On behalf of The Western Libraries, I gotta say, “Wow!” We’ve been very, very pleased with the level of participation in the 14 Days To Have Your Say project. We’ve been impressed by the wide range of concerns and ideas that you’ve expressed. As the project winds to a close there have been well over 600 posts to the blog by more than 300 individuals and over 1,200 viewings of our 14 Days video on YouTube. We indicated in our introductory video we can’t promise that you’ll get exactly what you ask for, but we do take the input that’s been provided very seriously. Over the summer we will be talking about how to integrate these concerns and requests into both our short-term and long range plans. Our new Dean of Libraries, Chris Cox, has already voiced his support for this project and wrote in his post to the 14 Days blog: “I've been eagerly reading these and am looking forward to working with all of you to answer your needs, whether they be quiet in the library, the construction of a cafe, installing a book drop on the south side of campus or investigating the feasibility of longer library hours and/or a 24 hour study space.” Chris arrives at the library Monday, June 2. Guidelines set up for 14 Days have by and large kept the library’s staff out of the various threads of discussion in order to gain a better understanding of just how widespread the issues are. Now that the blog has closed to further comment I would like to address just a few concerns: Library URL: Based on comments in the 14 Days blog, we have created a redirect for the library home page so that if you do not include the “www” as you type our homepage address you will still end up in the right place. Excellent suggestion! Harry Potter Room / 4 Central: This area has been closed since the start of Winter Quarter on the advice of the university’s Environmental Health and Safety office. Water infiltration into the south wall had become significant enough that lead paint had begun to peel. Work will proceed this summer and we expect this area to be open for Fall Quarter. Elevator to Haggard 3: There is an elevator that runs to the third floor of Haggard. It is located in the main corridor on Haggard 2 as you walk towards the library computer lab. It is not the same elevator that runs from the ground level to the main floor of the Haggard / Wilson complex. This complication is necessary due to the ground floor of Haggard being non-library space, thus outside of our security perimeter. Laptop Fines: OK. I’m going to let the cat out of the bag here but there is an unspoken grace period for laptops of 20 minutes. We had so many fines the first year of the laptop program that we decided to implement this unspoken grace period specifically so that those who were a only “few minutes” late would not be dinged $10. That said we will be discussing possible revisions to the laptop fine structure over the summer with your AS representatives. Noise in the library: While the 14 Days project was underway a focus group of students was gathered to discuss both noise in the library and way finding. Based on blogged comments and input from the focus group The Western Libraries is committed to developing a plan to address noise concerns by Fall Quarter. More Fiction: Yes, we actually do have loads of fiction but it isn’t really pulled together into an easily browse-able collection. It sounds like some of it needs to be. Over the summer we will examine ways to readily identify an exciting and easy to browse area which contains new additions and recreational reading. Look for it when you return in the fall! Longer Hours: This is a complicated one. Lots of good suggestions have been offered and this is another issue that will be talked about over the summer. A good resolution to this may fall into that category of long-term goals however. Last, I want to remind you all that when you return in the fall we will have a summary document available for everyone which will provide a more detailed look at data gathered in the 14 Days To Have Your Say blog, including what actions are or can be taken to address them. Will the blog return? Good question. Another one of those things we’ll be talking about over the summer. In the mean time you can submit comments to The Western Libraries using the Give Us Feedback link on the library home page. Again, thanks so much for the awesome participation in this project! Frank Haulgren 14 Days coordinator Frank.haulgren@wwu.edu