What you have told us
Here you can search through numerous patron comments and the corresponding AADL replies. Search by the type of comment, in general by what the comment is regarding, or by a particular issue.
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Filter Patron Comments
Type: compliment
Regarding: website
Patron Comment: love your web site. what ILS system do you use?
AADL Reply: Thanks for contacting us. Our ILS is Innovative Millennium, although our website is powered by the open-source CMS Drupal. (http://drupal.org). Thanks for your interest, and please let us know if you have any other questions! Eli Neiburger Associate Director, IT and Product Development Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2008-04-20
Type: other
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: Hello. I'm moving out of Ann Arbor and would like to donate my books to the library. Do you accept book donation? Thanks.
AADL Reply: Yes we do. Donations may be brought to the back of the Downtown Library during library business hours. Enter the Staff Parking lot off William Street, ring intercom buzzer at door and tell receptionist that you have books to donate. Donation bins are directly inside the door. The Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library will then process your donation. For more information visit http://www.faadl.org/ and follow the "How to Donate" link. Thank you.
Date Received: 2008-04-18
Type: other
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: Hello, I have a question for the youth librarians who are most familiar with fiction for tween girls. Please recommend some "realistic fiction" and/or historical fiction book series for tween girls. We have already seen the Traveling Pants series, Trixie Belden, The Face on the Milk Carton... My daughter is drawn to "steamy" teen fiction when she is wandering the shelves. I'm looking to recommend more age-appropriate but still exciting options. Thank you!
AADL Reply: Thank you for your question. We have a few titles to get you started: The Wedding Planner's Daughter by Coleen Paratore The Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Paratore The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi Penny from Heaven by Jennifer Holm Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman Hope was Here by Joan Bauer Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech We hope this helps! Sincerely, Sherlonya Augustine Youth Services Manager
Date Received: 2008-04-17
Type: web site feedback
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: I'm an Internet Professional student at WCC and was wondering how a person using a screen reader would sign up for a library account when they can't see the captcha validation letters. Thanks, Esther
AADL Reply: Thanks for contacting us. At one point, we had a message under the captcha to contactus for help if you couldn't see the image, as this applies as much to sighted people who are confused as to users of screen readers. It looks like that accidentally got removed in a past update. We will put that back, thank you for bringing this to our attention! We also hope to move the captcha to recaptcha someday, which is a cool service with a very good option for low vision users. Thanks again for your feedback, and let me know if you have any other questions. Eli Neiburger Associate Director, IT and Product Development Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2008-04-17
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: customer service
Patron Comment: As I have forgotten a disk, twice (one of which, was stolen) - and know I'm only one of many, who have forgotten such devices at the library - I have a constructive suggestion: please post courtesy reminders. Forgetten devices are an inconvenience, if not a potential disaster for us customers. For you, it clutters your lost & found and may even bring a bit of grief from panicked owners. I don't know about the other branches - but the Mallet's branch has ports which are effectively hidden out of sight, which only provokes forgetting the device you've stuck in there. I understand you have policies about not cluttering the front windows, or maybe its any windows - with posted items. Okay; there are other ways. A simple paper with something like "Remember Your Disk or Flash Drive (smiley face)" slipped into a plastic prop could be placed atop surfaces which are conspicuous to those leaving the two computer areas. This solution is simple, cheap, quick, and very effective. You'd hardly need to lift a finger, and will have performed a commendable deed. Most of all, it would be a saviour for those of us with less than perfect memory - and who haven't yet defeated the saying "Out of sight, out of mind." :) Thank you.
AADL Reply: Thank you for contacting the Ann Arbor District Library. I am sorry to hear that you have lost your storage device at AADL more than once. I am pleased to tell you that we are exploring options for the Malletts Creek computer lab to make the USB ports more accessible and visible, so that storage devices won't be "be out of sight, out of mind". I hope that the upcoming change will help you remember your storage device and that you continue to use our computer labs successfully. Thank you again for contacting the Ann Arbor District Library. Please contact me if I can be of further assistance. Best regards, Celeste Choate Associate Director of Services, Collections and Access.
Date Received: 2008-04-15
Type: branch expansion comments
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: Please do not install the noisy "balls shooting into the air" toy that is located in the adult section near the computers as you did at the Pittsfield branch. It is really loud and distracting when a person is trying to think. If you must have that type of toy, I suggest you put it in the children's section. I understand that it is supposed to be for learning, but believe me it's a toy as far as the children are concerned and I certainly don't blame them for wanting to play with it.
AADL Reply: Thank you for letting us know your thoughts on the Bernoulli exhibit at Pittsfield. We are not installing a hands on exhibit at Traverwood Branch due to space constraints. We also hope that we have done a better job of separating noisier activities from quieter ones in this third branch. I hope that you will visit the Traverwood Branch when it opens in late June Sincerely, Josie Parker
Date Received: 2008-04-15
Type: other
Regarding: policies
Patron Comment: Salutations - I have a question about AADL policy. My understanding is that if a patron claims to have returned an item that the library shows as still being out, it goes on his record as a "Claims Returned". Patrons are allowed up to X number of Claims Returned before action is taken against their account, but in the meantime, they aren't fined for the item. Which makes sense and seems fair. However, if a patron loses an item and admits to having lost the item - as opposed to claiming he returned it - then he is fined for it. So my question is this: Doesn't such a policy encourage the patron to lie? I'm sure most people would do the honest thing and tell the truth if they lost an item rather than try to game the system, but even if so, they are penalized via a fine for their honesty. I guess I'm just thinking out loud and wondering if it might be a possibility for patrons to be given the option if they lose an item to either pay the fine at the time of loss or have it count as one of their Claims Returned instead. If they exceed the Claims Returned limit at some point, then they'd lose their library privileges and would have to pay some sort of set pre-set fee to be reinstated. I'm sure there are other better options you could come up with as well. Guess I'd just rather not have the "nice guy finishing last" if it can be avoided. Anyway, just thinking out loud. Love your libraries, thanks for all your efforts.
AADL Reply: Thank you for the suggestion and compliment. It is true that a patron is allowed a lifetime total of five 'claims return' items on his/her record without being responsible for replacement costs of the material. When a patron uses the 'claims' function we do a search at all locations for the item. If it is found the 'claims' record is cleared; if it is not the 'claim' still stands and counts as one of the five. It is, of course, true that someone could use this function to avoid paying for material that he/she knows has actually been lost. We accept what the patron tells us about what has happened to the material. However, when and if all five 'claims' are used without the items being found, this function may no longer ever be used. From that time forward the patron will be responsible for any material checked out on his/her record and not returned for any reason. I do want to make it clear that the patron does not lose check out privileges. Check out privileges are lost because of fines over $10.00, not because the 'claims' returned total is too high. Thank you again for your comments and suggestions. It is always a pleasure to hear from patrons and I appreciate getting your thoughts on our procedures. Diane Dahlem Circulation Manager
Date Received: 2008-04-14
Type: compliment
Regarding: compliment
Patron Comment: Thank you Ann Arbor library! I love bringing my kids into the Mallet Creek branch to check out books (play with dinosaurs!). The library has become such a wonderful part of our lives. As a graduate student with two young kids I would never get a chance to read for pleasure if it were not for the online book club. Thank you for adding to my list of books to "get to" once I have more time. Thank you again for all you do. This is a GREAT library system!
AADL Reply: Thank YOU for sharing your kind words with us. Staff at the Ann Arbor Public Library strive to provide excellent service and materials - including dinosaurs on the farm at Malletts Creek! I appreciate you sharing your good experiences with us, and I hope you continue to enjoy our services. Best regards, Celeste Choate, Associate Director of Services, Collections and Access
Date Received: 2008-04-13
Type: web site feedback
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: Hi Eli - I'm looking at my account history https://www.aadl.org/myaccount/history/ which shows 244 items checked out. I'm trying to export that collection, and running into a few problems. There's no "download as Excel or CSV" or other simple export as a table interface. There is an RSS interface, but when I select it it only shows 59 of those 244 titles. (Looking to do a bulk import back into LibraryThing, once I trim out all of the Boxcar Children books.) Ed
AADL Reply: Hey, ed, thanks for passing this along. We'll add a download function to our enhancements list, but with the RSS, I'm wondering if there's a weird character or something in there that's killing your feed, as I get all my checkouts in my feed. Can you figure out what's the first or last thing that's missing, or see if there are any titles with display errors already that might be throwing this off? Thanks. -eli
Date Received: 2008-04-13
Type: complaint
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: the on line registration system is horrible. I can't get it to work and the desk people at Malletts Creek told me they could not help either, that the system is user unfriendly.
AADL Reply: Thanks for contacting us. We're sorry that you've had trouble. I'm afraid I'm not exactly certain what you mean by the online registration system; can you tell me a little about what you were trying to do and what trouble you ran into? Thanks for your patience, and I hope we're able to address your concerns. Eli Neiburger Associate Director, IT and Product Development Ann Arbor District Library