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: complaint
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: I'd refer to this as a comment rather than a complaint but I just searched your music collection for Aaron Copeland. Nothing. How is that possible? Who selects the music?
AADL Reply: Hi there, thanks for your interest. The composer Aaron Copland does not have an e in his name. You can see all our CDs of music by Copland here, or by typing copland into our search box: https://aadl.org/search/catalog/author:(%22Copland,%20Aaron,%201900-1990.%22) As an aside, we do allow searches to be off by one letter, but exact matches are a higher ranking in the results. So a search for copeland would have included works by Copland, but only after all the various works by people named Copeland. You can see this in action by searching for copeland orchestra, which gets what you were looking for despite the misspelling: https://aadl.org/search/catalog/copeland%20orchestra We also have an excellent Copland documentary in our streaming video collection: https://aadl.org/catalog/record/ib-100011981 And even an LP in circulation: https://aadl.org/catalog/record/10440638 Thanks for your interest, and we're sorry for the frustration. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns, and thank you for using your library. -eli Eli Neiburger Director Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2023-04-12
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: Hello! Please record the history of the spinny light board thing and make it available online for all to peruse. In particular, I would like it to be possible to share to others a link of what the state of the board was at specific times so specific creations would be shown to others. Thank you.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2023-04-12
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: programs & events
Patron Comment: Record Store Day 23 T-shirts would be cool. Same logo that you use for flyers and posters.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2023-04-12
Type: compliment
Regarding: programs & events
Patron Comment: The staff was so kind and included by daughter even though it was nearing the end of the event (3/19/23). She was so excited. Kudos to your amazing staff.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2023-04-12
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: Open earlier. Hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. would be great.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2023-04-02
Type: complaint
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: Subj: Please close Malletts' Rain Garden meeting room Hi .. The Rain Garden meeting room at Malletts is adjacent to the magazine reading room, and adjacent to the computer stations. Noise from Rain Garden meetings is disturbing to patrons in these nearby areas, who are trying to focus in a quiet environment. At Malletts last week there was a boisterous group yucking it up in the Rain Garden, not considerate of nearby patrons. On another library visit there was again a group laughing and chatting. You should close the Rain Garden room. Malletts already has meeting room space near the front entrance, noise there is further away from the stacks and quiet areas of the library. A small group could also meet in the front snack area, also further away from the quiet areas. Closing the room seems reasonable, given Malletts other available front area meeting areas. Having the staff monitor the Rain Garden noise would likely be insufficient, as would trying to baffle the sound from that room. Thanks,
AADL Reply: Hi there, thank you for your feedback. We're sorry that other patrons using the library have disturbed your use of the library. The meeting rooms were added to Malletts Creek Branch in available space, based on overwhelming demand. The two bookable meeting rooms at Malletts Creek have been booked in advance almost 500 times since July 2022, in addition to the numerous walk-in uses every day. Closing these rooms is not an option. When you encounter use of the meeting rooms louder than the general noise level of the branch, please ask the staff for assistance. While the meeting room in the front of the building is not available for free advance bookings by patrons, we do have the option of asking a group to relocate to that space when it is not in use for library events or other meetings. We've investigated options for further sound isolation of those spaces, but there are no realistic options due to the design of the building and the nature of the retrofit rooms. We are not able to guarantee a quiet environment at the Library at all times, but staff are there to assist you when possible. Thank you again for taking the time to let us know about your experience, and thank you for your patience. -eli Eli Neiburger Director Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2023-02-28
Type: compliment
Regarding: customer service
Patron Comment: Thanks for being extra open during the outages. The warmth, shelter, WiFi, electricity is much appreciated.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2023-02-28
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: fines
Patron Comment: Hello, I wanted to start off by saying that I LOVE the express shelf and how it can make highly sought after books available without getting in a several hundred person waitlist. It has been extremely helpful when one of my book clubs chooses a book that is really popular. However, I'm discouraged that with the removal of late fees, it seems like people take the 2-week express shelf loans and keep them well past their due date, which defeats the purpose of having those books available for quick turnarounds. Has the library considered reinstating late fees for express shelf loans? Thanks,
AADL Reply: Hi there, thanks for contacting us. We're so glad you enjoy this service and find it useful! While it can be frustrating to see overdue items that you're waiting for, part of the reason we stopped charging overdue fees is that we found that they weren't very effective at getting people to return things. Some borrowers are motivated by them, but many patrons definitely are not. We have not seen a substantial difference in the amount of overdue items, or how long they are overdue, since we made this change. I pulled the stats on express shelf to see what the situation is presently, and out of about 1000 express shelf copies in the collection, only about 12% of them are currently overdue, and only 6% of them are more than a week overdue. This is pretty standard for us, overdue fees or not, and with so little impact of fees on the timely return of materials, it's not something we plan to reinstate on any part of the collection. That said, we are looking at some new ways to remind patrons who have overdue items that other patrons are waiting for them, and it's possible that may help in this situation as well... but we find that generally, there are patrons who always return their checkouts on time, and patrons who never do, and there's not a lot we can do to affect that aspect of their behavior one way or another. Thanks very much for your patience, and we're sorry for the wait for these popular items! Thanks again for your feedback. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns, and thank you for using your Library. -eli Eli Neiburger (he/him) Director Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2023-02-26
Type: compliment
Regarding: programs & events
Patron Comment: Thank you for putting on such a fun event (The Pokemon Party)! It was a great time for myself (30 years) and my teenage brothers, who are both autistic. Thank you also to the Tech Staff who answered questions that my brother had about the movie set-up!
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2023-02-22
Type: complaint
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: Would you check when [my requested title] was marked as no longer being in the collection? I placed a hold on that item, and I am pretty sure that there was a copy showing as being in the collection at the time I placed the hold. I am surprised that the Library does not cancel holds on items that are removed from the collection and inform the requester that the item is no longer available. I'll leave the hold in place in case someone wants to look; I will delete it on Fri. It would have been courteous to have cancelled the hold and let me know.
AADL Reply: Hello! Our records show that your hold was placed on 1/26/23 and the last remaining copy of the DVD was marked missing on 1/28/23, presumably when our staff were unable to find it to fill your hold. An alert was sent notifying our DVD/BluRay selector that the last copy of an item had been marked missing so they can check for demand and availability and consider replacing the title. That's why we don't automatically cancel holds when an item goes missing - it gives us a chance to consider replacement options. Leaving outstanding holds on patron accounts gives the patron a chance to follow up about titles they really need or want so we can look for other ways to get them access. In the case of print books, we can interloan from other libraries, for example. Holds do automatically expire if they go unfilled for a year, or you can cancel the hold yourself if your need for the item is relatively immediate. If you'd like to specifically request that we re-purchase this title, please let me know and I'll ask our selector to follow up with you to confirm its availability and replacement timeframe. I hope this helpful. Thanks for asking about this, and thanks for using your library! Sara Wedell Collections Manager | Ann Arbor District Library