Library Questions and Answers

Comments:
--"...secluded, sound-proof areas for groups to work are very important in my eyes."
--"There needs to be more room for group meetings other then the few rooms upstairs because they are often occupied."
--"I would like to have miniature conference rooms for group work that are easily accessible and plentiful (or if they already exist, have knowledge about where they are and how to reserve one)."
--"I think small rooms for group study would be a good idea. The ones upstairs are always taken up by a few people quietly studying so there is nothing for a group to do but disturb them or others that are studying in other parts of the library. "
--"Also, designated areas for groupwork would be helpful. It is extremely bothersome when people attempt groupwork in the common areas."
--"Separate areas where groups can meet without disturbing other students. There really is no place on Goucher (now) that students can really go; the library seems to be the most ideal and logical place."

Reply. Yikes! We know group study space is important and plan for lots of it in the new library, but have been surprised to have so many of you single it out for comment. While there's not a lot we can do in the present building, we have just created one small room downstairs -- near the copy machine in the bound periodicals room. This is definitely one area where your comments will help in our future planning.

Comments:
--"I like accessing info from my computer at school, but when I am at home for weekends or breaks, I am unable to do so. This service needs to be improved."
-- "I think the thing I would most like would be library services accessible on other parts of campus or off-campus. For example, access to the online journals that Goucher subscribes to is available in the library. Now that I live off-campus, though, I'm on campus a significantly smaller portion of the time. Having access from home or over Goucher's wireless network would be really helpful."

Reply. The Julia Rogers Library does offer remote access to our data bases! Click on the remote access instruction page for the easy instructions for configuring your home computer. On campus you don't even need to do that as access is available from any Goucher IP address. We subscribe to services that provide access to over 22,000 online titles so it's a great resource for you and we want you to make as much use of it as possible. If you have any trouble making this connection just let us know and we'll walk you through the setup.

Comments: "its pretty sad that we have tons of books published 30 years ago and nearly no new material published in the last 5."

--"Of all the things in the library, I feel like a lot of our books are out of date. It is good to have books about the Parliament in Britain but not when the book was published 20 yrs. ago."
-- "Our library's atmosphere is quite conducive for group work or quiet study, but I feel that their collection of books is lacking, particularly in fiction. The electronic journals are somewhat restricted. Overall though, I am very satisfied with the resources that the Julia Rogers library has to offer."
--"I wish it had a more recent book collection."

Reply. We do have a lot of old books, because we've been in business as a library for 115 years. Since much new knowledge builds on work that has gone before, we are fortunate to be able to provide you with historical depth in many areas. We weed no-longer-useful books periodically and are currently engaged in the college's largest ever weeding project as we prepare for our move to the Athenaeum. HOWEVER, we also have new books -- we purchase thousands of new books a year and spend almost half a million dollars annually on books, periodicals and electronic products. PLEASE: if you don't find new enough books in a particular area, stop by the reference desk and talk to the librarian. Librarians are very good at finding things and we often know a different way of looking for what you want. We also want to hear from you if there are categories where we are lacking because then we can be sure to do some targeted collection building. This is important, talk to us!

Comment. "We need access to more journals. It would also be very very very helpful if we had the full Lexis database- which can be found at http://www.nexis.com/research. This is where I get most of my information, but I had to subscribe to it!"

Reply. Please stop by the reference desk and talk to the librarian there. What we have, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, is considered the premium product. You might want to look at the page showing the features. While there are some other, specialized products, none is as comprehensive as this.

Comment."The most important thing the library needs to address is their online journal databases: they are terribly limited. While it may seem that this statement is unqualified, since we appear to subscribe to numerous online databases, the fact of the matter is that our accounts are severely limited. For example, while we have a JSTOR account (which I use frequently, if not daily), we do not have permission to access all of the journals offered by JSTOR. This presents a problem because, unlike with books (where you can submit an ILL request and have it delivered to campus), we have to leave campus and go to JHU to obtain access to certain collections. You may want to 'boo-hoo' over this, but consider the more-than-likely situation where a student wants/has to do research over a long break - well, unless they live close by, they simply cannot. The limited access is also environmentally damaging because when students can't find an article online, they resort to requesting it via ILL. The articles are photocopied (1-sided) at other institutions and sent back here. But those articles are frequently well over 25 pages. And what if the articles turn out to be lemons? All that paper goes to waste - and while we have begun to get serious about recycling (in that we now provide the appropriate bins and servicing of them), there is no guarantee that individuals are going to chose to use them. Since you have the *option* to print online journals, it almost seems more logical to stop subscribing to printed journals altogether, take that money, and put it towards full access subscriptions to the online versions."

Reply. This is an important comment with a number of elements, so I hope this response from Collection Management Librarian Barbara Snead and me gets to you! And for anyone who is reading the response, please know that we want you to talk to us about any concern like this. Either drop one of us a note or start with the reference librarian at the reference desk. If we don't have the answer, we'll find it for you.

"The only JSTOR collection we do not subscribe to is the General Science Collection (mostly history of science). When a person searches JSTOR, only collections to which we subscribe appear, so all visible issues should be accessible. If you are being denied access to an article, there may be a technical problem and we'd be glad to help you figure it out.

As for the second part -- no more paper is wasted than when an article is printed out here. And most articles have free abstracts available, so one can determine pretty well whether the article is relevant.

It would be great to have specific feedback on journal titles needed -- we can always subscribe to individual titles online (as we recently did for a faculty member regarding an Elsevier title that was not part of the Maryland Digital Library list). I'd love to talk to this person!"

Finally, regarding your last point about stopping subscriptions to printed journals: we have cancelled many titles in favor of their online equivalents. Not all journals are yet available online in a format that provides reliable access to back issues so we need to weigh a lot of factors each time we make a decision.

Comments:
--"the bean bag chair is a great addition. comfy reading spaces - especially for commuters would be much appreciated"
--"overall, JRL is a great library, but I would like more comfortable and quiet reading areas to be available."
--"You need to get more comfortable chairs"
--"One reason I don't come to the library as often is because I dread sitting on a wooden chair for hours at a time. The few sofas we have are really nice, but not always available. Little love seats/armchairs with mobile 'card tables' (on which to write) would be wonderful."
--"comfortable couches would be nice"
--"i would like to see really comfortable study areas in the new library. that giant beanbag is pretty opportune. maybe a beanbag study room? yeah, that would rule! Comment. More couches would be nice."

Reply. Okay, we hear you! A lot of our furniture has held up beautifully since it was purchased for the new library in 1952 or the most recent addition in 1968. Perhaps too beautifully because we've postponed replacing it until it can be done as part of the budget for the new library. I hope you've noticed the new upholstery on much of the soft furniture, made possible by a special donation. What we're also doing right now is adding many more pillows and floor pillows. And we're trying to find spots for more beanbag-type corners.

Nancy Magnuson, college librarian
Julia Rogers Library Goucher College
1021 Dulaney Valley Road Baltimore MD 21204
410 337-6364 fax 410 337-6419
nmagnuso@goucher.edu