June 2005 Archives

The design for the new walkways around the front vestibule of the
library will tie in with the rest of the design on campus well, one
thing I noticed was the removal of all bike racks and no indication in
the design plans for the replacement of the racks in front of Cabell.
Finding a parking space for your bicycle is not unlike trying to find
car parking during the school year. Just a suggestion. Thank you.
From: angela

Assistant University Librarian for Policy Development Walter Sampson replies..

The sidewalk project in front of Cabell Library is the last phase of VCU Shafer Court design linking a sidewalk from Broad Street to Floyd Avenue under the direction VCU Facilities. You are correct, the original plan did not call for a bike rack at the same location in front of Cabell Library. After discussions with the designers VCU agreed to have bicycle racks for library patrons by enlarging the bike rack facing Shafer Court for library users. It was determined that the location of old rack impeded traffic flow under the new sidewalk design. The new location is not as close as before, but it does appear to be in safer location in which bikes and people are separated from the sometimes congested entrance to the library. Thank you for your observation.

A new survey of the impact factors in psychology has come out, and the third-highest ranked journal is one we don't have a subscription to (at least not electronic). The journal is Personality and Social Psychology Review , and you can find the full results of the survey here: http://www.spsp.org/student/studnews.htm Can we add this journal to our subscriptions, or at least take these impact factors into account when this kind of decision is made next?
From: Dave

VCU Libraries Head of Collection Management Karen Cary replies...

Many factors go into the decision to subscribe to a particular journal title, including reputation, journal impact factor, cost, relevance to our curriculum, etc. We also welcome and actively solicit suggestions from VCU faculty and students. Please feel free to contact me by email, campus mail, or phone to discuss a specific title. If you prefer, there is an online form available to suggest potential new resources, including journal titles. Here is the direct link - http://www.library.vcu.edu/cm/purchase.html

Unfortunately, because of budget limitations, few new journals have been added to the collection for the past several years. Personality and Social Psychology Review, one of two journals published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), is only one example of many important titles that we have been unable to acquire. The Libraries does subscribe to the second SPSP publication, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, a monthly, which consistently is ranked in the top ten of social psychology journals and is the second ranked journal by total cites. By impact factor, it is number eight.

Hello... i was reading some of the old blog's from the last few months and i think that the one about the sticky keyboards is a must to do. These keyboards are sometimes sticky but also dirty... same with the mice. the bottom of the mice need to be cleaned. i know some of these mice are optical mice (laser light kinda), and some are the old ball-mice. the ball-mice need more attention than the optical mice, but i recently went into the library... and i looked at over 10 mice, and they were all dirty, not just a little either. it just takes a few seconds to turn over a mouse and wipe it off with a cloth (wrag) once a week. the keyboards are harder... but i recommend getting a warm, lightly soaped, very very lightly damped wrag and just run them over the keyboards when running then over the mice... keyboards have a rubbery-type of insert in them above the keys... if you have never seen the inside of a keyboard, you should check it out. anyways, it doesnt' take long to do that, and maybe bring a can of air for all of the stuff that gets inside of the keyboard... lots of hair, dirt, food, etc is inside of them... now, if a key is sticking as in staying in place, pop that key out with anything.. i use the end of my fingernail clippers to pop it out when i spill soda or something on my keyboard... toss that/those key(s) into a warm bowl of soapy water, and get q-tips and clean around that/those key(s)... where they key is missing. i have spilled at least 15 drinks on my keyboard... it still works after 6 years. now... for space in the library, i think VCU is running out of space... i recommend that the computers on the first floor are put in a harder to walk through space like the basement so that you can put more computers in that space.. i have seen some mornings where there are over 20 students wandering around & looking for a computer... and even more on final's week. i know computers are expensive... i build my own. I am out of state, and i do not really see where my 15k+ a year of tuition goes...i am paying ~4x the tuition of an in-state student... what does VCU do with that extra cash?
From: Scott

Jimmy Ghaphery of our Library Information Systems department replies..

Scott,

Glad that you have read through the blog and have taken the time to join the conversation. I am sure your cleaning tips will be of use to many. We clean the computers on a regular schedule, but will see what we can do about increasing the frequency with which this is done.

In terms of extra computers, you are correct that we are running out of space. The following blog entry details the current situation in Cabell Library:
http://blog.vcu.edu/libsuggest/archives/000736.html

During the Spring semester we have increased the number of computers on the 1st floor by more than 10% thanks to the Student Technology Fee, which is our only source of funds for the public workstations. The costs of deploying more computers include the original purchase, wiring for network connectivity, sufficient electrical supply, and then ongoing maintenance (including cleaning!). We also must factor in the general aesthetics of the first floor and the merits of changing the current open and accessible design.

With the increased number of group projects being assigned, I was surprised to find out that there is no group area where teams can have access to Word/PowerPoint machines. There are three internet capable dummy terminals in the designated group area but if a team needs to use Microsoft Office they are forced into the "quiet zone" labs. Please add computers with more features in public areas, or have a group lab where teams can freely discuss ideas.
From: John

Interim Associate University Librarian for Public Services Barbara Anderson replies...
If it's true that you can't judge a book by its cover, then maybe it's also true that you can't judge a library computer workstation by its desktop. The "three internet capable dummy terminals" in the second floor group study area are actually equipped with more than just internet access. In fact, OpenOffice, an open source suite of productivity software, is installed on all Cabell Library public workstations.
As our Head of Library Information Systems, Jimmy Ghaphery has pointed out in response to blog comments posted on May 2 and May 9, "OpenOffice is a free and highly regarded alternative to Microsoft Office. Among other things, it will open, edit, and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files."
If you haven't used this before, I urge you to give it a try. You can launch the applications from "Start > Programs > Open Office" or by selecting the flying seagull icon from the system tray in the bottom right corner of the monitor display. Library installations are configured so that documents you create and edit in OpenOffice will be saved by default with the extensions of their Microsoft counterparts (.doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.), so you can open them easily and continue editing them with Microsoft Office applications later, if you wish. More information about OpenOffice (including user guides and online help) is available at http://www.openoffice.org/
I use OpenOffice fairly often (in fact, I'm writing this at home with the Open Office text document application), and while there may be a few minor features that don't transfer perfectly between applications, I've found OpenOffice to have a high degree of interoperability with Microsoft Office products.
We may be able to expand our access to Microsoft Office during the next year if funding permits, and we hope to be able to increase the number of public computers available in Cabell Library, as well. You may have noticed that we're a little crowded in Cabell, so I don't know if we can come up with a group lab space, but we've had some recent discussions about purchasing large computer monitors and configuring them so they can be viewed by small groups. Again, funding and priorities are always an issue, but there may be some improvements during the coming year that will address your needs.
Thanks for your ideas and suggestions, John!

Please reconsider blocking off the windows on the 4th floor with new
bookshelves. These cut across the windows and block virtually all
natural light. Expand the shelves inward if necessary. These "green
zones" around the shelves should be spared to make for a positive study space. Libraries are for students as well as books!

Patricia Selinger of our Preservation Department deplies....
I appreciate your design suggestion for "green zones" within Cabell Library. It's an excellent idea! We want to make the library inviting for students to study and enjoy. We strive to balance the need for housing collections with user needs when we add shelving. The Cabell Library was built to house just half of what it currently holds, so we are very tight on space. We have been working to improve the situation some with high density shelving in the basement, but that is still not sufficient for the enormous quantity of books we receive every year. Long term, we are working with the University to increase the available space for the VCU Libraries. When that happens, be assured that your suggestion will be considered!