© 2012 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
I noticed the new printers today, and was excited until I discovered that I cannot print at the library under the new configuration. I'm not enrolled at Tech for the current semester, and as a result, my Hokie Passport is inactive.
Is there a timeframe for implementation of a patron card? In the interim, is there any way to setup a single computer for public printing use? Any information would be appreciated.
We expect the new patron copy cards to be at the library and available for purchase by the end of Monday (Jan.23).
Thanks,
Brenda Pratt
Head of Circulation
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If you still have a Hokie Passport, you should be able to add funds to it using the cash to card machine on the 2nd floor in front of the circulation desk, even if you are not a current student. (If that doesn't work, please write back to me and I'll investigate that aspect further).
We are supposed to be getting generic cards from the Hokie Passport office for use by non-VT patrons, but they have not yet been delivered, and I'm not sure what the time frame for that is (but we're supposed to hear very soon.)
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Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
I am looking for the 2005 Standard & Poors industry surveys. Where can I find that online? Please advise.
We have the electronic Standard & Poors Industry Surveys: netAdvantage, which has older industry surveys archived back to 1999. If you go to this page, you will see a link to connect to the database under the Connect to section. Once you click and enter the database, select Industries in the blue bar at top. Then you can choose the name of your industry. Once you do that, you are offered a pull-down menu under Archived Surveys to select the date that you wish to view.
Please email me if I can help further.
Ellen Krupar
College Librarian for Business
Like all of our online databases, you can find the link to Standard and Poor's through the Databases tab on the home page. Simply search "standard and poor's"
You'll see we have all of these publication online back to 1999 (once you reach the S&P home page, look for the "Select year and issue" pop up menu on the right side).
Be sure to use Off Campus Sign In when not on the campus network before accessing this restricted resource.
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Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
1. The new printing system is terrible. Go back to the where we can pay with cash.
2. Please offer a way to pay for printing in cash, not just the Hokie Passport.
We apologize for any inconvenience this new system has caused you. However, we felt the benefits far outweighed any negative impact. We have set up a system so you can apply cash to a card to utilize the services regardless of your patron status. Because of the change we now have wireless printing capabilities and we are now able to give patrons the ability to print during any time the library is open in our new 24/5 environment. Thank you for your feedback on the new system. We hope you continue to utilize our services here in the library.
Charla Lancaster
Director, Assessment and Access Services
University Library
Recently, I stopped at the circulation desk to ask about the new printing procedures. The person I spoke to was EXTREMELY rude. Though there were instructions posted, I wanted to make a further clarification, but he refused to even listen to my question, and instead simply told me to check the board even though I tried to make it clear that the answer to my question was not available on the board. I understand that those who work at the circulation desk probably fielded a LOT of questions about the new procedures, and could be frustrated by the repetitiveness of the inquiries, but I found his tone and attitude entirely disrespectful and inappropriate. This is not the first time I have been offended by an interaction with a member of your staff, but certainly the most potent. I don't know the employee's name and I don't wish to punish him personally; I just want to express my desire for your employees as a whole to adopt a more congenial attitude towards students, which would improve the overall environment of the library and make it a more welcoming place for everyone to employ.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, I have taken care of this.
Brenda Pratt
Head of Circulation Services
My name is [redacted], and I am a grad student at the University of Mary Washington (UMW); I am currently working an externship with an assigned task to find Digital Signature policies that UMW can pattern its Digital Signature policy after. Would I be able to view a copy of your digital signature policy? I am trying to get security policies from neighboring universities to present in my externship presentation.
Please let me know as I only have sixteen weeks to complete this task.
To the best of my knowledge, the university does not have a digital signature policy beyond that established in federal law. All our policies can be found at (http://www.policies.vt.edu/index.php), and the one listed there specifically about signature is just who responsible for signing what. There is a pilot project to allow digital signatures in the leave report process, though the library is not participating.
Please note: In the future, when requesting this kind of information, if you want a response, you should provide your email address.
Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
Requests to purchase the following movies:
1. Bring it on. (three suggestions)
Thank you for your suggestion. In the past, we have had a budget for purchasing popular materials. However, those funds have been used up and we are not in a position to purchase this title. We recommend contacting the public library, as this would be very appropriate for their collection.
2. love the DVD section. Please don't forget to keep adding to it.
We're so glad that you are enjoying the DVD collection. We are continuously purchasing new items for the collection, however recent purchasing efforts have been focused on films that are usable in an academic as well as an entertainment setting in order to maximize our DVD budget. We will continue to build a collection of high quality DVDs and we welcome any suggestions you may have.
Jennifer Nardine,
Film Bibliographer
Research & Instructional Services
1) You should make more grilled cheese sandwiches during the night hours, maybe every other week or something. I thought the idea was great ! More than half the time I skip meals to study and it's helpful when food is right there, and motivating!
2) I think you should bring back the free grilled cheese sandwiches. It was so convenient during finals but it would be even better to bring it back possibly during the weeks when most students have exams. A lot of times I end up skipping meals to study so it was so helpful when food and beverages were right there. By the way, I'm so happy that the library is opened 24/5!! I come here all the time! Great job!
Dear Grillcheesers,
The "Say Cheese in the library" event was a ton of fun for our staff volunteers and a great way to get to know students better! As a mom of 5 kids, three of which are in college, I know that meals are skipped during finals so thought this would be a good idea. I am so pleased to hear from people and appreciate you taking a moment to go on our website and give the feedback. You and other students giving us feedback is exactly what led to getting a budget for grill cheese and coffee again! We will be cranking up the griddles on the first night of finals this spring and running it each night before finals.
We made 1,649 last December! Keep your comments coming and encourage your friends to do the same.
Therese Walters
Event and Community Relations Coordinator
University Libraries
1. Please fix the blinds on the 4th floor, fourth from the right past the group study rooms.
2.The heater under that window is very loud and distracting.
3. Softer lights around the couches
4. Less single desks and more tables.
Thank you for your suggestions. You will be glad to know that the Library Administration is planning for a major reconfiguration of the second and fourth floors, that will include major renovations, as well increased group study and private study areas. Please bare with us, as we are just in the study phase of this project.
Buddy Litchfield
Va. Tech Libraries
Have some time limit for the people who work in the Group Study rooms.
Thank you for your suggestion, and we understand for frustration with not being able to use one of our four group study rooms when you need to. We do have a policy in place, posted on the walls by each room, that states that the rooms are for groups of 3 or more, and we will ask smaller groups to vacate, if a group of 3 or more request to use the room. We also know from experience that if we set up some kind sign up sheet, that groups of 4 will each sign up for a block of time, and hog the room anyway. Plus we don't like the idea of ejecting a group from the rooms when they are not finished with what ever they are discussing. Our long term solution is to add more group study areas to the Library, which we hope to start working on in the very near future.
Buddy Litchfield
Va. Tech Libraries
Have a longer checkout time for DVDs. A week would be much better than 3 days. Thank you.
While we would love to accommodate a longer loan period on DVD's, it is a highly used collection with a quick turn-around time of usage. The shorter amount of time allows for more patrons to have access to the materials.
Thank you for your feedback and continued patronage.
Best,
Charla Lancaster
Director, Assessment and Access Services
Printing one sided is 10c, printing double sided is 20c, Why is there no incentive to save paper, by giving a discount to those who print double sided?
While you have made an excellent point, the printing software does not allow us to discount printing in such a manner. There is still machine and toner usage for the printing transaction and therefore a charge, regardless of the added benefit that we are saving paper. Do know that other places on campus have already raised their prices to 15 cents per page. Please know we are doing our best to keep costs low. We appreciate your feedback and continued patronage.
Thanks!
Charla Lancaster
Director, Assessment and Access Services
More Nabokov.
Thank you for your suggestion, but you need to be more specific. We have about 10 to 15 authors in our collection with that last name. If you could tell us the full name of the author you are referring to, we could look into buying more of his titles for the Library. Better yet, if you have specific titles that you want us to purchase please use the book suggestion form to let us know what they are.
Thank you for your suggestion.
Buddy Litchfield
Va. Tech Libraries
Please procure more copies of the Virgin Suicides.
Thank you for your suggestion. I have ordered another copy of the Virgin Suicides.
Paul Metz
Librarian for English Language and Literature.
Please get a better pencil sharpener at the 1st floor help desk.
Thank you for your suggestion. I have asked that that they upgrade the pencil sharpener at that desk.
Buddy Litchfield
Va. Tech Libraries
I'm having trouble with the Off Campus Sign in. It appears that the link is broken because I get directed to a page that says "oops that page cannot be found". I am not sure if it's somehow my computer, but I wanted you to be aware of it so you can fix it if the problem is on your end. Thank you.
This is usually a sign that a firewall is blocking access to the "ports" used by Off Campus Sign In (OCSI). See our OCSI FAQ for details on diagnosing the problem.
Note: Include your email address in future notes to ensure a prompt reply.
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Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
The eBook link of the following book does not work. Name of the book: Aeronomy of the middle atmosphere: chemistry and physics of the stratosphere and mesosphere.
Thanks!
The entire EBSCO set of websites is offline right now. We are in contact with the company and expect their pages (and this ebook) to come back online soon.
Don't hesitate to use Ask a Librarian (linked on every library web page) to report problems like this.
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Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
I had trouble logging into the proxy from off campus for the last two days. I used the Ask a Librarian service, I emailed and called the Distance Librarian. I read the FAQs. It would've been helpful is someone would have followed up with me via phone or offered more advanced than "don't use your student ID" and "I see that you logged in as recently as yesterday." I still can't log in and now have to come to campus to access the databases. I'm disappointed in this level of customer service.
Hello,
Sorry to hear you are still having problems. I see you were able to successfully connect today at 4:38pm and use www.oxforddnb.com. I do not see anymore connection attempts (successful or otherwise) after 4:38pm.
2012-03-27 16:38:39 Login.Success [login name and IP information redacted]
Please contact me if you are still having connection problems.
Beth Lancaster
540 231-4041
Could the library please be cleaned? This place is becoming a dump! With all the cups, takeout containers, and filthy floors, its now a disgusting place to study.
Housekeeping in the Library falls under the responsibility of the VT Facilities Department. We've met with the Director for Custodial Services, Mr. Wyatt Sasser, and we've met with the Director of Facilities Operations, Mr. Mark Helms, to discuss this unfortunate situation in the Library and we are still eagerly awaiting their response and solution.
Regards,
Dennis Herron
Purchasing-Facility Manager
University Libraries
What are the hours for Newman Library for Easter Sunday or is it closed?
We are open on Sunday morning at 9:00am.
Thanks!
Charla Lancaster
Director of Access Services and Assessment
For the most part, the pc's available for general use in the library work very well. The speed is good and the network connections are good.
The problem is that, in some ways, they are not configured for users they are configured for the preferences of IT managers (or for some other group, I can't quite tell).
Some examples:
- right click features disabled or non-functional on most stations
- if uploading multiple attachments to email, or calling up a file menu the system returns the menu to default (usually firefox files) rather than leaving it at the last path/destination.
- as far as I can tell, there is no access to EndNote on these stations - I have tried to use it multiple times but the operating system does not show it as available.
When conducting extensive research, these little things add up - quickly - and it can be very frustrating. It would be helpful if the stations were configured more in favor of users than the default settings or odd elimination of options. I realize that some of this may be, arguably, about security settings but I have seen user-preferred secure settings at various other campuses and I hope that some of these features can be modified.
Thanks for considering this!
Hi,
Right click features are disabled on all public workstations, but are allowed within the browsers. We disallow right clicking in general to protect public machines from being compromised.
To address the uploading issue, we have tested this, If you use webmail.vt.edu, it will open to the desktop. If another mail client is used, ie msn, yahoo etc. may open the default in a different location, BUT it should remember the path. We don't set that on our machines.
We are investigating moving all campus licensed software normally used in campus computer labs by students to our public workstations. We hope to began deployment as soon as all security, access and compatibility with anonymous access pcs have been resolved. Look for this software soon, Endnote is among some of the first applications to be deployed. We are also looking to add a variety of public workstations in the libraries to address some of these issues as well, such as better functionality and maybe more unsecured access but better authorized access.
The one thing that prohibits more friendly user access is the fact that these machines are anonymous access. If we employed some kind of login then a lot of these issues that we employ to secure machines could be alleviated. But for now the Libraries position is to offer machines whose users are unknown to it, sort of like your ability to enter the library anonymously and browse the stacks and materials anonymously. In this digital age we are attempting to mimic this freedom.
If you have more questions or suggestions please don't hesitate to send them along. If you believe that a public machine is behaving abnormally, please report the problem to one of the public desks, giving the machine name located on the monitor of the workstation, and the date, time and the problem that is occurring. Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
Have a nice day!
Curtis D. Carr
Director Library Systems
The copies should be cheaper and scanning free.
Thank you so much for your comments concerning copies and scanning. The library is currently below cost in comparison to other places on campus for printing. We do try very hard to keep prices low. Unfortunately, we must pay for equipment, personnel, and supplies in order to provide these services to you. I am more than happy to speak with you about this or any other concerns you might have. Thank you again for your feedback.
Charla Lancaster
Director of Assessment and Library Access Services
Have both entrances to Greenberry’s open.
I too wish that we could have both entrances to Greenberry’s open! Unfortunately, we have several problems that come with that service. As always, cost is a factor to have any additional entrance open and available in the library. Monitoring of the doors, security to materials, as well as equipment purchases all play a part in such decisions. I am more than happy to speak with you about this or any other concerns you might have. We value the feedback you provide to us as we continue to make improvements to the library.
Thank you!
Charla Lancaster
Director of Assessment and Library Access Services
Hi, I have two usability suggestions for the Library website:
1) Allow searching by abbreviated journal names (e.g., Accid. Anal. Prev.) and acronyms under the 'Journal' tab on the Library homepage. I have seen this option available on other library search engines (e.g., Cornell University's), and I find it far more useful than the 'title begins with' search option. Some paper's citations style is with abbreviated journal names, and it is also much faster to type an acronym you know already than to figure out exactly what the letters stand for (association of agricultural ...? american association of ...? agricultural association of ...? association of american ...?). As my tongue-in-cheek example illustrates, sometimes it's difficult to know what order the words in the title are, which is why the 'title begins with' search option is particularly tough. 'title equals' and 'title includes ALL words' (emphasis added) are both even harder.
2) Provide option to download citation for an individual Addison entry in more than just EndNote format. I personally use BibTeX exclusively.
1) The Journal Title Search box is run by a third party we contract with. While well established journal title abbreviations like JAMA are searchable, each abbreviation would have to be added to a journal record, and while ISI/Web of Science has attempted to standardize journal abbreviations, there are several different organizations/publishers that determine what abbreviations should be used, resulting in multiple abbreviations need to be added for each journal.
Actually, the search options can be used quite effectively. If you know the first words in your journal title, you don't have to enter the entire title in the Title Starts With example. If you are not sure of things like prepositions in the title, the Title Includes ALL Words option is great: just enter the main words in the title, and again, you don't have to enter every word. Title equal is great for short titles like Science or Time where you'll get irrelevant results with the other options.
I will explore adding links to our abbreviation sources to this search box to make it easier to expand titles. You can also use Ask a Librarian for assistance in looking up a title by abbreviation--we have several sources for these in print at the reference desks.
2) The Export to EndNote option in the External Links box on Addison screens is a service from WorldCat (they also offer export to RefWorks and EasyBib). Marking a record to add it to a list allows exporting to EndNote, Refworks, and Pro-Cite. I can look to see if BibTex offers a similar service that we can add to the catalog; let me know if you are aware of one. There are utilities to convert the RIS format used by EndNote and many other bibliographic manager software to the format used by BibTex (http://sourceforge.net/p/bibutils/home/Bibutils/)
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Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
This is an ordinary Hokie who has been thinking of writing to express my thanks to all your terrific work for a long time.
Now it's the end of this semester and what you have done this semester is pretty impressive, courteous, and wonderful! I even guess you might have a new president or leader, if not, why are there this many perfect changes this semester?
1. You decide to open the main library 24 hours from Sun. to Thur., which is pretty convenient for all those undergraduates and graduates. My friends from other universities said their libraries open 24 hours several years ago. Until the day you opened 24 hours did I realize how could this benefit us greatly.
2. This semester more and more students walk into Newman to study, discuss, or search. Whenever possible, I saw you staff set new chairs and desks everywhere. That is really really nice and courteous. The sight is touching. Thank you all.
3. When I left the library at around 2 a.m., I saw a patroit security and a library stuff talking at the circulation desk. I felt safe, comfortable, and home-like here in the library. If the staff is sleepy, I don't think it's necessary for them to stay here all night long coz we don't borrow books from 12:00 to 6:00 a.m. They deserve a perfect sleep and dream.
At last, I can only say "Thank you so much"!
We are so happy that you have been able to benefit from all the changes in the library. We have indeed changed administration in the last year or so. Tyler Walter became dean of the Newman Library in March of 2011. Under his leadership the Newman Library has been able to move forward in many areas. We are growing in areas of digital scholarship, new services, as well as creating collaborative opportunities across campus that also benefit the Virginia Tech community. Please continue to provide us feedback on how we are doing. We take comments very seriously and are working in an environment of continuous improvement.
Best,
Charla Lancaster
Director of Assessment and Library Access Services
It is really annoying how it automatically prints on both sides, I understand that you are trying to help the environment. However, it (a) was never posted anywhere so we all get to learn the hard way that the printers print on both sides and (b) doesn't change the price at all for the student. If you are saving money on printing back to back shouldn't we see some of that? Some of my professors don't accept things on both sides as it appears unprofessional and I just wasted money and paper on a 30 pages (aka $3) in what is now an unprofessional looking paper... You really should make us aware and give some benefit to printing on both sides if you are going to make it the default!
Hi. Thank you for your comment.
I am sorry that you were not aware that 2-side printing is now the default. It has been that way since our conversion to the new printing system. It was determined that a very large majority of our users preferred to have 2-sided printing.
The default settings are stated at each of the public computer terminals, on the message boards at the printers themselves and is the very first statement on the "How to Print in the Library" web page. http://www.lib.vt.edu/photocopy/printing.html
To your point concerning the price: we are using less paper, but paper is only one portion of the costs. These savings allow us to keep our prices low.
Again, I am sorry that you were not aware of the changes. If you would forward your ID number to me or stop by the Circulation desk, I will be glad to credit you $3.00.
Mark Robertson
Manager, Library Auxiliary Services
Hey,
How do I pay my library fees remotely. Where can I send a check? Or is there a way to charge my Hokie passport and pay the money that way.
You can't pay online, but you could mail a check. (http://www.lib.vt.edu/circ-reserve/fines.html)
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Robert Sebek
Webmaster, Virginia Tech Libraries
I am an employee and I was interested in reserving a video for a staff training I am conducting. I called the circulation desk because I have only done this once and the person I talked to was very rude and demanded to know what I wanted the video for. This left me somewhat taken aback. He did not help me at all. So I remembered I knew someone in Binding and Preservation so I called the number listed in the VT DIRECTORY under her name and "Deborah" answered the phone and told me I was not to call this person on that line, she wanted to know who I was and what I wanted and I told her I was calling from another office and she HUNG UP ON ME!!!! The video I wanted to borrow was on customer service! You might want to do a customer service training of your own. I would fire any one of my staff who EVER talked to someone in the tone of voice in which these two people talked to me much less hung up on someone. I hope all your staff isn't like this.
I'm very sorry for the treatment you received, this is not what we in the library accept for customer service. I will help you reserve the materials you need and will address the staff issue in my area. I have also passed this note on to Leslie O'Brien, Director of Technical Services, so that the other part of the poor service you received can be addressed by her units as well.
Thanks,
Brenda Pratt
Head of Circulation Services
Please program all the library request and response forms to send a copy to the email we entered on the form. that will give us a record of the communication.
I've never understood why this is so ignored by programmers who prepare these forms, or by the various offices who request that they be prepared. If your software package can't do it, get another software package. beyond the above, it seems a simple matter of courtesy.
Thanks for your consideration!
The reason I don't do that on our service forms is to stop them from sending spam. If the form sent an email to whatever address was typed in (in addition to the hard-coded address), then anyone could use the form to send an email to anyone using our servers, which would quickly result in them getting blocked by other ISPs or completely cut off from the network by CNS. That's pretty standard with online forms, unless the force you to log in before you can submit the form. Since most of our forms can also be used by our community patrons, there's no easy way to hide them behind some kind of authentication.
I do try to present the submitted data on a result screen whenever possible so you can see what's getting emailed to us.
Robert Sebek
Webmaster, University Libraries
Let us know how we're doing. This is your library, how can we serve you better? We'd like your input to help make the library a better resource by shaping the collections, resources, services, and any other areas of the library to better fit your needs. Here are ways you can let us know what you think:
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