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2008 Student Survey: Results
and Library Response
Introduction
As many of you know,the DuFour Law
Library recently conducted a survey to determine
how you, the law students, perceive library services
and facilities. First, we want to thank you for
your participation in the survey. We were very
pleased with the response rate; a total of 271
students participated in the survey, over 30%
of the total law school student population. In
particular, we would like to extend a note of
gratitude to the graduating students who responded.
As a graduate you may not directly benefit from
the results of the survey; however, by participating
you are helping to make the Library and the Law
School a better facility for future CUA law students.
Second, we want you to know that the responses
you provided are taken very seriously. In addition
to compiling your responses to the questions we
have also read each and every comment submitted.
As soon as we assimilated the results of the survey
a number of senior library staff met to discuss
how we can respond, both in the short term and
in the long term, to the issues that are of concern
to you. This document outlines those issues and
details our plan to address them.
Library
Response
Overall we are very pleased to report
that most of you rated library services (Circulation and
Reference) as either excellent or very good. In
addition, you provided very encouraging feedback
on the library's print and online resources, both
of which elicited mostly excellent or very good
responses. From your responses and comments we
know that there is a bit of confusion regarding
some library resources (see "Library
Resources" below) and that a number of
students are unaware of our online databases and
would appreciate further instruction on the various
resources available; this is something we hope
to address on an on-going basis. Turning to the library as a facility, all aspects of the facility
received a higher percentage of positive ratings
than negative. However, we are aware that temperature
continues to be a problem, as well as the availability
of laptop printers. All of these points, together
with a number of other issues and our responses
to them, are discussed in greater detail below.
We appreciate all who took the time to submit
comments as well as answer the survey questions.
Comments are very helpful to us as we analyze
survey results. We have selected six comments
that we feel are representative of the hundreds
received and have provided responses to those
comments below.
By providing us with your feedback
it is now incumbent upon those of us in the Library
to respond, and in so doing together we will improve
the Library services, the collection, and the
facility for all of our patrons. The majority of
these improvements we hope to carry out in the
very near future, and of course there are additional
improvements that will require long-range planning.
Thank you again for your participation in the
survey!
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The Library is currently talking
with the Law School administration and the LSP faculty about the possibility of contributing formally in some way to the
research component of the LSP classes.
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The development of new online
guides on often-requested research topics
will be explored over the next few months.
-
The Reference Department intends
to implement a scheduled research consultation
service for students at the beginning of the
next academic year. This service would offer
students the opportunity to schedule a one-on-one
meeting with a reference librarian to discuss
their research projects.
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The Library intends to start testing
a new online reference assistance service
(often called “Ask The Librarian”
on library websites) over the summer.
If implemented, this service will allow students to IM their
questions to the on-duty reference librarian.
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In consultation with the Law
School administration, the Library will explore
converting the honors education VHS videotapes
to digitized video files. If implemented, these files would possibly
reside on a TWEN site.
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More support will be
provided to students who use Apple/Mac computers.
Library Resources
- JSTOR: several students requested
that we acquire JSTOR. JSTOR is available through
Aladin,
the online catalog of CUA's Mullen Library.
Mullen has a wealth of online databases as well
as electronic journals. To access these resources
from the law library's home page, click Aladin
under the Research Databases heading.
- Off-campus access to
JSTOR and to all of Mullen's databases and e-journals
is available via your Mullen patron barcode,
which is on the front of
your I.D. You have to go to Mullen to activate
your barcode before using it for the first
time. Off-campus access to the law library's
online databases is available via your law
library barcode, which is on the back
of your I.D.
- Mullen and other CUA Libraries: the law library is not a part of Mullen
Library, which is why you need to search
two catalogs (Columbo for the law library and Aladin for CUA and WRLC consortium libraries) for online and print resources.
Survey comments indicate that students are
confused by this, so we will investigate
ways to alleviate confusion by modifying
some of our web pages.
- Online Journal Finder: all of the journals in JSTOR are searchable through the law library's Online Journal Finder. Just enter the title of the journal in which you are interested and the Online Journal Finder will tell you where it is available online. The Online Journal Finder searches Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, HeinOnline, JSTOR and other databases.
- Off-campus access to most of the law library's subscription databases is available via your law library barcode. Sign on to MyColumbo (your library account) and you can access law library subscription databases without the need to enter your barcode each time.
- Speaking of MyColumbo, you can use this service to renew books, access law school exams with one sign-on, save your favorite online catalog searches and more. See the MyColumbo page for more information.
- The U.S. Code, 2006 edition:
several students requested that we acquire the
2006 edition of the U.S. Code. The Government
Printing Office, which produces the official
code, is at least two years behind (and always has been).
We believe that the 2006 code will be available in late 2008.
We will acquire it as soon as it is available.
It the meantime, we'll post a sign at the 2000
U.S. Code explaining this.
- State statutes: the law library
does have a current subscription for all state
statutes. We did have a problem recently receiving updates for some states. Those problems have been corrected and all state statutes are now current
and up to date. If you see a problem, please tell a staff member or leave a suggestion in the library's electronic suggestion box.
- Journals: the law library
has a collection of over 900 print journals, in addition to the journals available via HeinOnline. Please
note that current issues are kept on reserve.
- Textbooks: as of Fall 2007, the law library
does have copies of all First Year required
and recommended textbooks. Textbooks are located
on reserve. Textbooks for upper level courses
are purchased at the request of faculty. Please
note that library copies of textbooks are not
intended to be used as a substitute for purchasing
the book yourself.
- Awareness of library resources:
the library has a large variety of resources
that it hopes the students will fully utilize.
Always striving to improve our service, the
library is investigating ways to better publicize
these resources. For more on this subject, please see comments 1, 2, and 5 below.
Equipment
- An additional laptop printer will be added
to Floor 2 in the near future.
- Selected photocopiers will be made available
for printing (still at no charge). The photocopiers
offer double-sided printing as well.
- Double-sided printing will
be made available on at least 1 of the laptop
printers in the near future.
Library
Service
- The library is looking at current staffing
and formulating policies to provide a consistent
level of reference service to students for day, evening, and weekend hours.
Facility
- Temperature: the library,
along with the law school administration,
is exploring the possibility of hiring a consultant to
evaluate the library's heating and cooling
system.
Library staff will continue to monitor the
temperature on a daily basis and report temperature
problems to Facilities Maintenance immediately.
- Chairs: the library will
investigate offering lumbar support on some
of the library chairs. We will also consider
alternative styles of chairs. Regarding the
selection of the current chairs, please see
comment below.
- Lounge seating: over the
summer, the library will provide additional
lounge seating in the hallway on Floor 2.
- Study Rooms: the library
will investigate ways to better use existing
space to provide additional study rooms.
- Noise continues to be an
issue for students. The library has attempted
to achieve a balance between quiet areas and
those areas where talking is permitted. In
general, talking in low voices is permitted
on the east end of the library on all 3 floors
(the area that begins at the restrooms and
ends at the elevator). Cell phones may be
used only on the east end of Floor 2. We ask
that students be respectful of one another
and not talk in the quiet end of the library.
Staff have also been reminded of the need
for quiet. For more on this subject, please see comments 4 and 6 below.
Security
Security remains an important
concern for the library. Please remember that
Catholic University is an urban campus and that
the law library, in keeping with University
policy, is open to the public.
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Theft
Survey comments indicate that
some students are under the impression that
the law library experiences a large amount
of theft. Fortunately, this is not true. In
the past two years, the law library has experienced
fewer than five thefts. Of course, we would
like that number to be zero. You can help
us reduce theft by doing the following:
The Law School Campus Police Officer and
library staff will continue to make regular
sweeps through the library to ensure that
valuables are not left unattended. The library
staff will continue to post notices of thefts
so that students are aware if a theft has
taken place. Please help us to keep the library
secure by reporting all thefts and suspicious
behavior to library staff.
- Library Security Officer
Some students question the
need for a library security officer. The fact
that you think we don't need an officer is
a good sign! Since implementing this position
in 2003, the library has seen a significant
reduction in the number of thefts and security
incidents. Please remember that the library
officer is here both to deter and to respond
to incidents.
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I.D. Requirement
Some survey respondents complained
that it is cumbersome to display their IDs
twice (once to open the doors and then to
the security officer). The library doors must be
closed at all times in order to improve access
control. Showing an I.D. is necessary in case
more than one person enters the library at
a time.
Selected
Comments and Library Responses
- Law
Student [in response to possible new services]:
In the deluge of stuff we have to read and
listen to every day already, I don't think
I'd find time to go listen to another lecture
no matter how helpful it was. Good idea, but
I'd probably just go ask a reference librarian
and get the live performance. Blog could be
useful if it provided very discrete, digestible
"power user" tips for library use,
like "You have this research problem,
you want to solve it. Try this."
- Library
Response:
Your comment gets to the very heart of an
issue that we find perplexing: how to provide
you and your fellow law students with more
exposure to the resources and strategies
we employ in legal research without taking
up more of your valuable time. A few ways
we hope to address this in the near future
include; offering scheduled research consultation
sessions with reference librarians, integrating
the reference staff into the existing curriculum
by offering research presentations within
classes, and setting up an online reference
service. However, the old fashioned reference
desk is not going away and will still offer
the “live performance.”
- Law Student [in response to what they
would do if they were in charge]:
Encourage better student/library staff relations
to show them that librarians are, in fact, nice
people and are there to help. A lot of students
are naturally turned off from the library/librarians
in general and therefore fail to become aware
of, and take advantage of, the resources that
the library offers. I would make Steve Young
the library ambassador. He rocks.
- Library Response:
We understand that many students are indeed
turned off by the library and librarians.
In fact, many librarians are turned off by
libraries and librarians. Asking a librarian
for help may bring back painful memories of
high school writing projects, however if you
can get past these memories, and the stereotype
of the librarian, you’ll see that we
do offer useful services that really can help
you get through law school. By the way, Mr.
Young appreciates the recommendation and will
endeavor to continue to “rock.”
- Law Student [in
response to the comfort of library chairs]:
The chairs are VERY UNCOMFORTABLE and provide
no back support. The cushion you sit on is
too far apart from the back rest, so that
if you want your back to touch the back of
the chair you need to sit on the wooden frame,
which is of course also not comfortable. I
have started bringing a pillow because last
semester I experienced chronic back pain.
It seems like whoever purchased the chairs
did not sit in them before buying them, because
they are very uncomfortable. For people who
use the library a lot (like me) this is a
big issue....
- Library Response:
Before purchasing the current chairs
the library tested several perspective
models for a period of six months. Then
at the end of that period, after feedback
from staff and law students, a final model
was chosen and purchased for library use.
In order to improve the comfort of the
patrons the library is looking into purchasing
lumbar support for the current chairs
and investigating the possibility of acquiring
new chairs.
- Law Student [in response to what they
would do if they were in charge]:
...I would not allow renovations or reorganization
during exams. The library is very crowded
during exams, and all available space should
be reserved for students, not roped off for
books being reorganized....
- Library Response:
Despite the appearance, there was no
stacks reorganization going on in the
4th floor of the library during exams.
Melting snow on the roof caused a sudden,
severe leak on the fourth floor, right
at the beginning of the exam period. As
the water poured in, library staff raced
to move the books in order to save them
from water damage. The area was roped
off until the leak abated and the area
dried. Once the leak was fixed, the library
staff thought it best not to engage in
re-shelving the books until the exam period
ended, since that would have further disturbed
students studying for exams.
- Law Student [in response
to what they would do if they were in charge]:
I would have a "get to know your library
day". The library would have an open
house that allowed students to meet all the
library staff in and about the stacks. Staff
could be placed on the different major sections
of the library and encourage browsing and
talking, and provide brief, informal presentations
of the location they would stationed in or
just chat one-on-one. None of the LSP classes
provide first year students this kind of opportunity.
Everything is so quiet in the library, sometimes
I am afraid to just go in and look around.
Or when I ask were something is, I am handed
a three page map...it is overwhelming.
- This is an excellent idea, thank you for
suggesting it! One common theme in many
of the comments we received is that students
are unaware of the services and the resources
that the library has to offer. This is a
problem that we will attempt to address
in a variety of ways, including an open
house, over the next year.
- Law Student [in response to what they
would do if they were in charge]:
Making sure students felt at home. This means
no thefts, no worries about moving in for the
day and being able to spread out, but it also
means no swiping in, no guards, no having to
go all the way outside to grab a bite or take
a phone call. I didn't say it was easy, but
it would be great. Also, about that guard. Maybe
s/he's a response to problems from earlier (and,
perhaps, has admirably solved those problems)
but s/he sure doesn't seem to be doing a whole
bunch these days. Not only are we paying for
this position, but the illusion of security
we're buying doesn't really seem all the convincing.
If we really *must* have someone there, give
the position to a student. They're liable to
be both the best detector of fishiness and they
have a personal stake in the character of their
library. A student might not card uniformly?
Hah. How would that be different?
- Wow, you've just described what to some
would be Library Utopia and to others would
be library anarchy! Although we got quite
a few comments requesting that we officially
allow eating, talking, and cell phone use
throughout the library, we got more comments
asking that we better-enforce the "no
eating, no talking, no cell phone use"
policies. Clearly, there is no easy solution
here. We've tried to achieve a balance by
designating areas where talking and cell
phone use is permitted. Food is another
issue entirely because the protection of
library materials must remain a top priority.
Food crumbs attract all manner of vermin
which destroy books. Greasy fingerprints
ruin paper and, in extreme situations, can
contribute to the growth of mold, which
is very costly to remove.
- Regarding the library security officer/door guard: please note
that the library security officer is in place to deter
crime as much as to respond to it. Since
moving into this building in 1994, we have
tried a number of different plans to control
access and reduce theft and other security
incidents. First we tried using students
to check I.D.s, which failed for a number
of reasons. Coverage was one, effectiveness
was another. Students and public patrons
alike refused to show their I.D.s to student
workers. Another plan was to use a temp
company (we tried two different ones). We
encountered the same problems, although
enforcement was a bit improved. As theft
and other incidents continued to be a problem,
the library and the law school administration
felt that a more effective plan was needed.
Using a contract security company (City
Security) has proven to be the solution
to our security issues. Theft and security
incidents have been significantly reduced
since this company began service in 2003. A benefit
to using this company is that we can, and
do, demand a replacement if we feel that
an officer is not following proper procedure.
If you ever feel an officer is not doing
his/her duty, please tell a library staff
member immediately.
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