| Personal Control | Comment/Response | Status | Discipline | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It is now quite difficult and time-consuming to search for media materials through Addison. | There are some tips for search for media materials in Addison and personnel at the Reference Desk can help you with those. In addition, we feel that our next integrated library system will allow us to replicate some of the CAM database features without the need to maintain a separate database. | Grad | arch | female |
| It would be great if there were more PCs available for public use in the Library and on the Bridge. | The public machines in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| The only real fault I have with the library is the difficulty that inevitably occurs in trying to access online resources from off-campus. | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. In addition, Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu), our Distance Ed librarian, is available to help you troubleshoot and problems you might encounter. | Grad | psych | female |
| As a remote library user, the Northern Virginia facility provides an excellent compromise between a large library facility such as is at Blacksburg and an electronic access facility. | That's exactly the environment that we're trying to provide at the Northern Virginia facility and are delighted that you are pleased with the balance of services that is provided. | Grad | psych | male |
| 1) inability to access library databases (e.g., via proxy) off-campus (thereby hindering research except during hours when the library is open); | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. We hope that is going to alleviate some of the problems people were having with our proxy server. In addition, Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu), our Distance Ed librarian, is available to help you troubleshoot any problems you might encounter. | Grad | vet med | female |
| 2) strange web site design (difficult to navigate). | Our new web site design, unveiled in August, was streamlined in response to both usability studies and focus group reports. We hope you find it easier to navigate, but are also always willing to hear suggestions for improvements. | Grad | vet med | female |
| I have been extremely disappointed with the library as a resource nearly every time I have attempted to use it as one. It is much more efficient and user friendly to get information and resources online. | We try to provide a balance between in-person support and remote access and are sorry that you are disappointed with the library as a resource. If there are specific problems you would like me to try to address, please don't hesitate to contact me. ( Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu) | UGrad | business | male |
| Better webpage | Our new web site design, unveiled in August, was streamlined in response to both usability studies and focus group reports. We hope you find it easier to navigate, but are also always willing to hear suggestions for improvements. | UGrad | psych | male |
| since I am an off campus user, I greatly appreciate the assistance of "Ask the librarian" and the specialty librarian in my field. | We are particularly sensitive to the needs of our off campus users and have tried to provide them with several different kinds of assistance. I'm delighted that you're finding these two useful. | Grad | psych | female |
| More computers on the higher floors. | We have distributed the computers throughout the library based on traffic patterns and high use of collection areas. We centralize more computers at service points in order for people to have easy access to assistance. | UGrad | Eng/CS | male |
| The online library access is difficult to obtain from remote locations. I just signed up for Henrico County's online access and it was incredibly easy and effective. I didn't really have an opinion about the VT library online access until I realized how well the county government could handle it compared to VT. | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. In addition, Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu), our Distance Ed librarian, is available to help you troubleshoot and problems you might encounter. | Grad | business | female |
| The people working in the library are very nice, but the issue is the ease of access of date on the web and the availability of it. Recently I had to seek many articles and it was worse than pulling teeth, with all the help that was provided to me. | We unveiled our new website in August, which we hope will make accessing our data easier for you. In addition we recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. I hope that the next time you need many articles you'll find the process a bit easier, but if not please don't hesitate to contact me ( Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu) with suggestions for improvements. | Grad | education | female |
| It should be easier for me to look up what I need on my own | We unveiled our new website in August, which we hope will make it easier for you to find what you need on your own. | Grad | arch | female |
| you need to update the software on the computers for printing its use word 97 and that messes the format we have cause no one use word97 | We replaced most of the public computers this summer with new software. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| resource online searching can be somewhat confusing at times | You're absolutely right! We've redesigned our website, hoping to make it easier for people to find things. However, if you continue to feel confused please contact your College Librarian or personnel at the reference desk for assistance. And do keep in mind our "Ask the Librarian services," where you can also use either email or chat to get help. | UGrad | Eng/CS | male |
| I think that the library would benefit from the updating their website | We unveiled our new website in August. The redesign was based on usability studies and on focus group responses and we hope you find it more user-friendly. | Grad | agriculture | female |
| I also would prefer the EndNote or some kind of reference manager to be present on the Torgersen Bridge computers. | The Torgersen Bridge computers are managed by another department. You should contact Rob Grant (robgrant@vt.edu) and talk with him about the software on those computers. (The library does offer EndNote classes through FDI, if you're interested in those details are at http://www.fdi.vt.edu.) | Grad | agriculture | female |
| The library resources are great, but it is difficult to navigate my way through the different floors, especially with the lack of customer service. | Newman Library can be confusing! We are in the process of reviewing our signage and our maps and hope to make improvements in the coming months. In addition, we are asking librarians to leave their doors open when they are available to provide assistance, so please don't hesitate to ask for help. We are committed to providing a high level of service to our users. | Grad | agriculture | female |
| My feeling is that remote use of the library is becoming more typical than going to the library, at least in my discipline/profession. The most up to date sources are the most important and these are electronic. | Though we have an increasing number of resources available electronically, there are still reasons to come into the library! In addition to people who are available to assist you, there are a number of resources that are only available in paper. But we are delighted that you're finding most of what you need electronically. We agree re e-resources and have made this our highest priority. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| Also, I think it should be relatively easy to figure out who to ask questions related to a particular journal or electronic media, because, half the time, the website takes me to some location that is not useful in downloading the information I am looking for. | First, we have just recently worked on our website and I hope you will find the design more useful to you. But when you have difficulty please don't hesitate to contact someone in the library, either in person at our reference desks or by contacting your College Librarian, or via our email or chat "Ask A Librarian services." | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| the web page access is cumbersome and not very user friendly for research retrieval. | We have recently unveiled our redesigned web page and hope that you will find it more user friendly. We conducted usability studies and focus groups in order to try to respond to our users' needs. | Grad | business | female |
| My biggest concerns are about getting information electronically and remotely. I feel that I should be able to get the majority of journal and conference articles I need in off site and in electronic form. Currently the VT library website is marginal at best (I know there is a redesign going on currently, so hopefully this will be addressed soon). | We have recently unveiled our redesigned web page and hope that you will find it more user friendly. In addition, we have started using EZProxy to provide users with remote access to our resources so hope that this will also improve your ability to get information remotely and electronically. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| It would be nice if there were more computers around the copy machines. And the passport money system with the copying machines should be improved so that it does not have to be used only in the library. What about a copy machine on each floor? That would really help to improve efficiency. | 1) We have placed more computers on the 4th floor near the Photocopy Service area. 2) This fall we will implement the use of the Hokie Passport to pay for copying service and library fines. 3) Maintaining copy machines on every floor is difficult from a maintenance point of view. Last year, we consolidated the copiers on 4th floor to improve this situation. We think the trade off has worked based on other feedback we have gotten. For your convenience, books trucks are available at the Photocopy Service area if you are planning to pull a large number of items from the stacks to copy. Our pricing structure is based on the need to fully recovery monies to run the photocopy services and compares favorably to commercial costs in the Blacksburg area. | Grad | psych | female |
| My biggest complaint about the library at VA Tech is that nearly every computer there is a Mac. There are four PCs available that are almost always in use. When one needs to use a library computer for word processing or to print off documents, it seems there are usually only Macs available. | You'll find that during the summer we replaced all the public machines with new PCs. | UGrad | agriculture | female |
| It would be nice if there were easily available (library website, pamphlet, etc.) information on how the library decides which books, videos, and CDs to acquire and which journals and publications to subscribe to. What is the library’s budget for obtaining new resources? Can users provide input or recommendations for new material? | Our collection development policies can be found under "Services A-Z," letter "c" for collections. The budget for new and old resources is $5.8 million, at least a million less than we need. Suggestions for new acquisitions are always welcome -- click "forms," also under "Services" on the home page. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| I think the library could improve its online services. The book search is very slow and the descriptions are inadequate. The books need to be listed by subject when I do my search or include a brief explanation of what the book contains. I want to know what the book includes besides just who wrote it, when, and the title. I want more details before I find the book on the shelf and discover it is not what I'm looking for. | Online book stores have certainly raised expectations of users, so it is not surprising that library catalogs sometimes seem inadequate. Online bookstores are out to make a profit, so it is worthwhile for them to spend the money to add information that makes their products more attractive to customers. Cataloging is a very expensive function, and libraries are constantly struggling to provide full and complete bibliographic information at a reasonable cost. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| the only complaint I would have is that the photocopy machines are ancient. you can't feed multiple pages into them. also need scanners for students use in the library. | We do not have copiers for feeding multi-pages. Our copiers are set up to do the most common type of copying which is primarily copying pages from books and journals. For specialized copying services such as fast speed copying, copy centers on campus as well as commercial copy businesses provide that type of service. Scanning service is available in the computer labs located throughout campus and the library does not duplicate this service. | Grad | psych | male |
| On the few occasions that I have attempted to use library materials over the Internet, I have found it easier to locate information using other sources (search engines, for example). | We recently redesigned our website, making changes based on results from usability studies and focus group sessions. I hope you'll try accessing our materials through the new site -- and please let me know if you have suggestions for specific changes that would improve your ability to get to library materials. (Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu) | Grad | education | male |
| a redesign of the webpage would be a good start - I shouldn't have to go through 3 different pages just to get to the library catalog. Any chance of upgrading the macs in the library to an OS that supports the use of USB storage devices (flash memory keys)? | We have just redesigned our website and you can search the library catalog from the home page. As for computer upgrades, we have just replaced the Macs with PCs, and there are available USB ports for use with memory keys. | Grad | agriculture | female |
| one concern: Overdue books - I have found it difficult to know until after the fact when books are already overdue. I live a good distance away and cannot be on campus everyday to return books. I know there is a place I can access my records but did not find that easily accessible. I guess it would be a lot more work to send reminders before the fact rather than after. It might at least diminish the number of overdue books. | At the time you check out books you are provided a receipt with the due date. As you note, you can access your account through a PID. If you have problems accessing your account, please ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk or call 231-6340. | Grad | education | female |
| A better means of determining where in the library my needed information is would also be nice; however the maps they provide you with when asked are adequate. | Please don't hesitate to ask someone to point you to where in the library your needed information is located. In addition, look for improved signage and maps in the near future. | UGrad | performing arts | male |
| I use the Arch lib. and have good luck there but the Web site is elusive and I almost always need help | We are delighted that that you've had good luck with the Art & Architecture library. Both the A/A website and the main library website have recently been revised and we're hoping that you'll find both of them easier to use. | Grad | agriculture | female |
| I mainly use the vet med library. Please fix the copiers (thank you so much for finally getting us a third copier). Now with three copiers there is a great chance that at least one will be working. Also please fix the TV/VCRs in the rooms. It is frustrating when the first two machines you try 't work. In the veterinary curriculum we are required or strongly encouraged to watch many instructional videos. With only 3-4 working machines and 270 students, it can get very crowded. I think the library is a good one. The main problem I have is with the electronics (I realize these are the most expensive). Please 't skimp on copiers and the AV equipment. | We are aware of problems with the maintenance of photocopiers and have complained with the vendor who provides the service. A new technician seems to be on top of matters now and you should see an improvement. We realize that the Vet Med curriculum relies heavily on audiovisual materials and we try to stay on top of equipment maintenance. Because of the heavy use we sometimes are unaware of problems, so please let us know when the equipment isn't working so we can (1) get it fixed and (2) determine if we need to acquire more equipment. | Grad | vet med | female |
| Photocopy machines should be located on each floor. It is extremely difficult lugging heavy books to the forth floor. Same for printing stations. More photocopiers need to be added and also upgraded. Computers need to be upgraded. They are currently very slow. | Maintaining copy machines on every floor is difficult from a maintenance point of view. Last year, we consolidated the copiers on 4th floor to improve this situation. We think the trade off has worked based on other feedback we have gotten. For your convenience, book trucks are available at the Photocopy Service area if you are planning to pull a large number of items from the stacks to copy. You will note that over the summer, we upgraded the public computers with new PCs. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| find the electronic resources somewhat difficult to navigate. Also, I wish I had equal access from my home. | We have just redesigned our website, and hope that will make it easier for you to find and use our electronic resources. You should actually have equal access from home by using our EZProxy login service. If you have difficulty with this please don't hesitate to contact Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu) who will work with you to troubleshoot your problems with remote access. | Grad | humanities | male |
| I would like to be able to use passport to pay for library services | This fall we will implement the use of the Hokie Passport to pay for copying and library fines. | UGrad | sci/math | male |
| Throughout the years, it has become easier to do more on my own. At first, the library is very confusing even after the help sessions. | We realize the library can be confusing for the new user, even with help sessions, and do encourage people to ask for help when they encounter difficulties. We do design many of our services so you can work independently and are glad that seems to be working well for you. | Grad | education | female |
| Copying stuff at the library is a real hassle. For example, even a 20 page document takes for ever. It would be nice if automatic copiers were installed and every student had a code that s/he could be charged to. | Our copiers are set up to do the most common type of copying and that is primarily copying pages from books and journals. For specialized copying services such as fast speed copying, copy centers on campus as well as commercial businesses provide that type of service. Scanning service is available in the computer labs located throughout campus and the library does not duplicate this service. This fall we will implement the use of the Hokie Passport to pay for copying and library fines. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| The only complaint that I have about VT's library is the difficulty of photocopying. Personally, I think it is ridiculous that you must put money on your Hokie Passport just to copy things. There are not enough coin-operated photocopiers, and you must feed the coin manually for each page, which is very time-consuming. | This fall we will implement the use of the Hokie Passport to pay for copying and library fines. | UGrad | business | female |
| The three-day-late grace-period before incurring fines is deplorable in light of the ridiculous fine structure. | Based on your comment, am not sure whether you are objecting to it or you think that's too long of a period. Our circulation policies, including fine structure, are very much similar to like sized libraries throughout the country. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| I am extremely unsatisfied with library hours- more so than any of the other issues in this survey. The hours between 12AM-2AM are critical for the college student and there are not enough places (especially for those on campus) to study in such a quiet and focused environment as the library offers. I strongly advocate the library staying open until at least 2 AM M-F and at least until 10pm-12AM on Sunday. As difficult as it may be to staff these times- this is a large and somewhat prestigious university and the library should therefore reflect the needs of its dedicated students and faculty. I cannot stress this enough because this particular issue comes up every time I am at the library with my various peers and faculty. Many people are left in the library at the time of closing- this re-enforces the need for more access to this facility. Seriously, even the Math emporium stay open until 2AM! | The University Libraries tries to maintain similar hours of service as other like-sized research libraries. Within the state, the libraries’ hours of service compare favorably to the other state institutions. With the increase in online resources that are available to users in their homes and offices, access to many of our research resources are available 24/7. A few years ago, we remained open until 2 a.m. for several semesters and recorded use. Use was so minimal after midnight that it was not cost effective to keep the building open those extra hours. The same is true of weekend hours. It is not feasible to keep a main university library open 24-hours daily without adequate staffing. To our knowledge, there are no university libraries that are open around the clock although a few do have small restricted areas closed off for round-the- clock studying. | UGrad | psych | female |
| on-site services are very clearly defined and easy to use but I resist going to library due to parking problems and would prefer to access electronic journals at home / work | With our centralized campus, parking close to major service buildings is indeed a problem. However, we have seen some conceptual plans for the future regarding increased parking spaces. The Blacksburg Transit does operate all the hours the library is open and there's a convenient stop at the doors of the library. I am happy to hear that you are taking advantage of the library's electronic resources. | Grad | arch | female |
| Please replace the macs with PCs! The university is a PC dominated environment and macs are not intuitive to average users! | You will find that this summer we replaced the Mac machines with new PCs. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| Really, the biggest problem is parking when I have to come in. I like getting material online, and appreciate the ILL services (Especially when they can deliver online). | With our centralized campus, parking close to major service buildings is indeed a problem. However, we have seen some conceptual plans for the future regarding increased parking spaces. The Blacksburg Transit does operate all the hours the library is open and there's a convenient stop at the doors of the library. I am happy to hear that you are taking advantage of the library's electronic resources. | Grad | business | female |
| Need more online resources and easy navigate webpage to search for information | We have recently redesigned the library webpage and hope that you find it easier to navigate. We did focus group and usability studies in order to identify ways to make it more usable. | Grad | business | male |
| * Addison's web interface needs to be better designed & more friendly - inability to search media format, etc.. * Loan renewal feature (of individual items) can be implemented. * Media collection is not easily accessible - rather than giving a call num. to get, materials should be available to browse. | We are in the process of acquiring new software for Addison and will be redesigning the web interface at that point. We anticipate that the new software will also provide better ways to search for media formats. Our current system does not allow online item by item renewal. However, we soon will be getting a new system that should have this feature and will certainly be more convenient for users. Also, with our new Addison system, the media collection should be more accessible. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| I was impressed by the ease of finding useful resources online from my dorm, and the large collection of interesting publications. | Thanks for your kind words; we're pleased that you're finding interesting and useful materials. | UGrad | Eng/CS | male |
| The copying situation has been greatly improved. It would be nice, however, if grad students were allowed to check out reference materials (in particular journals) for a few hours to make copies and scan in images on equipment which is provided for free in their departments. Also, the loss of the geology library has been a blow to this side of campus. We really miss not even having a book return in Derring. | Thank you for giving us positive feedback about Photocopying Services. We do have a "special permissions" process that allows reference materials to leave the building for brief periods of time; check at the reference desk in the lobby for details. | Grad | sci/math | female |
| I think the Tech library is great. I love all the electronic services and the proxy that let's me work from home and while I'm not in Blacksburg. The more electronic resources we have the better! I've also used the library extensively for it's GIS expertise and software. | Terrific to know we are making a difference for you! We'll try our best to maintain momentum. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| I find the website non-intuitive, but I've learned to use it. The card catalog is overly picky in its search and sometimes journal titles are hard to find. They will not show up in the search despite being on the shelf. Having old periodicals in storage is inconvenient but understandable. | We're recently unveiled our redesigned library website and hope that you will find it easier to use. We are in the process of acquiring new software for Addison (our catalog) and hope that it also will improve your ability to locate library materials. We've recently streamlined our web page. Please let us know if you like it. Sorry about the inconvenience of stored items, we've tried to use our various statistical reports to help ensure that the most-needed items are here. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| It is great that the library has so many computers, but therefore even worse that you cannot use them for actual homework (word programs, excel. open attachments. ) | The public machines in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu/ | UGrad | sci/math | female |
| The web catalogues are spread out across so many pages that they are almost unavailable; this makes using even the basic decimal system a chore. The library needs an intuitive search engine that enables the user to see results in a logical fashion. | We hope that our new version of Addison, which we anticipate will be available sometime in 2005, will provide some better ways to search that will help you get results that are focused and displayed in a more logical fashion. | UGrad | Eng/CS | male |
| 2) Need a web portal through which VT students can search & access conference papers & magazines in VT library from home. | We are currently using a PID and password login that allows VT students to search for library materials from anywhere in the world! We hope you'll give it a try and let us know how it works for you. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| The live chat service is wonderful and I want to commend such a innovative and helpful service. | Thanks for your kind words. We think the live chat service is pretty neat and have been pleased with the VT response to it! | Grad | psych | male |
| The print indexes can be difficult to use and require multiple steps. Putting them online or at least teaching students how to use them would be appreciated. | As print indexes are moved to electronic formats we do try to acquire them in the new format. However, some may never be available electronically. If you run into problems using them, please don't be reluctant to ask for help -- that's why we're here! | UGrad | undecided | female |
| The photocopiers are inconvenient and often broken. At my undergraduate institution, one could pay someone to make the copies for them (in-house) | We are aware of problems with the maintenance of photocopiers and have complained with the vendor who provides the service. A new technician seems to be on top of matters now and you should see an improvement. I am assuming by "inconvenient" you are referring to the fact that they are not available on each floor. We consolidated the copiers around a service desk in order to be more responsive to users' problems with the machines and to assist users. This is a trade off that we think works better for users. We no longer offer in-house copying by library staff. It has to do with the complicated copyright laws. Having our staff do the copying could violate the law whereas an individual doing the copying is valid. | Grad | sci/math | female |
| It would be great if undergraduate students could have a secure place to store their belongings in the library during the day. | This is a good suggestion and we will keep this in mind as we plan renovations of the building. | UGrad | agriculture | female |
| The "I mac" computers that are located in the library are not user friendly and are confusing/ time consuming to use. | We have replaced the Macs with new PCs. | UGrad | agriculture | male |
| Overall, I am satisfied with the resources and work environments offered by the campus libraries. They could use more contemporary materials, more DVDs, and the webpage needs a faster, more concise search filter. | Thanks for the kudos. On the negatives, we know we need to keep working to keep up. We recently decided to take a pretty rigorous approach to obtaining at least the DVD's for really important, award winning films. | UGrad | comm/journ | female |
| And it would also be nice to have decent microfilm machines. | Many of our microform readers are old. We do however, have several newer reader/printers in the microforms area. Please consult the staff at the Circulation Desk to point these out to you or if you need assistance using them. | UGrad | humanities | female |
| MOST schools have libraries that are open well past 12 midnight!!! If you live on campus and have to study you have nowhere to go.... extended hours are NEEDED!- especially if we wish to establish ourselves as a premier research institution - it is hard to find books to help you with you research when the library is closed! | The University Libraries tries to maintain similar hours of service as other like-sized research libraries. Within the state, the libraries’ hours of service compare favorably to the other state institutions. With the increase in online resources that are available to users in their homes and offices, access to many of our research resources are available 24/7. A few years ago, we remained open until 2 a.m. for several semesters and recorded use. Use was so minimal after midnight that it was not cost effective to keep the building open those extra hours. The same is true of weekend hours. It is not feasible to keep a main university library open 24-hours daily without adequate staffing. To our knowledge, there are no university libraries that are open around the clock although a few do have small restricted areas closed off for round-the- clock studying. | UGrad | Eng/CS | male |
| Better hours (especially on weekends) and later hours for studying, especially during finals week are needed | The University Libraries tries to maintain similar hours of service as other like-sized research libraries. Within the state, the libraries’ hours of service compare favorably to the other state institutions. With the increase in online resources that are available to users in their homes and offices, access to many of our research resources are available 24/7. A few years ago, we remained open until 2 a.m. for several semesters and recorded use. Use was so minimal after midnight that it was not cost effective to keep the building open those extra hours. The same is true of weekend hours. It is not feasible to keep a main university library open 24-hours daily without adequate staffing. To our knowledge, there are no university libraries that are open around the clock although a few do have small restricted areas closed off for round-the- clock studying. | UGrad | sci/math | male |
| The library is not open enough......it should be open 24hrs...or at least two floors.... people study all the time, not just during specific hours...we pay enough, we should have this benefit. | The public computers in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu/ | UGrad | health | female |
| Microsoft excel or office on the computers would be cool | The public computers in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu/ | UGrad | sci/math | female |
| Perhaps extended hours as well! | The public computers in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu/ | UGrad | arch | female |
| I have trouble printing information I find from the library as well as photocopying... an easier way to pay for these resources would be ideal | This fall we are implementing the use of the Hokie Passport to pay for copying service and library fines. | UGrad | sci/math | male |
| LIBRARY HOURS NEED TO BE MADE 24 HOURS OR AT LEAST MUCH LATER THAN THEY ARE NOW. UNIVERSITIES ALL OVER THE NATION HAVE 24 HOUR LIBRARIES. WE ARE SUCH A LARGE SCHOOL THAT THIS IS NEEDED AT VA TECH TOO. | The University Libraries tries to maintain similar hours of service as other like-sized research libraries. Within the state, the libraries’ hours of service compare favorably to the other state institutions. With the increase in online resources that are available to users in their homes and offices, access to many of our research resources are available 24/7. A few years ago, we remained open until 2 a.m. for several semesters and recorded use. Use was so minimal after midnight that it was not cost effective to keep the building open those extra hours. The same is true of weekend hours. It is not feasible to keep a main university library open 24-hours daily without adequate staffing. To our knowledge, there are no university libraries that are open around the clock although a few do have small restricted areas closed off for round-the- clock studying. | UGrad | health | male |
| I believe that I could benefit more from the library if I used it more often, and if parking near the library was more readily available | With our centralized campus, parking close to major service buildings is indeed a problem. However, we have seen some conceptual plans for the future regarding increased parking spaces. The Blacksburg Transit does operate all the hours the library is open and there's a convenient stop at the doors of the library. | UGrad | business | female |
| The only thing I 't like about the copy card machines is that they only take cash. I wish they took change because I 't always have cash or want to but a cash amount on the card. Sometimes all I need is $0.25 on the card but there is no way to do it without wasting a whole $ | Our machine only does cards in increments of $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00. Otherwise you do need to use cash. Change is available at the Photocopy Service Desk. | UGrad | other | female |
| The library is not opened on time | The University Libraries tries to maintain similar hours of service as other like-sized research libraries. Within the state, the libraries’ hours of service compare favorably to the other state institutions. With the increase in online resources that are available to users in their homes and offices, access to many of our research resources are available 24/7. A few years ago, we remained open until 2 a.m. for several semesters and recorded use. Use was so minimal after midnight that it was not cost effective to keep the building open those extra hours. The same is true of weekend hours. It is not feasible to keep a main university library open 24-hours daily without adequate staffing. To our knowledge, there are no university libraries that are open around the clock although a few do have small restricted areas closed off for round-the- clock studying. | Grad | arch | male |
| The copy machine access is cumbersome. | Maintaining copy machines on every floor is difficult from a maintenance point of view. Last year, we consolidated the copiers on 4thfloor to improve this situation. We think the trade off has worked based on other feedback we have gotten. For your convenience, books trucks are available at the Photocopy Service area if you are planning to pull a large number of items from the stacks to copy. | Grad | humanities | female |
| Question/suggestion: I used to get a free update on new conferences and papers. They switched it to a subscription service, however, and suggested that universities subscribe. As far as I know VT doesn't subscribe, but I think it would be a great service for graduate students. http://www.papersinvited.com Thanks. | We actually ran "Papers Invited" past the university community as part of a recently concluded VT Information Needs Project. It didn't get as much of a response as I 'd expected, and didn't make the cut when we had to spend very scarce dollars on only the most needed resources. It remains on our wish list. Thanks for writing, it's helpful to know of the potential audience. | Grad | other | female |
| Also, there needs to be more opportunities to make copies without having to print from a Hokie Passport. It would also be very useful to be able to print directly from a computer!!! | Not sure I understand your problem with the Hokie Passport because we have just implemented the use of it for copying services. You can print from library computers. Printouts can be picked up at the Photocopy Service Desk on the 4th floor. | Grad | other | male |
| I would like more computers with Word and PowerPoint, in addition to the internet. Most computers are only for using Addison/internet. | The public computers in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu/ | Grad | health | male |
| However, getting to the library is not easy. the only reliable route is by bus. Parking is TERRIBLE | With our centralized campus, parking close to major service buildings is indeed a problem. However, we have seen some conceptual plans for the future regarding increased parking spaces. The Blacksburg Transit does operate all the hours the library is open and there's a convenient stop at the doors of the library. I am happy to hear that you are taking advantage of the library's electronic resources. | Grad | vet med | female |
| Need more copiers, easier search techniques on the website | Maintaining copy machines on every floor is difficult from a maintenance point of view. Last year, we consolidated the copiers on 4th floor to improve this situation. We think the trade off has worked based on other feedback we have gotten. For your convenience, books trucks are available at the Photocopy Service area if you are planning to pull a large number of items from the stacks to copy. | Grad | health | female |
| One more very small thing: In order to access Addison online, you click on one link and then have to click on an extra link that says something like: "connect to a web version of Addison". I'm not sure what if any other versions there are but it seems like the web version could probably be the default. | The library web site was revised in August 2004, and the web version of Addison is now the default selection. | Grad | psych | male |
| Perhaps you could confront the Department of Architecture about possible designs which could help in the organization or directional designs to allow users to better navigate the Newman Lib. | We have actually gotten some excellent suggestions from an architecture student and will be looking at implementing some of them -- maps and signage -- during the 2004-05 academic year. | Grad | arch | male |
| The only real improvement I would like is to be able to access journal articles at work. I could do this with my vt, but I can not with the university proxy. | We have stopped using the proxy server and begun to use a PID and password login to provide remote access to our materials, which should make it much easier for you to acquire the materials you need. | Grad | education | female |
| It frustrates me that you changed the way the library info was accessible through My VT. It is very incontinent for me to get to the library and I was very pleased when I was able to access almost everything I needed online and now you have made that unavailable. It takes too much time to change my proxy and then that doesn't even work sometimes. I live off campus and being able to access the library's online information should be a privilege for every Virginia Tech student. | We've discontinued use of the proxy server and are now providing remote access to our materials via PID and password login. We think you'll find it simple to use. | UGrad | psych | female |
| The library should make more materials available electronically to noted journals (I can comment about Computer networking journals being less in number, at least electronic versions of the research papers et al) | With the forthcoming addition of SAE (automotive) we think we have all the key engineering societies, and since we also have Elsevier, Wiley, Blackwell, and Kluwer journals online we should be fairly well off. Either the College Librarians for Engineering or I (pmetz@vt.edu) would welcome specific suggestions for journals or other resources to add. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| The electronic journal system is very hard to navigate. | I'm sorry this isn't more intuitive. As a rule, start off with the Electronic Journals link from our home page. Or go to the appropriate subject database and assume that most of the citations you find will link to full text. | Grad | psych | female |
| Because I use the online library services for most of my research, I think buying online subscriptions to journals is an important budget item. | We think this is absolutely central and are doing all we can. | Grad | education | female |
| Addison is very cumbersome to use. It really needs to be streamlined so that it's quicker to use. It also needs to be edited for duplicate info that shows up slightly differently in 2 locations for the same book. | The library plans to purchase a new system to replace Addison in 2005. We anticipate that the new system will have many searching and customization features that will make access to information easier. We are not sure what you mean by duplicate information that is different. It is common to add multiple points of access to catalog records to anticipate how users search for items, so perhaps you are referring to this. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| As a Northern Virginia student, my only access is on-line. I am grateful for the ability to get photocopies mailed to me, but would like better search capabilities. | I'm not sure what additional search capabilities you're requesting. You should be able to search remotely anything that you would be able to search by being on campus. If you have specific examples, please contact me and I'll investigate ( Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu). | Grad | arch | female |
| Need a better catalog search. The current one is unreliable and does not sort searches adequately. | It is hard to address your comment about unreliability without knowing in which way your searches have failed. We do offer classes on Addison that teach advanced search methods, as well as online help. Contacts for problems with the search engine are listed at the bottom of the search screens, so you may email someone for help if you feel that you did not get the results you were expecting. We expect future versions of Addison to have many more sorting capabilities. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| feel the online catalog search engine could use some improvement as well as the electronic journals page. (I often have difficulty locating items in both places.) In particular, I found the previous setup of the electronic journal page much easier to use and more powerful. Otherwise, the library does quite well for what I need. | The library plans to replace the current version of Addison with a new system in 2005. We expect the new system to have many powerful features for locating journals. The new electronic journals page has more comprehensive coverage and takes less staff time to maintain. If you think it's less powerful than the old version, please send me (pmetz@vt.edu) a note about specific functionality you miss and we'll look into restoring it in the new model. | Grad | sci/math | male |
| The proxy server to search from home hasn't been working correctly this semester. The website is basically good, but could be a little more user-friendly. could Addison be linked to other databases so we know what books are out there on a particular subject? There's really not much use searching Addison because chances are good that VT won't have some stuff, but we can't tell from Addison what resources are out there. | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. So you no longer have to use the proxy server. We've recently redesigned the web site and think you'll find it more user friendly since we used usability studies and focus groups to shape our changes. In the databases that allow a link to Addison, we have enabled it -- so some of them will allow you to see if we own materials of interest. And if you have suggestions for materials that we need to purchase for the collection, we'd be interested in hearing them! | Grad | arch | male |
| I think the online paper search needs to be improved in order to obtain the needed information without too much of pains | It can be frustrating picking the right database and then putting up with its idiosyncrasies, whatever they may be. Please don't hesitate to contact your College Librarian for help with this. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| If you are going to lock the book drop boxes around the end of the semester put large signs on the drop boxes in a bold, bright color so I 't go to the trouble of pulling my car over, getting out with all my books and trying the door only to find it locked. sometimes it is difficult to find information on the website because you are using your professional librarian jargon to name things. It took me over 30 minutes to find the patron activity record link -- it wasn't in the sections I thought it would be. Can't you make this simpler to find and name it something like "student/staff check out history" or something less jargony | Thank you for the suggestion about signs for the book drops. We will be sure in the future that large, visible signs are placed at the drops when we find it necessary to close them. We will look into the difficulty you had finding your patron records. In the meantime, if you have any other problems accessing your records, please consult with the staff in Circulation. | Grad | education | female |
| 1. The library webpage needs to be more user friendly 2. The library webpage should give updates on new arrivals of new books along with category 3. The library material search on the web should be made more intuitive supporting more key words on a subject (some thing like Google... may be Google can help here) 4. There must be a tutorial on the library webpage to do efficient search | 1. We've recently redesigned the library webpage and think you will find it more user friendly. 2. There is a monthly New Book List that you can view by call number, which is, in effect, by category. It's available at http://www.lib.vt.edu/services/newbooks/. 3. We do not yet have the software to do the kind of Google searching that you're requesting, but are investigating options for that and hope to perhaps have something available within the next year. 4. We have two research tutorials linked from our Research Help page http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/research.html. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| My one complaint is the Addison Web service; no matter when/where I use it (even during off-peak hours from within the library) it is horrendously slow. It also lacks many of the features that I'm used to using on a typical search engine (e.g. google.com or amazon.com's product searching). | We do expect future versions of Addison to have many more search features. The library catalog may never match all the features of Google or amazon.com, however, since they serve different purposes. Slowness of the system is a common complaint. Slowness can be caused by the type of search being performed, network loads at any given time, connection, or type of machine being used. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| The Addison interface can be improved greatly (especially the search for articles/books). The long list of search results through which you have to scroll through is not very friendly. Also the view should be customizable so that more than 10 results are displayed per page. This will serve to reduce the time spent on the scroll button. | We are hoping to implement a new library catalog in the fall of 2005, and we expect the new catalog to have many more searching and customization features, including sorting of results and saving searches. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| I AM REALLY FRUSTRATED ON TRYING TO ACCESS LIBRARY RESOURCES OFF CAMPUS. I AM A DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENT IN RKE AND I CAN NOT GET TO THE LIBRARY FROM WORK OR HOME EVEN AFTER SETTING MY PROXY. | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. In addition, Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu), our Distance Ed librarian, is available to help you troubleshoot and problems you might encounter. | Grad | business | male |
| There is not alot of good help when it comes to the things I need. for this reason the library services 't allow me to learn how to use the library to its full potential. foe example it took me 4 months to learn how to use Addison, and 5 months to discover where I could scan my works. | I'm sorry you've had so much difficulty finding help with our services and resources. There are people available to help and to answer questions on the 1st and 4th floors of Newman and at all of the branch libraries. Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance! | UGrad | sci/math | male |
| the computers do not have the Microsoft word applications that allow you to pull up a document that you may have saved or that a professor may have attached to an e-mail. | The public computers in the library are devoted primarily to use for finding library and research materials. The computer labs located throughout the campus are intended for use for doing word processing and personal use and the library does not duplicate that service. You can locate the labs by checking the Web site www.cclab.vt.edu/ | UGrad | psych | female |
| I primarily use the library website. | We've recently redesigned it and hope that you'll find it easy to use. | Grad | psych | female |
| The Mac computers are terrible! They are slow and not easy to use, especially for the majority of patrons who are used to working on PCs. I'm guessing that there is probably some sort of anti-Microsoft bias in whoever made the decision to buy Macs, but I hope in the future that you'll consider what's in the best interests of library patrons over-and-above personal feelings about particular hardware manufacturers. | You will find that this summer we replaced the MAC machines with new PCs. | Grad | health | male |
| It would be nice if I could access the online journals from a non-vt IP. maybe that could be e by logging in with a PID and password? | We've recently switched to EZProxy -- which uses a PID and password login -- so just what you're requesting! | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| Search engine is horrible to be honest. It returns not only irrelevant results, but also takes immense amount of time. | I'm not sure what search engine you're referring to. If you have specific examples, please contact me and I'll investigate ( Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu). | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| There are always too many people logged on to the databases for me to use them. Why try anymore? | Though we have limited access on some of our databases, it should be relatively rare that there are too many people logged on for you to use them. If you would email me ( Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu) the next time this happens, letting me know which database, I'll be glad to investigate. | Grad | business | female |
| I sometimes find it hard to know which database to search for my desired info.. | Our subject librarians maintain discipline-specific WebPages that recommend databases to search in each subject. Take a look at the A-Z list at http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/subsatoz.html and see if it doesn't help. | Grad | arch | male |
| To be honest tonight was the first time I went to the Library page, I might use it more now. It wasn't a bad layout at all. If I lived closer to campus I might use it more. | We're glad you've found us, even if it is the first time! And keep in mind that you can log in to our resources even if you aren't on campus. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| More online full-text journals will help out the current inconvenience of walking long distance to the Newman Library a lot. Walking to Newman to search for articles is a big thing for me every time, since I have to allot at least a 2-3 hours slot. | We know how badly everyone wants more e-journals, and we have no higher priority ourselves. | Grad | sci/math | female |
| 1. Sometimes, I couldn't download electric journal papers from my home computer; | Without knowing the specifics of your problem with downloading, it's difficult to provide a solution. Please don't hesitate to contact your College Librarian or Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu), our Distance Ed librarian, if you need assistance with research. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| I am the Alexandria campus and do not feel that I am able to access the resource I need or that the library provides me with any benefit as it is currently structured. | You should have access to all of the electronic resources that library owns, plus an excellent document delivery service through ILLiad. In addition, our librarians visit the Alexandria campus to teach classes, and Debbie Cash is available in Falls Church to assist you. | Grad | sci/math | female |
| the online book reservation is obsolete. this WebPages take a long time to search and is almost dead as far as technology goes. with poor quality of WebPages, library is annoying to access. | We've recently redesigned the library webpage and hope that you'll find it easy to use, with a quicker response time. We are also looking at new software for things like the book request form and think that things should improve during the coming year. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| NOVA campus user. I get most of what I need online because it's a pain to get to the library. I wish it were 1000% easier to find what I want online. It would be much more helpful if you could do a Google-like search of all the electronic holdings and online databases. Instead, you have to know which databases and online catalogs might contain information you need. I 't have this à priori knowledge, so I have to slough my way through many of them just to find a tidbit--maybe. Looking up information shouldn't be like mining for gold or diamonds where you have to guess where to dig first, then go through tons of rock and dirt before you find anything worthwhile. It should be much easier than this. | Take a look at the A-Z list of subjects, available at http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/subsatoz.html. Our librarians suggest databases to search for all of them. We are also investigating the technology that would allow searching across our resources and hope to perhaps have it available in the not-too-distant future. | Grad | other | male |
| I have used Addison many times to locate a scientific journal. when this proves no help, I try the electronic journal search through the library. As a last resort I use the interlibrary loans. About a quarter of the time the request is cancelled because it is in the library, and the call no. is listed. When I searched with Addison, nothing came up remotely close to what I was looking for. This is incredibly frustrating. | Searching for journals can be frustrating. There are many features of journals that make them difficult to work with. If you are consistently having problems locating journal issues in the catalog or stacks, you might want to talk to a subject librarian to find out why your Illiad requests are cancelled. | Grad | sci/math | female |
| I'd like to have communication from library by e-mail instead of traditional mail! | We do communicate via email. We use your VT email account. However, if you have set up another email account, for example yahoo or hotmail, be sure to have your VT email forwarded to that account. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| Please get up to speed with reference manager as a general search and retrieval tool | I'm not familiar with reference manager as a search and retrieval tool; if you'd care to send me some information I'd be glad to investigate. ( Vicki Kok, vkok@vt.edu) | Grad | business | male |
| Facilities in the Main Library are useful and helpful. Facilities in the Torgersen Bridge are usually out of service or without internet, which makes them useless in most academic activities. It is almost necessary to have a laptop when visiting the library for that reason, which is difficult for upper classmen when the computer requirement did not include a laptop. | We've just replaced all of the public machines in Newman and they should be rarely out of service. However, the library doesn't manage the computers on the Torgersen Bridge; for assistance with services there, please contact Rob Grant (robgrant@vt.edu). | UGrad | Eng/CS | male |
| Web page should be clear and fast and should be redesign. | We have just redesigned the web page and think it is much clearer and faster! | Grad | agriculture | female |
| I need to have access to the library from home or at work. The library services is very poor in this matter. | We have PID and password access available to anyone off campus who needs to use our electronic resources. For human assistance please contact Dave Beagle (beagle@vt.edu), who is our Distance Education librarian. | Grad | Eng/CS | female |
| My one complaint concerns the access to the library database. The search engine is very slow and often returns hits for books or subjects not even remotely related to the query. I have even had problems finding books by their titles using the Addison search engine. This relic needs to be updated. | We are in the process of acquiring new software for Addison and hope to have the new version in place some time in 2005. | Grad | sci/math | male |
| The more electronic journals and conference papers available from an office or home computer, the better! | We hear you on that and couldn't agree more! This is our highest goal. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| have not used the library on campus. Over all I feel I 't know enough about the on-line resources but this is not the fault of the library staff. I need to spend more time exploring the resources available | , | Grad | education | male |
| The portal is difficult to use for accessing the library information away from the library and not user friendly. | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus and think you will find it much more user friendly. | Grad | business | female |
| Addison Key word search doesn't work good enough. | The library plans to purchase a new system to replace Addison in 2005. We anticipate that the new system will have many searching and customization features that will make access to information easier. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| My only suggestion, is that sometimes the webpage can be hard to get to work from computers outside of campus, to access appropriate information. Maybe try to make that simpler. | We recently switched to EZProxy -- which requires only your PID and password -- as our means for providing access to online resources from off campus. We think you'll find it much simpler! | UGrad | agriculture | female |
| I am a distance learning student in the MIT program. I find the library website to be very informative. I really appreciate the EZProxy access to online journals. | Thanks for you kind words; we're pleased that you've able to access the materials you need! | Grad | other | male |
| Full text options for electronic journals need updating... possibly find a way of making online journal searches easier and more efficient. Computers should have Microsoft Word on them b/c many people work on research papers while at the library. | We are always looking for full-text online journals and would welcome suggestions about specific titles. The computers in the library are primarily intended for locating research materials rather than doing word processing. Computer labs located throughout the campus | UGrad | other | female |
| The Addison Search engine works very slowly. It takes too long to access entries and fgor the web page to refresh. The search engine is also not very precise or intelligent. Journal titles are often abbreviated in literature, but the Title searches in Addison must be the exact title, not abbreviated. This makes searching a little more work. The sound recording search lasts records, CD and tapes. It would be more convenient if I can specify my sound media and search though one type (i.e.- browsing only Beethoven CDs). | Addison can be slow, depending on time of day, network load, access method, or type of search. Searching for journals can be frustrating, as journal catalog records are quite complex. You might find it useful to attend a class on searching Addison, or you may use the email addresses at the bottom of the search page to ask a question about specific searches. We expect future versions of Addison to have enhanced searching features that will allow you to search on specific formats. | Grad | vet med | male |
| Access to more electrical outlets to plug in laptop computers would be extremely helpful. The wireless access is great. It is difficult to find printed information, but that is probably more of an issue for users to learn how to read and locate information The website is good, but it is sometimes hard to find information I need, particularly the HELP type of information. | We realize our building is outdated for modern technology. We certainly will include more electrical outlets as we renovate the building. We have our printed materials gathered near the reference desk in the lobby of Newman; take a look next time you're in the library. And we hope that you've used our redesigned website and been able to more quickly find the information you need. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| Why does this survey repeat questions in different words? It's this kind of waste that needs to be improved. | Repetition of questions is an important aspect of testing the reliability of the instrument as well as determining the results based on factor analysis. | Grad | Eng/CS | male |
| The art and architecture library, though well-stocked, is nowhere near the buildings where my art classes are. For that reason, it is often inconvenient to go there, and so I simply 't. If I were nearer in my daily activities, I might spend more time there between classes making use of the impressive selection of books Ms. Ball has assembled. | We're pleased that you find the collection at the Art & Architecture Library impressive and hope that in the future you have classes near enough to it to take advantage of what it has to offer. | UGrad | arch | male |