MSPAL Power
From the suggestion box
December 21st, 2011
Hi there!
Today I’m going to discuss the recent comments and questions from the suggestion box.
Eating should be allowed/More prominent “no food” signs
This is a tough issue. What makes it more difficult is that for each comment we receive saying that we should allow food, there is another that says we should enforce the no food policy more. We understand that students can get hungry while studying and that sometimes people study in MSPAL during mealtimes. However, due to the special items we have in the library we are unable to allow food in the building. Some of our older books and scores are no longer in print and would be extremely difficult to replace if they were accidentally damaged or stained by food. Our special collections also contain some very delicate materials.
Fortunately, we are located close to the cafe in CSPAC and anyone wishing to grab a bite is welcome to just jaunt right over for a little bit and then get back to their studying.
Cell phones should be allowed
Loud and long conversations on cell phones are not allowed in MSPAL as a courtesy to other students, faculty and staff who are studying. If you need to quickly and quietly answer a short phone call (less than 3 minutes), it should be alright. I know some other academic libraries have phone booths for people with cell phones to make calls and we may look into those.
I suggest the workers get raises because they always do an amazing job!
Thanks!
Can you please fix the heat? It’s really cold in here.
We have noticed that too! 
Fortunately, facilities is actively working on the heating system today and it should be nice and cozy soon.
All night/longer hours (especially for finals weeks)!!
In the past, we have increased our hours for finals week. It’s sometimes difficult to provide 24 hour service due to budgetary, staffing, and security issues. We would need a supervisor or security guard available for a night shift to ensure student safety. We understand the need for a nice study space during finals and we will be looking into what we can do to make our space more convenient to students during finals. In the meantime McKeldin has late night study. You can check it out here.
Hope this helps!
-Mierka
Posted by Mierka in Services, Announcements | No Comments »
