Students Asked, We Responded!

Students at the UT Health Science Center have never been shy about letting us know what they need to improve their experiences in the library. When possible, we do our best to “make it so!”

More Whiteboards!

WhiteboardEvery group study room has a whiteboard. The study rooms on the 5th floor have whiteboards that cover two-thirds of one wall, providing a large writing area. Often, we find them covered with equations or diagrams that are so impressive that our staff are reluctant to wipe them down. Since the number of group study rooms is limited, students asked for portable whiteboards that they can use in the open seating areas. After consulting with members of the Student Government Association, we have purchased large rolling whiteboards for the 3rd and 5th floors.

Erasers are magnetically attached to the boards and students can help themselves to markers from the bucket that resides at the Circulation Desk. We just ask that students return the markers so others can use them.bucket-markers

Study Room Reservation Schedules

study-rm-sched

When we migrated to a self-service group study room reservation system, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Students were able to log in and reserve rooms for up to 4 hours at a time without having to call or stop at a service desk to request a reservation. However, everyone did not honor the reservations and we often received complaints that people were occupying rooms that had been reserved by other groups. We investigated ways to make it easier to find non-reserved rooms and then reserve them on the spot using a mobile device. This screen, located across from the entrance on the 3rd floor, shows up-to-the-minute availability and provides a scan code for quick access to the reservation system.

These improvements are a collaborative effort between staff from the Library Services, Administration and Library Technology divisions. We look forward to receiving suggestions for ways to assist in the success of our students.

Jonquil Feldman
Director, Library and Outreach Services
feldman@uthscsa.edu

Article Categories: Library Updates, News from the Libraries