Library Student Resource Group April 15 2011

Present: Joey Brown, Chris Dunlap, Peter Erickson, Kelly Ledbetter, Samantha Lee, Rachael Miller, Ben Merriman, Rick Moore, Julia Sizek, Nick Stock, Nick Tarasen
From the Library: Judi Nadler (chair), Jeffry Archer, Frances McNamara, Tod Olson, Rachel Rosenberg, Jim Vaughan, John Kimbrough 

Announcements

Library News Site: Rachel demoed the new Library News Site, news.lib.uchicago.edu. There are several subject-specific sections, a workshops calendar, and opportunities to subscribe to RSS feeds.

Mansueto Updates: Mansueto is scheduled to open in May, and so far everything is going according to plan. Upcoming Mansueto-related events include:

• May 18: Special Collections Research Center special event; LSRG members are invited to talks by Prof. Neil Harris (History), Neal Vogel (who restored the printers' marks) and other activities in SCRC.
• week of May 22: tours will be offered to graduating fourth-years
• Oct 11: formal dedication of Mansueto

There is some scaffolding in the 5th floor bookstacks as part of ongoing work on Regenstein’s roof. Materials aren’t browseable but accessible (staff will page daily).

Leaks in the East Asian reading room? The roof replacement work is being spread out over 2 years, so bear with us a little longer.

We’ve heard reports of students climbing up on the roof of Manuseto? (Yes, and we’re thinking about how to secure the building so people won’t climb the dome.)

Requesting Books from Mansueto: The User Interface

Frances McNamara, Head of Integrated Library Systems for the Library, demoed the user interface for placing requests for Mansueto items. A “request” link will appear when viewing Manuseto items in the catalog or Lens – it will be in the same screen location as the “Recall item” link. Users will have to log in with their CNetID or library barcode. There are 4 pickup options: Mansueto (within 15 minutes when the building is open), Crerar, D'Angelo Law, or SSA (all within 1 business day). Like other online “shopping carts,” you can build up a list of pending requests (“shop” for more Mansueto items) without having to log in each time, then submit all the requests at once.

Discussion:

• Can users view their pending requests? (Yes, using “View Mansueto Requests” (if not submitted yet) – once submitted log into your Library account to view requests/recalls.)
• Multi-volume works: you do have to request each volume/part individually, although you don’t have to log in each time.
• Could we put a link for feedback in the request window? (Yes.)
• Does a library staff member OK each request? (No –once you place the request, the crane starts moving! Assuming the cranes are turned on, that is...)
• What happens when a request is placed when the building is closed, say at 3am? (The requests will queue overnight, and be fulfilled the next time Mansueto opens.)
• The wording -- “Mansueto, within 15 minutes when open” -- seems a little confusing. Perhaps “Mansueto, 15 minutes (when open)”? Or “business hours?” – although Mansueto will be open when Reg Circ is open, so until 12:45 in the morning.
• How much paging do you expect each day? (At the end of the summer, we’ll have about 1.1 million volumes in Manuseto – but many will be electronically available. So some paging but not an unreasonable amount.)

Regenstein First Floor Reconfiguration

First floor café

As you know, we're putting in a new café on the first floor of Regenstein. There's a recent Maroon article about this project. The Library is participating in the Global Dining Initiative, a campus-wide integrated dining program that encompasses the dining halls, Hutch, the ARA-operated markets in Bartlett and South, and several of the campus coffee shops. The University sent out an RFP to operate all these places and has received responses from four companies (including Aramark).

We're hoping the hours of the servery portion of the café will be something close to 9am-11pm (Monday-Thursday), 9am-5pm (Friday), 11am-5pm (Saturday), and noon-11pm (Sunday) -- all during the academic year -- and to be open reduced hours during interims. We are soliciting suggestions for names -- this will be a different place than Ex Libris, so we'd like a different name.

Discussion:

• What will happen to the old Ex Libris space on the A-Level? (We're turning this into a space for the Library Book sale.)
• Will the new café be student-run? (Unclear; we haven't made this decision yet.)
• Is the Library worried about people carrying food out into the rest of Regenstein? (We aren't going to prevent people from leaving the designated area with food, but will have signs up discouraging this behavior. We're hoping people will respect our request to eat only in the café.)
  • There will be no microwave (for patron use), which hopefully will discourage people from carrying hot food into the rest of Regenstein.
  • Could the Library do an exhibit about the effect of food on books? (We'll look into this.)
  • Judi noted that during the recent uprisings in Egypt, the Library of Alexandrina wasn't harmed even though several other buildings were damaged. On campus, the new Harper space (which also has a café) is quiet and clean. We hope students will have similar respect for Regenstein space.
• Will there be a separation/partition between the café and the rest of the first floor? (Yes, similar to the glass partitions surrounding the Identity and Privileges Office near the entrance turnstiles.)
• Capacity? (Around 75.)
• Will the seating area close when the servery does? (No -- the seating area will be open building hours. There will also be vending machines in the seating area for times when the servery isn't open.)

Other reconfiguration projects on the first floor

The opening of Mansueto, the renovated Special Collections Research Center, and the new café all made us eager to redo the space in between: the center portion of the first floor. Jeffry talked about changes we would like to make:

• The number of computers will remain the same, but the PCs will be organized linearly (like the Maclab) rather in quads.
• New tables and soft seating, but we are keeping the existing sled chairs.
• There will continue to a mix of computer tables, study tables, and soft seating.
• More clusters of soft seating towards the front of the room (on the terrazo floor)
• The reference desk will move to the SW corner of the carpeting (where the "left" cluster of soft seating is now) along with all the stand-up computers
• The printers (4) will be centralized into the SE corner. The Canon service rep's desk would also be in this cluster.
• Room 160 (currently blocked up by a green wall with Mansueto renderings) would be remodeled into a service desk staffed by IT Services. Akin to Apple's "genius bar."
  • Tech support
  • Equipment checkout
  • Possibly a room for videoconferencing
  • A room adjacent for research consultations and small group work

Discussion:

• Number of computers? (No change in the total number of computers, but the new study tables will be wired for laptops.)
• Should the study tables be flat/open, or with dividers? (LSRG members were divided on this topic.)
• Could the soft seating have back support? (Possibly.)
• Will the soft seating be used since it's in such a high-traffic area? (It gets heavily used now...)
• Thumbs up to IT Services desk!

Agenda building and general comments

• Can we review results and comments from the undergrad library survey? (We hope to share more about the survey at our May meeting.)
• Overdue recalls: could we get a courtesy notification the day before a recall comes due. (We'll look into this.)
• Can ILL books be renewed online? (Yes, but you have to use your ILL account, not your regular Library account.)
  • Note that not all ILL books are renewable -- depends on what policies are set by the lending library 
• Could we have a moratorium on recalls during interims? (We'll talk about this in May.)
  • Maybe the fall quarter due date could be at the end of Autumn finals week, rather than the first week in Winter?
• "Soft" recalls -- flagging a book for whenever it's returned, rather than requiring the borrow to return the item in 7 days? (A future discussion topic.)
• One LSRG member asked if professors had immunity from recalls. (No -- they aren't excused.)
• Some LSRG members asked about Borrow Direct: at our May meeting we’ll have information about a program we are pursuing with other Midwest libraries (Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State) where we can borrow books to arrive within 4 business days.
  • Will the pilot be expanded to all CIC libraries? Nebraska? (That's the hope.)