LibQual+ up and running!

The biennial LibQual+ is off to a great start. Sixty-five people responded on the first day of the survey, which I believe sets a record for us for initial response. Thanks to all who made comments telling us how much you appreciate the library staff and our services. I'll share all of your comments with the library staff.

I want to respond to some comments that were made on LibQual+ Day 1:

1. There is not a lot of resources for mass communication in the actual library. There are research journals avaiable online, but nothing at the library. There should be a mass communcation section just like there is a music and lit. There could be documentaries, historcial broadcasting and jouirnalism information.

Hmmm. I wonder what this person has been looking for? We don't have a separate section for mass communication (or for music and literature, for that matter). The Library of Congress call number system, however, does pull literature and music resources together better than some other disciplines. Mass Com resources get divided into several call number ranges. What is really happening here, I think, is that the library catalog isn't directing this person as well as it could. We're continuing to explore ways to make the catalog more user friendly.

2. JSTOR would be such a HUGE asset and help

We're hoping to be able to addd JSTOR before the 2007/2008 academic year. Stay tuned!

3. The library could use new computers on the first floor area. Some of the keyboards have letter keys that do not work or that have the letters worn off of them.

We're plannning to update some of these computers over the summer, and will replace all of them as quickly as we can.

4. While I think all the other library resources are great and very well organized, the music scores section is kind of a disaster and very difficult to navigate. If that were more organized my life (and the lives of other music majors) would be much easier. =)

We know the scores are in bad shape, and we're plugging away at getting them better organized. What you may not realize is that every time a score gets checked out, we send it back to our Catalogers so that it can be officially cataloged. We are also working with the Music Department faculty to identify scores that need to be replaced. It's a slow process, and we know it's frustrating. If you're having difficulty locating a score, ask one of the Librarians for help. Jason Cooper, our Technical Services Librarian, is particularly knowledgeable in this area.

Stay tuned for additional comments from LibQual+!