In this Issue:

• Survey Comments Answered
• Library Inventory Project
• New Maps in Docs
• Videos for Students
• Syllabi Problems
• Library Services
• Library Instruction
• Staff News
• Call These People

Survey Comments Answered

In March/April 1998, the Thomas G. Carpenter Library conducted a customer satisfaction survey. In addition to questions that could be answered by encircling the appropriate rating digit, we invited our patrons to help us better serve them by adding their comments, questions, suggestions. A large number of these originated from university faculty and staff, thus we chose this forum to answer issues that reflect a common concern.

In the following we will repeat a few of the most common comments received and append the answer, explanation, information as appropriate.

We also received many compliments for which we are deeply grateful. We just had to list a few of those, too.

Andrew Farkas
Director of Libraries

Comments are in bold italics.
Answers follow.

Need to drastically improve collections -- especially periodicals. We have the worst collection in the SUS.

Sometimes I consider requesting a journal but don't know from year to year if funds are available. Could faculty be informed if it is a good (or bad) time to make requests?

Requests for journals, annuals, business services, and other materials requiring an ongoing commitment for their acquisition are carefully evaluated by Library Faculty. A very limited number of new titles are ordered each academic year, usually in the late fall. Because of the extreme scrutiny applied by the Library to all new requests for these types of acquisitions, it is extremely important for faculty to supply, in writing, an explanation of how a given title, or list of titles, supports the requestor's teaching or research. All requests should be submitted to Vicki Stanton, Head, Serials Department at 620-2550 or vstanton@unf.edu. If the Library is unable to order a requested title, individual articles may usually be acquired through the Interlibrary Loan Section of the Circulation Department. Also, many articles are now available free through the Library's full text, electronic database accesses.

The Library spends over $30,000 annually on subscriptions to health journals which have been requested by our faculty or required for accreditation.

This library smells bad. It has a mildew odor. Get it cleaned please.

We have a study underway by an outside consultant to examine air quality and all equipment and furnishings that may contribute to the problem. We have just had the air ducts professionally cleaned, filters in air handlers replaced, and other necessary improvements made. The improvements are already noticeable and will be measurable by the absence of complaints.

The University has hired a contractor who cleans several buildings on campus. We hope the overall cleanliness of the building improves.

The Atrium is being cleaned, replanted, re-carpeted, and fully refurnished. Old and torn chairs will be discarded and new chairs and tables purchased. We expect to continue the systematic upgrading of our aging (18-year old) facility.

Faculty may request books several ways: via the electronic order form on the Library's Web page (Request Forms), via e-mail to smangum@unf.edu, via campus mail to Library Acquisitions Dept., or by bringing requests in person to room 1002 of the Library. If not using the electronic transmission method, the Acquisitions Department requires that either special request cards be used (available from the Department), or that clearly marked, printed bibliographies or publishers' catalogs be submitted.

If the Library's book collection needs development in your subject specialty, please let us know, and we will be happy to work with you. For information, contact Sheila Mangum, Head, Acquisitions Department at 620- 2550.

The computers are not very user friendly. Hate the computers. Slow and I find myself lost more than not.

Ask Reference staff for help and training. Soon the new training lab on the 4th floor will be open and we plan to have special sessions for faculty and staff.

The Library continues to be the strongest area at UNF.

Staff is excellent.

Library is one of the best things about UNF.

Library Services are excellent.

High marks for customer service.

Well, we just couldn't resist publishing these! Thanks!

Library Inventory Project

We thought that you would be interested in knowing about a major project being carried out by the Library's Technical Services Division to inventory materials in most of the Library's print collections, particularly those to which open access is accorded to users. Timed to coincide with the University's SACS re-accreditation process, and after two years of development and testing of the underlying techniques, the data collection portion of the project began last April 23 and will have concluded by the time you read this article. Data analysis has already begun and will be completed by the end of the current term. Focusing initially on the circulating collection of books housed in the Library's fourth-floor stacks, by the end of the project over 400,000 items will have been individually examined and the library-applied barcode labels scanned and collected into a computer data file. The barcode- scanning portion of the project has been contracted from an outside vendor, but all other phases of the project are being handled internally by the Acquisitions, Cataloging, and Serials Departments with overall project design and management being handled by the Head of the Technical Services Division.

The principal goals of the Library's project are twofold: to identify specific items which have disappeared from the collections so that users will not be falsely led to believe that they are available and so that they can be considered for replacement; to calculate a rate of "pilferage" for the collections overall and for various subject categories within the collections so that library or university administrators can make informed decisions about the need for additional security or restrictions to those areas of high susceptibility. Some additional benefits will accrue from the project, for example the identification of mislabeled materials and those which, for one reason or another, were never added to the Library's inventory database in the first place. Because of the way that the inventory is being conducted, the resulting data-set will represent a "virtual image" of the collections which can be analyzed for many purposes not the least of which will be to identify areas where mis-shelving is particularly problematic.

The Library's project is notable because it is the first attempt to systematically account for library materials in the twenty-six year history of UNF and because the inventorying of large library collections has been a rare event since at least the 1950's due to the fact that it has not been considered a cost-effective practice. The last known inventorying of a library collection in the State University System of Florida (SUS) was that performed by the two campuses of Florida International University begun in the late 1980's. That project took over three years to inventory around 500,000 volumes and cost in excess of $100,000 for contracted services. By contrast, UNF's project will have covered over 400,000 volumes in under six months, and will cost, at most, $18,000. The fundamental difference in the two projects is, of course, in the level of technological support that has become available to SUS libraries in the past three to five years, the specifics of which are beyond the scope of the present article. Of great importance for you to know, however, is the fact that the techniques for exploiting this technological base have been developed right here at UNF by staff of the Library's Technical Services Division, and there is now growing interest in the process on the part of other SUS institutions. In fact, the University of Florida is currently in the process of inventorying its Music Library print collections using the techniques developed at UNF.

Of course, $18,000 is still a lot of money that could have been spent for something else -- like new books, for example -- and one possible conclusion that we may draw when the project is complete, and all the data has been analyzed, is that it should never be repeated! In the next issue of Books and Bytes we will bring you a follow up article to this one in which some of the results of the inventory project, and our conclusions about it, will be discussed.

John Hein, Head of Technical Services

New Maps in Docs

The Documents Department has a great collection of maps - with new ones arriving weekly. These include road maps, beautiful topographic maps, photo/topo maps of most states and the new area storm surge maps. We also have the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) for Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns County.

Videos for Students

Beginning in January 1999, students will be able to borrow videos from the Media Resources Department. The loan period will be seven days.

Media has over 5000 videos. Approximately 20% are used by faculty or assigned for classes in any given semester. Videos that faculty place on class reserve will be loaned only to faculty with a 24 hour borrowing period. Renewals can be requested via the Library's web page.

The new policy is designed to provide wider access to Library resources. We encourage faculty to request videos for class reserves as early as possible. We expect little change in accessibility of videos to faculty.

Syllabi Problems

Many professors now have their syllabi and other course information on the Web. Some offer handouts in WordPerfect or MS Word format, while others offer PowerPoint presentations. Although the Library has installed viewers for these applications, printing and downloading may be problematic. Anything provided over the Web using standard HTML or PDF (Adobe Acrobat) formatting will work fine and is easily downloaded or printed. If you offer content in formats other than HTML or PDF, please advise your students to use the UNF Computing Lab to print or to save those documents.

You can help us better serve your students by checking with us in advance to see if we offer support for your favorite software. Give us a call at x2616 to find out if we have built-in support for your course content.

Library Services

Enclosed with this issue of Books & Bytes is a flyer listing our services and contacts. We hope it makes it easier for you to find the person you need in the Library. It also lists some Web pages with more information that might be helpful to you and your students.

Now is the Time for Library Instruction

Now is a good time to reserve your spot on the calendar for next semester's Library instruction sessions. For your convenience an electronic request form is available from the Library's Web page. Just select Electronic Forms from the Request column, fill out the form and send it in. Contact Jim Alderman or Mary Davis at x2616 for further information. Staff News Kenneth Urbanski, husband of Verna Urbanski, died May 3, 1998, following a long struggle with the devastating effects of diabetes. Ken taught briefly at UNF as an adjunct in the Department of Language and Literature. He also taught at Jacksonville University and FCCJ, South Campus, until deteriorating eyesight ended his career as a "strolling purveyor of language skills". He will be missed by his friends on the library staff and his former "young scholars".

Staff News

Caryn Baird is the Library's newest Reference Librarian. She arrived during the busy fall semester last year and has already made her mark on the Reference Department. In addition to being a computer whiz, her Internet savvy is remarkable. Caryn's Library degree is from Simmons College.

Josh Greben is a Senior LTA in the Circulation Department. He is the evening/weekend supervisor, student coordinator, and supervises stack maintenance. Josh joined the Library staff last January.

Sandra Nojiri returned to the Library last November after spending four years at home with the children. She worked in the Circulation Department from 1989-1993 and is now a Senior LTA in the Acquisitions Department. She receives and does preliminary processing of all new books - a huge job.

Troy Vidal reported to work as Senior LTA in Documents in January 1998. He's also working on his Masters in Public Administration and is a graduate assistant in the Sociology Department.

BOOKS & BYTES

Books & Bytes is published at least once each semester to inform UNF faculty and staff of Library activities. Direct any questions, comments, and suggestions to Barbara Tuck, Reference Department, x2616 or btuck@unf.edu.

Call These People...

... to place items on Course Reserve (Julia Behler)	x2615	libcirc@unf.edu
... to inquire about borrowing privileges (Circulation Desk)	x2615	libcirc@unf.edu
... to inquire about overdues, fines, etc. (Circulation Desk)	x2615	libcirc@unf.edu
... to inquire about Interlibrary Loans (Circulation Desk)	x2615	libcirc@unf.edu
... to request new journal titles (Vicki Stanton)	x2550	vstanton@unf.edu
... to request new book titles (Sheila Mangum)	x2550	smangum@unf.edu
... to arrange for library instruction (Mary Davis or Jim Alderman)	x2616	libhelp@unf.edu alderman@unf.edu alderman@unf.edu
... to request reference assistance (Reference Desk)	x2616	libhelp@unf.edu

You can communicate with the Reference Department by telephone or through electronic mail (libhelp@unf.edu). A reference librarian will get back to you as soon as possible with an answer, either through e-mail or by telephone.

You can access the online catalog, LUIS (and its WWW interface, WebLUIS), not only in the Library but also from your office or remote (off-campus) location. The Internet address is http://www.unf.edu/library/

Guides to the Library and its services are available in the Reference Department or through the Library's Web site at http://www.unf.edu/library/guides/libgids.html

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