BOOK SHORTAGE??? ...some suggestions

[RobFett]

I was recently told about a linguistics book shortage in the library (nothing new I know). One possible solution was to have the books digitised and/or photocopied.

Unfortunately copyright law only allows the library to photocopy for free one chapter from each book or one article from a journal. Any more than this and we are charged hundreds of pounds. It is therefore more economical for the DEPARTMENT (NOT the library) to buy more books.

It is now 4 weeks into term and STILL the library is waiting for semester one book lists to come in that should have been in by JUNE!!!

Therefore students should put pressure on their lecturers to get these book lists in to the library IMMEDIATELY and also put in orders for any other extra books. They should be made aware that purchasing books for the library is not just a matter of popping down to Blackwells, and it can sometimes takes several weeks.

I would urge all of you who are suffering from a lack of books which are required reading to pester your lecturers until they get their act together. DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!!!!

There is little I can do about particular books, as everything has to go through departments anyway (so it's no good me or you just asking the library for whatever books you want).

However, I would like to know who the offending lecturers/schools are. Please post here or email rpf3.

I will soon be putting together a strategy for sorting this problem out, as it continues to happen year after year. If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Robert Fett
SRC Member for Library and Learning Resources

[teagreenaddict]

I just want to ask as to how the library/lecturers think we can manage? I take IR as a first year, along with three hundred other people. The article that was required reading was checked out the first day of the week, and none of us could read it before our tutorials, incurring the wrath of our tutors. Is it not possible to make the journal readings short-loan only, so those of us who actually have to do the reading get a chance.

[RobFett]

Quoting teagreenaddict from 18:59, 13th Oct 2006
I just want to ask as to how the library/lecturers think we can manage? I take IR as a first year, along with three hundred other people. The article that was required reading was checked out the first day of the week, and none of us could read it before our tutorials, incurring the wrath of our tutors. Is it not possible to make the journal readings short-loan only, so those of us who actually have to do the reading get a chance.

Could you please provide me with the name of your lecturer, the course you are doing and the journal/article that was set as reading and I will enquire into getting it put on short loan.

In the meantime please go to your lecturer and demand an EXPLANATION and (more importantly) A SOLUTION (do not allow them to fob you off or merely appologise). Ask them directly how you were supposed to prepare for your tutorial when you didn't have access to the journal. If they say it's the libraries fault for not having enough copies then tell them in no uncertain terms that it is THEIR responsibility to ensure that the department subscribes to enough copies of the journal(preferably electronic so that there isn't a problem with a lack of copies). Also get as many other fellow students to go to the lecturer to do the same thing.

Once you have done that I would LOVE to hear your lecturer's response!

Rob

[Bonnie]

[also, that lecturer could/should have asked the library IN ADVANCE to place the journal on short loan. The required journal articles/ texts are already set for the whole year. (They may even be the same as last year.) Why didn't the lecturer simply hand over the list to the library to tell them that for certain weeks these journals articles should be placed in short loan?]

my two cents.


and electronic journals for IR are the way forward.

[teagreenaddict]

First year module, I think it's IR 1003, lecturer not sure of, but the article was unavailable on the Web CT, until the morning of my tutorial, by which point I was in class, and could not actually read it. (My class being a Thursday) Would it not be simpler to get a list of the required journal articles every semester, and have them ALL on short-loan, rather than long-loan? After a week, we don't need them anymore, either.

[Griggsy]

Jeez calm down it's only first year IR! You really don't need to read everything. When you get to third year then maybe, just maybe you have a cause for complaining about a shortage of literature.

[hr]

'I run wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures.'

[fran]

What really frustrates me is that there are topics that the library has almost zero books on.... And I really despise the fact that they almost only have books in English- other then for the language departments. I mean who in these days only speaks English???

[munchingfoo]

You are at an english speaking university. It is a requirement to be able to comminicate in english to get into this university.

So...


given enough money to buy 1 copy of a particular book should we buy it in a language that everyone HAS to know or \one that a few will?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[starsandsparkles]

Quoting Griggsy from 21:20, 13th Oct 2006
Jeez calm down it's only first year IR! You really don't need to read everything. When you get to third year then maybe, just maybe you have a cause for complaining about a shortage of literature.

[hr]

'I run wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures.'

The reading material for the course should be avaliable regardless of how much work you think people should be doing in the first year.

[Jono]

Rob... to be perfectly honest, and in your own brand of Caps-lock;

I DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THERE NOT BEING ENOUGH BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY!

[editted] far to harsh and totally uncalled for

either way, please stop posting about how it's not your fault! you're starting to look like a CV-er!

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[RobFett]

Quoting jono from 01:06, 14th Oct 2006
Rob... to be perfectly honest, and in your own brand of Caps-lock;

I DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THERE NOT BEING ENOUGH BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY!

[editted] far to harsh and totally uncalled for

either way, please stop posting about how it's not your fault! you're starting to look like a CV-er!

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The point I was trying to make was that most students blame the library and expect them to do something about it, when it is their departments they should be moaning at, otherwise these problems won't be resolved.

And as for me being a CV-er: would you rather I was SRC Member for Llareggub, or would you rather I tried to do what I can to help deal with library issues?

[TCT]

Yes, do alert the relevant academics but don't expect much of a response. Good luck![img]littleicons/yellowtounge.gif[/img]

[tordenskjold]

I'm trying to write an essay for my M.Litt and when I enter a key word 14 titles come up. 12 are relevant and of those 12, 8 are missing. What's going on?? That's not the library's fault but the people who are responsible for these books going missing deserve a good kicking.

[hr]

Kæmp for alt hvad du har kært,
Dø om så det gælder.
Da er livet ej så svært,
Døden ikke heller.

[fran]

Quoting munchingfoo from 22:31, 13th Oct 2006
You are at an english speaking university. It is a requirement to be able to comminicate in english to get into this university.

So...


given enough money to buy 1 copy of a particular book should we buy it in a language that everyone HAS to know or \one that a few will?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

Gosh... NOOOO!!! You REALLY misunderstood me: Of course if a book EXISTS in English it should ONLY be bought in English. However, there are quite a lot of books which were never published in English, esp on regional topics. And THOSE should be bought! That's what I meant. When you're trying to study a problem that is particular to Paraguay for example, chances are most books published on it will be in Spanish. And tehse are needed. That's what I meant.

[fran]

Quoting jono from 01:06, 14th Oct 2006
Rob... to be perfectly honest, and in your own brand of Caps-lock;

I DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THERE NOT BEING ENOUGH BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY!

[editted] far to harsh and totally uncalled for

either way, please stop posting about how it's not your fault! you're starting to look like a CV-er!

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Wow! Jonathan, I wish I had your live: If your life is so perfect that you have time to get upset over the SRC for the library attempting to do ... well... HIS JOB, then I really envy you.

[munchingfoo]

Quoting fran from 11:36, 14th Oct 2006

Quoting munchingfoo from 22:31, 13th Oct 2006
You are at an english speaking university. It is a requirement to be able to comminicate in english to get into this university.

So...


given enough money to buy 1 copy of a particular book should we buy it in a language that everyone HAS to know or \one that a few will?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

Gosh... NOOOO!!! You REALLY misunderstood me: Of course if a book EXISTS in English it should ONLY be bought in English. However, there are quite a lot of books which were never published in English, esp on regional topics. And THOSE should be bought! That's what I meant. When you're trying to study a problem that is particular to Paraguay for example, chances are most books published on it will be in Spanish. And tehse are needed. That's what I meant.

Sorry

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[Jono]

Quoting fran from 11:39, 14th Oct 2006

Quoting jono from 01:06, 14th Oct 2006
Rob... to be perfectly honest, and in your own brand of Caps-lock;

I DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THERE NOT BEING ENOUGH BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY!

[editted] far to harsh and totally uncalled for

either way, please stop posting about how it's not your fault! you're starting to look like a CV-er!

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Wow! Jonathan, I wish I had your live: If your life is so perfect that you have time to get upset over the SRC for the library attempting to do ... well... HIS JOB, then I really envy you.

I should stop leaving the sinner open on my computer when drunk. Apologies for that, and good luck sorting out the library.

As for some constructive suggestions, I think the best thing that could be done is to eliminate the system whereby weekends aren't taken into acccount when taking out books.

If you take a 3-day loan out on wednesday you can keep it until 5 o clock the following monday. If you take a short loan out at three o clock on friday, it's yours until eleven on monday morning. as a result, by friday the entire library is stripped bare. This kind of negates the whole point of having limited loan systems.

In addition, the long loans should be limited to a fortnight at the most. There's no reason that you could need a book for more than a couple of weeks, and it's pretty annoying to go down the library and find all the copies are out until next february!



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[KateBush]

I wonder if one solution would be to confine several popular books to the library, so that it MUST be in the building at all times, that way you should in theory always be able to get hold of it, or at least know where it is?

Oxford has an interesting approach- the main Bodleian books are completely confined, but often faculty libraries will let you take books out. However, you can't recall books- they stay out for 4 weeks regardless, so if you really need it quickly, you might be a bit stuck.

I do think electronic journals are a big help- there are so many now, maybe pushing for increased access to them would hepl to solve the problem?

And as for the MORON who said that first years don't need books- shut up and stop talking CRAP! OF course first years need books. I hate that whole "first years do now rok mentality"- I worked my god damn ass off for every year of my degree. There is nothing wrong with doing that. It's the main reason people come to university- to do the degree (and no, I didn't become a wee Mary- I worked hard but man, did I play hard!)

[hr]

MA (Hons) English, St Andrews, 2005
MSt (in progress), Medieval English, Oxford, 2006
DPhil, funding secured + place offered, Medieval Scottish and English literature, Oxford, 2009

[teagreenaddict]

Er, can I back up the 'First years do actually work' mentality? I worked my arse off to GET to this place. I want to come out at the other end having earnt my degree well, and not working for two years during it wouldn't help at all.

I take English, IR and Latin, so for two out of three, I do actually need books IN the library. It's difficult to be in a tutorial, discussing a twenty four page article I haven't read, and equally difficult to want to read-around an essay topic in English and not be able to.

As to the idiot who told me, 'why am I bothering?', say so to my entire life here. I'm involved in a hell of a lot, leadership wise in extracurrics, and I'm a standard over-achiever/perfectionist/weirdo. Deal with it. You can go get baked or whatever, I'll be over here, gloating with a first in four years time, mmkay?

[Jono]

well said. It worries me the number of people who genuinely don't bother with work. I thought people would have realised by now that it's the same as when GCSE students say KS3 doesn't matter as long as you do well at GCSE, or A-level students saying GCSE doesn't matter so long as you do well at A-level....



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