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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria University College, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 21, No. 5. May 6, 1958
Library
Library
| 1. | The difficulty that some people have in finding their way about the library which, in some cases, caused the students to be forced to leave without the book they sought. It was felt that the initial instruction given to Freshers was inadequate and that some further instruction was necessary. |
To this Mr. Miller replied that he was fully aware that the instruction on the use of the Library was not sufficient to enable students to feel confident that they knew how to operate the system. He added that a reference Librarian had been appointed for the last two years— part of her duties was to help students in their search for books. Unfortunately Miss Miller, the first appointment, left before she had come to know the Library well enough to be qualified to give any advice to students (Miss Art incidentally is a very highly qualified person—in her career she has been in Rome with F.A.O. for six years and with United Nations in Washington). Mr. Miller stated that "it was certainly part of her duties" to help students. He also pointed out that for more routine matters students should consult the desk librarians.
The problem of enabling students to receive sufficient instruction would, he said, be solved in the course of time as the reference librarian became more knowledgable about Victoria's library.
| 2. | The difficulty that is sometimes encountered in the getting of books from the stack rooms. |
To this Mr. Miller said that because of standing orders of the Library staff which required two librarians to be at the desk at all times it was sometimes difficult for books to be got immediately. It is felt that if students appreciate this point and also the fact that Stack Rooms are growing in number and complexity then slight delays will be accepted.
| 3. | The problem of borrowing of periodicals. There have been complaints recently and not so recently that the borrowing of periodicals by staff and students meant that if an assignment had been set the relevant periodicals would be immediately snatched up, leaving some students with a great advantage over the others who had not been the first to rush to get them. |
This point was only lightly treated by Mr. Miller and he did not appear to realise the importance of it. Obviously in our competitive education system there are students who will deliberately refrain from returning the periodical in order to retain his initial advantage over others. Personally I feel that the borrowing of periodicals should be stopped both from staff and students.
In conclusion Mr. Miller spoke of the "dream" library of the future Victoria, but realistically said that the present students would not be around to enjoy it. The question of stolen books was also mentioned by the Librarian. This question could be practically solved by the introduction of "turnstiles". This sort of theft protection is obviously effective, but humiliating for a University to have to introduce, but unless students realise their actions are causing considerable losses some measures will have to be taken. So please be honest!