Patron Comments - Summer through Fall 2007

Comment: I really miss the wall clock in the Reading Room
Response: It is back!

Comment: Larry was excellent when I needed an image projector for a youth community program
Response: We’re glad that he could help!

Comment: Books should be held longer than one week, and it should include a Saturday—often when I come to get a book it is no longer being held for me.
Response: Books on hold are kept for one week before they are pulled for use by another patron. We can e-mail you when your hold is ready; surface mail notifications will take a day or two to arrive. There is often a grace period over the weekend, but just in case, you can call the library and ask for an extension.

Comment: The clerks here are awesome! Good job!
Response: Thanks!

Comment: Will you be getting the Playaways? No tapes or cds to worry about!
Response: Yes, we do offer Playaways through the Finger Lakes Library System.

Comment: Thanks for getting more CDs from the Teaching Company—Keep it up!
Response: Thank you! These are expensive items and we are glad that you like them.

Comment: Please make the covered area outside of the door a non-smoking area—we don’t want to walk through a wall of smoke to enter the library.
Response: That area IS a no smoking zone; our security guard regularly patrols this and enforces the rules. Let us know when you see it happening and we will respond.

Comment: Stop telling us to get out of the library a half hour before you close
Response: Well, actually we start our announcements twenty minutes before closing, to give people enough notice to wrap up their research, or book selection, and check out in a timely manner.

Comment: It’s great to come in here and see so many of you smiling!
Response: Thank you! We are proud of our customer service attitude.

Comment: I appreciate your children’s book recommendations
Response: Thanks!

Comment: Please bring back the easy reading display in children’s services , we found it very helpful
Response: The display table has been temporarily moved. We’ll see if we can find a way to bring back the easy reading display table.

Comment: Internet time should be unlimited
Response: In a perfect world we would not need to limit your time because there would be enough computers for everyone. However, we live in a time when resources are in short supply and thus, we have to limit your time to one hour per day.

Comment: I love what has been updated in the teen area with video and audio set apart, thanks!
Response: You are welcome!

Comment: I think the library should be open every day from 9 a.m. and stay open until 11 p.m.
Response: We appreciate your comments; unfortunately, we do not have the resources to be able to more than 59 hours per week (and that includes Sundays).

Comment: Every time I come here the self check machine is not working—I think you should use tax dollars to buy books, not gadgets which lessen interaction with a human being.
Response: Our self check machines are quite reliable, and if they are in need of service, 3M arrives within 24 hours. Many people prefer the privacy and speed of the self-check workstations, but we continue to offer personalized service at the Circulation Desk.

Comment: What a joy! This has been a delightful experience at the adult reference desk!
Response: Thank you!

Comment: What does it mean “Other Library” in the computer catalog? Very confusing!
Response: Our library’s holdings are joined together with those libraries in the Finger Lakes Library System in the Polaris computer catalog. You can then see not only what we own, but what other libraries own. If we own the item, the call number is included on the result list. If the item is only owned by other libraries in the FLLS, it is necessary to select the “call number and availability” button and then select other libraries to see which libraries own that item,

Comment: Press release on Playaways was misleading—why can’t you have a collection at TCPL instead of having to place a hold on them from FLLS?
Response: All of the Playaways are at other FLLS libraries and can be requested by our patrons. At this point, we do not have funding to purchase our own collection.

Comment: Some of the In Flight Language CDs are missing the pamphlets that go with them.
Response: We do try to ensure that all of the pieces are present before we check these out. We will follow up and see if we can replace these.

Comment: I like your smile
Response: This comment was for a Circulation Clerk—thank you!

Comment: Wonderful Library
Response: Thank you!

Comment: I like getting the e-mail notices
Response: Thank you, we like this feature, too!

Comment: Bookdrops were overflowing and free standing book drops were locked on August 16
Response: We apologize; we’ll be more diligent in the future.

Comment: Thank you for your help
Response: You are welcome!

Comment: Great library! Since moving here, I use the library a lot!
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Great cookbooks and cooking magazine collection
Response: Thanks!

Comment: Fiction area too hard to use with the Mart Cart
Response: Even though the aisles meet ADA requirements, it can be tricky to maneuver through this space. If you would like help, please ask at the Reference Desk.

Comment: Fifty cents for a library hold? I won’t use this library again!
Response: A hold fee was originally established to offset the cost of mailing hold notices and to limit the number of holds that patrons could place on items. It is now used to offset the staff handling holds. If the item is in the library, we will place it on the pick-up shelf at no cost; just call the reference department at 272-4556.

Comment: Patron loved MasterFile Select for detailed paper on the history of race-prefers us over the college library
Response: We are happy to help the many college students who use the library.

Comment: It’s hard to find call number in Power Pac—not very user friendly
Response: That has been fixed in a recent upgrade.

Comment: Powerpac is too complicated and takes too much time
Response: Polaris takes user comments very seriously and continuously strives to provide us with upgrades that make it easier to use. Please ask our reference librarians for help—they can show you to make your searching faster and easier. We offer one-on-one tutorials on using Powerpac. Please call or stop at the reference desk to make an appointment. 272-4556

Comment: Request to re-evaluate limit on Internet computers during slow times
Response: There really are no “slow times”. Allowing everyone the same amount of time every day is the most fair way to allocate limited resources.

Comment: I learned something new by stopping at the reference desk—thank you
Response: You are welcome

Comment: Thank you so much for making the extra effort to get the microfilm we first thought couldn’t be found
Response: You are welcome!

Comment: Internet Training—very cool that we offer this service
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Glad I asked for help with Powerpac
Response: We are glad to help.

Comment: You’re awesome, you were able to confirm a telephone number for police investigation
Response: Thank you!

Comment: You have been wonderful with local history information
Response: Thank you!

Comment: I’m visiting and I think you have a fabulous library
Response: Thank you!

Comment: I’m psyched—the e-Bay workshop was a wonderful program
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Rosetta Stone for English—it was wonderful!
Response: Thank you

Comment: This is a magnificent library!
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Great library!
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Fantastic doll exhibit
Response: We liked it, too!

Comment: Patron was ecstatic that we offer Rosetta Stone
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Library has been a solace many days
Response: Yes, that is a good description of what some people need from a library.

Comment: You made my day—you found a book I was looking for
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Very appreciative of having Internet time extended so she wouldn’t lose her project
Response: We are glad to help.

Comment: Using Novelist and checking our holdings—why doesn’t the library own these titles?
Response: Novelist is a huge database and it would be impossible for a library of our size to own every title listed. However, if you want something that we don’t own, please ask our reference librarians—they will find a way to get the title you want.

Comment: HVAC sound is deafening
Response: The HVAC system does indeed have a hum, due to the fact that is moving air in and out of the building. After occupying this building for seven years, we have not noticed any increase in the volume of the “hum” so we are not sure what you are referring to.

Comment: Upset patron because there is no parking unless you can afford to park in the parking lot
Response: Parking in the garage is free for the first hour during business hours, free evenings and weekends.

Comment: “You guys are great!”
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Patron happy that we are holding copies of The Great Courses series on CD
Response: Thank you!

Comment: You are always so good-natured
Response: Another circulation desk compliment—thank you!

Comment: Great Service
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Great shirt (UAW logos)
Response: Thank you!

Comment: It’s really nice to be able to call the reference desk and have a book placed on the pick-up shelf
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Called circulation and left a message and never got a reply
Response: That should not have happened. We apologize.

Comment: Patron not happy about short loan period for interlibrary loan item
Response: The interlibrary loan period is controlled by the lending library. We are unable to adjust it.

Comment: Youth Services always helpful and knowledgeable about books
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Wonderful collection of Youth Services books
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Young Adult shelving is too close to juvenile books—needs more separation
Response: Good idea, but we don’t have the space at this time to do that

Comment: More areas for unruly toddlers
Response: We would prefer that unruly toddlers be taken care of by their parents and helped to understand how to act in the library

Comment: Concern about the water cascading down the outside of the west façade
Response: Tompkins County, which owns the building, is aware of this problem.

Comment: Wonderful library (from a NYC visitor)
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Your Youth Services collection that spans kindergarten through young adult is impressive
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Librarian from NYC complimented our remote access set up to databases, “very nicely arranged”.
Response: Thank you!

Comment: This library is amazing!
Response: Thanks!

Comment: You got the book I wanted—Chi Walking
Response: We are glad to have filled your request.

Comment: Patron likes the children’s room
Response: We like it, too!

Comment: Patron upset about having to re-register—“it’s supposed to be lifetime membership”
Response: If you do not use your library card in a three year period, it is purged from our system. This is national library standard and helps us keep our database up to date.

Comment: Patron doesn’t like the feel of the library—spatially not comfortable and books too far away.
Response: We are sorry that you are disappointed. It is big library with lots of books—and practically speaking, some of them are going to be “far away”.

Comment: Staff grumpy
Response: We are sorry. We do try not to be.

Comment: Too long of a wait to get new books
Response: We are working on this.

Comment: Likes having the Rosetta Stone workstation in rear of library, more private
Response: Thank you.

Comment: Thank you for your help, you’re an angel
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Wonderful system of getting Interlibrary loans
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Would like a regional cookbook section
Response: Could you be more specific about what you had in mind? Do you want cookbooks reflecting a Finger Lakes cuisine? Or those which are locally published by service organizations, etc.

Comment: Very pleased with the new microfilm scanner—can burn to cds
Response: Thank you!

Comment: I could have never found this book without you!
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Great ambiance in the library—love the Internet and can always get on, no lines/
Response: Thank you!

Comment: Please update the bus schedules
Response: We are working with TCAT to get updated bus schedules on a regular basis

* Some of these comments date from earlier months and were recovered during a file re-organization project.