensors. These were fixed about 6 weeks ago and since then there has been a noticeable improvement. However, I will raise the issue with other members of the project team and see if there is anything more that we can do.

If you could get back to me with more specific information on which ladies’ toilet you’re referring to in your final point, I can have the matter investigated. You don’t specify in your comments on which floor you are encountering this problem.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"a) Why do you have to keep the library so hot? I cannot work upstairs at all: when up there to collect a book I habitually check your thermometers and they are never below 72°F and often around the 78°F mark – wasteful, too hot and pointless. b) Please can you start a huge campaign to stop people writing in books – perhaps you could slowly skimming thru books to see if they are currently defaced then checking them as they are returned. c) Short loan section is totally unacceptable – for queues to be all the way round the section is just not good enough: apparently it is “like this every Monday morning” – in which case, operate extra book borrowing options on Monday mornings – come on, it isn’t difficult to work out is it?"

Thanks for completing a Library comments card last week. I’ve replied to your 3 main points in turn:

Heating on levels 3 & 4

I’m sorry you’ve been finding the temperature on the upper levels too high. As you probably know, the heating system was replaced this summer on levels 1 and 2 but the system on the other floors will not be changed until next summer. We did however upgrade the ventilation system on all floors this year so this should have some impact on the air flow (hot and cold) throughout the building.

What would be useful is if you could alert our staff as and when you are finding it too warm. When we have specific information about which part of the building and on what day/time, we can investigate further. You can speak to a member of staff at the time or email library@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Defaced books

We find it equally distressing to discover that Library books have been defaced. I’m afraid that I don’t think a campaign would have much impact on those inconsiderate users who are guilty of writing in our books. However, we’ll certainly consider running some kind of publicity along these lines. Our staff do act upon instances of books being defaced when they become aware of it and where they can prove that the person returning the defaced books is the guilty party.

The unfortunate reality, however, is that with over 1 million books in the Library and many thousands of items being returned to us every week, it’s simply not possible to skim all books for defaced pages and to systematically check them upon return for any changes.

Short loan queues

I agree that we have a frustrating situation with short loan queues on Monday mornings. As you know, we tend to suffer from a bottleneck at this time because of the high numbers of short loan books due at 10am from weekend lending. Even though the queues only tend to last for a brief period of time, I fully appreciate that it’s annoying if you’re caught up in the congestion.

I’ve asked my colleagues in our User Services team to consider what we can to do alleviate this problem.

Thanks again for all of your comments and please get back to me directly if you have any more questions.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Higher tables or lower seats would be much appreciated for all of our back’s sakes. Could this be incorporated for the two higher levels? Thank you. Could the opening hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings be earlier? This would be very helpful, especially around the big essay and dissertation deadline times. Thank you. Could the carpet upstairs be inspired by the one in the basement level of the gateway? As well as the colours of furniture an walls (reds and blues and whites). Thank you."

Thanks for completing a Library feedback form last week. I’ve answered your 3 points in turn:

Higher tables/chairs

Are you finding some tables and chairs in particular to be a problem? Obviously there’s a wide range of different seating on level 2 (ground floor) so it would be useful to know which furniture you find more problematic. In terms of the upper floors and their redevelopment next summer, most of the furniture will remain the same but is to be refurbished. Study chairs will be replaced as well as the introduction of some soft seating near the entrance to each of these floors.

Weekend opening hours

We did used to open at 9am on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and, until February 2010, we didn’t actually open on Sundays until 1pm. When considering the hours that we should offer post-refurbishment we considered a range of factors including existing patterns of use and user feedback. The evidence that we had illustrated that the period between 9 and 10am (particularly on Saturdays) saw relatively little use and in our view the priority this year was to extend opening beyond midnight.

We would love to open the Library for longer during peak times but this comes down to issues of cost and staffing. We will continue to monitor demand and, where we feel there is a case to be made, put suggestions forward to the University for the investment required.

Carpet & wall colour on upper floors

Thanks for the suggestion but I’m afraid that the carpet for levels 3 and 4 has already been chosen and will be the same as that now on level 2. There will be some colour in the new soft seating for the upper floors but the majority of the furniture will be of a wooden finish (rather than white veneer as on level 2).

There will be some colour on the walls upstairs but the bulk of the exposed brick finish walls will remain unchanged.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Enforcement of the “no cell phone” policy is too strict. I got a call from a contact in NYC that might get me a job and I ran to the stairwell to tell him I could not talk and to re-schedule, and immediately a staff member came in to tell me I couldn’t talk. And that was not the first time this has happened. This is unacceptable, a uni library is not a prison, and mobile phones are essential to modern society. You can’t completely eliminate them. I understand you should not be allowed to talk for an extended period of time, but if someone gets a call, there has to be some degree of understanding.”

Thanks for completing a Library feedback form last week. I’m sorry that you think our no mobile phone policy is too strict as many other Library users would disagree. In fact I have just replied to another user this afternoon asking us to increase the policing of the regulations related to noise.

We don’t allow people to take calls or have other conversations on the stairwell for several reasons:

The member of staff who asked you not to talk on the stairwell was simply enforcing the Library’s regulations and all of our staff are instructed to do this. Our mobile phone policy is actually far more lenient than many other university libraries in that we allow phones to switched on in silent zones as long as calls are not being made or received and phones are set to silent. We also allow phone calls to be taken on an entire floor (level 2). You would of course have been very welcome to have taken your call on the ground floor and it would not have taken long for you to walk downstairs.

We are planning to consult all users in the New Year about this and other issues related to zones, behaviour and related regulations before making any revisions to current practice.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“A good idea would be a sign at the toilet door, which makes clear that it is forbidden to bring books to the toilet. It is disgusting to see people leaving toilet cabins with books from the library!

I thought academics and future alumni would be more cultivated and sophisticated.

Sadly enough, they are not.”

Thanks for your comments. I’m afraid we won’t be putting signs on the toilet doors as you suggest. I agree that it’s a less than pleasant thing for people to do but such a rule would be impossible for us to enforce unless we accompanied users to the bathroom, something we don’t intend to do.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“I think that it’s a little excessive having a TV screen at the entrance to the 1^st floor. I’ve been sitting looking at people come in for half an hour and not a single person has noticed it. You could pawn it and use the money to buy some books / increased study space – that’s what people want. Thanks.”

Thanks for filling in one of our feedback cards and I’m sorry to read that you don’t think our new digital screens are worthwhile. We’re still in the process of setting up some of the technical configuration of these screens and at that point will be able to provide even more useful information on them.

The positioning of the screens on levels 3 & 4 isn’t ideal but is only temporary. When the second phase of the redevelopment is carried out next summer, these screens will be lowered and positioned into new orientation walls that will face the entrance lobbies to each floor. This will be similar to the orientation wall already in place on the main concourse of level 2.

This new technology allows us to communicate important messages to our user groups not only about the Library’s facilities and services but also wider University messages. I’ve already been approached by a number of student groups as well as other University departments about using our new screens as advertising space, something we are keen to do. This does suggest that with the right content and location, the screens can have impact.

We have created an additional 150 study spaces on level 2 this year with another 250 to come across levels 3 and 4 next summer. We have also spent in the region of an additional £700,000 in the last year on new books, journals and electronic resources with more money to come this year. If there are specific books or other resources you feel that we should have or don’t have enough copies of, please let us know. You can do this by speaking to a member of IT Service Desk staff, contacting your Academic Liaison Librarian or emailing morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“I had to hand back the key to my carrel (I’m a PhD student) before the library closure over the summer. I’ve been issued with a new desk (no. 56) on level 3, but it’s next to a giant whirring air vent! Also, my computer power cable is too short to reach the wall power socket. Is there something that can be done about this? Or am I going to have to bring an extension cable with me every time I go to work in the library?!”

Thanks for completing a Library feedback form the other day. I’m sorry you’ve been experiencing problems with the loud vent next to your desk and appreciate how distracting this must be.

I agree that the air vent in this area is noisy and I’ve reported this to my colleague in Estates who is the Project Manager for the redevelopment. He will investigate the issue to see if there is anything we can do to improve this.

I’m afraid we can do little about the distribution of the power points to desks at this stage. More power will be installed on levels 3 & 4 next summer but this will only be on the perimeter of the floors. We did not have the budget to create a raised floor like we have on level 2 which allowed us to provide power and data points throughout the area.

In the meantime, we do have 3 or 4 unallocated desks. If you speak to the staff at the IT Service Desk on level 2 they may be able to find you another one that is better for you.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“The new facilities and service are really good. However, just one thing strongly recommended!! That is a “Hot Water” machine! Just wondering if the hot water in the café is free or not? 10 pence?! On behalf of a lot of students – “hot water” should be provided for free or there should exist a machine for “hot water”! “

Thank you!"

Thanks for completing a Library comments card last week and I’m glad that you like our new facilities and services.

I’m afraid that we have no plans to introduce a hot water fountain at this time. We believe that the new café, a cold water fountain (with more fountains to be installed on the upper levels next year) and a policy that allows for the consumption of hot drinks throughout the Library provide sufficient options for most users.

I have asked my colleagues in Residential & Business Services (who run Café 1413) for clarification on their policy for providing hot water. I imagine that they may charge users a small fee to be given a cup of hot water from their machine, understandable given the cost of the cup being provided.

In the meantime, we are more than happy to let you bring your own flask of hot water, tea, coffee etc. into the Library.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“I need HOT WATER!!!”

Thanks for your comments. We have no plans to introduce a hot water fountain at this time. We believe that the new café, a cold water fountain (with more fountains to be installed on the upper levels next year) and a policy that allows for the consumption of hot drinks throughout the Library provide sufficient options for most users. We are more than happy to let you bring your own flask of hot water, tea, coffee etc. into the Library.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Can never find any work space of a weekday afternoon or any time on Sundays. Not enough computers and printers. Downstairs too loud. IT Service Desk under-staffed and always out of hours. Not enough books. Not enough toilets. Not been improved one bit.”

Thanks for filling in a Library feedback form last week and I’m sorry to learn that you don’t think the Library has been improved in any way. Feedback from other users and the levels of occupancy we’ve seen since re-opening would suggest that we’re more popular than ever. I accept fully that with such popularity comes a downside and you’re right about the lack of space in the afternoons and on Sundays.

We have created another 150 spaces on level 2 this year with another 250 due to be delivered across the upper floors next summer. We have extended the opening hours as much as possible in order to stretch demand and are also looking at other options to alleviate pressure on seats – e.g. restricting access to the building to just our students during exam periods, developing procedures to stop users “reserving” study spaces for long periods, etc. Ultimately the building is simply not big enough to meet demand and there is little more we can do without more physical space.

To answer your other points in turn:

The level of fixed PC provision is similar to what it was pre-redevelopment. The printing infrastructure has already seen some improvements this semester (printing is run by IT Services) and the University is planning to introduce a more modern multi-functional device (print/photocopy/scan) system in 2012. We have also introduced a raised floor on level 2 this year allowing for the provision of a power point at almost every study space.
Level 2 is our general zone and obviously more relaxed with regards to noise. At the moment, the provision of noisier vs. silent study spaces is split roughly 50/50. By the time we finish phase 2 of the project in September next year, this will be about 70/30 with the majority of space in silent areas.
IT Services are planning to provide staff at their IT Service Desk during weekends and are in the process of recruiting.
We have spent an additional £700,000 this year on books, journals and e-resources and continue to benefit from significant additional University investment in this area. If there are specific titles that you feel we’re lacking in, please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian (http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/contact/academicliaison/), email morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk or speak to a member of our staff. We can often resolve these problems if we have specific and timely information.
We would have been delighted to provide additional toilets as part of the redevelopment. We did manage to include an additional cubicle in each of the female toilets (I realise this doesn’t help you personally) and will be installing a disabled toilet on each of the upper floors next year. However, the budget given to the Library by the University for the redevelopment did not allow for the addition of more than this.

Please get back to me if you have any more questions or comments at this stage.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

“Please start opening earlier again on weekends!”

As you know, we did used to open at 9am on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and, until February 2010, we didn’t actually open on Sundays until 1pm. When considering the hours that we should offer post-refurbishment we looked at a range of factors including existing patterns of use and user feedback. The evidence that we had illustrated that the period between 9 and 10am (particularly on Saturdays) saw relatively little use and in our view the priority this year was to extend opening beyond midnight.

Our new security gates will provide us with even more information on how the building is being used.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Would it be possible to have water machines on all levels of the library?"

Thanks for completing a Library comments card last week about the lack of water fountains on the upper floors. This is something that we would like to have done as part of this summer’s redevelopment work but it wasn’t possible.

We will be introducing fountains on levels 3 & 4 next summer outside of the toilets on each of these floors.

I hope this helps and I’m sorry we can’t provide a solution more quickly. Please get back to me if you’ve any more questions about this.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Make it acceptable to use mobile phones in the stair-way. This will encourage students to not answer calls at their desks/carrels. As it is today, it’s simply too strict, which make students don’t care."

Thanks for your comments on the Library last week. I’m sorry that we’re not currently able to allow phone calls to be taken in the main stairwell. As you may know, our rules on the use of mobile phones were revised about a year ago to reflect not only changes in user behaviour but, more critically, the nature of mobile technology itself.

At the moment our rules are such:

Phones can be switched on throughout the building but should always be set to silent.
Phones can only be used on levels 3 or 4 and in the stairwell for non-call functions.
Calls can only be made and taken on level 2. Such calls should be as brief as possible.

There are 2 main reasons that we don’t currently allow calls to be taken in the stairwell. Firstly, the sound-proofing in the stairwell is so poor that a conversation on one level is very easily heard higher up on the silent floors. The other reason is that the stairwell is the main fire exit route and is so busy with user traffic that people standing on the stairs talking can cause an obstruction.

Many libraries don’t allow any phone calls to be taken anywhere in their building so we feel that our current policy is fairer in that respect. I should add that we will be consulting all users of the Library early in the New Year on how they feel about the building, zones and regulations post-redevelopment. We will then be able to make decisions on any changes that may be required.

I should also add that we do get comments from other users asking us to enforce a no phone calls in the stairwell rule so it’s clearly a tricky balance to strike.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"The library improvements are an enormous step in the right direction. Of particular merit is the new, simplified short loan section and automated return facility (although placing books in the letter box worked seemingly just as well).

I would like to see an increased response time from morebooks, for the café and computer system to become more stable ( no one cares if the new computers have win7 – as long as they work, Linux would even be acceptable) (currently the café vending machine is broken twice a week). The library can be improved simply dependably and at little cost if you purchase dependable, older technology – what’s wrong with a big filter coffee pot and a kettle?"

Thanks for completing a Library comments card a few weeks ago and I’m sorry that I’ve taken a while to reply. I’m glad that you are pleased with the work we’ve done to improve the building this year. I’ve provided responses to your various suggestions and comments below:

Automated return – I’m glad you like this although note your comments on the letter box. Whilst the letter box at the old IT Service Desk had its uses, it was a slower system. Staff still needed to retrieve the books, return them on the system and re-sensitise the security. If the IT Service Desk was closed but the building was open, any books return through the letter box remained on a user’s record until the next morning. The new machine returns the item automatically, takes it off your record, re-sensitises the security and sorts it into one of 3 storage units, speeding up the re-shelving process. This can all take place even when the IT Service Desk is closed.
Morebooks response time – I’m sorry you’ve found this too slow. We do prioritise these emails when they come in and have in fact made significant progress in the last year to streamline and to promote this service. Generally you should get a reply within 24 hours but we’ll continue to look at how we can improve this. You can also of course contact your Academic Liaison Librarian directly about any resource issues related to your course of study. Their contact details are available on our website under “Contact Us.”
Computer reliability – our colleagues in IT Services deal with the supply and support of the PCs in the building. If you have specific comments about certain PCs etc., please contact itservicedesk@st-andrews.ac.uk but I shall certainly raise this general issue with ITS senior management this Wednesday when our next IT/Library management meeting takes place.
Café machinery reliability – Residential and Business Services run the Library’s café and have been working hard with their vending suppliers to rectify these problems. I was speaking to the RBS Retail Manager this afternoon about related matters and I’m aware that the situation has improved considerably in recent weeks.
Kettle/filter machine – I’m afraid we don’t have plans to introduce such facilities into the Library as they would be difficult to regulate in such a busy building.

I hope this helps answer some of your points but please don’t hesitate to get back to me directly if you have any other questions or comments.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"The library doors are often propped open, presumably to appear more inviting? Which seems a shame as an enormous amount of heat is lost, given that the library heating seems to constantly be on pretty high!"

Thanks for completing a Library comments card a couple of weeks ago. Our new doors tend to be open for 2 main reasons. Firstly, the volume of traffic coming through the front doors is so high that even when the doors are shut, they are effectively open most of the time anyway.

Secondly, there has been an issue with the design of the hinges on the front doors meaning that once they have been opened beyond a certain angle, they click open and stay that way. This issue is on our list of snagging items to be reviewed by our contractors and project team.

So we are working on this issue but it’s inevitable that there will items of snagging in a building that’s only been open for 7 weeks.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Number of study spaces: There definitely needs to be more! Especially because of the round computer tables which provide no working space.

Short use computers: Majority of times I have used these they have been exceedingly slow and usually 3 / 4 have blank screens and don’t switch on. Having to queue for them defeats their short use purpose. Last year there were at least 10 – I had hoped library improvements would have increased the number.

Also, the loss of Butts Wynd computers and St Mary’s is clogging the Irvine computer lab – which has geo. specific software. Furthermore – I would like a puncher / stapler again."

Thanks for completing a Library comments card a few weeks ago – my apologies for the long delay in sending you a response.

I quite agree that we need more study spaces in the Library given how busy we are. We did of course add an additional 150 spaces to Level 2 this year and will be providing another 250 spaces by September 2012 after the second phase of the project is complete. Other than that, we really can’t do much more given the physical limitations of the original building and no extension.

By reducing the amount of staff occupying Level 2 by 50% this year (only achieved by the complete relocation of our Special Collections operation) and the current work to move less-well used stock from Levels 3 & 4 into storage on Level 1, we will have increased the overall provision from around 750 to 1200. We have also increased our opening hours recently to try and meet demand for those who prefer to work late at night and this seems to have had some impact.

Some of the computer tables are smaller but that has allowed us to increase the overall provision of seats. We did have the choice of bigger computer tables but it would have meant less computers and/or less overall study space provision on level 2. I’m sorry you’ve had problems with the Express workstations and I’d encourage you to report any issues immediately to a member of the IT Service Desk staff.

I’m also sorry about the on-going absence of the PCs in St Mary’s. The computers and printers are back in the Library at St Mary’s but are not yet operational as we are waiting for colleagues in IT Services to finish some work on them. I agree that the delay has been highly frustrating but be assured that Library, IT and redevelopment project staff in Estates are working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

I note your comments on the hole punch and stapler situation. We did put punches and staplers out recently but they were stolen so are now looking into ones that can be chained to an appropriate location.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Really like the new library, please keep the individual wooden cubicles though, they’re so useful to work at and a bit more private than being at a big open table surrounded by glass.

Library staff are always to helpful and friendly."

Thanks for your comments on one of our “How did we do?” cards recently. I’m glad you like the redeveloped space on level 2 and that you feel our staff are helpful – we try our best!

Be assured that the individual wooden cubicles/carrels will be renovated and retained on the upper floors as part of next year’s refurbishment.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"Would it be possible to have a water fountain per floor, or more than one on the ground floor? Thank you."

Thanks for filling in a Library comments card recently about the water fountains. You’ll be pleased to learn that we will be putting water fountains on both Levels 3 and 4 next summer as part of phase 2 of the refurbishment project.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

"I don’t give a damn what colour the carpet is – you should dedicate the money to making sure there are more core texts – just 2 copies for a class of roughly 100 is ridiculous. People can’t keep a book for more than a week without it getting recalled – which seems completely unfair."

Thanks for your comments and I’m sorry that you don’t care about the colour of the Library carpet. We still believe that it has been right to change the carpet as it was something many other users complained about for many years.

I’m afraid without more specific information on which books you feel are in short supply, I can’t do much to help you. If you ever have difficulty getting a hold of material or think we need to have additional copies, you can do one (or more) of several things:

Speak to a member of our IT Service Desk staff, providing them with specific information on the title(s) and your module of study.
Email our morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk with your suggestions. Someone will usually get back to you within 24 hours.
Contact your Academic Liaison Librarian directly. The Liaison team work directly with academic colleagues to ensure that not only does the Library have information on what materials are appearing on reading lists (something that we’ve made significant progress with in recent years) but that we have sufficient copies.

We can often solve the problems of insufficient copies but only if we have specific information at the time.

Ewan McCubbin
Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

Semester 1 2012-13

(24/01/13)

I think the library is very well run and the staff is extremely kind and helpful, only two minor issues come to my mind:

- Silence doors by putting some kind of rubber object absorbing the noise they make when they are opened/closed. Areas around the entrances to the 2^nd and 3^rd floor can become very noisy just because of people coming and going.

- Raise the fees for late return of recalled books to deter people from doing it, especially during essay writing or exam period. £1 a day for books in single copy is very little and “tempting.”

Thanks a lot for taking the time to complete a Library comments card last week – we’re always grateful to receive feedback from our users. I’m particularly glad to read that you like our Library and find our staff so helpful!

In terms of your two specific comments:

- The doors going on to levels 3 & 4 to have closers installed on them but do need tightened up from time to time. I’ll ask our Building Operations team to take another look at these just now. If we find that the door closers, even when adjusted, are still not enough to make the closing of the doors sufficiently quiet, we’ll look into other options.

- We’ve been looking at a number of issues related to recalled books recently, including the length of time we give users to return items recalled by other people. Our plan this year is to review loan periods and fines as part of a wider exercise related to stock circulation and membership policies. What I would say is that higher fines are unlikely to deter people who are either intent on keeping recalled books longer than they should or for whom financial penalties are not a deterrent. Because of this, we may consider other types of sanctions – e.g. restricted borrowing, access to e-resources etc. – that could be more effective.

- Remember if you do have any difficulties in accessing resources, you can speak to our Helpdesk staff, contact your Academic Liaison Librarian (contact details are available on our website) or email morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk if you think we need extra copies.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(23/01/13)

This is the best library I’ve ever been to, at least so far.

The staff is super friendly and always helped me to resolve problems with blocked printers, missing books etc.

P.S. The only thing you could improve would be to remove P.C.’s from the 4^th floor – next to the door. This was the only silent space in the library and now you can only hear people typing.

Thanks for your comments last week on one of our feedback cards. I’m really pleased that you think we have the best library you’ve ever been to! I’m particularly pleased that you think our staff are friendly and helpful – that’s excellent news.

However, I am sorry to read that you are less keen on the recent introduction of PCs on level 4 and I do appreciate that the sound of keyboards can sometimes be disruptive. With such a limited building in terms of its physical size and no opportunity to extend it as part of the Redevelopment Project, we had very few options available to us with regards to maintaining silent study space whilst at the same time increasing the provision of user PCs, something we are regularly asked to do.

Given the PC clusters on the upper floors are only on the south side of the building, it should be possible to find a study space away from these areas most of the time.

Thanks again for your feedback and do get back to me directly if you have any other comments or suggestions.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(9/01/13)

St Mary’s library.

Modern art above fireplace not displayed to its own advantage and completely out of place in this ambiance.

Display cases stylistically cluttering, don’t blend, and take up space. And this is a library used for concentrated work, not with a lot of footfall of visitors looking at exhibits.

Thanks for your recently completed feedback card about the King James Library and my apologies for the slight delay in responding to you.

I’m sorry that you don’t like the Kenneth Dingwall installation in the King James and that you feel it’s out of place. We’ve been keen for some time to make more use of the Library’s various public spaces for the exhibition of fine art and the installation at the King James has been an early example of this aim. I think your comments highlight the inherent challenge in any installation of this nature given the inevitable differences of opinion on aesthetic grounds. We have been very happy with the installation and know that it has been well received by others but I am sorry that it’s not to your own liking.

The display cases will be moved shortly to a more suitable location within the King James Library but are intended to showcase some of our more interesting materials, something that seems appropriate given the ambience of the Library.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(3/1/13)

There have been some great changes to the library, but there are some problems with the Assistive Technology Room (level 2). Can you please adjust the heating as it’s always cold in there, especially in the evening/night? Also, the exit is often blocked by students. As this room is used by students, this is especially problematic. Thanks. (Have a great Christmas)

Thanks for completing a Library feedback card just before Christmas. I’m sorry you’ve been finding it cold in the Assistive Technology Room – we have been having some problems with heating recently but things do appear to be better.

In order that we can address specific problems with heating, it’s always best if you let us know us soon as you find a problem. If we have a report from a particular day, we can investigate the matter with colleagues in Estates to try and identify if something happened at a certain time to cause a drop in temperature. You can let a member of Library staff know in person or email library@st-andrews.ac.uk with the details of when you used the room and what the problem was. Library staff don’t have any local immediate access to the heating system – we have to report it to Estates staff who can adjust the temperature remotely.

I’m also sorry to hear you’ve been finding the door blocked by other students. Short of removing seats that are near this door I’m not sure what we can do – we find that despite many signs related to noise and the consumption of food etc., some users will simply ignore or be completely oblivious to instructions! If you continue to find that this is a problem, please alert a member of staff and they can speak to the students who are blocking the entrance.

I’m copying this reply to my colleague Ailsa Ritchie, Deputy Director of Student Services. While the ATR is based in the Library, we don’t have any significant involvement in the running of this facility – that’s lead by Student Services with technical support from IT Services. If you have any other concerns about the use of the room or access to these facilities in particular, I’d encourage you to contact Ailsa or the ASC directly.

Thanks for your positive comments on the recent changes that the Library has introduced – we’re always very happy to receive praise!

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(21/12/12)

We need a gym and showers in the library, since it is 24:00 hours now…..

Thanks for completing a Library comments card the other day and for your suggestion that we install a gym and showers in the Library.

We have no plans to do this I’m afraid, for two main reasons. Firstly, we have neither the space nor the budget to introduce such facilities in this building. Secondly, if the rationale behind the introduction of a gym and showers is that we are open 24 hours, it’s worth pointing out that our recent 24/7 opening was purely a trial service.

We will be analysing the data on the use of the building during 24/7 opening and making announcements in semester 2 as to whether we repeat the exercise. It’s possible that we may do this again during May’s exams but we have no intention of introducing all year round 24/7 opening at any point in the foreseeable future.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(14/12/12)

Can we have some mac computers in the library? There are many students who are mac-users, but there is not a single computer in the library. There are some programs or even files preferred by mac.

Thanks for your recent comments on one of our feedback cards. The computer provision in the Library is run by our colleagues in IT Services so I’ve contacted them to ask about Mac provision. I’m afraid I don’t know if they have any plans to introduce this.

Once I have some more information, I’ll get back in touch.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(14/12/12)

Whilst I am glad the library is now offering a 24 hour service there are two things that I am not so happy about:

1) I don’t think exam /revision period is the best time to trial 24/7 opening, as my friends and I have discussed it and decided we’d be more likely to use the library post 2 a.m. if we have deadlines/essays due in – revision/exam period sleep is more important!

2) I had thought no ID card No Access was an all-hours policy and was upset to see big, presumably expensive banners and posters which, in my eyes, only serve to suggest from 8 a.m. – 2.a.m you don’t need a card to access the library. If I was to test this theory I don’t think the staff would be terribly understanding. Therefore I would suggest the policy is fully enforced round-the-clock, and the library finds more important things to spend its money on – bigger/better redevelopment perhaps?!?

Thanks for completing a comments card last week – we’re always grateful to receive user feedback, particularly in relation to trial initiatives like 24/7 opening. To answer your main points in turn:

Timing of Library 24/7

There are two main reasons we decided to trial this service during the exam period. Firstly, there has been a significant amount of feedback from students in recent years that 24/7 opening during the exam period is something that they’d like to see.

Secondly, trying to deliver 24/7 during periods when deadlines for essays are due would be far more difficult to deliver, given the variation of these deadlines between the different schools. We will be doing some analysis in January on the 24/7 trial and will be publicising the data as well as our decision on whether or not we offer the service again.

I should add that during inter-semester break we are significantly increasing our opening hours and hope to replicate this offer during all forthcoming Spring and Summer vacations. This will result in a 7 day a week opening of the Library throughout the calendar year for the first time in its history. This represents a 49% increase in non-semester opening hours compared to last year and a 100% increase since 2003.

Semester hours have also been increased significantly in recent years – 10% in the last 2 years and 55% since 2003. So we are trying, where budgets and staffing allow, to provide an even more flexible service that meets user demand.

No card/No access

Because there had been such long-term difficulties with the ID cards and their use at our security gates, we hadn’t fully implemented a no card no access policy at all times. Now that most people are on proximity cards and the gates are reading them more consistently, this is a policy we intend to introduce in semester 2 but it’s a complicated process, particularly in relation to the various types of visitors and other non-standard users of our facilities. I am meeting with colleagues this afternoon to discuss any outstanding issues that need to be resolved in advance of a no card no access policy.

We were keen to have a no card no access policy during 24/7 for two reasons. Firstly, during the 2am-8am period when we would normally not have been open, it was important to be stricter about security given our responsibility for user welfare and safety. Secondly, it was a deliberate on our part to highlight the concept of a no card no access rule in a high profile manner so that students became more tuned in to the idea come second semester when we hopefully did introduce it all year round.

The cost of the publicity was actually very small and we ended up spending less on printed publicity than we would have had to in previous years because the student body had did such a good job of advertising the service for us through social media.

It was very important to me that my colleagues who were staffing the Welcome Desk had prominent, in situ publicity to which they could refer in the event of anyone arguing with them about the policy. The fact that most people came with their cards and that those who failed to did not argue with the staff when they were not allowed in, demonstrates that this was money well spent.

I hope this helps answer your questions but do get back to me if you’ve any more comments or suggestions.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(14/12/12)

There should be a message to prevent (selfish) students leaving their belongings overnight to reserve seats. The library is a busy place, and so it is not fair on students who get here early not to get a seat. I understand the legal issues concerning property removal/handling in their absence. In the quieter area behind short loan, whole tables and private desks are unavailable and these selfish students only arrive at post 11:00.

Thanks for your recently completed Library feedback card about people leaving their belongings at desks. We do have rules on people leaving their belongings in the Library for prolonged periods of time – i.e. we don’t allow it and do our best to discourage it.

We are equally frustrated with the behaviour of inconsiderate users who think it’s acceptable to “bag” a desk for hours on end, thus creating two problems – one of security and one of denying someone else access to that space. The 24/7 opening of the Library highlighted how much of a problem this has become and we are now committed to finding a way forward on this next semester.

Other university libraries have policies where members of Library staff patrol study areas, removing any unattended items that have been left for a specified period of time. As you acknowledge on your comments card, there are legal and other concerns related to the introduction of such a system of enforcement.

For example:

- How long would be long enough?

- How can you be certain that someone hasn’t come and gone more than once during the reference period (e.g. 30 minutes)?

- We would need at least 2 members of staff doing the patrols and removing belongings in case there were suggestions of impropriety on our part.

- There would need to be system of recording the details of what was left, who left it not to mention providing sufficient storage space for removed belongings.

- There would also need to be a clear way of indicating to the offending user that the material had been moved and a note to other students that the space was now available for others to use.

- All of this is highly resource-intensive and would require additional staffing as well as significant buy in from the student body. Would most students be happy if a system like this was put in place?

In saying all of this, none of these problems are insurmountable and as I mentioned, there are systems in place and running successfully in other libraries. We plan to consult students more widely in the New Year as to how strongly they feel about the problem and what kind of solution they would be happy to see introduced. If you have any suggestions, I’d be delighted to hear how you think we could make this work.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(14/12/12)

Too many people are leaving their bags, laptops etc. on the computers and leaving. The computer logs off, but it is not possible to use them. During revision/exam week this is ridiculous. I need a quiet space to work but cannot due to others selfish behaviours.

Other university libraries have policies where members of Library staff patrol study areas, removing any unattended items that have been left for a specified period of time. However, introducing a system of removing belongings is complicated as well as contentious:

- How long would be long enough?

- How can you be certain that someone hasn’t come and gone more than once during the reference period (e.g. 30 minutes)?

- We would need at least 2 members of staff doing the patrols and removing belongings in case there were suggestions of impropriety on our part.

- There would need to be system of recording the details of what was left, who left it not to mention providing sufficient storage space for removed belongings.

- There would also need to be a clear way of indicating to the offending user that the material had been moved and a note to other students that the space was now available for others to use.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(14/12/12)

Unfortunately the slot to post these slips in is too small for the slips. This is not conducive(not sure if this is the right word) to posting slips.

Thanks for your feedback about the relative size of slots in our comments boxes and the size of the feedback cards themselves. As you have so successfully demonstrated, it’s more than possible to simply fold the comments card in order for it to be deposited securely in the feedback box. The volume of feedback cards that we receive each year is testament to the fact that many of your fellow users have also managed to successfully fold the card in two.

We have no plans to change the boxes at this stage but thanks again for your comments.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(10/12/12)

The area behind short loan is a nice place to sit, but it has poor ventilation. With little or no noticeable air condition, stagnant air makes smells longer. This is something the library ought to address.

Thanks for completing a Library comments card recently. I’m sorry you’ve found the south west area of Level 2 a bit stuffy. As far as I am aware, there aren’t any problems with the ventilation system in this area but I’ll certainly look into this for you.

If you do find any problems with environmental conditions in the building in the future, please do notify a member of staff or drop us an email at library@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Once I have some more information, I’ll get back in touch.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(10/12/12)

Please change the levels to ones that make sense.

e.g. Base

Ground floor

Level 1

Level2

I never know which floor people are talking about.

Thanks for your comments. I agree that the numbering sequence of the building can be a bit confusing sometimes and, prior to the redevelopment, this was something that we actually considered. For example, rather than Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 we did consider Levels 0, G, 1 and 2 along with other similar versions.

There were several reasons behind our decision not to make a change. Firstly, the location records of books and other resources would need to have been altered to reflect a new numbering sequence. In addition the 1-4 sequence had been in existence since the building of the Library in 1976 and, if we were to change it, there would most likely be as many people confused by such a change to a system they’d become accustomed to.

Finally, the second phase of the redevelopment project this summer allowed us to provide even clearer signage on each of the levels that indicated where users are located. On both levels 3 and 4 there are highlighted directories within the stairwell in addition to the large orientation walls once you are through the double doors that indicate “Level 3” and “Level 4” respectively.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(07/12/12)

Change Machine…..

Thanks for completing a Library comments card last week – we appreciate the feedback. Your suggestion was quite brief but we’re assuming that by “change machine” you mean some kind of self-service machine that would provide change for use in the Library – e.g. for vending machines, printing top-up etc.

Yours is the first suggestion I’ve been made aware of for a facility of this type but we’ll certainly keep the matter under review. However, at the moment we have no plans to introduce a change machine.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(07/12/12)

New opening hours greatly appreciated, and I’m amazed at the smiles and friendliness of Staff at 4 a.m.! (Staff in question - Steve and cleaner on the shift).

Thanks for your comments last week on one of our feedback forms. I’m delighted to hear that you hare so appreciative of our trial 24/7 opening hours, the provision of which has been a long-term ambition of the Library.

We are monitoring the data on occupancy of the building throughout the night and will make a decision in the New Year as to whether or not we’ll make this a permanent provision.

I’ll certainly pass on your kind words to my colleagues who have volunteered to work throughout the night!

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(07/12/12)

Would it be possible to put a paper recycling bin by the bins near the computers at the back of the library (ground floor)? (By the playpen at the back). People tend to throw paper into the general waste bin which is not very environmentally friendly.

Thanks for filling in a Library comments card recently asking about additional paper recycling bins.

I know that our colleagues in Estates (who run our cleaning and recycling services) do keep an eye on the use of the various bins in the building. We do have the opposite issue with paper bins where they are located in other areas, separate from the can/plastic/cup/general waste bins – i.e. that people use the paper bins for general waste.

However, I’ll contact Estates staff to find out if any additional bins can be provided in this area.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(30/11/12)

My card does not work. I have told the library help desk, the IT desk, and the front desk multiple times and the issue has not been resolved. I can check out books, but the chip is broken so I cannot enter the library or use the printers/photocopiers. It sounds trivial, but it is extremely aggravating to have to wait to get beeped in every single time I go through the gates. Similarly, it is nearly impossible for me to print, as I have to manually enter my password every time, often doing so five or six times because my fingers brush the wrong button. I don’t mean to be rude, but whoever decided to install a system by which our ID cards are our only way to access the library and the printers should have done some research before foisting the thing on us. I don’t expect this to resolve the issue (nor do I expect it to ever be resolved) but venting my frustration makes me feel a bit better (if only until I have to use my card – or attempt to at least). In short you did not do a terribly good job.

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card. I was very disappointed to read of the ongoing problems you’ve been experiencing with both the entry gates and the printers/photocopiers. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience caused.

I’ve spoken to colleagues in IT Services and Library Systems today and they have made some changes which I hope will resolve the problem for you. Please check your card the next time you are in the Library. If the problem has not been resolved please let me know straightaway and I will follow this up as a matter of urgency.

As a gesture of goodwill, given your recent experiences, I have waived your library fines.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(22/11/12)

Hi. I was reading about the new library 24/7 hours during exam time.

I just wondered whether you were going to have any rules on people leaving their belongings on desks/saving computers etc.? At the moment during exam time people do this a lot, and it seems fine during lunch for half an hour or so but will you be moving peoples stuff if they leave it for more than is reasonable? Thanks!

Thanks for your recently completed Library feedback card about 24/7 opening. We do have rules on people leaving their belongings in the Library for prolonged periods of time – i.e. we don’t allow it and do our best to discourage it.

However, you’re right to ask if we’re going to move people’s belongings when we become aware of desks/seats being “reserved” and the answer to that is no. We are aware of systems like this being in place at a number of other university libraries but it’s a very complex issue.

We get frustrated with the behaviour of inconsiderate users who think it’s acceptable to “bag” a desk for hours on end, thus creating two problems – one of security and one of denying someone else access to that space. However, introducing a system of removing belongings is not that simple:

- How long would be long enough?

- How can you be certain that someone hasn’t come and gone more than once during the reference period (e.g. 30 minutes)?

- We would need at least 2 members of staff doing the patrols and removing belongings in case there were suggestions of impropriety on our part.

- There would need to be system of recording the details of what was left, who left it not to mention providing sufficient storage space for removed belongings.

- There would also need to be a clear way of indicating to the offending user that the material had been moved and a note to other students that the space was now available for others to use.

In saying all of this, none of these problems are insurmountable and as I mentioned, there are systems in place and running successfully in other libraries. I’d like to see how things go during Library 24/7 and then consider how we can best move forward.

It is something we’d like to address at some point but it’s not an easy one to fix.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(16/11/12)

Hi. Everything is much better in so many ways but can’t you put bigger signs up telling people:

1. Not to eat upstairs – this is a big problem in the carrels 301 – 310 next to the Arts Building

2. A sign telling people to check the volume of their headphones before putting them on their ears. This is a constant annoyance.

Otherwise everything is great.

Thanks for your recently completed Library feedback form. I’m glad to see that you think things in general are better than they used to be.

I note your comments about people eating and noise from headphones and agree the thoughtlessness of some users is annoying. I believe we’ve corresponded about Library signage quite recently and since I last emailed you, you’ll be aware that we put additional signs up on the doors leading into both levels 3 and 4 reminding people not to eat in those areas.

As you know yourself, we do still have the occasional problems with people talking on the upper floors despite the large silence signs. I suspect that no matter what kind of additional signs we put up to remind people about food, headphones and mobile phones, there will always be people who choose to ignore them.

I’d like to keep the situation under review and see how things work during the exam period before introducing any further changes to our signage. In the meantime, do please notify a member of staff about people making noise or eating as soon as it is a problem. If we have timely information we are more able to take action then and there.

We do of course hope that all users feel they are able to directly address those people breaking the rules but realise that it’s not always easy to do so.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(16/11/12)

Love the café – the soup and roll deal in particular is unbeatable! Have had it for lunch for about 5 days straight now, not getting fed up yet.

Some kind of curtain/blind system could be useful by the upstairs computers, as they (due to screen glare) become hard to use around midday.

“Thanks for your feedback about the café – I’ll make sure this is passed on to our colleagues in Residential & Business Services who run Café 1413 for the University.

Thanks also for your suggestion about blinds being put up on the windows at computer areas. This is something we’ve been thinking about doing for a while and now have a quote from Estates for the installation of blinds. We’re just deciding if there’s enough money in our operating budget to allow for this work to be carried out as it’s a relatively expensive job.”

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(16/11/12)

Could you please provide translation service?

“Thanks for your suggestion about provide a translation service. I’m afraid that without more information on what exactly you mean, I’m unable to really answer your question in more detail. If you’d like to contact us again with further explanation, we’ll be happy to do what we can.”

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

On Raisin Sunday I was working in a study room alone. A member of staff came to the door and asked me to leave on the grounds that the minimum number of students per room is 2. Three other study rooms were free at the time. So I was quite clearly not preventing anyone else from working in this study space. I appreciate that his instruction is to enforce this rule but it is quite clearly a redundant rule given the circumstances. Staff should be allowed to use their discretion in such instances. The staff are always very helpful and for that I am always grateful, but they should be given a greater responsibility to enforce rulings when they are appropriate.

Thanks for your comments. We are very clear that these rooms are for groups and not for single occupancy use and our staff are asked to enforce this rule in the interests of consistency and fairness. We did relax the rules during the summer but are stricter during semester given how busy we normally are.

The member of staff who spoke to you should have indicated that Group Study Room 5 on Level 4 can be used for single occupancy. We allow that because we recognise the demand for single occupancy study rooms and Room 5 only has capacity for 3 people. That means if it’s occupied by only one person there is less space being “wasted” compared to just one person using a room with the capacity for 6, 8 or 14 people.

The actual booking system on Study Room 5 (and 6) isn’t operational yet as we are waiting for data points to be configured by IT Services. That should be resolved shortly but in the meantime you are welcome to use that room for single study use if you find it available.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(13/11/12)

A monotonous beeping siren is now a regular feature of working on level 2. I think it’s from the barriers but am not sure. This morning it has gone off consistently since 9 a.m. and the sound fills the whole floor – it is extremely irritating. Can it be fixed?

P.S. Excellent job with everything else.

Thanks for your feedback form to the Library about the beeping noise on level 2. I apologise for this – there were some issues with our alarm sensor panels but these have now been fixed.

We were very aware of the problem and both my colleagues who staff the Welcome Desk as well as those with desks in the staff area on level 2, were especially conscious of it!

Hopefully it won’t happen again and thanks for the positive comments about the Library’s performance elsewhere, beeping aside….

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(13/11/12)

It would be great if people had to be silent in the staircases. Even though the new double doors keep out the noise better, if people talk in the stairs area, they often forget to stop talking/don’t realise they are in the silent zone now. Some keep on talking for minutes. That is really annoying for people sitting in the area surrounding the doors.

It is impossible to study with noise coming in from the staircase frequently (door opens many times per minute, people are talking all the time) – this has led me to not study here but rather at home recently. It would be great if this could be improved. Thanks.

“Thanks for your comments about the stairwell. You may be aware that until this semester, we did have a policy of discouraging users from talking on the stairwell (either face to face or on the phone) for all the reasons you highlight.

One of the problems with the upper floors prior to them being refurbished was that the lack of double doors really exacerbated the issue of noise travelling onto the silent floors. We were hopeful that the introduction of the double doors would go some way to helping and this seems to have had some effect.

We were also very aware of how difficult it was to prevent people from talking on the stairwells, either by stopping to have conversations or simply by talking to friends as they travelled up through the building. We surveyed our users in the second semester of the last session and asked specifically about whether or not we should start tolerating stairwell conversations (providing they’re not obstructive) and a slight majority (55.3%) of the 1300 respondents said that we should allow this.

I fully accept your comments but would like to give it a little bit more time before making any changes to the current policy. Even if we were to officially restart an active discouragement of talking on the stairs, it would of course continue to be impossible to stop this altogether without having a constant staff presence in this area. It’s a bit like the rules on noise, food and drink – we police and enforce where practical to do so but we are reliant on users being considerate towards their fellow Library users.”

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(10/11/12)

The library is great, except for that it’s incredibly hot in here, especially on level 3. It would be a lot easier to focus if it was a bit cooler. Thanks!

Thanks for filling in a Library feedback card the other week. I’m delighted to read that you’re happy with what we do although I am very sorry about the problems we’ve been having with the heating on level 3.

There have been some faults with the temperature sensors on this floor and our Estates engineers and contractors are aware of the problem. We hope to have the fault repaired as soon as possible and things should get back to normal.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(10/11/12)

Please turn the heating down in the library! It’s way too hot… (at least on level three)

Thanks for completing a Library comments card the other week about the heating in the building.

I’m really sorry it’s been too warm, particularly on level 3 as you point out. We are aware of the problem – it’s related to heating sensors – and our contractors are working with University Estates to get the situation resolved as soon as possible.

We don’t have immediate local control within the building to vary the temperatures – we have to go through Estates who regulate it remotely. Hopefully it’ll be fixed quickly.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(05/11/12)

Could the keyboards of the communal computers please be cleaned? Some of them are filthy, and with so many hands touching them it could easily spread illnesses. Many thanks.

Thanks for your recently completed feedback form to the Library about computer keyboards. One of my colleagues has raised this issue with IT Services to see what can be done.

Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(3/11/12)

None of the printers are working. No staff to help?

Thanks for your recent comments on one of our Library feedback cards. We were aware of some problems recently with the printers. These are run by the University’s IT department rather than the Library although our Attendants, who would have been the only people on duty at 5.15pm on a Saturday, do have basic training with these devices.

The problems were, from what I understand after speaking to colleagues in ITS, more significant but have since been resolved. If you have any further feedback on the printing system or the availability of IT Helpdesk staff at weekends or in the evenings, please drop them a line at helpdesk@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(31/10/2012)

Could you please install some sort of dampner on the double doors – particularly on the third floor? The noise of the doors continually slamming shut is very annoying and disturbing (especially as the upper floors are supposed to be ‘silent’!) Thank you very much for your consideration.

Thanks for completing a comments card this week and I’m sorry you’ve been finding our doors noisy on level 3. This was something we were aware of before we re-opened levels 3 and 4 last month and our builders did tighten the door closers at the time.

However, they obviously need to be looked at again and I’ve asked our Building Operations Supervisor to look into this for us. If for some reason we can’t adjust them ourselves we’ll ask joiners from University Estates to help.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(22/10/12)

The library looks great, well done! However a few comments:

- It is too warm, everyone is in a t-shirt and trying not to snooze off

- Why are there arm chairs upstairs? More tables would be great.

- The high tables and chairs are so much better for correct posture

- Some desks upstairs have no plugs nearby

Thanks for your recent comments on one of our feedback cards. I’m glad to read that you are pleased with the recent improvements in the Library – it’s always encouraging to get such a positive response from our users.

To answer your specific points in turn:

- The heating on the upper floors has been problematic in the last couple of weeks. Our heating engineers have been doing additional commissioning work on the new heating and ventilation systems since we re-opened the upper floors and this work was completed last night. It should be better now but if you do continue to encounter problems, please let a member of staff know as soon as possible – the more information we have about which areas of which floors are a problem, the more able we are to resolve the issue.

- We took the decision to put soft seating on the upper floors as we were aware from user feedback that some people wanted the option of this type of seating in a silent area. The chairs (which were voted for by students as part of a sampling exercise last year) have proven popular so far but we’ll continue to keep the situation under review. The overall increase in seating this year has been around 265 across levels 3 and 4.

- We’re very aware that some of the new tables on the upper floors have no power points at them and, in an ideal world, we would have been able to do this. However, the raised access floor that we were able to introduce last year on Level 2 (which allowed power points at most study spaces) was not affordable for the upper floors.

- Power point provision around the perimeter of the building on Levels 3 and 4 has still been increased despite the lack of sockets at every study space.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(21/10/12)

The new library design/layout is really good. The bins outside are really in the way of the bike sheds, could they be moved? Also the bins were overflowing and in one of the commercial landfill bins was a bag of sorted cans! These should be recycled!

Thanks for your recent Library feedback card. I know we’ve previously corresponded about coffee cup recycling in the Library so I hope you’ve been pleased to see the recent introduction of cup (and lid) recycling bins.

Since you completed your card the other week, the bins at the bike shed have been moved so the area is more accessible than it was. If it proves to be a problem again, do please let us know and we’ll contact University Estates who are responsible for both the external bins and the bike shed.

As far as I know the bag of sorted cans to which you refer will have been recycled by Estates.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(21/10/12)

I would like to submit a suggestion concerning the Group Study Rooms. Currently they can only be booked by individuals. I often need to book on behalf of my society for group use. I wish this could be done without detracting from my personal study hours in them.

Thanks for your recent Library comments card. You make a fair point about the group study room booking system but I’m afraid that your suggestion isn’t technically possible.

Bookings have to be made by a named individual rather than a group. You could of course consider getting other members of your society to place bookings on behalf of the group – hopefully this would work?

I know this isn’t quite what you were asking for but I do hope that you will still feel that the general group study room provision in the Library and the way in which they are accessed has been improved during the redevelopment.

We’ve gone from 2 seminar rooms that could only be booked on the day of use with no consecutive slots allowed to a total of 6 rooms, all of which can be booked up to a week in advance and consecutive slots are now permitted.

Thanks again for your comments.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(19/10/12)

Hey

Not being funny but the upstairs of the library is supposed to be the quiet area. Each bathroom is equipped with what sounds like the engines of a Boeing 747. They are at least as distracting as talking and far more regularly heard – replace with paper towels?

Thanks for filling in a Library comments card recently. You are not the first person to comment on the noise from the hand dryers since they were installed last year and I agree that they are quite loud.

I do know from colleagues in University Estates that these dryers are some of the greenest available despite their noise. From an environmental and cleaning perspective, the University’s policy is to remove paper towel dispensers from toilets when hand driers have been installed.

However, I’m happy to ask Estates if there’s any way to have the volume of the driers adjusted so that they are less disruptive – we’ll do what we can.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(10/10/12)

Please fix the drinking fountain on level 2 (between the toilets)

Thank you!

Thanks for filling in a Library comments card recently – apologies for the delay in replying. The water pressure in the water fountain on level 2 had been faulty for a while but we did report it to colleagues in Estates as soon as we became aware.

You’ll probably have noticed since you completed your card that it has now been fixed and working as it should be.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(10/10/12)

I really like the redevelopment of levels 3 & 4. It's great to have all the books on the same floor and the top floor is so quiet and is amazing for 4th years to study.I also like the system of recalling books from the store. So far every time I've used it, it has worked really well and it means that we can keep the books but also have more space here in the Library. One tiny thing I would think could be improved - more water fountains around the library would be great and/or the existing ones should have more water pressure since right now it takes really long to fill up a bottle. Thanks.

Thank you so much for your recent feedback on one of our Library comments card – my apologies for taking so long to acknowledge them and send you this reply.

It’s lovely to get such positive comments about the redevelopment and the work that we do – we know that people are more inclined to take the time to complain rather than praise so your card was especially nice to read!

In terms of water fountains, this summer’s redevelopment work did allow for the introduction of fountains on both of the upper floors bringing the total in the building to three. Until this year we only had one on level 2 so this represents a significant improvement in provision. We don’t have any plans to introduce more fountains at this stage but I do know the one on level 2 has had its water pressure adjusted since you filled your card in.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(09/10/12)

It would be great if there was a cloakroom in the library. Thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card a few weeks ago – my apologies for the delay in sending you a reply.

A cloakroom in the Library is a good idea but one that unfortunately we really don’t have the room for. With a larger building it may be something that we would be able to accommodate but I’m afraid it’s not currently feasible.

We do of course have a number of lockers within the Library that students are welcome to rent for the year for the storage of personal belongings. More information on our lockers is available at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/services/other/lockers/.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(04/10/12)

Would be brilliant to have these things:

1. Pencil Sharpeners - need them

2. Paper and pencils/pens at library catalogue computers - it is not possible to remember 6 call numbers and to find books.

Both are very fundamental and cheap for any library. Thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to complete a Library comments card recently – sorry for taking a while to send you a response.

We have no plans to provide pencil sharpeners for our users. Given the very portable nature of sharpeners, it’s something we would assume those users who need access to one would buy their own.

We have however recently put pens out at our catalogue terminals which we hope our users find helpful. We are looking into how to provide scrap paper at these terminals but there are difficulties with lack of space at the terminal areas.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(04/10/12)

Please, PLEASE turn down the air conditioning on levels 3 and 4 of the library. It’s so cold it’s uncomfortable and really not good when everyone is sick. I have to study in a coat up there.

Thanks for your feedback. I’m sorry you’ve been finding the air conditioning on the upper floors too cold. As you may know, the heating system was replaced on the upper floors during the summer and is still going through a period of calibration. We’re aware that some users have found areas of the library too warm as well as too cold.

What would be more helpful is if you could notify us as soon as you are finding an area particularly warm or cold, giving us details on which precise area of the Library is a problem at what time. Without more specific information it is more difficult for us to raise the issue with our colleagues in Estates who look after the heating and air conditioning systems.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(04/10/12)

Any chance that we could have clocks back on the upper floors please?

Thanks for giving us your feedback on the recent lack of clocks in the Library after we re-opened the upper floors. My apologies for the delay in someone sending you a response but I’m sure you’re aware by now that we’ve managed to get some clocks back up.

We were aware of their absence but I’m afraid other things were more pressing at the start of semester after the completion of the redevelopment project.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(04/10/12)

It would be great if there were a microwave available somewhere so we could warm our food up here!

Thanks!

Thanks for your recent feedback about getting a microwave put into the Library for users to heat their food up in.

I’m afraid we have no plans to introduce this type of a facility at this point in time nor do I see us doing it in the future. As you know, users are able to purchase hot food from the café or bring hot their own hot food to eat in that area. This provision along with our already relaxed (compared to other universities) policies on food and drink consumption in the rest of the building is as far as we feel we can go.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(04/10/12)

It is unfortunate that I have been forced to write to you under these conditions. However, I feel it is the right time to voice my opinion and complain about the foolish and redundant entry system for your establishment. Ever since gated entry has been forced upon me, I have been tormented by the futile nature of the barcode scanning access panel. It appears to me that whenever I try to enter or leave this building I am unable to do so due to my matric card not scanning properly. The one solution I was offered was a new card however this has not alleviated the issue or indeed my anger. I can understand why you would want this system in place however it appears to me you have overlooked several, clearly better alternatives. For example every other university owned building utilises the magnetic strips on the back of the cards. This system is quick and easy and has the added benefit of reading the card very quickly. As well as this, all matric cards have now got proximity chips in them, a system you use for printing. However it is abundantly clear that there was no communication between university departments, as you are now using for all intents and purposes, redundant instead of using the effective chip based system.

All I want is to be able to enter and leave my library without having to spend minutes at a time waiting for someone to let me in.

Thanks for completing a comments card in the Library a couple of weeks ago – my apologies for the delay in replying as I’ve been on holiday.

I’m sorry that you’ve been so frustrated with the security system operating in the Main Library – we are equally frustrated at the unreliability of the barcode scanning but we are working very hard to improve the system.

As you point out, IT Services (who manage the production student and staff ID cards) have now issued returning and new students with proximity chip-enabled cards and the Library has recently installed proximity antennae in the security gates so that users will be able to scan in and out far more easily using these prox cards. We’ve done some testing on and the prox readers do work very well and far better than the unreliable barcode scanning.

The problems we’ve encountered have been less to do with the gates themselves but rather than cards that students and other users have been issued with. Even when proximity cards have been given to students, the data required to be in the prox chip for it to be validated by the gates has been absent. Around 80% of cards in circulation now have this data but there are still around 1200 that don’t. IT Services have been working closely with the Library to move this situation forward as quickly as possible, particularly in relation to the capturing of the required data.

We aim to switch both of the entry channel gates on early next week so that prox-enabled cards will read. This will allow us to do further testing with a view to switching on prox scanning on both the entry and exit channels permanently.

For those prox cards that are presented at the gates that don’t have the necessary data, our Welcome Desk staff will be able to capture the data by scanning the card on a reader they’ll have their desk. Once this data is captured we’ll send it to IT Services in order that they can match it up to the records in the University’s data warehouse. This will mean that the next time the card is presented at the gates, the card and its prox chip will be recognised and entry to the Library will be far smoother.

One again I do apologise for the frustration this has caused everyone but we are nearing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Please get back to me if you’ve any more questions or comments.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(04/10/12)

This is a note to thank some of the ‘unsung heros’ of the library staff!

Firstly, thank you to the lady that cleaned the sticky stuff off the back of my locker.

Secondly, yesterday I watched one of the members of the cleaning team remove coffee cups from general waste to the new recycling cups bin. You work so hard – thank you.

Thanks for completing a Library comments card the other week. I realise you indicated on your card that you didn’t need a personal reply but I felt it appropriate to send an acknowledgement.

It’s encouraging to receive such positive feedback and we are very grateful when satisfied users take the time to tell us about it. Our cleaning colleagues in Estates are exceptional and work hard every day to support the running of the Main Library, now the busiest building on campus.

In recent years we’ve changed our rules on food and drink, increased our opening hours and provided additional study spaces all of which has added to the workload of the cleaners. The team have responded amazingly and we continue to be impressed with the way in which they do their work with efficiency, professionalism and good humour.

I’m copying this message to the University’s Cleaning Manager and the Cleaning Supervisor who looks after the team based in the Library.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(02/10/12)

Please can we have reminder emails sent to borrowers to remind them to return 3-day DVD’s as well as normal loans?

Thanks for completing a library comment card and apologies for the delay in my reply.

The reason we do not send reminders for DVDs on loan is because the loan period is short (3 days) and we feel there should be no need for a reminder. We are also keen not to fill up e-mail boxes with too many library notices.

Please do not hesitate to get back to me with any further comments or feedback.

Graeme Hawes

User Services Manager

(27/09/12)

I think you should increase the fines for recalled books being returned late, as recently I had to unit 6 extra days for a book I had recalled. Perhaps from 50p to five pounds a day? This might make people return books on time. Thanks.

Thanks for completing a library feedback form and apologies for taking so long to get back to you.

I understand your reason for wanting to increase the fine level for recalled books (though it is currently £1 per day rather than 50p). Unfortunately fining alone does not always produce the desired results but I am sympathetic to your suggestion of an increase to act as a greater deterrent.

Leave it with me. In the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me with any other comments or suggestions.

Graeme Hawes

User Services Manager

Ground floor drinking fountain is too weak.

Also, buy more books.

Thanks for filling in a Library comments card recently – sorry for taking a while to send this reply.

We had been aware of the faulty water pressure in the fountain on level 2 and did report it to University Estates. You’ll probably have noticed since you completed your card that the fault has now been repaired but please do let a member of staff know if you notice any future problems.

Thanks also for the suggestion that we buy more books. I’m afraid without more specific information on which books, titles or subject areas you feel that we should buy more of, it’s difficult for us to take action. If you do have specific requests you can either speak to a member of our staff, email morebooks@st-andrews.ac.uk (you’ll usually get a response within 24 hours) or contact a member of our Academic Liaison staff (details at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/contact/academicliaison/) – they’ll be happy to help you.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

Hi.

I’m not sure who is responsible for the bike shed but I’ve had some difficulties getting my bike in and out because of large bins blocking the way. They are often too heavy to remove and it would be great if the bins could be stored elsewhere, thanks!

Thanks for letting us know about the problems you have been having getting access to the bike shed at the front of the Library. The large bins were there temporarily, most of which have now been removed.

There are a few wheelie bins in the enclosure along with one larger bin for plastics but it doesn’t appear to be causing an obstruction. If you do have any further problems getting in and out of the bike shed, please do either let us know and we will contact University Estates.

Ewan McCubbin

Assistant Director (Liaison & User Services)

(21/9/12)

The “Silence” signs on level 3 are Orwellian and a waste of money. This is only compounded by the staff patrolling the floors. One sign at the entrance to this level would have been sufficient.

Thank you for taking the time to complete a library comments card.

The ‘Silence’ signs on Levels 3 & 4 were added over the summer in response to criticism from university staff and students that the upper floors of the Library were not quite enough for serious study. Library staff do indeed patrol these areas regularly to make sure the silence rule is observed. This allows us to retain Level 2 of the Library as a more social environment, ensuring library space, though limited, caters to the diverse expectations of our users.

Following the refurbishment of levels 3 & 4 over the summer, and the addition of the new signs, we are happy to report that it is quieter upstairs. We will continue to work hard to create the kind of study environment our users want.

Graeme Hawes

User Services Manager

(21/9/2012)

Hi!

This is a beautiful library and everyone who works here is SO kind and helpful – it is truly my favourite library I’ve ever studied at (and I’ve been to lots of schools in my time).

Thank you for making it SUCH a wonderful place, honestly.

Now I do have one concern: it is very cold upstairs in the 3rd and 4th floors. When studying one is generally sitting for long periods so we get more susceptible to cold, and the temperature in those floors is so cold it’s hard to concentrate. Everyone is bundled up there – go have a look!

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete a library comments card.

Thanks too for your kind words. We work hard to provide the best service and library environment we can and the last two years have been very challenging for all of our staff, as we have undertaken a major refurbishment project. Feedback like yours has a very positive effect on staff morale.

I’m sorry you have found it cold upstairs over the last few days. The new heating system is still being calibrated and at various times it has been too cold and too warm since we reopened on September 10th. Things should now settle down but I would ask that if you find the temperature in the Library to be uncomfortable at any time, please let a member of staff know straight away.

Please don’t hesitate to get back to me if I can be of further assistance.

Graeme Hawes

User Services Manager

(13/9/2012)

New Ideas:

1.) Little baskets to collect books throughout the library (if you need quite a lot of them at once).

2.) Provide litter bins for paper for a cleaner environment.

3.) Provide free internet for non-university students.

Thank you for taking the time to complete a library comments card. In response to the issues you raised:

1) We can see how having baskets in the library would be useful and this is currently under consideration.

2) We do already have paper recycling bins throughout the library.

3) Unfortunately we are not able to provide access to the internet for non-University staff and students. However the local public library, which is very close by, does provide free internet access.

Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch with any further comments or suggestions.

Graeme Hawes

User Services Manager

(13/09/2012)

I think it will be a good idea to organise baskets for books. So for example if a student needs to collect many books, he puts them in the basket and does not always carry them in hands. It is more comfortable to use baskets.

Thank you for taking the time to complete a library comments card.

We are certainly interested in your idea of having baskets available to carry books – as I’m sure you are aware this service is provided at other libraries and I understand why it would be appealing. Thanks for making the suggestion and please leave it with us for due consideration.

Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch with any other comments or suggestions.

Graeme Hawes

User Services Manager

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