We listen

Take a look to see how we have been addressing your concerns.

You said, we did

Find out about the work we've been doing to address your concerns.

There was too much noise in the libraries We have introduced text-a-rover so that you can call for help and get the noise tackled
You found the scanning and photocopying functions on the Follow You printers confusing We have put QR codes on all the library Follow You printers (except those in the silent area) to give access to video guides on smartphones
The chairs on the ground floor in Clifford Whitworth are dirty. These are being deep-cleaned and those that cannot be cleaned discarded and replaced if possible. The deep cleaning may take some time as it has to be done in stages.
You need more power sockets for laptops in CW. We have put in more sockets in the main area of CW’s silent zone on the 2nd floor study area; we have also put eight PCs into this area and opened up a small room just off the study area for laptop use.
You needed longer opening hours over the summer vacation. We will be opening Clifford Whitworth over all the vacations this year, including Christmas (not Christmas day), Easter and summer.
It was difficult to identify our roving support staff when you need to ask for help. All our roving support staff now wear a black, Library branded shirt.

Summer developments

  • RFID at Allerton library – speeding up borrowing and returning books
  • Assistive Technology upgrades – improving the software available for students with disabilities
  • Self-service laptop loans in all four libraries – making laptops available whenever the libraries are open
  • Text-a-rover – for printing help as well as for locating books and reporting noise issues
  • Bookshop – enabling you to buy books online at a discount
  • Chip and pin at all the libraries – letting you pay fines with debit and credit cards
  • 295 5535: new phone number for library enquiries – making it possible to get help by phone, email, chat or by walk-up to an Enquiry Desk
  • Online access to off-air recordings – giving you better access to recorded TV programmes
  • More PCs in Clifford Whitworth’s top floor Silent zone and Allerton level 3
  • New laptop area and extra seating in Clifford Whitworth’s top floor Silent zone
  • Worsley New Hall and Mike Craig collection added to USIR, the University’s Repository
  • Solar – improvements to make it even easier to search for the resources you need

Our commitment

The Library is committed to the development of a high quality library service that meets our customers’ need. We will continue to work in close partnership with Colleges and Support Divisions to ensure that our resources and facilities support learning, teaching and research effectively.
To provide excellent customer service in our libraries and e-Library, we will:

On a quarterly basis we review how well we are meeting these commitments, and publish our latest figures on our Library web pages, offering you the opportunity to give us feedback on our performance.

Achieving these commitments also depends on your support. The Library Code spells out what you should do to make our libraries pleasant and effective places to study.

Key performance measures

The Library is committed to the development of a high quality service which will support your teaching, learning and research activities. You told us through your feedback about the services which matter to you. Our commitment to you is that we will monitor our performance in these areas and let you know how we are meeting our standards. The table shown below shows the figures for the quarter from May - July 2012

  Target Adelphi Allerton Clifford Whitworth Notes
We will get our new Journals on to the shelves within 24 hours of receiving them 90% 100% 100% 92.5%
We will get our new books on to the shelves within 7 days of receiving them 90% 97.9% 100% 100%
We will get books back on shelves within 24 hours of return 90% 77.5% 91.8% 78.85% AD and CW each had one bad result in mid May; this was the busiest return period and had a large volume of returns. At CW and AD returns were 5 times higher than average. At AD this also coincided with the count being done on Tuesday when no Circulation Assistant was available. FR is less affected due to the different student demographic.
Acquisition of Reading List material 90% 88% 88% 88% There remains a significant number of items which the book suppliers are unable to provide quickly, usually due to them not having them in stock. The Library’s main suppliers – Dawsons & Coutts – do supply much closer to the agreed parameters, but figures are skewed by other suppliers supplying items more slowly.
Enquiry desk customer satisfaction 85% very good or good 66% very good / 34% good 91% very good / 9% good 84% very good / 16% good
Enquiry desk first line fix 85% 99% 99% 99%  
Deposits made live in USIR within 1 week of being submitted 90% 100% 100% 100%
Students who undertake the Library's information literacy program indicate a high/very high degree of satisfaction 90% N/A 93% 97% No sessions took place in Science from May-July
Actual opening hours match advertised opening hours 100% 100% 99.46% 113.65% Allerton closed due to University-wide planned data outage. CW extended opening to 9pm weekdays and on Sundays in semester 3. CW and FR together with LRC (LRC included with CW) also opened extra for University Open days (2 hours each at CW & FR 11.5 at LRC).