Need some romantic inspiration?

Have you searched the Libraries’ collection of books and films?

We have…  182 books and 44 films with the Library of Congress subject heading Love 29 ebooks with love-related themes 20 items with the subject heading Love stories   Do you have a favorite? Leave a comment!

Valentine’s Day contest question for freshmen: How many results do you get when you perform a keyword search for Valentine in the Libraries’ online catalog? Hint: Click the Books and More tab on the Libraries’ homepage to access the Libraries’ catalog’s search box.

Not sure what to do with the answer? Check the latest email from your personal librarian!

The library—particularly the computer area—get really loud with people talking on the phone. For those of us without computers who must use Hagerty’s this is somewhat stressful. Is there a way to keep the library quieter? There are more social areas than study areas at Drexel.

Thanks for your comment. Here at Hagerty we are constantly trying to strike a balance between those who need quiet and those who need to make some noise—either to work in groups or to spend five or ten minutes taking care of some business before getting back to writing their papers.  In general, we ask that people not use cell phones in the computer areas, and if we hear someone talking loudly in a quiet area, we will say something to them. If you hear someone on the phone, please feel free to ask them to move to a non-quiet area, or to hang up.  You can point to the “Quiet Area” signs around the computers as your justification. If that doesn’t work, please come find a library staff member and we’ll back you up.

Please make the entire library cell free. There is no reason patrons cannot take their calls outside. One third of the patrons come to the library to talk on their cell phones.  Thank you.

Thanks for the good idea. The noise level at the library is a constant issue. We want people to be quiet so everyone can work, but we also want people to be able to do group work. Also, we don’t have the resources to constantly police the noise level. Clearly, cell phone use is a noise issue, and when we see people loudly talking on their cell phones, we do try to control it. However, it’s difficult for us to make rules we can’t enforce.  If someone is disturbing you with a phone conversation, and if you’ve asked them to stop and they won’t, please ask a library staff member to help you. We will do our best to help.

I would like more Stephen King books available.

Great suggestion! Please write back and let us know what specific titles you have in mind, so we can get exactly what you want.

Here is a comment we received during the last round of law school exams:

So 1/3 of Drexel’s library is closed during law school exam  period. Okay, fine—I  get it. What I am curious about is why we are still letting in reciprocal ID students (especially Penn), even though we as Drexel students are not allowed in their library during their reading week (which, coincidentally is this week). This is mid terms week, so library demand is PEAK just among Drexel students, and I think that it’s unfair that Penn students are allowed in here but we aren’t allowed in their library. Can we completely restrict access during law school exams? I am all for helping out our future Drexel attorneys, but do we need to let everyone from all schools in to the remaining two floors?

While the law library is restricted for this exam period, the rest of Hagerty library is closed to the general public. We allow Drexel alumnae and those with reciprocal privileges into the library, but no one other than current students, staff and faculty can log onto the computers. We have only had a few students from reciprocal schools enter the building during this current period, and none of them should have been logged onto the computers.

During Drexel final exams (whether the law school is in their exam period or not), we close Hagerty Library to everyone but current Drexel students, faculty, and staff. Because Drexel has such short terms, we cannot do this during mid terms, because it would mean too great a portion of each term would be closed to those who have reciprocal borrowing privileges.

It would be nice to have an overnight borrowing option for textbooks on reserve. Especially during midterms or finals, where pulling all-nighters can be the norm. One possible option would be to allow textbooks borrowed after midnight to roll-over to the next day, and require them to be returned by 8 am.

Thanks for your thoughtful suggestion. The borrowing period for reserve items are determined by the faculty members who put the items on reserve. Some books have overnight borrowing periods. But most professors want to satisfy the high demand for these books by ensuring that their course texts don’t leave the building. If the borrowing period changes during exams, access will be lessened when the need is greatest.

If you need access to a text book for a longer period than the library’s reserve system allows, you might consider purchasing your own copy. We also have photocopiers and scanners on Hagerty’s frist floor and lower level so you can use parts of the book even when you have to give it back for someone else to check out.

My father suggested I learn more about farming coconuts, since it is part of my culture. Could we get a book about it?

Thanks for your question. I’ll pass the suggestion along to Peggy Dominy, our reference librarian for math and science. If you want help finding information to answer specific questions about the science of coconut farming, you can get in touch with Peggy directly for personalized assistance.

If you’re more interested in the history or social sciences of coconut farming in your culture, you can be in touch with Larry Milliken, our librarian for humanities and social sciences. Both Peggy and Larry are passionate about their subjects, and, like any librarian, they are also passionate about helping people find the information they need or want. So get in touch—they’d love to hear from you.

Anything criterion NEEDS to be in our collection.

Thanks for the comment. Yes, the Criterion collection is very important (hence the name). In fact, because the films are so important (and often expensive), we keep most of our Criterion DVDs in the DVD reserve collection behind the circulation desk. Right now we have 85 DVDs from the Criterion collection. Of course, this is nowhere near all of the collection, but, since our budget for film is not infinite, we cannot automatically get everything. If there’s something specific you’d like to see in Hagerty’s collection, please let us know (and let us know who you are so we can follow up) and we’ll look into it.