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OMG! Like, the 2nd floor of the library is awesome! It’s so warm, welcoming pleasant, it’s like Tellytubby World!

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Eh-oh. Big hug.

Comment
The silent floor is often not silent at all. I am on it now and someone just took a phone call, while a hundred feet away a sorority seems to be having some sort of “study” session, where I believe little studying to be happening. Why don’t you have some sort of enforcement system in place? Just send someone up here every hour that asks people to be quiet. There are so many other floors for people who want to whisper to their friends while they work; there is only one floor for people who don’t want to hear that. So could you try harder to keep it that way?

Reply
First, for noise problems, always contact the library monitors immediately through http://www.american.edu/library/services/infodesk.cfm
where you can chat online with a monitor. Whenever the building is open, that chat service is available. We are sorry you were disturbed. We do have an enforcement system in place At least once per hour, a library monitor visits the floor. Your message has prompted us, however, to consider more frequent visits to the floor. We would even consider having someone there full-time, but 1) someone continuously walking around during evening peak period would also be disruptive and 2)the library is not a junior high study hall, and we expect AU students to be respectful and considerate towards each other. So, people please! The silent floor is meant to be the silent floor. We are not kidding about the name. You and your friends are not the exception to the rule. Go to the Mud Box which is designated for “lively conversation.” Please?

Comment
create an easy search box for book here on campus. finding books at other schools doesnt really help me

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Any time you search the Catalog, you can limit to AU. Just open the drop down box below “Limit by location,” and you can restrict to AU with only one extra click. Easy-peasy, right?

Comment
Hi library folks! Love you guys, love what you do. This is actually a website comment. I think the hours should be on the front page. Also, this came to me when I was helping a student who hasn’t done a lot of research: many people don’t know the different between a catalog and a database, or which one they want to use if they need to find something tangibly in the library. There are so many links on the homepage, and the “important” ones are weighted the same as those that most casual users wouldn’t need, based on their placement/size. It would be great if there were a search box for AU library holdings right there on the front page, a quick-search that comprises media, books and periodicals.

Reply
Dear awesome person, your message is very perceptive, and we are not just saying that ‘cause you love us. We also recognize that we have lots of competing resources on the valuable real estate that is the library home page. We have reinvented the website many times and tried to improve it each time, most recently to conform with the university’s new web “content management system.” If you look at some other AU sites, the College of Arts and Sciences or the School of International Service, for instance, you will see the common framework that we are using. We have a special challenge though because the library offers so much that is useful—at least we like to think so—and we have to make hard decisions about the weighting and placement of links and information as you observed. In your reference to hours, you are probably referring to the main building hours, but we have lots of other specific hours to report as well, and it takes a fair amount of space. We also agree with you that the lines between databases and catalogs have become quite blurred and that a catalog is really just another type of database, right? Catalog, of course, is a holdover word from the pre-computer age. We did some blurring of the kind you describe when after very careful consideration, we implemented “SearchBox,” a google-type search that covered the catalog, many of the databases, and more. We launched SearchBox in fall, 2010, and placed it in a prominent position on the library home page. After a year of use and feedback from students and faculty and very careful consideration, we took it off the home page and placed it under the Articles link which you now see near the top left. So we have tried the SearchBox approach once and may try it again in the future as the service becomes even more sophisticated. We are actually studying the website now, particularly the home page, by using some student focus groups to give us more feedback, so you may see some changes by next fall. Please keep these helpful ideas and observations coming. Love, your library.

Comment:
I was just kicked out of the “no computer use” study room on the Silent second floor for, you guessed it, using my computer. Why does this room exist? Specifically, why is the “no computer use” enforced when one is silently doing their work while other students in the other study rooms are so loud they detract from other library goers? This “patrolling” of the library does not
make sense, nor does it encourage an environment conducive for learning. The only enforcement should be of noise levels, as that is something that can distract from everyone. Not one individual quietly studying on their personal laptop.

Reply:
The library is sorry that you felt inconvenienced. It may be helpful to know that we also get complaints from people who want to use that room, but are disturbed by others who are violating the policy for the room and using laptops. Here’s some background information from one of our most experienced monitors:
• There are eight “no computer use” signs posted for the 13′ x 17′ room #211, including one that is on the outside of the door to warn users before they enter. The policy is very clearly indicated.
• The library has had a “no computer use” room for many years. Prior to 2004, it was the Third Floor Graduate Study room #321. From spring 2004 – spring 2011, it was located in room #214. Beginning in fall 2011, it was moved to room #211. In each case, the “no computer use” designation has been assigned to a progressively smaller area, so very limited space is devoted to “no computer use.”
• Last spring, we posted signs in the previous “no computer use” room #214 warning users that it would soon be converted to group study space. We received feedback from a small but vocal group requesting that we preserve some quiet study space that is computer-free. Moving the “no computer” space from the much larger room #214 to room #211 was done to accommodate their needs.
• Room #211 is one of only a few computer-free spaces on campus – there’s a Buddhist chanting/meditation room and a Muslim prayer room in the Kay Center, but not much else.
.• We are considering removing the tables from room #211 and placing them in another part of the library where they would get more use and laptop’s are permitted. In their place, we are planning to put individual study carrels. That may deter people from engaging in group study or laptop use in room #211.

Comment:
The library should allow students to check out laptops/computers for more than four hours at a time. For those of us who have multiple classes back-to-back on some days, it’s incredibly difficult to get them turned in on time.

Reply:
Your solution is renewal. As long as there is no waiting list, you can renew in person, by calling 202-885-3229, emailing autechservices@gmail.com, and through Google Chat at autechservices. You can have unlimited renewals—again if there’s no waiting list without returning to the Technology Services desk unless you have a laptop overnight which means you must renew it in person at the desk at 8 am. P.S. The library reminds everyone that the laptops are available to support student computer needs not replace them.