Maroon Opinions

Reading PDFs with non-Roman fonts

Could you install language packages for Adobe Reader in shared computers? Currently, I cannot read PDFs in non alphabet languages and it's pretty inconvenient.

The font packs for Adobe Reader are set to install "on demand," but unfortunately require admin privileges to complete the installation. We're investigating deploying the font packs on our newer computers running Windows 7.

In the meantime, we suggest using the USITE cluster, which has Acrobat Reader + all font packs installed, to read PDFs in non-Roman scripts. You can get to the USITE server by using the "Access USITE Software" desktop shortcut, or by opening a Remote Desktop connection to commander.uchicago.edu.

More Signs = More Better

(1) Someone has rebooted the computer on the 4th floor, on the immediate right of the staircase, and left it as it is. It is showing a blue screen and cannot be used. It is numbered jrl-ref4-11.lib.uchicago.edu

(2) I have noticed that signs saying "No eating in reading areas" have been installed in Ex Libris cafe. I think those signs are very effective, so I suggest you to put similar signs on each reading table too. There have been few courtesy signs in the reading areas from the first place, and I'm sure many users will be deterred from eating and talking if they are constantly reminded of the rules.

Thank you for the information about the computer, and for including the machine name! Our crack ADS staff, unsurprisingly, had already noticed the gimpy PC and are on the case.

As for the "no eating" signs, we used to have table tents with this information and they all mysteriously disappeared. Hmm. In any case, look for the table signs to make a reappearance soon.

No Internet Please, We're Studying

An area of the Reg without wireless internet would be useful. Students (myself included) get distracted by the internet on the computer while writing papers or reading documents. It's possible to turn off one's computer's wireless, but one then gets temptations to turn it back on, were five seconds of weakness can lead to ten minutes of wasted time. Additionally, even if one resists the temptations, there is still lost time by thinking about turning on the internet.

The area would not have to be large (part of the stacks on the fourth floor for instance) where wireless is disabled, with signs posted warning students. Not many people would be inconvenienced by such a trial (relocating a floor), and I think it could help students' studying.

Your wish is our command! We give you...the bookstacks, where the wireless signal is flaky and (working) Ethernet jacks are scarce.

More seriously, a "Regenstein Upper Floors Planning" group is examining reading room use, and we'll pass this idea along to them.

UPDATE: We've been informed that, after no small effort on the part of IT Services and the Library, the bookstacks have excellent connectivity along the edges (=the consultation desks) and even within the stacks themselves. The Office staff apologizes for the misinformation. Hmm...perhaps you could take your laptop elsewhere?

Setting the monitor in portrait mode

We would like to use the computers on the 1st level in portrait mode! There is obviously the physical capability to do so (the new mounts allow it), but the control panel setting to actually output the display to portrait mode is locked. I've already emailed IT services, but I thought that if the library agreed that it was a nice idea they might encourage IT to enable it. Enabling portrait mode would facilitate the mass of reading that students and others do on scanned documents! Thank you for considering it.

Our IT colleagues are understandably loath to unlock control features...but the keyboard shortcuts seem to work:

• CTRL+ALT+up arrow: landscape [default]
• CTRL+ALT+down arrow: upside-down/flipped  landscape
• CTRL+ALT+left arrow: portrait
• CTRL+ALT+right arrow: upside-down/flipped portrait

Please remember to put the display back in regular landscape mode when you finish, or else the next patron to use the PC might have an unpleasant surprise.

UPDATE: Our colleagues in the Library would like to (strongly) encourage you to leave the computer in landscape mode, as the next user may not be as monitor-savvy as you. Also, the computers on the monitor arms are maintained by the Library, not IT Services.

Mouse missing in East Asia

The mouse of the middle computer in the East Asian Electronic Resources room is missing. Is it possible to replace it?

Thank you for letting us know -- we will get a replacement soon.

Please make IE6 go away

The version of Internet Explorer (version 6, which was already obsolete in 2005) running on the catalog computers is too old to display Lens properly, which makes searching for books both more difficult and uglier. There are also probably security issues associated with running such outdated software.

Moving to the current version of IE is on our to-do list  -- in part because of the concerns you mentioned -- but we'd like to combine this with other changes to these computers, such as moving to Windows 7 and/or rethinking how we offer catalog-only service. (The workstations aren't going away, so far as I know, but we're discussing if it makes more sense to adopt a thin client model instead of a stand-alone PC, etc.)

In short, we will be moving off IE6 but it may be a little while yet.

The Aging Mousepads

I'd like to request that the library replace the mouse pads for the first floor computers. They're all peeling up and the corners, which makes them hard to use and a bit on the gross side. New mouse pads would be a minimal cost to the library and greatly enhance the patron experience in the computer bay.

"A bit on the gross side" was an understatement --  everyone in the Suggestions Office agreed the pads deserved an honorable burial in the trash.

Replacement is a little more tricky. We discovered our remaining stock of Mansueto mousepads was insufficient to cover the first floor (much less the entire library). Our friends in ADS pointed out that, being optical, the mice didn't actually need pads to function -- so we left the mice pad-less.

[BONUS:  There is still one (public) computer in the Reg with its mouse resting on a Manuseto rendering. First person to notify the Suggestions Office of the correct location wins...a free mousepad.]

Clean the PC keyboards!

Wipe down the keyboards regularly. They are filthy and highly unsanitary. Just take a look at jrl-ref3-06.lib.uchicago.edu on 3Fl in the back. At least, offer hand sanitizer and some wipes on each floor, like the Mac Lab. I would be willing to use them before each computer use. (Of course, their keyboards do not accumulate as much disgusting stuff, etc.)

Unfortunately we don't have the staff to systematically wipe down all of the several dozen computers in the Reg on a regular basis. However, you're welcome to report specific instances of grunginess (such as jrl-ref3-06) and we can send someone out to clean them.

Lens: is there an app for that?

I have a suggestion that would make Lens more accessible to students. This is to make an App for Lens to be used on the iPhone. I realize that this will only help students and faculty that have iPhones. However, I think that the population of iPhone users on campus is large enough to warrant such an app.

This app is clearly not necessary for library research. However, it would allow library users to easily find call numbers and access bibliographic information while on the move - say on the walk from South Campus to the Reg.

Coincidentally, some of our staff are in the process of reviewing our Library resources and their usefulness on mobile devices. I passed along this comment to our Library systems staff who work on Lens.

There is already a text-only version of Lens that iPhone (and other mobile device) users might find easier to use than the full version.

Paper Exchange Trays in the Reg

I wanted to suggest a green idea. It would be nice if the library kept paper trays by the printers where people could offload their unwanted single sided copies / printouts, with a sign with instructions. I've seen this in other libraries and have been a heavy recycler of this kind of paper -- it makes great paper for class notes, plus we're recycling.

Sounds like a good idea to us!  Cheryl, the Library's sustainability guru, diligently pursued this idea through several meetings. We are pleased to report there are now "re-use" trays on the first floor of the Reg by the printers, and already we have seen scrap paper in them.