Patron Comments March 2015

Comment:  The children's section of the library is no longer a quiet place.  Why not move toys, etc., to the big activity room by the children's restrooms.
Response: You are absolutely right!  The quiet Youth Services Area of the past has been replaced by a vibrant, energized area for children and young adults to develop a love of literacy and learning through reading, programming and hands-on exploration.  These changes are the result of emerging research that shows that children connect with libraries and literacy differently than adults and require different tools for learning--including access to educational toys and early learning computers. Our decision to create a more dynamic children's area, should not come at the expense of your library experience, however.  Please know that if you are looking for an area for quiet reading or reflection, our Ezra Cornell Reading Room and our study rooms in the adult and children's areas are always available for patron use.

Comment:  Why are there multiple copies of cat encyclopedias but only two-three in the children's section now with one of them for reference use only.
Response:  Thanks for your question.  We're always happy to learn that so many of our patrons agree that the best things in life are books and animals! We work hard to ensure that our collection includes up-to-date tools for research and entertainment purposes, which is why we try to keep one copy of our encyclopedia's available at all times for reference and other copies available to check out.  Should you have recommendations for additional titles or need information about a specific book in our collection, please visit our Youth Services Reference Desk.

Comment:  Access to computers must be extended.  I am homeless and need more than one hour to complete applications.  One hour just isn't enough.
Response:  Thanks so much for taking the time to share your concerns with us.  We're sorry to hear about your current housing situation but glad that you are using the Library's resources to help in your job search.  Demand for our public internet stations is exceptionally high--we have people lined up outside each and every day waiting for us to open the doors so that they can use our computers--so, we established the one-hour time limit as a way to ensure that we can meet patron demand.  We always do our best to provide special accommodations, however.  So, next time you visit, please share your concerns with one of our librarians.

Comment:  During recent visits, I have been appalled at the smell of some of the books.  They smell so strongly of cigarette smoke that they are virtually unreadable. You should make a rule that people cannot smoke when borrowing library books.
Response:  We're sorry to hear about your experience. Books in our collection are heavily circulated--with some books being on-hold continuously for months before finding a spot on our shelves.  While we can't regulate how patrons choose to enjoy the titles we borrow, we do work hard to ensure that each of the books in our collection is well-maintained.  The next time  you encounter this problem, please inform a library staff member so that we can work to remedy the issue before returning the book to our collection.