MacBook Pro arrives at the service desk for check out…

MacBook Pro for checkout at the service desk of the library

For the first few weeks the new MacBook Pro at the library will circulate for 4 hours, allowing throngs of mac-happy singletons to give it a whirl and share nice. Further down the road, say voices from inside the many study rooms in the info commons, HSL plans to circulate it for a slightly longer period and experiment. Along with the Macbook, a couple of Apple i-pads make up the emerging inventory of cool and nifty devices students and campus users can try out. Two dell laptops may also exist; “it’s being looked into” library insiders report; and various regulars at the library whisper that the dells are slightly outdated. Students who tend to like the quiet of the second floor and its east windows only mutter that the Dell laptops are good enough for a couple of hours of quiet work in the library with a cup of coffee courtesy of the Wolfgang Puck coffee machine on the first floor.

For details, stop at the desk and ask us anytime about any of this.  And tell us what’s on your mind as a user of the library on the AMC.

Longer pilot library hours at HSL made permanent!

After a year of experimenting and assessing hours, the Health Sciences Library recently decided to make 12 midnight the closing time Sundays thru Thursdays. This increase to 101 hours/week will become standard library hours starting in January 2011. These hours will be offered throughout the year regularly, including the summer, and only be interrupted by University and State holidays along with light reductions late in December and around holiday times. This change represents a 15% increase in hours from when HSL first moved to the AMC from the 9^th and Colorado campus.

The library will continue to assess student comments and needs around hours alongside its budget and the appropriate allocation of student fee revenue. Regular hours for 2011 with some exceptions will be as follows:

Mon – Thu	7:00 am – 12:00 Midnight
Fri	7:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sat	10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sun	10:00 am - 12:00 Midnight

Questions can be directed to the Head of Access Services, Douglas Stehle, douglas.stehle@ucdenver.edu, 303-724-2139.

Library Hours Expand for Fall 2010 @ HSL

The library’s hours expand as ’10 fall term picks up.  On Aug 16, HSL began staying open to midnight offering information commons services and spaces for study, group collaboration, wireless access and support to laptops with many LCD equipped rooms. Additional vending was installed over the summer in anticipation of students needing to study late. Library hours for the fall term are online now.

AMC student users are encouraged to offer feedback about library hours anytime by speaking with one of our customer service staff. Tell us what days of the week are most popular for your habits, hours of the day you are usually in the library, what floors do you use, how frequently – - do you use and enter/leave the library multiple times per day, what late night hours past 10pm do you make use of at HSL and for what purposes? What spaces and floors do you prefer to work in at HSL? HSL wants to know, tell us!

Visit our first floor customer service desk anytime for assistance, help with finding articles and information, for consultation on your research questions or just to say hello and tell us what you think. Tell Us, we want to hear from you.

For more information and input about library hours, contact douglas stehle, librarian, access services division — email or call: 303-724-2139 (messages will be listened to).

Vending Improves at the Health Sciences Library

After many comments and survey results from fall 2009, HSL recently upgraded options in the facility for food and drink in the library. A new snack machine and a small microwave have been installed on the first floor and our Pepsi machine has been relocated to the same space, room 1000F of the Information Commons. The additional vending and microwave should please the many students studying late and on weekends.

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HSL allows food and drink within reason. We ask users to take care and cover their cups with lids, bottles with caps and to always keep beverages and food safely away from computers and other technology. Library staff appreciate users cleaning up after themselves as do our custodial staff – - help keep your library clean! Mustard and Cheetos stains on the pages of books and journals are not appreciated by any researcher, so please wash up first and always use clean hands when handling the print collections.

 

Comments and questions can be directed to Douglas Stehle, Head of Access Services, 303-724-2139 or to douglas.stehle@ucdenver.edu.

 

Suggestions are always welcome at the customer service desk and staff can provide customers with comment cards anytime.

Library to Continue Pilot of Hours Extension in Fall 2010

The Health Sciences Library will continue a pilot of extended hours in the Fall Semester 2010.   Starting August 16^th the Library will remain open until midnight Sundays through Thursdays through December 16^th.

Over the years, the Health Sciences Library has received numerous requests from students for longer hours of operation.  In November 2009, the Library extended hours of operation to 1 am Sundays through Thursdays in a trial to determine whether the extension was sustainable.  After an assessment in April 2010 of usage during the trial, and with the advice of student representatives serving on the AMC’s Academic Support Advisory Committee, the Library’s leadership decided to extend the trial into Fall Semester 2010 but to cut back by one hour and close at midnight.

During the trial, Library staff conducted an hourly census of users in the building, beginning at 11 pm through to closing at 1 am.   The following table details those findings:

Hour Block	Average # Customers, Fall ‘09	Average # Customers, Spring ‘10
11 pm – 12 m	18	13
12 m – 1 am	9	6

During Fall Semester’s examination period, the average number increased by one for both hour blocks.  Library staff are interested in obtaining additional feedback from our student users about extended hours, and will be conducting “mini-surveys” this Fall to add to the census data.

For more information about the extended hours pilot, please contact Douglas Stehle, Head of Access [douglas.stehle@ucdenver.edu, 303-724-2139] or Jerry Perry, Director [jerry.perry@ucdenver.edu, 303-724-2133].

For current library hours and the most up to date information, see our website at http://hslibrary.ucdenver.edu/about/hours.php.