We welcome your thoughts about the MU Libraries

The Journalism Library is open until midnight on weekdays, yet all doors into the Reynolds Journalism Institute except one are locked before 9 p.m. And which door will be unlocked is not consistent. It doesn’t make sense for the doors to be locked when the library is open (especially considering the Futures Lab, which isn’t part of the Libraries is “open” 24/7.) I do not feel safe walking all around the building at night, trying to guess at which door will be unlocked, when I could very easily walk in the double doors on 9th Street if they were unlocked. This is especially true given the muggings that have happened in that area in the last few months (2 on the quad, 1 behind the Professional Building by Hitt. St. Garage.)

Due to the proximity of the journalism complex to The District, bars and restaurants, all doors, except for the RJI double door entrance from the quad are locked after 8:00PM during weeknights. That door is open during library hours. Here is a link to a map of RJI showing which door is open http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/journalism/journalism_pdfs/Library1st.pdf

All doors in the journalism complex would be locked after 8:00PM with only card access if the library was not in the complex. It is access to the library that necessitated that one entrance be accessible during library hours.

We appreciate your safety concerns and hope that this information helps.

As a graduate student attempting to complete assignments necessary for my Ph.D. I find it absolutely infuriating that there are no designated quiet areas for computers usage. I am aware that I can check out a laptop for use in a quiet area, however these are only for two hour time limits and then one must wait another two hours before you can check them out again. There really needs to be a designated quiet computer lab where those students who are in need of limited distractions can work for long periods of time, undisturbed. It is absolute maddening that this is a library that allows so much talking. There are always cell phones going off and groups conversating. I would just like to write a paper in quiet for at least six hours at a time.

Thank you for your comment. We are currently looking into creating more quiet study spaces in Ellis Library. I will pass along this comment that we need quiet study spaces that also have computers.

I think that the Tibetan monks exhibition is real neat for people to see and I really like the art that they create, but why include an art practice that sounds like repeated automated grasshoppers and involves random tings and long bursts of high pitch sounds in the library where people go to study, much less around midterm time. I was sitting in the only seat available with a computer when the monks were doing their art, and i had my ipod up really loud and the sound still haunted me, and i was also sharing the same expressions as the people around me when it sounds like they were doing some construction or a little kid repeatedly taking two serrated sticks and rubbing them together with no end to make a sand design while people are trying to drown out the noise and focus on the books in front of them. I brought this to an employee’s attention sitting at one of the desks close to the sand sculpture, and they just blatantly said that i should go upstairs. My point being that this Tibetan idea should have been placed in a more appropriate setting

Thank you for your comment. This event was sponosred by students, MSA, and they really wanted to have it in Ellis Library because of the central location and heavy traffic. We were concerned about the effect that this event would have on patrons, but we do regularly have events in the Colonnade and believe that these events are an important contribution to the discovery and learning that happens at MU, and in all of our libraries.

The first floor of Ellis Library, except for the Current Peridocial Reading Room, is not a quiet study space. We allow students to meet in groups, talk and their cell phone and socialize in this area. If you need completely quiet study space,  the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor are available. There are some computers on the 2nd floor, and you can check out a laptop and take to any floor that you like. We feel that these accomodations are reasonable, so that the 1st floor can occasionally used for a public event.

But we do appreciate your comments, because we do think carefully about using this space for events.  So it is good to have your feedbac,.

I think that the library computers need Adobe Creative Suite Software. The only computers in the Journalism School are in the Design lab and 206 Neff. These labs are constantly filled each day with classes so there is nowhere for students to go to work on homework or projects that require this software during the day. For those of us who live off campus, it is quite a pain to come back late in the evening to find a computer that uses this software.

Thank you for your comment. The Journalism Library does have Creative Suite 4 on 20 laptops and 4 iMacs. This is in response to student requests that we received through our spring survey. You may have been using one of the computers around the stairwell, which do not have CS4.

You can also use the Adobe Creative Suite at all the campus lab computing sites operated by DoIT, including the student-only computers in Ellis Library.

I was recently looking at the direction guide for collections posted throughout the library and noticed that it has not been updated since 2004. There seems to be some location changes that have occurred in the five year span. One specific issue is the Weinberg collection has moved to the Journalism Library.

Thanks for pointing this out. We are working on updating the location guide.

I have a very very serious complaint against the MU library system which is very very ineffiecient and slow for a patron to request and get a checked-out book. I’ve waited for a whole semester to get my recalled books. I requested five books and I only got one after my semester was over. What a joke here. What is the point of giving me the book I need to finish my semester after the semester is over? This is a ridiculously slow library. This library recall service is even slower than a public library. What are you doing with our student fees? We pay to get nothing. I reserve my right to find out why my recall requests were delayed for a whole semester.

If you need an item that is not being returned, please let us know so we can go to another library to find the item for you. When you recall a book, notices are sent to the patron. If the patron does not return the book we can fine them, but we can’t force them to return the book. It is up to the patron who needs the book to contact the library and let us know that you are having a problem so we can find you another copy. We are very sorry you were inconvenienced and that the materials you needed did not arrive in time for use.

Added comment: Another librarian pointed out that if you put an item on hold, the patron who has the item will not receive a notice. A notice is only sent if you have recalled the book.

When I go into and leave the library, especially in the evenings - there are people smoking, well within the required 20 feet distance from the building. Can’t library security enforce the smoking ban?

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are currently working with Campus Facilities and Environmental Health to work out the best way to enforce the smoking ban. It is possible for library security to enforce the ban, but the security officers spend the bulk of their time monitoring the inside of the building. If you do see smokers that are closer than 20 feet from Ellis Library, please let us know. There are security desks at the north and west entrances to the building.

Every night there is a vocal reminder about when the copy services close. I understand that the library is trying to inform students, however the announcment is always very distracting and I think the library should consider no longer making the announcement.

Thank you for sending in this comment. We considered this request, and many of our staff members agreed that this was an unnecessary interruption. We try to use the PA system primarily for emergency announcements and when we are closing the building. The Copy Services announcement has been discontinued.

Please install lamps on the reading tables in Ellis. Ceiling lamps provide insufficient illumination. I know about the current economic crisis. But I do not want to lose vision either.

Due to budget constraints, we are unable to purchase individual lamps at this time for any area of Ellis Library, and we have not received other complaints about this issue. In the past, we have had lamps on the main floor, but students took out the light bulbs so we were unable to maintain the lamps.

I strongly recommend that our library subscribe to the Sensor Letters (www.aspbs.com/sensorlett) published by American Scientific  Publishers (www.aspbs.com) because this journal is very much needed for my research work and it is a very important reference source to my colleagues/students. Please find more details about this journal at www.aspbs.com/sensorlett and kindly subscribe to our library accordingly.

Thank you for sending us your request for this journal.  Given the current financial crisis, we are not currently adding new titles.   However, we do keep on file, titles that have been specifically requested by faculty and students, for  future consideration.  Obviously, we can’t own all journals, and we need to make informed decisions about which ones to own.  So it is important that we know which journals are of the greatest importance to the most researchers in our academic community.

Thanks again for writing and we’ll keep the title on file.