We apologize for the fact that you were not able to gain access to a printer recently. The schedules for the equipment in the Library computer labs (rooms L121, L122, and L310) are managed by the University’s Information Technology Services (ITS) division. Current ITS policy is to shut down lab computers and printers approximately 30 minutes before the Library closes. If you wish to have more information on that policy, please contact Laurie Takao, who oversees the operation of campus labs for ITS. She can be reached by email at laurie takao@humboldt.edu, or by phone at 826-4207.

Having said that, I wanted to let you know that you can always use one of the computers that are in the common areas of the Library (that is, not in one of the computer labs). Those machines are never shut down during open hours and print jobs can continue to be sent to the public printer located outside of the computer lab in L121 until closing time. When you want to send a job to that printer, simply select the device identified as “LibraryP4P” from the list of available printers. Print jobs sent to that machine do cost a few cents more at $.07/page, since that printer is not part of the ITS printer network. But, the upside is that this printer will remain available during all hours the Library is open, since it is not subject to the nightly ITS shut down policy.

Let us know if you have any further questions or suggestions.

We appreciate your comments regarding the new Silent Study Room and are glad to hear that it is serving its purpose. In response to your suggestion, we are giving serious consideration to designating the seating area along the windows outside of the room for quiet study only, which should help maintain silence within the room itself. We will also be adding additional signage in that area alerting everyone to the existence of the room and the need to maintain a quiet atmosphere. Please let us know if there is anything more we can do to ensure the success of the Silent Study Room.

The front desk (Circulation Desk) is open the entire time that the Library is open, which varies depending on the day of the week.  As far as checking reserve items out overnight, that depends on what the instructor has decided.  If an item is 2-hour checkout, then you can check it out overnight within an hour of closing, due the next morning by 8:00 am.  One Day checkout items can be checked out anytime and are due the following day at closing.  And Library Use Only items, of course, cannot be taken out of the building. If you send me the instructor’s name and the course abbreviation and number (such as ART 101), I can tell you more specifically about the items on reserve for that course.

Noelle Simon
Print Reserves Coordinator

I appreciate you taking the time to voice your frustration and share your suggestions. We are keenly aware of the problems with noise in the Library and have been considering the options for addressing that concern on an ongoing basis. Contributing to the noise level are the increase in the number of students using the Library and the incursion of portable technology into our lives. Even so, we continue to maintain quiet study areas around the perimeter of the main book stacks on the second and third floors, and in the Helen Everett Reading Room on the second floor. We do ask our users to help us enforce the quiet study policy, but Library personnel will readily step in when issues are brought to our attention. In that spirit, I will ask the shelving supervisor to remind her student assistants that they are not to use their cell phones or talk with friends while working adjacent to a quiet zone.

In addition to the areas already mentioned, we have seven rooms available in the Library that can be reserved for up to two hours per day for individual or group study using our new online reservation system: http://library.humboldt.edu/libhours/studyroom_cal.php. This summer we will be converting the former Copy Center (room 205) into a quiet reading room with no groups, talking, food, drink, or disruptive technology allowed. We will also take this opportunity to review our signage and see if we can update it to make our policies more explicit. So, while it may not be practical to designate an entire floor as a quiet area, we are providing alternatives and exploring options that will ensure that there will continue to be places in the Library that are conducive to study and reflection. If you would like our assistance in locating a suitable place for your studies, please stop by the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk on the first floor.

Wayne Perryman
Interim Dean

I am sorry to hear of your difficulty in finding information on our website.  I did manage to locate this info myself, but the only way currently to do it quickly is by using the website search feature.  I agree that this should be more easily found, and  I am passing your suggestion directly along to our web page re-design committee.

Thank you,
John Taloff
Circulation Supervisor, HSU Library

Hello, As I sit here trying to write my first essay of the semester I am finding that it is rather difficult. It’s not that I don’t know what to write about or where to find materials, it’s simply that it is too active. Every floor that I try to study on is buzzing with social life. I know that I am not the only student slightly “peeved” about the lack of silence in the library (isn’t that what we were taught as children anyway? silence in libraries? that’s a nationwide fact, I thought). My suggestion is that there be one floor (probably the 3rd) that is quiet throughout the day. This way there are two whole floors for students to do work AND socialize, and the rest of us who wish to do our assignments in complete silence and concentration can do so, as well. I don’t think that it’s too much to ask, nor that it will be hard to establish. In the mean time I’ll just put my headphones in and drown out the chatter with classical music as best I can. Thank you for your time. Peace (and quiet), Taylor

 We are sorry that you have not been able to find a quiet space to study in the Library, but we do have a couple of options to suggest. First off, we need to acknowledge that the Library is indeed a busy place these days — last year more than 667,000 people used our facility! Add to that mix cell phones, laptops, personal listening devices, and a growing emphasis upon study groups, and you have a recipe for noise pollution. That being said, we do have designated quiet zones on the second and third floors, as well as enclosed study rooms on all three floors, which should provide a respite from the hubbub. Please consult the Library Map, or a member of the Library staff, for assistance locating one of those spaces. While it may be impractical to designate an entire floor for quiet study, as you have suggested, we are currently exploring the possibility of creating additional quiet areas, e.g., a study room that would be devoted strictly to individual quiet study (i.e., no talking, no electronic devices, etc.).

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns.

Wayne Perryman
Interim Dean

Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for contacting us. I am sorry that your recent experience in the Library was not satisfactory. I have not personally noticed an unusually high level of noise or activity from the Library Cafe staff, but, in light of your comments, will pay closer attention in the future. If I find that the workers there are creating a disruption, I will be glad to follow-up with cafe management.

Regardless, please bear in mind that the Library Cafe and, indeed, the entire first floor of the Library can be a very busy place (as I write this, for example, literally every seat in the Cafe is occupied). In recognition of that fact, we have designated the common areas of the first floor as a service zone, where Library users should expect a fairly high level of activity and noise. If anyone needs a more peaceful place to study, we encourage them to seek out one of our quiet study areas on the second and third floor, or make use of one of our enclosed study rooms.

If you experience a recurrence of the problem that you have reported, or would like assistance locating a quiet place to study elsewhere in the building, please contact a member of the Library staff either at the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk.

Wayne Perryman
Interim Dean, Library

Presently, the library student employment application process is in transition. The library is converting the manual employment application process to an automated-electronic process.  The new policy calls for students seeking employment in the library, to visit the HSU Career Center’s Springboard Job Service, http://www.humboldt.edu/career/. When a position within the library becomes available, the supervisor of that area will post a job on the Springboard job site.  The notice will advise of the application process for that position. Students will apply directly to that specific position.

Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to inquire.

Kellee S. Johnson, Administrative Coordinator

Thank you for your suggestion regarding our hours.    I’m sorry that our current open hours are not meeting your needs, but we are open  93 hours/week, more than all but 3 other CSU Libraries.  Our weekend hours are also comparable to all the other CSU’s – none are open after 7pm on Friday or Saturday nights.  Unfortunately we just don’t have the resources to extend our hours at this time.  In fact, more than half of the CSU Libraries have cut their hours in the last few years, but we have not.  I do agree that it would be great if HSU could provide some kind of 24-hour study space or after-hours computer labs, but at least in the Library we do not have a facility that can be left open all night without some kind of staffing or security, as some of the other CSU Libraries have in their buildings.  We will be extending our hours during the pre-finals period of May 5 – 11, when we will be open until 12:45am on weeknights, and 9:45pm on Friday and Saturday. 

Sincerely,
John Taloff
Circulation Supervisor
Humboldt State University Library