LINUS January 2002 : Library News
Two Winners for Best Suggestion of the Year from NUS Library
Lim-Yeo Pin Pin, Central Library
The NUS Library is proud to have two of its staff members jointly awarded the Best Suggestion of the Year for 2001 in the Administrative/Computer and Library Professionals Category. Both were recognised as best suggestion due to the exceptional quality of their suggestions. Cecilia Lee and Tan Lay Tin received their awards at the NUS Quality Service Day on 8 November 2001.
Cecilia and Lay Tin at the NUS Quality Service Day.
This is the third year in a row that NUS Library staff have been awarded the Best Suggestion of the Year. In 1999, Lim-Yeo Pin Pin won the award for the Administrative/Computer and Library Professionals Category. In 2000, Saraswathi M. won the award for the Non-Academic Category. Saraswathi's suggestion was to have an e-form for our users to report any change in home address, office address or even email address.
Here are the details of the two winning suggestions:
Cecilia Lee
Pop-up window for Exam Papers Database
Submitted in October 2000
I receive frequent queries from students who are unable to access the Exam Papers database remotely. Many of them connect through their commercial ISPs or cable modem and report that their IP addresses are rejected. It is quite time-consuming to have to answer the same questions individually. This information is currently available in the FAQ section of the Library Web site, but some users may not know how to get to the information.
Suggestion
I suggest creating a pop-up window in the AUP (Appropriate Use Policy) page for Exam Papers with information for staff/students accessing the database from home or off-campus. It will only appear after users are authenticated for Intranet access. This way, staff and students will be informed of how to connect to the database remotely before they encounter an error message.
Benefits
All staff and students of the university who wish to search the Exam Papers database from home or off-campus will benefit from the implementation of this suggestion. They will be given the specific instructions for connecting to NUSNET before they attempt to connect to the database. It will save them time and frustration at failed attempts, and also save time for librarians who have to answer similar queries on this matter.
Tan Lay Tin
Enhancement to the 'View your own library record' in the Library Catalogue (LINC)
Submitted in Dec 2000
When a user makes an online request or reservation for a library material, an email notice will be sent to them notifying them the availability of the item with the message that the book will be on reserve for them until a certain date. Users who encounter problems retrieving their email will call up the Library to ask how long will the book be on hold for them. Reason being that the 'View your own library record' in LINC only has the word, 'Ready for Pickup' next to the item ready for collection. Upon receiving the query, Library staff will have to go to the Circulation Module, display the holds on a title to check and inform the users the last collection date for the available item.
Suggestion
To submit as future enhancement to the Vendor of the Library System the inclusion of the feature, 'available until dd-mm-yy' next to the item ready for collection in the View your own library record.
Benefits
- Cut down the number of telephone enquiries.
- Reduce staff time in checking the system.
- Make the Library system more informative for users, especially external members who very often cannot make a personal trip to the Library due to work commitments.
Cecilia and Lay Tin each received a certificate and a cash award.
So, remember that everyone's ideas count! How about putting on your thinking caps or being on the lookout for good ideas to make our work more efficient. And you never know, your suggestion might just be the 'Best Suggestion' next year.
Last updated on 2/1/2002 © National University of Singapore Library
Contents January 2002
Library News
Electronic Resources
Collection Highlights
Fun and games galore at the Hi-Tea
Happy Retirement to Lim Bee Lum
Home book delivery
NUS Library Opening Hours
Reorganization of C J Koh Law Library
Reservoir of knowledge and experience at the NUS Library
A short play by NUS Library WITs
Two Winners for Best Suggestion of the Year from NUS Library
Bloomberg Professional Service
Current Contents Connect Guide
Food Science & Technology Abstracts Guide
Life Sciences Online Tutorial
New CD-ROMs in Science Library
New Law database: AGIS
Recent materials on Effective Teaching Methods