Piping Up

Q. I am extremely unhappy with how the printers and photocopiers work. On more than one occasion I have printed documents and they have either only printed half of the page or are so faded I could barely read it. I pay student fees here and I also pay to print my documents. The least the library could do is to maintain the machines.

A. Hi, I apologize for your printing experience in the library. We do our best to ensure that all the copiers and printers are well maintained, but on the odd occasion a printer may run low on toner and produce an inferior copy. If this ever happens to you again, please notify our front counter staff and they will gladly provide you with a refund for any spoiled copies.

Garth Lauer
Manager, Building and Equipment Services

Q: Hi there,

I wanted to mention two things. I’m sending this message to both Bennett and Belzberg.

I have a class at the Downtown campus for the first time this semester so I’ve been using the Belzberg library a little bit. I needed some help with printing and photocopying and was made to feel very unwelcome and basically like I was bothering them. I was surprised because the folks who work the help desk at Bennett are always fantastic, friendly and helpful.

Secondly, why not post instructions near the printers on how to print on both sides of the paper? I know it doesn’t save us money, everybody knows that, but many of us would just like to be able to save paper anyway! When I print off lecture notes or journal articles and other stuff that doesn’t have to be handed in to be graded I don’t need to print only on one side. If there were instructions posted on how to do this, lots of environmentally-conscious people like me would probably do it. I already do it all the time now because I figured out how to but I didn’t for a long time because I didn’t know how. The notice you would put up could read something like:
“WANNA SAVE PAPER?” (in big letters) “We unfortunately can’t offer a discount for printing on both sides of the
sheet but if you’d like to reduce your environmental footprint anyway, and you don’t actually NEED to print on just one side of the paper, here’s how you print on both sides.” then just put the instructions for both mac and pc. EASY!

It would save paper and, theoretically, save the library money! It seems to me to be a win-win. It’s weird on such a supposedly environmentally conscious campus that this isn’t already happening.

A: Hi,

regards,
Karen Marotz
Head, Belzberg Library

Q: Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a First Semester PhD student. I would have to print/photocopy about 150-200 pages to cover my course work per WEEK. But the cost for printing is so high in the library which is most of the time discouraging me to not print. So I am loosing substantial interest for reading, as it is not very comfortable to read articles on computer. My department has no printing facility for grad students. So library is the only place where I am forced to come to print in a very high rate. I know my email will not change a system over the night which already accepted by majority of students over the years. But I am curious to know, if I am qualified to get an answer, why a public university should not subsidize printing cost, at least on graduate level? Do I not deserve the right to print my academic material for free of cost since I pay the tuition fees? If free is not a viable option, is there anything a student can do to reduce the rate he/she cannot afford? Apologies if my queries cause inconveniency. Thank you for your time.

A: Hi – Tuition fees help offset the costs of providing services to students but it barely covers 1/3 of the overall costs for the University. As such the Library is not in a position to subsidize the costs of printing any further than it already does. The current cost per page covers the cost of the lease of the printers, toner, paper, tax, maintenance and some staffing costs. It cannot be any cheaper without impacting the Library’s tight budget.

Best regards,
Todd
—
Todd M. Mundle
Associate University Librarian
Special Projects, Budget and Personnel

Q: Hi, I was wondering what happened to the photocopy-card refilling kiosk that used to be beside the 6th floor photocopiers? I ran out of money on my card and couldn’t find it. I took the journal I was photocopying to the 3rd level kiosks to refill my card and make some copies but the bound-journal set off the alarm once I left the photocopier area. It would be very helpful to have a kiosk by the 6th floor copiers, or at least a clear sign directing people to the nearest kiosk. A journal/book re-shelving shelf by the 3rd-floor copiers (perhaps I missed it?) would also be nice.

A: My apologies for the lack of signage. The directional signage was temporarily removed for painting and will be reinstalled asap.

The card vending Kiosk has been relocated to the 3rd floor, beside the printers in the central area, adjacent to the book chute return.

Garth Lauer,
Manager, Building and Equipment Services

A: Regarding A journal/book re-shelving shelf by the 3rd-floor copiers: No you did not miss it. There is currently no shelf in the Reserves area on which to leave books brought in for photocopying.

Scott Mackenzie
Head – Access Services