Maroon Opinions

Cold and Hot Water on the First Floor

1. Is there someone I can talk to about making the reg a little less cold? It is always freezing, especially when you are studying late at night...
2. Can the reg get a hot water dispenser for those who study past 3am when bart mart is closed??

[The Suggestions Office staff would like to note this is our first submission via Facebook.]

We take regular temperature readings (during the day) and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. That being said, the first floor is essentially a big open space with lots of doors opening and closing to the outside, making it a difficult space to precisely control temperature.

We've had previous suggestions for a hot water tap, and normally direct people to Ex Libris for their hot water needs. As you point out, though, neither Ex Libris nor Bart Mart is open past 3am.  It's a little complicated to place a tap -- we need electrical and plumbing in close proximity -- but it's something we will keep in mind.

Dusting in Mansueto

I'm writing to request that the tables in Mansueto be dusted daily. Every morning I wipe away crumbs, hairs, and other things before I can set my things down.

The University contracts with an outside company to provide custodial services for many buildings, including Regenstein and Mansueto. We've reminded the company that one of the regular custodial services include dusting of the tables.

New Study Carrel and Running Water in Women's Restroom

Hi, Two comments:

First, regarding the pinwheel, I think it is great but would be even better if the lights were LED lights. Friendly for our eyes and the environment.

Second, the water in the women's restroom on the first floor has been running for the past few days. (Far right sink)

Thank you for the comment about the new study carrel -- we'll pass that along to our colleagues in charge of the carrel surveys. (Readers: although the official carrel comment period has ended, we're happy to continue taking feedback.)

We'll also let our building services staff know about the problematic sink in the women's restroom.

The clock on the 4th Floor

It seems as though there is a lot of buzzing, clicking, white noise, etc., in the library. I understand that most of this derives from necessary functions, but I'm curious about some of the older clocks that contribute some of the more grating noise. Specifically, I'm thinking about the clock in the Northeast corner of the 4th floor, but I'm sure there are others. It seems that most people have phones that can tell them the time, so these clocks are probably unnecessary. Alternatively, newer, silent clocks are pretty cheap. In short, focusing with a constant variety of noises is difficult for some of us, and any efforts that can easily reduce these noises would be much appreciated.

While we probably aren't going to get rid of all the clocks--there are still several patrons who appreciate not having to constantly check their phone for the time--that particular clock IS rather loud, isn't it? We'll see if a newer (and quieter) model might be available.

Existential Angst on 4th Floor

The seat of the toilet in the left stall in the men's restroom on the 4th floor was smeared by graffiti.

Indeed, someone has had gotten creative with the Sharpies again, writing "Is this all?" on the seat.  We're happy to report the toilet has been returned to its original tabula rasa white.

Lockers and Hot Water Taps (though not necessarily together)

As a frequent library user, I would like to make some suggestions...

...it would be nice to have a water station that also has hot water on the first floor of the Reg. Ex-libris as well as other cafes on campus closes on weekends and during interims /breaks, and there is no way to get hot water. This is very crucial during the winter times, when it is very cold. I think one solution would be to install the water hydration stations like the ones in the Maroon Market, Hutchinson Commons and Midway Market. Instead of buying bottled water, people can fill up their bottles with filtered water (hot or cold) for free there.

Thirdly, it would be convenient to have lockers installed in the Crerar library. Crerar is the only library that stays open late consistently on weekdays and weekends during the interims and breaks. But there are no lockers to keep personal belongings. It is impossible to carry laptops or personal items all the time, and this is one of the main reasons that keep students from going to Crerar. It would be nice to at least have coin lockers, so people can leave their belongings in for a short while without having to worry about theft.

It seems a well-kept secret, because we hardly ever see anyone using it, but there is a hydration station on the first floor of the Reg. Admittedly, it only dispenses cold water.

However, when Ex Libris is open, we've noticed the cafe staff will often fill up your cup with hot water (note "yours" -- don't ask for a free cup) if you ask nicely.

***

We get occasional requests for lockers in Crerar (see this post), and while it might seem a fairly trivial exercise to move some of the lockers in Regenstein across Ellis Avenue, there's actually staff costs involved in maintaining locker operations.  We've achieved some economies of scale at the Reg -- locker rental being one of many services offered by our multi-talented IPO staff -- but it's not something we can replicate at Crerar without significant time from our circ staff.

We're also a little worried about uncharged Library material being "cached" in lockers -- in the past, we've had problems with patrons hoarding materials at both Regenstein and Crerar. (The old-timers in the Suggestions Office remember regularly discovering O-Chem textbooks squirreled away on the 2nd floor.)

Noise in the Stacks

DON'T schedule loud work in the bookstacks during finals week.

Unfortunately we have a couple of noise-making projects in the stacks this week, including plumbing work on the B-Level and the ongoing collection move. Although we've asked the workers to be quiet (and would appreciate any notice of loud talking, radio playing etc.), a certain amount of noise from equipment is inevitable.

The Doors, The Doors

I was wondering if the library would ever consider fixing the doors on every floor of the Regenstein so that they don't make a loud noise when they slam shut, as it is a library after all. All the doors from the main Regenstein stairwell do this, and the noise reverberates through almost the entire reading area of the second floor (where I am now, for instance). I find it hugely distracting and an incredibly poor design choice for a library.

The doors at Crerar do not do this, by contrast (intentionally designed that way, I presume). They have a soft closing.

We suspect this feature may be inherent in the metal (vs. wood) construction of the doors, but we'll inquire of those who know more about the opening mechanisms.

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?

Cleaning the Carrels

Is there a cleaning schedule for the Reg's study carrels? I know there are a million of them that probably need attention and it would take forever to do, but I'm sitting in one (by locker 3189) and there's old encrusted gum shoved in the cracks and icky smears on the walls. Is there any chance of getting this cleaned?

The custodial staff do some light cleaning, but removing encrusted gum is probably beyond their regular efforts. If there's a carrel that needs particular attention (like this one), let us know.