Provide more group rooms for students, like the breakout rooms in Goodes Hall.

Ensure staff are still visible and very connected with their faculties.

Think even bigger — e.g. a pedestrian overpass between Douglas and Stauffer. Plan radical linking.

Parking is a problem for Archives, given their many community users.

A student enthused about bringing Archives together with Special Collections, because he often needs to consult both for the same project.

A suggestion for shelf read functionality in the catalogue to replace
the serendipity that gets lost online.

Someone who was struggling with small group room booking and was going
to think about sizes and furniture and give us feedback.

Someone in history who would love to have more access to the archives.

One person who did not like the low ceilinged spaces in Douglas.

Several people who had strong preferences for levels of noise (in both
directions) and open/closed spaces (in both directions).

Someone who was appalled that they couldn’t bring food into the adaptive
tech area because they’d been told “there’s no money to replace the
equipment”.

What about green/sustainable issues for library and archives spaces
(? green wall in Stauffer)?

The History graduate students whom I’ve been talking to report that even one extra microfilm machine would do wonders in creating work efficiencies and help with time-to-completion.

Also, self-checkout machines are the norm in many university libraries around the world. Yet they have been slow to come to Queen’s (the one at Stauffer is always broken, too). Using these machines effectively can improve access to the libraries.

“I am concerned about the emphasis on digital technology that we saw [in some stakeholder consultations]. I think there’s an underlying assumption that students have access to the newest and best technologies and are eager for more ebooks, but looking at ebooks on a laptop or desktop is not ideal, and many of us are reluctant to invest in new technology such as tablets or ereaders. Even on an ereader or tablet, reading can be a pain with regards to using the index, flipping through chapter headings, etc. I know the committee are working with a 15-20 year outlook and perhaps ereaders and tablets will become the norm by then and ebook technology will become a lot better, but I am still uncomfortable with the downloading of costs onto students – an ereader becomes one more piece of technology to have to buy and replace every couple of years and on a grad student budget most of us are trying to hold onto our tech for as long as we can.

My second point is about microfilm. The architects seemed shocked that anyone is still using it and I think it really needs to be stressed that in many disciplines microfilm is an integral research tool. Most of the material historians use is not digitized and will not be digitized any time soon and I don’t know if we were clear enough about this. The material that I use has already been moved from near the readers in the basement to compact shelving on the fifth floor and I wonder how much longer before it is moved offsite altogether. Digitization would be great but the time and costs associated with it mean it is very unlikely. I’m sure the library and archives reps on the committee have also spoken to this issue but I really wanted to reiterate it as the shortage of readers with printing capacities and their poor location is probably the biggest concern people in the history department have with the library. I’m sure this is an issue in other departments as well.

[...T]hese are very real concerns that have to do with how we use the library space and services, and it would be a shame to see the research tools that work for many students cut back on out of a belief that they are obsolete. I think digitization can work in some instances but there are a lot of caveats to it depending on the type of reading/research being done and I am wary of how it [is] being touted as a great problem solver.

[...] I think ebook/ereader technology would have to get a lot better before I would be on board with full digitization. Just thinking with regards to using an index or looking at endnotes – I am yet to see an e format that makes it easy to quickly flip back and forth between sections or look at notes. Also thinking of preparing fields – the prospect of having to read 100+ scholarly books using current ebook technology is painful. Flipping back and forth between windows, having to sit at the computer to read… buying an ereader might solve this, but as I said [...] I’m a bit wary of the possibility we will all be expected to buy ereaders in a few years time. Another thing to potentially be wary of is the proprietary nature of ebook technology – what happens when a bunch of books are bought in one format and a few years down the line there is no longer technology available to open the files? Data migration could be a real headache. For me digitization depends a lot on the type of item – I am totally on board with digitized journals and edited collections of articles but the longer the item I’m reading is, the more I prefer a hard copy.

Online material is very convenient as it is easier to do keyword searches. Let’s use the LAMP process to acquire more online material!

Collection: asking for a journal that is directly related to work. Said they could do it, but have to discuss. 2 months. For getting a new journal online. Must be able to access this before degree. Otherwise paying money for each and every article. Easier doing research electronically. Keyword searches.