Like Us? Love Us? Want Us to Do Better? Tell us!

If you haven’t had a chance to take the Library survey, take three minutes and help us, help you: Take the Library Survey.  Available until Friday, April 16th, the annual library survey is your chance to suggest changes, recommend new services or collections, and/or lodge complaints about the temperature.    

Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation television show is seen at his desk with a coat and hat, visibly cold and uncomfortable

Because of your input, we’ve made the following changes to the library:

  • Extended hours, including later hours during the week, on Fridays, and a 24 hour opening period during finals.
  • Stayed open during the entire pandemic to provide in-person, masked and socially distant service.
  • Increased number of study rooms
  • Added computers to the study rooms
  • Increased number of computer stations
  • Provided laptops, web cameras, and microphone headsets for check-out
  • Increased number of journals and databases to support sciences, nursing, and other STEM fields.
  • Added multiple platforms for streaming video like Swank, Kanopy, and Academic Video Online.
  • Extended check-out times for calculators and DVDs for students
  • Replaced all chairs from the late 1990’s (in progress)
  • Purchased more board games and graphic novels.
  • Changed policy to allow drinks
  • Traveled back in time to 1992 and brought back a fax machine for general student use.
  • Unlocked the balcony on the 3rd Floor
  • Purchased many of the required General Education Textbooks for check-out and/or for viewing online as ebooks.
  • Made this annual survey shorter

As you can see, we’re eager to make the same changes, and your comments and input help us advocate for your needs. While we always try to improve what we can, there are always a few requests we get almost every year that we have not been able to make happen:

  • Allow Food – Nothing makes students hungrier than late-night studying. Unfortunately, where food happens, pests follow, and the last thing we need are well-educated mice trying to take over the world.
  • Maintain the Perfect Temperature for Everyone–While have made great strides in upgrading our central AC/Heat, it is not always going to be optimum for everyone at all times of the year. But let our staff know if you are too cold or too hot–we might be able to make adjustments or at least give you tips on low-price cardigans.
  • A Quieter Library--The library used to be a silent refuge from a noisy world, but learning can sometimes make sounds, especially group-learning. That’s why we have designated the 1st floor as low noise and the 2nd floor as a quiet zone. But since we cannot be everywhere all of the time, we have implemented a Text-A-Librarian service you can use to a summon shushing librarian to quiet things down. We do our best, but we need your help.
  • Open 24 Hours All The Time–This convenience and procrastination fuel is sorely needed on campus, we agree. However, until the funds, the security, the staffing, and the coffee are available for such a service, it will remain just out of reach.  In the meantime, we will continue to offer 24/7 service during the first part of final exams week.
  • More Monster Trucks–This is an actual comment.

Even if there is a limit to what we can do, there is no limit to how hard we will work to help you succeed academically. Tell us how best we can help: https://techlibraries2021.questionpro.com/

In the meantime, stay up to date on all library events and happenings, including our upcoming 24 hour schedule for finals on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.