Comments for Piping Up

Comment on United Way Book Sale – Dates and Donations by Nina Saklikar

Nina Saklikar — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:06:32 +0000

According to Elaine Fairey, who is a librarian here and also involved with the book sale, the dates and times are:

Tuesday November 20 9:00 AM to 7:00PM
Wednesday November 21 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Thursday November 22 9:00AM to 3:00PM

Drop off book donation box in Bennett Library lobby.

New SFU United Way web site under development – http://www.sfu.ca/unitedway.html

SFU United Way 2012 Chair Gwynne Roseborough will be sending more information to the university soon.

Comment on United Way Book Sale – Dates and Donations by falconer

falconer — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 21:49:22 +0000

Hi, I notice that the http://www.sfu.ca/united-way/events_burnaby.html link for the book sale is broken.

Comment on Suggestion for New Title Purchase: The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, a Search for Salvation by ash15

ash15 — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:39:00 +0000

Thanks very much.

Comment on Quiet Study Areas by micke

micke — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:45:49 +0000

There are many comments here about the unreasonable volume of chatter throughout the library including supposedly quiet areas. The library’s response is to brush these off, and discourages one from even bothering to raise the problem here, which you clearly are not taking seriously.

What do you mean, “we cannot police noise levels in all areas of the library”? If not you, then who? Are library users supposed to do your job for you? I for one have never seen an SFU librarian uphold any kind of noise policy with a library user.

The librarians appear to have put a lot of effort into developing group study areas, places for students to sit around tables to eat and drink and talk on their phones. Unfortunately this gives the impression that the library is basically a coffee shop with books, like a Starbucks in Chapters, and this atmosphere promulgates throughout the building. You have forgotten that the PRIMARY, not secondary, activity in the library should be silent reading and writing. This is why another commenter here has suggested that you have no respect for scholarship. Your policies are making scholarship very difficult to accomplish. Those who wish to read in silence are treated like an eccentric minority. With constant chatter inside the building and frequent amplified music directly outside, the library is a bit of a joke to be honest.

Comment on Follow-up on Burnt Out Lights by Nina Saklikar

Nina Saklikar — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:21:40 +0000

Hello, Thanks for pointing out the ongoing burnt out light. SFU library staff have reported the malfunctioning light to SFU Facilities Management for replacement.
Regards,
Garth.

Comment on Follow-up on Burnt Out Lights by ash15

ash15 — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:15:47 +0000

Actually, only *one* of the four light fixtures is switched on in this particular coffer.

Comment on Reciprocal Borrowing with Justice Institute by ysk6

ysk6 — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:53:03 +0000

Dear Researcher,

On a related note, if there is a particular resource or kind of resource you would like to see added to SFU Library’s Criminology collection, I would be happy to hear about it. Please feel free to contact me to discuss.

Best wishes,

Yolanda Koscielski, Liaison Librarian for Criminology
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/users/ysk6

Comment on Signs for Quiet Study Area in Lam by baw2

baw2 — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:50:43 +0000

Here we go again. Why won’t the library administration do something about this??

As we speak, I am in one of the libraries at UBC. I’ve been out here writing a paper, because of some unique books that UBC has.

It. Is. Quiet. Here. There are signs. There are actual library monitors, people whose job it is to maintain order. But most of all it’s just that people seem to be here to study.

Before this UBC adventure, I thought it was just me. I thought I should just wise up and listen to the library staff, who continually respond to these complaints with comments about how it’s a new era in learning, Facebook and random cellphone conversations are educational, too, and anyway it’s just plain unenforceable.

Well, it seems to work at the other big university in town. I can actually concentrate here.

Comment on Video Games in Library Computer Labs by baw2

baw2 — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 20:19:39 +0000

“There may be a number of academic reasons for a student’s use of YouTube or games.” LOL.

Comment on Library Computer Usage by baw2

baw2 — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:47:17 +0000

The difference between the library and the cafeteria is that the latter is a profit-making business. My guess is that when the amount of studying there eats into the operation’s margin enough to make it worth the cost in good will and just plain money to start enforcing the rule, they’ll do it.

I’m getting tired of the “modern library” rationale. It smacks of defensiveness to me. For every person you see waiting in line for a computer, there are two more wandering around from computer lab to computer lab hoping for a spot. Oh, and probably a couple of others picking up their books and trying to find some quiet some where.

I realize that any rules would be difficult (and costly, of course!) to establish and enforce. But the “modern library” you seem to envision is becomingly increasingly unfriendly to, well, scholarship.