LJ Talks to Michael Windle

Andrew Richard Albanese -- Library Journal, 12/7/2006

LJ recently visited the University of Texas at Austin [see The Heart of Texas] to take firsthand look at how the library services are being delivered. In the article, we get a student's-eye view of library service from Michael Windle, a senior government major at UT, who offered great insight into what works and how at UT and what students look for in their library. With Michael's consent, we share with you more of his observations.

LJ: What is your most common entry point for the library? Online, or do you go the library?

MW: On campus, between classes, I often go to the library to study for a quiz or test, use the computer to check email, do schoolwork, read for class, catch up on a novel for fun—or take a nap. UT's biggest library, the Perry-Castaneda Library (PCL), is located in the heart of campus, right across from UT's biggest dorms. The PCL is a great building to find a quiet place to study or to use one of over 100 computers open to students. The computers are one of the best parts about the PCL, and one of the most in-demand services. There's often a waiting line for them, but the PCL has a great, fully automated waiting list system. Also, the Law Library is a really quiet place to study surrounded by old furniture, which creates an atmosphere that is motivational during stressful finals times.

What resources do you mostly take advantage of?

The UT Library website has a lot of great resources and subscriptions to great databases and journal services. I use Lexis-Nexis frequently to search for specific news articles or full-text stories. We have a service called E-Reserves, which I just found this year. E-Reserves allows professors to easily put PDFs of journal articles/course packets online. It's easy to use from a professor's point of view, they just FAX the document to a specific phone number with a special cover sheet, and it's easy to use from the student's point of view. We can often view course packets online, saving money and paper. If UT invented this, it's a great idea. If UT uses this service with other universities, it is a service that should be further publicized

How responsive to student needs would you say the UT Libraries are?

UT Libraries does a great job responding to student needs. That statement carries a lot of weight coming from a student who has worked with UT Libraries for years through student government, suggesting ways to improve library services. Perhaps it helps that the director of UT Libraries had a son who was a student just a few years ago, or perhaps it's because UT recognizes that its library services are vital for students, and that the usefulness in those services depends on student's understanding what services are available. For example, I made a recent suggestion to [UT Libraries Student Services director] Damon Jagger which was quickly implemented. During late night hours, after 10pm, only UT students, faculty, and staff are allowed into the Library. This is for safety and the only problem with this is the student who left his or her student ID card in their dorm/apartment/car/locker room. After a quick suggestion to Damon, UT Libraries instituted a policy where students who had forgotten their ID could login to the online virtual ID developed by the Information Technology Office on campus, prove that they are student, and use the library. Damon came through on this, which was really helpful.

Can you give me any other examples of how the library works with students to fulfill your needs?

In the major libraries on campus there is a frequently updated bulletin board that displays comment cards students have filled out with the university's response to that comment. For instance a comment card asking for a color printer might describe how there's already a color printer located on a specific floor of the library, or that there are plans to get color printers at Library X, Y, and Z. Displaying those comment cards with their responses lets people see that UT Libraries actually cares about what students suggest and is actually working for them. Earning this level of respect is as important as actually taking action on the comment cards because it creates a sense of teamwork in developing new services. Likewise, it increases the likelihood that students will give feedback on things that should be happening within the libraries.

If you were to continue on at UT—what would you like to see more of?

I'd like to see UT have more outdoor classrooms and a cozier feel within the library. One study area at UT recently bought a dozen or so huge bean bags. This is exactly the sort of thing that promotes studying on a college campus. This idea of aesthetics and comfort can help libraries become better utilized and can help students want to study more. I also think UT could make much larger strides on the idea of online course packets. Because UT Libraries already pays for the royalty rights/copyrights for so many useful journals and scholarly articles, students are paying twice for some of these articles that are printed off campus for professor-made course packets. I'd like to see a future partnership between colleges or departments at UT along with UT Libraries, so that articles which we can get for free at UT Libraries are made available on specific class websites, possible through E-Reserves. That way, students can buy thinner course packets and not spend money on an article they can get for free through the library website. This would save students money and increase utilization of a service students already pay for.