Category: Facilities

Where did all the recycling bins go?

RecyclingMany of the recycling bins in the Milne Library disappeared recently and people have taken notice. So where did they go and why? According to Laura Canfield, head academic custodial supervisor, the answers to these questions are quite simple:

“…our recycling provider will not take recycling that has mixed or food trash. Our custodians were finding that most if not all of the recycling containers [within Milne] had food or liquid thrown in with the recycling. These bags would then have to be placed in the land fill as well.” (emphasis ours)

In other words, all of us users of the library are doing a very poor job of recycling properly, and we have lost our recycling bins as a result.

While this is a problem all across campus from time-to-time, it occurs with much greater frequency in Milne. So why is it such a big issue here?

Unfortunately, no one has any simple answers to that question. The solution, however, is quite simple: take a few extra seconds to ensure that you are putting your waste into the proper bin. A full list of the campus’ recycling policies can be found here, but the most important information as it pertains to recycling in the library are as follows:

-Items being placed in bins labelled “Glass, Metal, Plastic” should at the very least be fully emptied. Rinsed is best, but fully empty is acceptable. Also, plastic bags should not be put into these bins; they can be recycled at the Geneseo Wegmans’ or Wal-Mart.

-Items being placed in bins labelled “Paper” should not have been in contact with food. Things like paper plates, coffee cups, or other paper cups need to be thrown in with the regular garbage due to food contamination. These same items also contain plastic liners which cannot be recycled, and should still be thrown in the regular garbage even if they have not come in contact with food or liquid.

While it is disappointing that many of our recycling bins have been removed from the library, we are hoping we can use this situation to educate patrons about proper recycling and its importance to our campus and environment. In addition to this blog post, representatives from the Geneseo Environmental Organization (or GEO) will have a presence in our lobby through Friday, November 6th to answer recycling-related questions. They are also conducting an online survey about recycling around campus, and they would appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

We are hoping to see the rest of our recycling bins returned to the library eventually, but when all it takes is one item to contaminate an entire bag of recycling, we need everyone to do their part.  Do you have suggestions? Tell us in the comments! We hope you will join us in making a conscious effort to recycle properly.

CIT HelpDesk Moves to Milne Library


HelpDeskMovedCIT has friendly, helpful staff now located in Milne Library! As you enter the main doors of the library, our desk will be to your left, behind the Minerva Statue. CIT Tech Help provides assistance with the technology located in Milne Library along with carry-in support for Geneseo students, faculty, and staff personally-owned laptops and mobile devices.

Services offered include:

  • Network setup (including WiFi & VPN)
  • Adding printers
  • Academic software installation
  • Sign-out and support technology available for loan
  • General computer questions

For more information about the services available from the CIT HelpDesk or other technology questions, stop by the HelpDesk, call 585-245-5588, send an email to [email protected] or submit a request in our online system (https://rt.geneseo.edu).

 

Welcome back! Here’s what’s new @ Milne!

WhatsNewAs always, we’ve made some changes around the library over the summer. Here are some highlights!

Expanded Lower Level study area

We have expanded our seating on the Lower Level along windows — including new tables that all have access to power and comfortable seating.

Based upon student feedback during last year’s study space assessment, we have incorporated different table sizes to facilitate group study and independent study.

Updated Upper Level study area

The open study area on the north side of the Upper Level is primed for new furniture and more comfortable seating. The furniture is scheduled for delivery the first week of class. We apologize for the delay and really appreciate your patience while the new furniture is installed!

We think you’ll like the changes, as these new tables will be powered during the Fall semester — providing more options for students to charge their laptops.

Expanded Tech Help services

Milne Library is partnering with CIT to expand our Tech Help services in the library. Our Tech Help students will now be CIT-trained and managed, allowing them to provide additional services in the Library, such as:

  • Setting up your mobile device on Geneseo’s network
  • Academic software installation
  • Connecting to Geneseo services
  • VPN setup
  • Virtual Lab setup

Kindle Textbooks on Reserve

We are piloting a new way of providing affordable access to textbooks. Starting this semester, we will be circulating selected textbooks on Kindle Fire HD tablets. The Kindles can be checked out for 4 hours and include the following textbooks:

New netbooks & more graphing calculators available

We are now circulating 10 new netbooks. These are much faster Windows 8 devices with touchscreen navigation. In addition, we’ve added 6 more TI-89 Titanium graphing calculators to our inventory, giving us 10 available for checkout at the Service Desk.

 

Student use of Milne Library: What you told us and what we’re going to do about it

Last fall, Milne Library staff distributed a survey on library tables asking students why and how they used Milne Library spaces. We also asked students for suggestions about how the spaces could be improved. We are grateful to those of you who took the time to fill out the survey and turn it in – your responses will help us plan future improvements to the library.

General thoughts:
We received 456 responses, pretty evenly distributed among the three floors of the library.

Overall, students are hard at work in our library. Students spend their time doing homework, studying, writing and working on projects. Smaller numbers of students are visiting with friends, eating lunch or passing time on the internet (mostly in association with more serious endeavors).

Students choose seats based on their particular studying needs. While many students indicated that they need to concentrate (and selected spaces on the third floor as a result), others needed to be around people or needed space to spread out.  In some cases, students selected space out of necessity – it was the only spot available. Some students suggested that the comfortable seating was great for naps, while others used the comfy chairs for intense reading.

Power:
One of the biggest complaints (in certain areas) was the lack of power outlets. As we renovate new areas, we will endeavor to add power. This isn’t cheep, however, and requires extensive prior planning. Our 50 year old building wasn’t equipped to handle modern power demands, so most additional power outlets require upgrades to our electrical network.

The survey responses provided us with several locations where additional power outlets would be appreciated the most.

Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 11.18.14 AM

Students also identified areas where outlets or study carrel lights weren’t working, and we are working hard to make the necessary repairs.

Suggestions and changes:
We got some great feedback on the type of tables students like. With a few dissenters, students really don’t like the new Y-shaped tables on the main floor.  A few even tried to explain why:

Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 11.19.37 AM

We won’t be buying more of those.

Students also recommended filling spaces with a variety of table sizes, in order to avoid problems when one person takes up a table intended for six. We intend to remodel some spaces on the lower level of Milne this summer, and we are taking these suggestions into account when ordering tables.

Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 11.20.41 AM

In areas where students had access to whiteboards, they expressed how much they like them. As a result, we will be looking for places to add additional whiteboards (as money allows).

There were a few suggestions that we won’t be able to accommodate.  We won’t be adding a fourth floor or getting a new building any time soon (unfortunately). We will not be adding a hot tub, an open bar, a bouncy castle or a taco bell. While turning the library into a TARDIS (bigger on the inside) would help with our not-enough-space issues, our technical staff (while extraordinary) have not quite figured out how to do this. Sorry.

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It’s cold in here. We agree. We’re working on it.

Our recent student survey has further illustrated what library staff have known for many weeks:  it’s cold in here.  Colder than usual, it seems.  I’ve tried working with gloves on, my colleague in the next cubicle routinely works with her coat on, and several library staff have been known to keep lap blankets at work.

As we joke about thermal underwear, rechargeable hand warmers and the relative warmth of fleece vs. wool we all ask: can’t they just turn up the heat?

Unfortunately, turning up the heat isn’t as easy as you’d think.

thermometer

Unfortunately, cold temperatures outside mean cold temperatures inside.

The library was built in 1966 before almost all students and many library staff were born. Keeping 47-year old heating systems going is a challenge.   47 years of renovation have created rooms that are warmer than others, rooms cold enough to use as refrigerators, and the changing layout of our spaces has changed the airflow around the library.

So the folks that keep the heat running in the winter and the air conditioning going in the summer have gone back to basics, looking up the original blue prints of the building in an effort to figure out how to get more warm air to the parts of the library that need it.

We aren’t sure yet if we’ll be able to make any changes – replacing the entire system isn’t an option – but we’ll keep you up to date.  Hopefully the library won’t have to purchase staff uniforms:

nigel-cabourn-everest-parka-jacket-01

Coming Soon: Segway Loans, New Furniture and More!

SegwayThe technology offered by the library just got a whole lot better!   Courtesy of a grant award from the Glen Boyland Foundation, the Service Desk will have fifteen Segways at the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester.  Students, faculty and community members will be able to check out a Segway for a 4-hour loan period (though 1-day loans will be available during special events and alumni reunion).

The grant award also makes it possible for the library to update some of the furniture in the library this summer.  Based on feedback from our recent survey, students have requested improved seating on the upper-level.

Chair

Many of those hard plastic chairs in the study carrels will be replaced with brand new Judas Chairs.

The couches on that level will also get an upgrade. Couch

“We know study space is at a premium in the library and it is our hope that the new furniture will increase the turn around time for students waiting for places to sit and study,” said Tim Bowersox, Milne’s Access Services Librarian.

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