Western Libraries' Comments Page

Suggestion: I really appreciate the concept behind having to check out a key for the group study rooms. But EVERY group room being locked up seems a little unnecessary as well as a waste of space. It makes sense to have a floor or two always available for groups (especially those that reserve them) but every floor?! And the fact that you have to have all of your group members there (or at least two) to even get a room seems a little harsh. There is a serious lack of good study space on campus and the library is where most people go. The skybridge is also great for groups but sometimes a little more privacy is needed. I think these recently adopted group room rules are too strict and it ends up being a big hassle to even get one. Again, I agree with having some of the rooms key check-out required but not all of them. Also, maybe there can be some way to check out a key even if your group hasn't showed up yet & then one of the joining group members can verify that it's actually a group when they arrive. Thank you for understanding, I know everyone is just trying to find a good place to study but the new method is slightly nonsensical.

Our Response: Thank you for your comments. This new program is in response to a challenging situation where individuals were using the group study rooms while actual groups were going elsewhere (sometimes to quiet areas) instead of asking the single user to move. This occurred frequently when the rooms were kept unlocked all the time.

We are still working out the bugs and will definitely keep your comments in mind, but so far the program has proven successful since the rooms are now being used for their intended purpose. Related to key checkout policies, again we feel it is necessary to require at least two group members to avoid the issues with students using the group areas for individual study.

Suggestion: I just accessed my circulation record to check the due date on a Summit item. (The due date was not written on the Summit label affixed to the book.) In the past, Summit books were identified by author and title (as books from Wilson Library are), but now they are not but rather only by cryptic request numbers. I was able to figure out which of the several Summit books checked out to me was the one in question, but not as simply as I'd have liked. Can this be fixed? "Day 29" is not easily translated into an obvious book title.
Also, on the new Summit interface, there is no "Return to Home Library" button. I end up having to hit the back button on the browser repeatedly when I want to return to searching our library. Would it be possible to fix this or to have the Summit page automatically open in a new tab?

Our Response: Thanks for your comments about the new Summit interface. I forwarded your email to Bob Thomas, our contact person for the migration, and I am including his response below. The gist of it is they are making improvements all the time and the problems you point out are definitely on their radar. In response to your point about using the back button and the lack of a "return home" option, I will be looking at forcing Summit searches to open in a new window.

Here is Bob's response:

On the lack of title information for Summit items in the My Account area, this will be fixed by an upgrade planned for installation sometime in the next few weeks (no specific date yet). Until then, you can ask at the circ desk, or give them a call, and they can figure out the due date for each Summit item you have out.

On the lack of a 'return to WWU Library' button, the new Summit system does not 'know' that you're associated with WWU (except when you're actually in the process of requesting an item). We're looking at possibly merging the WWU Library interface and the Summit interface into a single system. If we decide to go that route, this won't be a problem (we're waiting for the results of some formal usability tests we're conducting with actual WWU faculty & students). If we decide not to merge the two systems, we will certainly look at forcing Summit to open in a separate window.

Bob