Maroon Opinions

External Monitors for Laptops

Is there any library with external monitors to connect to a laptop? I'm in the stage of dissertation writing and an second monitor will be very helpful.

The Suggestions Office staff are fully on board with the virtues of increased screen real estate. Unfortunately, our proposal to upgrade the Suggestions Office to a Matrix-style setup has been rejected several times (something about "having a life" keeps getting mentioned).

However, there have been several recent discussions about deploying monitors for use on the first floor of Regenstein Library and elsewhere. We are still working out the details (e.g., how to secure the monitors, if we should supply cables/adaptors, and so on), but we may have exciting news to report soon.

Printers on the 4th and 5th Floor

The library printers on 4th and 5th floors have malfunctioning toners or drums. When they print pages out, ink is splattered all over the paper. The printers have been like that for at least the past month or two, and I was wondering if the library could repair the printers.

Thank you -- we've asked Canon staff to investigate.

Me, Myself, and I All Make Room Reservations

Great system, one suggestion: The program should check if the uchicago email is in the directory before it allows the user to block off a period of time. On accident I did not type my email correctly and blocked off a 30 minute period for one of the rooms. If it cross referenced the directory it would not have accepted my email and bounced it back to me. Also I believe you should have a shorter amount of time to confirm it maybe 5 minutes? I could see someone very easily abusing the system unless the above errors are fixed. Overall though great job, much better than the past system.

We're glad you like the Library's new room reservation system. One of the top things on our wishlist with the vendor is integration with the campus directory. We've also considered shortening the confirmation period, although we understand various things can happen to an email message on its way to someone's inbox and it sometimes takes longer than 5 minutes to deliver a message.

Lights out in 4th Floor Reading Room

I just noticed that the ceiling light is not operating properly. Here is the 4th floor, the corner squared by Jewish studies, door number 4, call number BR 60. I hope that this could be fixed sooner or later, since this hurts the eye sight and interrupts reading. Thank you.

Thank you for the observation: when the Office staff went up to check things out, we found all the lights in that area were working, so perhaps it was a temporary occurence.

Your Room Can Look Like the Reg

I really like the blue paint color in the regenstein main floor. Would you know what color/paint brand it is?

It's Sherwin Williams SW6463 "Breaktime". We're glad you like it.

Noise in Mansueto

It's really a shame that the ventilation system in Mansueto is so loud. Last year I remember it being much quieter. I understand it's supposed to be a mere background noise, but the hum of the ventilators is very loud and prevents me from concentrating. As a result, I no longer use this otherwise wonderful space.

Several of my friends have agreed that the ventilator noise far exceeds acceptable background noise.

We admit that we haven't noticed the ventilation system being particularly loud compared to last year, but this may be a case of us simply getting used to the noise. There doesn't seem to be any specific reason the noise would be louder (we don't think the system is working much harder than last year), but we'll continue to monitor the situation for changes in the noise level.

A webform for eating complaints?

Provide a web-link or other way to allow us to report people who are noisy or eating food in places where they should not be. As it is, the reports are a lot of trouble to make: we have to go down to the main floor and try to find someone who will pay attention.

While we understand it's a little bit of trouble to go down from, say, one of the upper floors of our libraries to the main circulation desk, fielding an in-person complaint allows us to respond quickly.

Much of our webform traffic isn't read until the following morning, as the staff who read and responds to our webform submissions aren't necessarily here on evenings and weekends. (Contrary to popular opinion, the Suggestions Office staff do not sleep in the Reg...at least, not on a regular basis.)

If you notice someone making noise or eating, we advise (1) asking them politely to put their food away and/or quiet down; and if they won't stop, (2) asking the circulation supervisor or another Library staff member to talk with them.

What can I put in the recycling bins?

I have a question about the small grey recycling bins scattered around the library. They say "paper only," but people tend to put all their recycling in there. Are these bins single-sort recycling or paper only?

The small bins (indeed, all University recycling containers) are single-sort: please feel free to put any eligible recycling products in them. The labels are left over from earlier days and can safely be disregarded.

In case you're wondering, the University's Office of Sustainability says the following products can be recycled (as of February 2013):

• Aluminum food and beverage containers, including cans, foil, and pie tins
• Glass food and beverage containers – brown, clear or green
• Iron cans
• Plastic containers – clear and pigmented
• Newsprint
• Corrugated cardboard (flattened)
• Magazines and catalogs
• Cereal boxes
• Telephone books
• Office paper
• Mail, including FedEx envelopes and envelopes with plastic windows

The Office of Sustainability further notes:

• All glass, plastic, aluminum containers, and tin cans must be empty and free of metal caps and rings and contain less than 5% food debris
• Tissues, paper towels or other paper that has been in contact with food is not acceptable
• No wax-coated paper or carbon paper
• No plastic bags or saran wrap

 

Cold on the First Floor

Is it necessary to keep the reg at what feels like 60 degrees? Every day this week I have been here and it has been absolutely freezing. Everybody has their coat on and it is STILL cold. I don't understand why the heat is not on in February when the temperatures are still 30s and below. If you could attend to this problem ASAP that would be greatly appreciated by all of us freezing away in the reg.

 We take temperature readings on a regular basis (usually daily Monday-Friday), and the readings generally have been around 70 degrees. This is a degree or two colder than we'd optimally like it, but within our normal range. There are some areas that have been colder than 70, but they aren't public/study areas.

This being said, the first floor can often feel colder if it's really cold and windy outside, because the opening and closing of the exterior doors can admit large gusts of cold air into the building, and it takes a little while for the heating system to precisely regulate the big open space that is the first floor reading area.

Coat Hooks?

You should get coat/bag hooks for the huge blank walls in the first-floor women's rooms! It's a pain to bring everything into the stall to avoid having to leave it on the floor.

On the occasions when the Suggestions Office staff has been encumbered by coats, hats, backpacks, etc., we've also wished for a convenient hook. The tile wall may not be conducive to installing hooks, but we can always ask the experts at University Facilities and see what they say.