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: general suggestion
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: During library visits I frequently print pages "off the internet" and go home with many pages/paper sheets...why not provide the means to transfer such data paper/files to my personal jump drive (USB storage device)? as an alternative? Why/why not 1.) the trees would appreciate it. 2.) think of saving to library and visitors...no ink buys (or a lot less). 3.) it's just handy! Thank you - the Library is great.
AADL Reply: This commnent was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2007-04-13
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: During library visits I frequently print pages..."off the internet" and go home with many pages/paper sheets...--why not provide the means to transfer such data pages/files to my personal jump drive (USB storage device)? or as an alternative? Why/why not 1.) The trees would appreciate it. 2.) Think of the saving to library and visitors...no ink buys (or a lot less)... 3.) !It's just handy! Thank you. -The Library is great-
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2007-04-13
Type: other
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: I was very pleased to find that your library has produced the translation of Men & Women in many different language included Persian. 1) The plural form of the Man in Persian is Mardan. 2) The Persian name for Woman is Zanan Not Aourat, this later word is arabic. This name (orat) is arabic for (to be ashamed of) used by some Male Chauvinist Muslim that hesitate even to use the word Woman!
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2007-04-11
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: collections
Patron Comment: Hi. The library subscribes to foreign language magazines, such as L'Express and Paris Match (French). At checkout, a staff person told me that, when the back-issue shelf fills, the oldest issues are recycled. You might consider, rather than discarding, to instead place the old issues in the Main Library's "give-away" magazine rack, or maybe sell ($.05) the old issues in your "Friends of The Library" booksale. My thinking is that people might find these magazines useful for brushing up on their language skills, and it doesn't matter that the information is no longer topical. Just a thought.
AADL Reply: Thank you for your recent suggestion regarding our foreign language magazines. I appreciate you taking the time to contact us, and we will consider it.
Date Received: 2007-04-11
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: computers
Patron Comment: I strongly recommend that AADL obtain (1) a current-vintage Macintosh computer that runs Mac OS X 10.4.8; and (2) a particular software item that requires this. It was a surprise to learn today that AADL has only a Mac running Mac OS 9, which is essentially extinct and no longer even "almost" current. It won't run current software. I suspect you may need to invest in something better. Based on my knowledge, the best choice for you is very likely a new Mac in the so-called "iMac" series. These are workhorses, can be set up for multiple users, and operate any and all current Mac software. Furthermore, at this point you ought to obtain an iMac that runs on Intel processors. That's where all the "action" is these days. And as I write this message, things have moved very rapidly toward Macs becoming able not only to work from the (Apple-designed) Mac OS X, but also to run the Windows operating system as well. While I have no axe to grind as to computer platforms (I use both) the number of important software items has grown in a large way. For example, it's now feasible to set up a computer with dictation software either for Windows or Macintosh, working on the same computer platform & workstation (you boot either in Mac OS X or Windows). Given the extremely rapid success of these new iMac computers, which are in many people's eyes equal to PC platforms, and features like relative insusceptibility to viruses & malware, plus the convenience of a local Authorized Mac dealer (Learning Center, Ltd. located on State St, about a mile past W Stadium Blvd) I urge you look into doing this in the near future.
AADL Reply: Thanks for contacting us. There's no need to sell us on the merits of Apple computers; we have a training center at the downtown library with 14 iMac G5s, plus many of our catalog stations, as you may have noticed, are iMacs as well. In addition, our entire systems staff uses Apple laptops, and many of us use them as our primary machines. So, we are big Mac enthusiasts here and we're always looking for new roles for OS X in the AADL computing environment. That said, the antique machine you encountered exists for a very specific purpose that has now almost withered away; for a time, we would often have students coming in with floppy disks containing files they had written in appleworks under OS 9 at the Ann Arbor schools. A modern mac would not have been able to open these files as easily as that older machine would. However, demand for that service has pretty much dried up and we're discussing plans to decommission that machine. Regardless of that decision, though, the fact remains that the PC-based thin clients we use for the majority of our public internet access stations are easier to maintain and offer a more standard interface to our users. While an individual Mac has clear advantages over an individual PC, when you have 300 stations to handle, there are tools to decrease the cost and effort required on the PC hardware side that Apple has not yet matched. In addition, we do serve many entry-level users, and while Macs do in general have an easier interface to learn, the cosmetic differences can significantly confuse novices who learned what they know in Windows. At any rate, rest assured that this is no Windows-loving shop; we evaluate all our options, looking for the most cost-effective and stable tools we can. When Macs have some of the robust enterprise management tools we've come to expect on the PC side, we can further evaluate their suitability as commodity internet workstations, but for now, it's not quite there yet. Thanks so much for your detailed feedback, we appreciate hearing from you. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Eli Neiburger AADL Tech Manager
Date Received: 2007-04-09
Type: my account problem
Regarding: login/password
Patron Comment: Hi - I accidently deleted my entire checkout history today, when I meant to delete just a few entries. Is there anyway to retrive the history, since I use it as a guide for videos that I didn't get a chance to see and would like to put back on hold again? Thanks.
AADL Reply: Thanks for contacting us. Unfortunately, we are not able to recover items deleted from your checkout history. To protect your privacy, you have complete control over the disposition of those records; when they are deleted, they are gone. They are not stored in any other location to ensure that records that you choose to delete could never be recovered at a later date. That assurance isn't very helpful in your situation, but we take your privacy very seriously and making the delete as final as possible is part of that. If you can recall any titles, I can manually reenter them to your history for your convenience, but other than that, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Thanks for your patience, and please let us know if you have any further questions or trouble. Eli Neiburger AADL Tech Manager
Date Received: 2007-04-08
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: holds
Patron Comment: Hi. First, I moved to Ann Arbor last year and want to compliment the A2 library sytem. It is the absolute BEST! Thank you for the hard work of my library workers, especially those at the Pittsfield Township branch. I was curious if there is a way to create a online queue of books I want to read, a wish list of sorts. I know I can reserve a book but I don't want to commit to reserving a book until I am ready to start reading it. I would like to keep a list of those books I want to read and then when I am ready, I would like to request the book for pick-up. Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your answer.
AADL Reply: Thanks for contacting us. We are working on a feature that will probably be just what you are looking for, but in the meantime, you can use tags to create your own wishlist. Tagging is the practice of attaching any word to an item in our catalog. By tagging an item with a word, you can make that items easier for yourself and others to find, or you can make personal notes on an item that benefit all our users. For example, you might tag a book of soup recipes 'cooking' or 'chowder' or 'awesome gazpacho' or 'my wishlist'. So, when you're looking at an item that you'd like to put on a wishlist, you can click the little tag icon to add a tag, and then tag the item 'wishlist' or 'colleen's wishlist' or 'iwantthis' or whatever. You can then view your tagged items under your 'my tags' page on your my account section, and view all the items you've tagged with 'wishlist'. What's cool about this system is that everyone else sees that this item has been tagged 'wishlist' (although they don't see who did it unless you put your name in the tag), so people can see that things in the catalog have been tagged for someone's wishlist. Again, this feature is not ideal for what you want to do, but it will do the trick while we work on a real wishlist for you! Thanks for your patience, and please let us know if you have any further questions or trouble. Eli Neiburger AADL Tech Manager
Date Received: 2007-04-06
Type: other
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: Compliment about neatness & quietness Internet Department. Suggestion: Bring varieties of VCR movies, videos for grown ups & children (latest of movies).
AADL Reply: Thank you for your recent comment regarding your enjoyment of our computer lab at the Malletts Creek branch and your request for VHS movies. I will pass your compliments on to our staff at the branch; thank you for taking the time to let us know. Unfortunately, VHS tapes are not released as widely as they used to be, given the penetration of the DVD format in the marketplace. As time passes and our VHS tapes wear out or are damaged, we are finding that we are unable to purchase new or replacement movies in the VHS format. That said, we will continue to circulate our existing VHS collection while we can. Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us.
Date Received: 2007-04-05
Type: complaint
Regarding: computers
Patron Comment: Please make your computer system able to handle my USB sticks. These are awesome to use for saving information. It is very very hard on your system.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.
Date Received: 2007-04-05
Type: other
Regarding: security
Patron Comment: Security is a little overwhelming.
AADL Reply: This comment was submitted anonymously.