Library Loop

Festive Feedback – How we’ve used your comments

We want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to give us feedback and make suggestions on our Festive Feedback trees. We’ve been poring over the comments and sharing them with colleagues in Libraries & Collections and across relevant teams in King’s to find opportunities to improve our services. Here’s a summary of the major themes from your comments. 

Respecting Library spaces

'Students don't follow library etiquette anymore. There are students who do not respect silent zones. Students eat food in the round reading room. Please help enforce basic rules.'

We received a few comments about the way people use our libraries, how this can impact other library users, and the need to be considerate. We’re taking several steps in the coming months to make your experience of studying in the library as comfortable and productive as possible. 

• Library users will see an increased presence of our staff in our spaces, looking to help at a point of need and reminding those studying of the rationale behind library rules.
• We have recently relaunched our Noise Line, allowing users to contact the library with details about noisy or inappropriate activity for an immediate response from staff. This service currently runs throughout our staffed hours Mon-Fri.
• We have now launched a ‘Study with Respect’ campaign which will help to clarify what you should expect of each other and how different "Zones" in the library can help identify the right place for your activity that day. 

Opening hours at the Maughan

 ‘Maughan is my happy place but I would love it even more if it was open 24/7 and not just till 1am <3’

We received several requests for extending our opening hours at The Maughan Library. The good news is the Maughan Library is currently open 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), from 5th January 2022 all the way to 19th June 2022. 

We closely monitor footfall and demand for our libraries to make sure they are open 24/7 in our busiest periods and in less busy periods, such as in December 2021, when we open the Maughan from 9am-1am. Even in quieter periods we still open some of our libraries 24/7, so it’s always worth checking our Opening Hours page to see which libraries you can use.

Library Search

 ‘The library search engine is not very user friendly.  It is very difficult to find a simple textbook.’ 

We’re exploring options for improving the search function in Library Search and as a next step we are removing the default filter that shows only online resources, which was introduced during Covid-19 restrictions to prioritise visibility of online resources available from anywhere (you can still chose to use it in future). We are also investigating increasing the guidance we include on Library Search on our LibAnswers FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions) page.

We recommend you watch our video on Getting Started With Library Search. If you'd like to get personalised advice you can book an appointment with a librarian or chat to a member of staff on our LibChat service.


Library Spaces, Heating and Cleanliness

We received several comments about cleanliness and heating problems, particularly at the Maughan Library, and we have passed these on to King’s Estates Team. We also enjoyed some of your creative suggestions (and puns) for uses of our spaces, we’ve passed these on too but some of them we can’t act on without negatively impacting the library spaces (sorry Rudolph!).

Resources

 ‘could we have a stand with print newspapers please?’ (The Maughan Library)

While we don’t offer print newspapers, we do provide access to a massive collection of online newspapers which you can access in the library or from home. This includes extensive historical archives and current newspapers (including many which you would otherwise have to pay to access, such as FT.com). Our newspaper databases, such as Nexis UK, give you really powerful search options to find news from specific dates, regions, and media outlets. You can access these all for free with your King’s username or password or using your Senate House Library login. Explore our newspaper databases on our Database A-Z. 

Library Staff and Festive Feedback

Lastly we received lots of lovely positive comments about Libraries & Collections staff and services, which really lifted our spirits over Christmas and in the new year. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share these.

Following our unexpected use of our Festive Feedback as wishing trees, we’re also considering how we can welcome these wishes again next year, while still getting valuable feedback about our services and collections.