Library Survey Response

Dear WesternU Distance and Rotations (DaR) students,

Thank you for participating in our recent survey. Your input is vital to the Harriet K. and Philip Pumerantz Library as we continue to assess and improve our services. In order to “close the loop,” we would like to share with you some of the concerns you expressed in the survey, and what we are doing to address these opportunities for improvement.

Many of you noted that you had not heard of a number of services vital to DaR students: Interlibrary Loan (ILL), Books-by-Mail, Online Chat, Research Guides, and Ask a Librarian. Librarians are preparing “before-you-go” presentations to provide you with the information you need about library services during your rotations. Some of you also expressed difficulty with navigating the library’s webpages. Our new Web Committee is hard at work editing our web pages to make information and services easier to locate. A new web page and a research guide have already been created for the COMP-NW program. In addition, the liaison librarian for COMP-NW will make additional trips to the Lebanon campus to provide group workshops and one-on-one consultations.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is one way you can obtain articles that the Pumerantz Library does not have in its collection. Your survey responses revealed that the library’s ILL service could be advertised better, with simple instructions, and additional staff available to answer questions.  The library will train all staff to be able to answer basic questions about Interlibrary Loans. Questions requiring more expert attention will be answered within 24 to 48 hours on weekdays and 48 to 72 hours on weekends. The library will also create a searchable FAQ specifically for Interlibrary Loan questions. 

Some of your responses were in relation to the depth and breadth of the Pumerantz Library’s electronic collection (databases, ebooks, and ejournals). The library has over 25,000 electronic journals and over 1200 eBooks and we are regularly reviewing the collection to ensure that it is aligned with individual college and University learning outcomes, and for curricular appropriateness.

Unfortunately some of the issues brought up in the survey are not controlled by the library, such as the formatting of eBooks and electronic journals, the availability to download PDF chapters, etc. These features are controlled by the publishers.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for rating our services and resources 3.76 out of five stars!

Patricia Vader,

Executive Director of the Harriet K and Philip Pumerantz Library