February 2006 Archives

Our lab recently published an article in the journal Mammalian Genome ;
however, we do not have university access to this journal through the Springer site, even though we have access to most other Springer publications. Could you please consider subscribing to this journal? Additionally, I have had to request two articles this year from the same journal through ILLIAD. Perhaps we could subscribe just to the online version?

From: Kathryn

Thank you for the suggestion to add Mammalian Genome to the VCU Libraries journal collections. We welcome and actively solicit suggestions from VCU faculty and students for enhancements to our collections.

Many factors go into the decision to subscribe to a particular journal title, including reputation, journal impact factor, cost, relevance to our curriculum, etc. Because of budget limitations, we are not able to subscribe to all journals in a specific subject area or all journals from a particular publisher. The cost for a subscription to Mammalian Genome is almost $1200 this year.

We will place this title into consideration for new journals in the future, depending on budget allocations. In the meantime, please continue to take advantage of the ILLiad service to obtain copies of needed articles. If we can be of further assistance to you in identifying similar titles already in our collections, please contact us.

--
Lynne U. Turman, Head, TML Collections
Tompkins-McCaw Library, VCU Libraries

For about a month, I have not been able to access my e-mail at the library. It allows me to log on, retrieves the records, and then it claims to be done and instead of my e-mail, there is a gray box of nothingness. I can access my e-mail else where.
From: Ana

We have had reports from the VCU Mail Anywhere team of problems with the most recent version of the Firefox browser. We have alerted all of our service desks to this issue as well.

Here is the alert on the VCU Mail Anywhere page:

If you are using the latest version of the Firefox browser (1.5.0.1) you may experience issues with VCU Mail Anywhere. Bugs introduced in this version will be fixed in an upcoming release. Until then, it is recommended that Firefox version 1.0.7, which can be found on the VCU software download site, be used if you desire to access your e-mail with an alternate browser. Internet Explorer is still the supported browser and provides the best functionality with VCU Mail Anywhere.

Internet Explorer is available on the library computers under the start menu. If this doesn't help, you should report the problem to Doctor Notes at dnotes@vcu.edu or contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227.

-Jimmy Ghaphery
Head, Library Information Systems

Okay may I ask why VCU has articles listed in psyche info but the school doesn't have them. You guys think you could just only put the articles that we have access to via online. Some of us do our work from the comfort of our home.

It is safe to say that none of the hundreds of university libraries that uses PsycINFO owns all the journals indexed in it. PsycINFO contains more than 2 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. Ninety-seven percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. Journal coverage, which spans 1887 to present, includes international material selected from nearly 2,000 periodicals in more than 25 languages.

Below each PsycINFO entry is a yellow "Get it at VCU" button that when clicked, will search to find if we own the journal containing that listed article. For a brief two-minute introduction to the Get It at VCU tool, see this online demo.

If you don't mind searching in a smaller pool of articles, but one that offers complete full-text, you might want to try the PsycARTICLES database. PsycARTICLES is a source of searchable full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The database contains more than 40,000 articles from 53 journals - 45 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 8 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1985 to present.

For articles we don't own, we will get them for you from another library without charge if you request any needed article via our ILLIAD system.

Most importantly, if ever unsure how to find the full-text of a needed article, contact our Research & Reference desk staff by e-mail, chat, in person, or by phone at 828-1101 or toll-free at 1-866-VCU-BOOK.

-- Dan Ream, Head, Education & Outreach Services, James Branch Cabell Library

Hi, Does the university have a policy regarding homeless people who use the library? It is a Sunday afternoon and there are about half a dozen people who do not appear to be students sitting near the newspapers, some are sleeping, one even loudly snoring. I am not really complaining per se as I realize this is a public school library, but as an Urban Studies major I would like to know if VCU Libraries has a policy dealing with people who outwardly do not appear to be students or actively using the library resources. Thank you.

The situation you are referring to and many others are covered by our Use of Library Building Regulations. It specifies that "Persons who are not affiliated with the University community (guests, visitors, members of the general public) may enter library facilities only to use the collections and services of the VCU Libraries. Any other use of library facilities by non-affiliated users is not permitted and may be considered trespassing."

If you see someone who is sleeping or otherwise not making use of our collections and services, please report it to library staff or to the security guards on duty. Please also report anyone that is engaging in any activity that is disruptive to other patrons' study, including loud snoring. Our entire building regulation is available here: VCU Libraries developed the Use of Library Buildings regulation to protect the rights of both users and staff, to create an appropriate academic atmosphere, and to provide a safe, comfortable and convenient library environment.

-Curtis Lyons, Interim Associate University Librarian for Public Services

Often I need books beginning with the call number F1219. When I look for books in this section, I can rarely find them. Books are stacked on the floor, crammed in behind or on top of other books on the shelves. Often I have to fill out a search form for books that are listed as available in the catalogue. If somebody would take the time to organize and/or expand this section, so that all the books fit on the shelves, it would probably save everyone involved a lot of time.
From: Crista

Thank you for using the Item Request Form to request books you can’t find. This form initiates a search for the book and a replacement decision if the book is missing. The collections in the E and F call numbers have experienced much growth recently. The Libraries has been relocating lesser-used materials and duplicates to make room. The Stacks Manager is aware of this section and we hope you have seen improvement already.
We hope you have a positive experience at Cabell Library this semester!

Patricia Selinger
Head, Preservation Dept.

I am writing to express my concern for the serious need in the James Branch Cabell Library for more staff to help with shelving books. My recent experience may point up how extreme this need is. On December 9 I returned 5 or 6 books that I had been using for a project. Because I would not have time to work on the project until after the holidays, I thought it best to return the books in case another patron might need one of them. On January 10 I returned to the library to find the books and get back to my project. When I reached the 4th floor (I am using art books) I was shocked at the level of disarray I found: the reshelving shelves were overflowing, books were stacked on the floor, books had been jammed sideways on top of books that were shelved (these were not even in the area of the correct call number), the shelves were in total disarray. None of the books I had returned were on the shelf even though all showed as being available for circulation. In a last shot effort, I checked the shelving station on the 3rd floor. There I found most, but not all of the books I had returned. It was clear that in a month's time they had never made it back to the shelf. While I understand that staff is reduced when the students leave for the holidays, this experience only points out something that is ALWAYS a problem. The state of the stacks, especially in the art section, is always a serious mess. Not only are the shelves physically a mess, but far too many volumes are badly misshelved. These books are as good as lost. Frequently when I look for volumes that show up in the catalog as being available, the book cannot be found at all. If I come in with a list of books, it is not unusual to be unable to locate half of the books. I have some experience working in an academic library, and I have been a patron of both academic and public libraries. I have never found a library that is more frustrating to use that the James Branch Cabell Library. Thank you for taking time to read of my experience. I hope this account will be useful.
From: Sarah

Cabell Library depends on students to reshelve books in the library. While we hired the same number of students in the fall semester as we did last year, fewer of them worked in December and January. This led to backlogs you describe. Last fall we did not experience any reshelving backlogs at all during December and January. We employ one full time person for the stacks. Additional full time staff would lead to more stable reshelving patterns and we hope to add to the full-time staff in the near future.

The Arts Collection (N-NX and TR) is a heavily browsed and circulated collection. Much of the misshelving is due to overcrowded conditions in the stacks. The Libraries does not want to reduce user space to add shelving so we are transferring duplicates to keep the crowded shelves under control. If there is a specific book you are looking for, please complete the Item Request Form at http://www.library.vcu.edu/forms/itemreq.html. This form initiates a search and a replacement decision if the book is missing. You will be notified when the book is available.
We hope you have a positive experience at Cabell Library this semester!

Patricia Selinger
Head, Preservation Dept

It is freezing in this place (Cabell Library).
Please do something about the lack of heat on the first floor of the library.

I apologize for the delay in answering your inquiring about being cold in Cabell Library on January 23, 2006. The National Weather Service in Wakefield, VA reported the high temperature for Richmond, VA on January 23 at 48 degrees, average high for the entire month was 55.4, which is 10-11 degrees higher than the past 30 years average. Why am I telling you more about penguins than you want to know - one more statistic please, from January 17 to 23, the temperature ranged from 45 to 68 degrees and from January 23 to 29 it was 45 to 64 degrees. These variable temperature changes each day make it difficult for the VCU Physical Plant to regulate its heating system to maintain consistent and constant comfortable temperature through the entire building with these unseasonable higher temperatures during this time period. Weather forecasters call for more seasonable temperatures for the next 7 days starting February 7, 2006, with high temperatures in the middle forties. We believe you will find Cabell Library building at a more comfortable temperature while you are conducting research work in the building's public areas.

Walter Sampson
Assistant Librarian for Policy Development

I know that the first floor of TML is not intended to be a quiet floor. However, the noise level is frequently beyond what I think is appropriate for a library. People feel free to hold extensive conversations in loud voices (sometimes related to studying and sometimes not) and talk on cell phones, and the staffs' voices at the circulation desk are often very loud as well. I have been a frequent user of this library for 3 years, and the noise level has become a much bigger problem during this school year than it was in previous years. Is there anything that can be done?
From: Lyons

Dear Mr Hardy,

Thank you very much for your comments. We all have noticed that the noise level on the first floor tends to be high at times. This is due to a combination of factors, the coffee place, allowing library users
to eat food in the library which encourages group congregation and other things. We have also noticed that the number of library users has increased a lot this school year. So more people, more noise. The
library has really tried hard to be user friendly, hence allowing food and the coffee place, but these gestures unfortunately come at a price and one of them is the noise.

As far as staff being loud at the desk, I am really sorry to hear that and would like to ensure you that we will try as much as possible to control our noise level. I would also like to remind you that we do
have a quiet study room up on the second floor plus we have nine study rooms above
Special Collections that you can use. Lastly, please do not hesitate to let a staff member
know whenever you are in the library and the noise level is too high for your comfort.

Irene Lubker
Research Librarian, User Services
Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences