>Fall 2000 Library Newsletter |
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New Technology...New ServicesSeveral new services debuted during the 1999-2000 academic year. Electronic Reserves-- Thanks to MARQCAT’s Electronic Reserve module, we improved access to class reserve documents by digital scanning. Electronic Reserve items are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to anyone with Internet access. A fall 1999 pilot project was so well received that we expanded the offerings during the spring 2000 semester. Look for even greater coverage in the upcoming academic year! |
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| Laptop Checkouts -- Early in
fall 1999, 15 Toshiba laptops - - a gift of the Parents Association -- became available at
Memorial Library. Students could use the laptops nearly anywhere in the library and
connect to the Internet via a new wireless network. Memorial Library was the first site on
campus to offer such wireless access, making the laptops a great success, especially near
the end of each semester when students actively researched and wrote papers. A survey of
laptop borrowers in spring provided ideas for enhancing the program, useful demographics
of users, and enthusiastic comments lauding the laptops’ convenience. Laptop
checkouts for the year exceeded 2,600 and in fall 2000 the wireless network will expand to
the Science Library. |
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| Online Renewals -
In May 2000, a new online renewal procedure was tested, beginning with graduate students.
It proved a tremendous success, with students renewing 3,600 books online. Now faculty and
staff and undergrads can also renew their books online via MARQCAT’s “View Your
Check-out Record” option. |
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| And new in Fall 2000 --
E-mail Notices - Newly installed software allows the Circulation Department to send
most circulation notices -- overdue, recall, ready -- via e-mail to users who choose this
service. Users need to activate this service to insure the notices go to an active e-mail
account. This improved approach enables Circulation staff to contact users in a more
timely manner and places requested material into the hands of users more quickly. |
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| Web site news: 150,000 Hits a Month! The library’s Web site, nicknamed MORE (Marquette Online Research Environment), provides a set of 500+ Web pages with over 3,700 links to worldwide online resources. Many of these resources are commercial products licensed for use by the Marquette community. Memorial and Science staff continually update the pages to provide users with valuable resources and to help find reliable information in the Internet jungle. The library pages are used extensively; in fact “hits” on MORE pages account for 20% of all University pages’ traffic. In an average month, library pages are viewed over 150,000 times. | ||
