If we are required to purchase a textbook, the library should have a copy of it too. There is no Engineering Economic Analysis, 11th edition, but CIVE240 requires it.

Thanks for writing. I know that textbooks are an enormous expense for students, and many rely on the library’s course reserves system to help them through the term. Books and other materials go on course reserve when your instructor or department requests it. If we don’t hear from your instructors, we don’t put their stuff on reserve. So please let your instructor know that you’d like the stuff you need on reserve, and if they look at you like you’ve got two heads, send them here.

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.

The Macs should have Photoshop on them; there’s no point in having them otherwise.

Thanks for your suggestion. Hagerty’s computers are equipped with the same software that is available to the university at large, and Drexel does not have a site license for Photoshop. However, software is constantly reviewed for all public systems, so your request has been noted. Meanwhile, if you need to use Photoshop, there are computers in Korman that have it installed. Here at Hagerty we have a wide variety of users, and we’ve had many requests for Macs, which is why we have them in addition to PCs.

Please also send out circulation notices for DVDs when they are due on a particular day, the same way circulation notices are sent out for books.

Thanks for the suggestion. Circulation notices are emailed 5 days before borrowed items are due. Since the loan period for DVDs is 5 days, if we sent the notice for DVDs, you’d get it on the day you checked the DVD out. Unfortunately we can not create an alternate system for DVDs with our current software. To help you remember, we insert a helpful reminder about when your DVD is due in each DVD case we check out.

Speaking on behalf of the student population, we do not believe that we should pay for printing. Don’t taxpayer dollars help us with free printing? Probably not because we are not a state funded school. But our tuition should be able to cover it. I know other schools like Temple have printing privileges. Why can’t we?

Thanks for your question. As you point out, Drexel does not receive tax payer funds to allay the cost of student printing. Temple is a state school, but we can’t say whether Pennsylvania subsidizes their printing costs. If you read the fine print in Temple’s policy, you’ll notice that printing actually isn’t free—each student pays a “technology fee” which goes toward printing. In fact, Temple students could end up paying more per page than Drexel students, since their technology fees are based on their course load, not on the amount of printing they do. On the other hand, Penn charges a per-page fee like Drexel. Like Temple and Penn, we just don’t have the money to cover printing and the associated costs of running and maintaining printers throughout the building.

Requests have been coming in to restore the microwave in the café. Here are the two latest:

There used to be a microwave in the Cafe area, but we could not find it anymore. I understand Taco Bell will want students to purchase their food. However they open and close at scheduled times. The cafe area is the only campus place open to students 24/7 where students are able to study. We would appreciate it a lot if we can have a microwave at the cafe, please.

Could you have a Microwave in the library? We need to be able to microwave hot food.

Thanks very much for this suggestion. This is a great idea, and library administration is currently talking with Drexel Dining Services about installing a microwave in the vending area at the back of the café.

Although there is a Taco Bell in the café, students who use the café area are welcome to bring in their own food and are in no way obligated to purchase Taco Bell food. If you are told that you may not bring outside food into the café, please see a member of the library staff.

I’m wondering if making entry/exit through the bookmark cafe possible, allowing students to bring outside food into the cafe (via the cafe door) and having a manned circulation window in the bookmark cafe (as part of the main circulation desk where students can check out laptops, reserve materials, etc) would alleviate all the problems and complaints about [the food policy].

Thanks for your interesting idea. However the problem is not that students enter the café through the library, but that the café is entirely closed for renovations for the summer, leaving students with no library space for eating their meals. When the café reopens in the fall, a library dining area will be restored. Complaints about the food policy have died down considerably since the beginning of the summer, and we very much appreciate everyone’s willingness to comply with the rules until the café reopens.

Please set up notification emails of when movies are due. We get them for books but not movies.

Thanks for the idea.

Our system sends out courtesy reminders five days before an item is due. But since DVDs are due five days after they’re checked out, the system doesn’t work.

Unfortunately our system does not allow for alternative timing of courtesy reminders, so to help you remember when your DVDs are due, we put a reminder slip in each case.

Bill at the front desk was extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

Thanks so much for the nice comment. We like to hear what we’re doing well and when—especially when we’re being helpful. Bill gets an extra gold star.

I like your loaner library bags. Could they be sold as a fundraiser?

We love this idea and we are looking into selling them in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion!