Spotlight on... Ashton Keefer

This is the next installment in a series of blog posts to help you get acquainted with some of the people who work in the library. Today we introduce you to one of our student workers.

What is your name?  Ashton Keefer

What is your major?  Early Childhood (Pk-4)/Special Education (Pk-8)

What do you do in the library?  Shelve returned books, check out books, and help to find course reserve materials.

What do you enjoy most about your job?  The flexibility with my hours.  They know classes come first and understand if I can’t work due to group meetings, advisement meetings, etc.

What’s the best class you’ve taken at BU?  I would have to say two classes I’m currently in with Frank D’Angelo. He really teaches the material in a way that is of interest to me, and only being five weeks into the semester I’ve learned so much!

Real Time Online Research Help

Want real time online help with your research while you are outside the Library?  You may join a  librarian online to simultaneously work with a database, etc. to get to the information you need.  If you are interested, check out the Bb Collaborate link under the Services tab of the Library's homepage.

You spoke: Group study rooms

Welcome to the second in a series of posts about the LibQual Survey results.  Today we are talking about group study rooms in the library.

You had a lot to say about the group study room situation!  Of the 581 comments that we received, 134 of them indicated we should have more group studies.   28 of the comments indicated a frustration with not enforcing the “2+” people preference in the rooms.  15 wished to be able to reserve rooms.  7 thanked us for adding more group studies over the past few years.  Other comments suggested allowing different group sizes in different rooms, converting some spaces to single study rooms, and creating a system to let you know which rooms were taken.

We have thought a lot about the group studies in the library.  You might have noticed that we changed the signage in the rooms.  While groups have priority in the rooms, we do want them to be used as much as possible.  So, a single person is welcome in the rooms but may be asked to leave if a group needs the space.  Please ask at the Circulation Desk if you are a group in need of a room.

We have doubled the number of group studies in the library over the past 3 years, from 16 to 32.  32 is the maximum that we have the room for right now.  We know this isn’t ever enough, especially during midterms and finals, and we remain committed to finding ways of making the rooms available in an equitable, reasonable, and transparent way.  The library is investigating some way to reserve rooms, but we’re going slowly with that.  Just as some of you want to be able to reserve a room, many others want to keep the first-come, first-serve system.  

If you have questions about the LibQual survey comments, please contact Katie Yelinek. 

Spotlight on... Lori Osborne

This is the next installment in a series of blog posts to help you get acquainted with some of the people who work in the library.  Today we introduce you to someone you probably see on a regular basis.

What is your name?  Lori Osborne

What is your title? Daytime Supervisor of Access Services

What kinds of things are you responsible for in the library?
I hire, train and schedule student library assistants.
I place items on Reserve for faculty.
I provide customer service to all students, faculty, staff and community patrons.
I also work with other library departments in maintaining the organization of our various collections.

How did you come to work in the library?
I worked at the Berwick public library when I became aware of an open position here.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I appreciate the opportunity of working with and helping all kinds of people on an everyday basis.

What else do you want people to know about you?
I like to read, garden and cook.  I especially like to be outside.

How can people get in touch with you?  Email: losborne@bloomu.edu  Phone: 389-4220  Room: AL 119

Want to learn about the Fiscal Cliff?

The Library has a research guide on the Fiscal Cliff and related phenomena.  This guide will be updated as developments occur.