More Computers in the Collaborative Study Rooms

Our Collaborative Study Rooms have become very popular since we opened them two years ago. This summer, we added 10 more computers to a total of 18 in the two rooms in response to the W building computer labs' closure due to budget cuts. We made sure that the layout is still conducive to collaborations. We hope the two rooms will become even more popular with more computers, of which four have dual monitors, 3 new scanners, and new software. Below is a list of new software installed in addition to MS Office and OpenOffice:

1. Visual Studio(Computer Programming) on all 18 computers;
2. Converge(Math) on 9 computers;
3. Creative Suite (Photoshop etc. for Graphics & photo) on 3 computers;
4. Quickbooks Pro (Accounting) on 5 computers;
5. Derive (Math)on all computers (work in process).
6. Primavera Enterprise for Project Management students (added 10/2012)

Rules
• First come, first serve
• Students only
• Active Learning
• Normal Conversations
• Turn Cell Phone Ringers Off
• No Cell Phone Calls
• No food and drinks



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Survey Q & A - Hours

Q: Why isn't the Pasco library open more hours/days?

A: In Fall 2009 we reduced our hours in response to the previous round of budget cuts. The hours selected were based on months of library usage surveys; we are again counting the numbers of users when we are open on Saturdays to determine whether 11 AM - 4 PM is the best match. We hope to be able to maintain our total number of open hours in the face of forthcoming cuts.

Survey Q & A - Quiet v.s. Group Areas

Question:
Can you keep people quiet in the main computer area?

Answer:
(Background) Providing both quiet and collaborative study areas for our students is an important goal of our library. This balancing act has been challenging due to our limited space. We are glad to see from the result of our online survey that overall the "Space for quiet study" was rated 4.53 (the 3rd highest rated resource) and "Space for collaborative study" was rated 4.49 (the 4th highest rated resource) on a 5 point scale.

We attribute the high ratings to our Library Zones system that has been in place for two years. The main computer area is in the Green Zone where normal talking and collaborations are allowed. The Epicenter computer lab is in the Yellow Zone where students can walk in and use computers quietly. We keep the Epicenter open whenever there isn't a class in there. Another option is to use a laptop in our Red Silent Zone in the back. If you need to avoid other distractions, you may request a study room for individual study, although you will be asked to give up the room if a group needs it.

Survey Q & A - Printing

Q: Why doesn't the Pasco library provide free printing like the other labs?

A: The other labs support printing with the student technology fee. Also, unlike the other labs, the library is open to students and faculty from other schools as well as members of the public. With our current technological and staff resources it isn't possible for us to sort free CBC student from paid non-student printing, even if we did receive tech fee funds to support it.

Survey Q & A - Computers

We received a number of questions and comments on the library survey (May 16 - 22 2011); this is the first in a series of responses.

Q: Why don't you add more computers?

A: In December 2010 Information Services and the student technology fee allowed us to begin checking out 61 laptops to students for use within the library and beyond. Last month (May 2011) we checked them out to students a total of 371 times!

While the library's budget does not provide for additional computers, Information Services continues to evaluate student needs and explore options for expanding computer access in the future. Students should be aware of our computer access policy and let us know if they cannot find a computer for their primary purpose: CBC classwork and other academic needs. We can often find a computer for you in the Epicenter, and (as some of you pointed out) there are usually students using our computers for non-academic purposes who the librarians can ask to vacate the lab.

Update (12/7/2011): We now have 150 laptops that check out for 1 week (7 days) at a time. All of the open computing and collaborative study room computers were replaced during the past quarter and 10 units were added.

Library Survey 2011 Results

We would like to thank everyone who took our library survey between May 16 and May 22. While we are still compiling the results of the paper surveys, we'd like to share with you the initial results of the online version. View Slides.

We are very happy to see that the highest rating goes to our "Quality of customer service" and "Quality of research help" in Question #4. We are also honored to read the 142 positive comments on "The Library's greatest strength". At the same time, we received 88 questions and comments on "Areas for future improvement".

We greatly appreciate your time for taking the survey and giving us the feedback. We'd like to take this opportunity to offer what we hope will be some interesting and helpful responses to the most frequently commented issues. View responses here and join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Audiobooks Online - Cancelled

This subscription was not renewed due to low usage and technical issues. Our students and faculty have access to downloadable audiobooks through Mid-Columbia and Richland public libraries. May 2012.

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The library has added our first collection of audiobooks, an ‘academic’ subscription collection from Recorded Books with several hundred titles. They are available now to Search in OneClickDigital. To be able to ‘check out’ books you will have to create a free account, either on campus or after logging in with our quarterly password.

You will then be able to download titles to your computer and/or Mp3 player.

May 2011.