Studying Late

It would be really helpful to have a research librarian on in the evenings.

We normally have a librarian at the Library Help Desk from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, Monday through Thursday nights; someone is there until 5:00 pm on Friday (the library closes early that evening), until 5:00 on Saturday nights and until 9:00 pm on Sunday nights.

Feel free to also use the AskUs link from our main page, where you can contact us by email or you can reach your subject librarian to set up an individual appointment.

To see our regular Library Help Desk hours, please check here: http://library.uvic.ca/site/lib/hours/ref/November.html

Lower Level Renovation Noise

Lately there has been some serious equipment being used in library. It's very loud and I have to buy ear plugs if I want a quiet work space. I would really like to see a bin of free ear plugs made available to students during this construction.

We apologize for the noise during this phase of renovations. If you would like a quieter place to study, we recommend you find a spot on the second or third floor away from the construction. In the past we offered free earplugs, but as many people disposed of their earplugs after one use, the cost to the library became excessive.

Thanks for your feedback!

Library Website — Search Page

Comment 1 — I like the sticky tabs. Thanks for making the change.

Comment 2 — This is a great improvement. For my work I almost always use Books & More and only rarely use the Articles tab. Thanks.

Thanks! We like them too!

Creepy blue water

Why is the water in the "pond" outside the new wing an unnatural blue colour? What are you putting in there? It's creepy!

The build-up of algae in the Mearns retention pond has turned out to be greater than initially anticipated. In order to mitigate the problem and not have to continuously drain and refill the pond every month or two (at significant expense), UVic Grounds is using an environmentally friendly blue dye to filter out the UV rays that accelerate the algae growth.

Feeling the heat

I would like to eat a hot meal at the BiblioCafé. A hot bowl of soup, and a microwave to heat up samosas, etc, would be much appreciated. Cold food is okay, but a hot meal a day is better than a cold one. Thank you for your consideration.

The concept for the café as developed for the Mearns Centre is "a place where light snacks and beverages are served." In setting up the BiblioCafé, the library stipulated to Food Services that there be no cooking in the café as the smells would carry into the library. This applies to microwaving of food.

There are several excellent food outlets around campus where hot food can be purchased. Also, library staff are provided with a lovely and fully equipped staff lounge for food preparation and consumption.

I recently found, through a blog, "JM's WW I Sketchbook" digitally reproduced and indexed on your site:

Anyway, I wanted to write and express appreciation to you and your colleagues and institution for digitizing material such as this and making it available to everyone. First came Project Gutenberg; what it did (and is continuing to do) for the published textual heritage of us all, efforts like yours are now doing for the visual and manuscript — only heritage. And not just the pretty ornamental stuff but an entire range. Thank you all! May your funding be expanded!

Thanks for your feedback!