New Paley Printers Will Improve Service and Save Paper

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Steven Bell

You asked – and suggested – and we listened. You wanted more reliable printers. You wanted more efficient printers. And you wanted printers with two-sided printing to save paper and institutional resources. Today we replaced our two aging and not-so-efficient Dell printers with two brand new HP printers. The new black & white printers are more efficient, have greater paper capacity (less empty trays) and we’ve instituted default two-sided printing to save paper and resources. We hope these two new printers will make your time in the library more effective and enjoyable. If you have any comments or concerns about our computer printing please contact Steven Bell, Associate University Librarians for Research & Instructional Services.

Have A Suggestion? Use Our Newest Blog to Share It

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Steven Bell

Everybody who uses the Temple University Libraries has at some point probably thought of something that could be improved, done better or made more efficient. If you have an idea for improving the library we want to hear from you – or even if you have a general complaint.

That’s why we recently upgraded our old virtual suggestion box to a brand new suggestion blog called What’s Your Suggestion. We found ourselves answering the same questions repeatedly for different individuals. We believe the blog will help to make your suggestions and our responses more transparent to the Temple University community. All suggestion blog postings will be stripped of personal information to ensure confidentiality. There is a link to the suggestion blog on the Libaries’ home page. Just look for the “Suggestions” link.

You can submit to the suggestion blog anonymously or include an email address if you prefer a personal response. Submissions to the blog are first reviewed by a staff member so any request to refrain from posting the suggestion to the blog will be honored, and a personal response will be made instead. We hope you will use “What’s Your Suggestion” to let us know how we can improve the library and better serve the Temple University community. For more information about the suggestion blog please contact Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian.

Libraries Conduct Survey To Get Your Opinion

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Steven Bell

To continuously improve library services for the Temple University community we need to hear from our students, faculty and staff. Many of our service improvements come directly from comments and suggestions from the community. To facilitate this process the Temple University Libraries are currently conducting a campus-wide satisfaction survey. LibQual + is a standardized survey used globally by all types of academic libraries. LibQual+ differs from standard satisfaction surveys that use a Likert scale to measure satisfaction on a range from 1 to 5 or some point between “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree”. Instead LibQual+ seeks to determine someone’s minimum expectation for services, their desired level of services and then asks them to identify at what level they currently perceive the quality of the service. The other advantage of LibQual+ is that it is a standardized, national survey which makes it possible for the Temple Libraries to compare their findings to peer institutions.

As with most surveys LibQual+ is a randomized survey instrument. Therefore only certain members of the Temple University community will receive the e-mail message asking you to take the survey. However LibQual+ is being conducted on the main campus, at all the health sciences-related locations, the law school and the Ambler campus. Any member of our community at any of these Temple locations may be randomly invited to complete the survey. If you are one of those who does receive the invitation please take some time to complete the survey. Since we launched the survey on Wednesday, March 18 several hundred individuals have responded but we would greatly appreciate your response. The average time to complete the survey so far ranges between 9 and 12 minutes – so it takes very little time to complete.

LibQual+ is scheduled to end on April 2. We hope those who received the invitation will take the survey. Everyone who does is entered into a random drawing to receive some great prizes. For more information about the LibQual+ survey please contact Steven Bell.

New! Cell Phone Audio Tour of Paley Library

Posted on March 16, 2009 by

New! Cell Phone Audio Tour of Paley Library

You can now use your cell phone to get information about Paley Library departments and services. Call 215-525- 1543, and enter a tour stop number (listed below), followed by the # key.

There is no charge for the call, just your cell minutes.

This service also features a Call Number Locator to help you locate Paley books! Enter 0, the keypad number corresponding to the first letter of the call number, and then the # key.

Tour Stops are posted throughout the library and a List of Stops and Floor Plan is available at the Circulation/Reserve Desk, the Reference Desk and from the Information rack at the Bell Tower entrance.

These are the current stops:

Dean’s Welcome
Paley First Floor
Reference Services
Circulation/Reserve Desk
Computer Workstations in Paley
Special Collections
Paley Second Floor
Paley Third Floor
Media Services
Urban Archives

You can leave us your feedback about the tour by pressing 0, followed by the # key. For more information about the new cell phone audio tour of Paley Library, you can contact Gretchen Sneff.

Libraries Closed 12-24-08 through 1-4-09

Posted on December 19, 2008 by Steven Bell

The Paley Library will close on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm and will not re-open until Monday, January 5, 2009 at 8:00 am.

Under normal circumstances Paley Library would be open several days during the winter break. However, the University has scheduled a major electrical infrastructure upgrade for Paley that requires all power in the building be shut for at least four days. Though we understand this closure will inconvenience some members of our community, this is clearly the best time to perform this much needed electrical work without causing a major inconvenience that would impact the majority of our user community.

During this period all of the Library’s electronic information resources will be available. Owing to the electrical work we must re-route these resources to other institutional computers. Most users should experience no changes to their e-research routines. Some services, such as our Ask-A-Librarian chat will not be available, and the Library catalog system will be current only to December 18, 2008.

For additional details on access to and the status of our e-resources during the closure see the information at: http://status.library.temple.edu/2008/12/intersession-service-interruptions-dec-23-jan-5.html

Tyler Library Closes Permanently At Semester’s End

Posted on December 19, 2008 by Steven Bell

As of Friday December 19, 2008 an era will end. The Tyler School of Art Library will close its doors at the Elkins Park location. The materials, including journals, housed at Tyler will be integrated into the Paley Library. Older and lesser used materials will be moved to the Library Depository. Depository items may be requested for use by filling out a form linked to the catalog record. The Diamond online catalog will reflect the new item locations when the libraries re-open on Monday January 5, 2009.

The Tyler location will be changing and the materials will be moving, but the Temple University Libraries will continue to serve the education and research needs of the Tyler population. Reference, library instruction and research services will be delivered by the Paley Library Reference and Instruction Services Department. Access services, located in Tuttleman, will handle any material location issues and course reserves. For information on course reserves call 215-204-0747.

This move will also add “new” holdings to the general and reference collections at Paley, so the rich collections of materials for students and the wider Temple community will be deeper than ever and available at main campus.

The staff of the Tyler Library will be relocating also. Andrea Goldstein, the Tyler Librarian, will be joining the Ambler Library staff. Frank Marzullo, the Tyler Library technical assistant will also be joining the Ambler Library staff. Ann Mosher, the bibliographic assistant at Tyler, will be moving to the Urban Archives in Paley Library.

New opportunities for the Tyler staff, and “new” resources at the Paley Library will ring in the New Year at the Temple University Libraries!

Addendum 08/20/09: Jill Luedke has been hired as the new Subject Specialist for Art. She can be contacted at at jluedke@temple.edu or 215-204-3166.

Paley Open 24/7 Through Finals

Posted on December 4, 2008 by Steven Bell

To provide Temple students with an around-the-clock study environment and all hours access to our collections, the Paley Library will be open 24 hours a day starting 8 am on Monday, December 8 and will remain open 24/7 until 5 pm on Saturday, December 20. The staff of the Paley Library is available to provide assistance with any last minute research needs, help finding hard-to-locate information, or whatever our students need to complete their assignments successfully. As always, when in the Library please watch your personal belongings at all times. Avoid leaving cell phones, electronic devices and book bags unattended.

Please also be aware that the Paley Library will be closed starting Wednesday, December 24 and will not re-open until Monday, January 5, 2009. Normally the Library would be open several days during the winter break. However, the University has scheduled a major electrical infrastructure upgrade for the Library that requires all power in the building be shut for at least four days. Though we understand this closure will inconvenience some members of our community, this is clearly the best time to shut down without causing a major inconvenience to a large number of library users. We will be publicizing this closure in a variety of ways.

New Food/Beverage Policy Well Received

Posted on September 16, 2008 by Steven Bell

With the addition of new carpets, new furniture and new computers on the first floor west of the Paley Library, the hope is that it will all stay looking clean and well maintained for the students of today and tomorrow. To facilitate this goal a new food and beverage policy was introduced at the start of the fall semester. The new food policy allow snacks of all types, but foods that are by nature messy or aromatic (think styrofoam containers of chinese food, cheesesteaks or pizza) are no longer permitted in the library. We do make an exception for the new cafe area; the messy and/or aromatic foods are allowed there. Beverages of all types may be consumed as long as they are in a closed container.

So far Temple students are cooperatively adhering to the new policy, and we are receiving positive feedback about the changes to the first floor west of the Paley Library. We appreciate that Temple students are supporting our efforts to keep this area clean and a place that everyone on campus will want to use. More information about our new food and beverage policy is available on our website, or you may contact Steven Bell to discuss the new policy.

SEAL eResources Fair Raffle Winners Announced!

Posted on April 2, 2008 by

Students, faculty and staff visited the SEAL eResources Fair on Wednesday, March 19th, to learn about library resources and tools, enjoy cookies and coffee, and enter a Prize Raffle.

Raffle Winners:

$100 Best Buy gift card from CSA/Proquest Erik Lion, Electrical Engineering undergrad
iPod Shuffle from the Library Tanya Riddick, CST undergrad
$25 Circuit City gift card and tote bag from Thomson Walter Johnson, Mechanical Engineering undergrad
1GB Flash Drive from IEEE Michael Chen, CST undergrad
1GB flash drive from IEEE Ajo Maret, Electrical Engineering undergrad
4-port USB Hub from IEEE Kyle Goldstein, Civil Engineering undergrad
4-port USB Hub from IEEE Kaveh Laksari, Mechanical Engineering graduate
$25 iTunes card from Engineering Village Timothy Jennings, Mechanical Engineering undergrad
$25 iTunes card from Engineering Village Tejal Patel, Electrical Engineering undergrad

Thank you to all who attended our first eResources Fair at SEAL. It was quite a success. As a graduate Mechanical Engineering student said, “This was a great event and very helpful. I’ll definitely be here next time!”

An undergraduate student in the Biology Department noted, “I learned that Temple had many databases that can ease my workload and make searching for sources very easy.”

At Temple University Libraries we’re always happy to support your research needs. Thank you again for making the eResources Fair a success!

New and Improved Self Check Machines in Paley Library

Posted on March 25, 2008 by

We are pleased to announce that Paley Library has two new state-of-the art self-check machines on the first floor of Paley underneath the portrait of Samuel Paley. The new machines now feature a two step procedure that allows all sizes of books to be checked out successfully. With the old check-out machines we found that many of our users were unable to use them for large books such as music scores and art history books. Size and barcode placement is no longer a problem. The graphics on the screen make them very user-friendly and we hope that many more of our users will be able to take advantage of their convenience.

—Penelope Myers

Temple University Libraries News

— A Temple Libraries' Blog

Tag Archives: At Your Service