Tag Archives: thesis carrel

Summer Language Study Carrels

The library has once again designated several suites of carrels as specific Language Study Carrels. The carrels in the suites are available on a first come, first served basis and may not be reserved. A map of the suites can be found here, and more information regarding carrels in the library can be found here.

Carrel Day, Valentines Day edition

Carrel Day for Spring, 2011 has come and gone. There were 54 carrels available at 8 am on Monday morning. By Wednesday morning, there were 6 remaining. Most were booked online Monday morning. We had three calls at the circ desk from people who had problems booking online: 2 were Juniors (who are not allowed to book a thesis carrel) and one had overdue items (and was therefore blocked from booking). A few people called later in the day to confirm that they had booked a key, and all had. There was one instance of someone booking two carrels keys, but that was quickly discovered and remedied. We pushed back the start time from 7 am to 8 am, which was at the very least better for circ staff. All in all, it was a very smooth day, and much improved over the Fall.

Online Carrel booking: Debrief

Monday marked the first time that seniors did not have to stand outside the library waiting in line to sign up for a thesis carrel. Booking online was not the smoothest of flights, but it did not crash and burn, either. We learned some things and there are some thing we have to fix, but overall, we are calling it a success.

The Good: It worked; the server didn’t crash; vast majority of those asked preferred this way to standing in line
The Bad: Most of the errors were due to the communication with Banner – Millennium did not know they were taking a 500+ level class, so they couldn’t book online; pages loaded VERY slowly
The Ugly: Some people booked multiple keys before they realized it was actually working, which prevented others from booking those keys

Some numbers:
• 200 total carrels
• 82 carrels booked in the first hour
• 26 carrels still available after 48 hours

A quote: “Bottom line: thank you so much for putting carrel signup online this year! I avoided all of my worst fears (no more carrels available by my turn in line, double bookings, etc.), and it was no more of a hassle than registration or room draw, which we’re all used to. It went really well.”

Fall Thesis Carrels

Seniors who are currently enrolled in 500, 600, or 700 level thesis/project work are eligible for a thesis carrel. If you register for one of these classes AFTER Tuesday, September 7th, please stop by the Davis Family Library circulation desk to make sure you have been updated in our library system.
NEW AND IMPROVED! You may sign up ONLINE for your thesis carrel starting at 7 am on Monday, September 13th. Instructions can be found here. We have tested this new procedure and expect it to work. If for some reason it does not, we will communicate an alternate plan later that same day. For a carrel at either the Music or Armstrong Library, please go directly to that circulation desk on Monday the 13th to reserve.
Additional information can be found on the Thesis Guide website (go/thesis).