I was trying to find the website for the BES library in order to find names of personnel and librarians, but could not find it anywhere. This seems shameful to me, considering every other library was easily found. Please give this library the respect it deserves.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: It is there, just not as clear as you would like. On the left side banner there is a section titled “Libraries @ Duke,” including the “Science & Engineering” libraries. BES is available through this link. While there may be skeptics out there that say we are just trying to save space on the home page, it also recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of the natural sciences & engineering collections, and the administrative structure of the libraries. By the way, you will soon (tomorrow!) see a new home page for the libraries.

A Journey to Hell and Back Charlotte RussellJohnson ISBN 193152713X

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Sounds like a purcahse suggestion, which needs to go on the page specially set up for that: http://www.lib.duke.edu/colldev/ask4book.htm. Gives you a chance to identify yourself, so we know (1) how to let you know if we add the book to our collections,; and (2) that you aren’t just a bookseller trying to market your wares.

It’d be great to have a way to do an online lookup of what books you have checked out, and when they’re due. Or does this already exist …

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: That would be neat. If it only existed . . . but it does! If you go to the online catalog, one of the options at the top of the screen is “My Account.”

Thank you so much for the new catalog interface. I’ve been waiting for years to be able to manage my holdings, make renewals, and see what I have out. It’s marvelous!

Many thanks,
Phil

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Thank you for the feedback!

does ANYONE in OIT know that the Perkins PC cluster has had, at least since school started this semester, at least 2 of the 4 printers always being malfunctional? Also- will you marry me?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Actually, OIT does know about the problem. They are high use stations that are difficult to maintain, but as of this moment, AP has been assured, they are all operational. Even better, new printers are on order.

As to marriage, you know so little about me. Like the fact that I am already happily married. And what about gender issues–AP certainly has them. But thanks for the offer–it is nice to be asked.

AP- you do a good job- i wish you were a bit snider/meaner in your responses (starting w/ me if you wish), b/c they are funnier that way.
Okay so my question is- do you know of anyone who has had the gall to actually check out an issue of Playboy from the periodicals room? If so, who?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Aren’t we judgmental today. Some people actually read the ARTICLES, and we won’t go after the constitutional rights to free access to information and privacy. (By the way, we don’t tell you who checks out anything–we are governed by principles of librarianship and, as it happens, North Carolina law.)
People do check out the issues, usually explaining that they need to read and article–do they sense you lurking nearby?
And with all the stuff available–free–on the web, PLAYBOY for pictures is probably as waste of time.

My suggestion is more of a complaint. I wanted to check out a book from Biol-Envi Sci Library at just past 5:30. This is so-called “after hours” and access was blocked. I am faculty in the Pratt School of Engineering, and this limited access to items in the Duke Library System limits my ability to do work. If limited access to the Biological Sciences Bldg. is required then perhaps another location for the items in “its” library should be found.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Actually, you are describing a building access problem, not limited to the library. Sadly, safety issues rule. On the other hand, as a faculty member, your DukeCard should be authorized to get you into that building, and you need to contact the DukeCard Office (684-5800) to get the situation corrected.

As to finding another location for the BES Library, we are looking into a central science library as an option. Beyond that, are you proposing somewhere more convenient for their primary clientele, the BES faculty, than their own building? (Keeping in mind that DukeCard access should meet the needs of other Duke faculty and students.)

ProQuest has a full text database for the New York Times going back to 1851. I don’t think it is a part of the regular ProQuest database. It is called the “New York Times Backfile” You can do a search on any keyword and then email the articles it finds to yourself. My daughter found it at the New York Public Library
Jerome Silverbush

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Hot off the presses! The library is currently testing the “ProQuest Historical New York Times” database. It may be a while before we complete the review (Answer Person found a lot of typos in the headings) and allocate the funding (as you can imagine, it is expensive) if we decide to purchase the resource, but stay tuned for further developments in this story.

I received a message saying that a book I had requested had been charged out to me. I went to pick it up, and waited for 15 minutes before it was established that the book was not yet available. The person working the circulation desk told me to try back at 4pm. He also that notifications were regularly sent before they are available. I would think that a better system could be arranged, so that people do not waste their time going to get books that are not yet available.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Gee, Answer Person was ready to say that there was a reply to your comment, but decided to wait until the reply was actually written. What you have experienced are a couple of communications problems. First, when ILL gets a group of materials ready to take to the Circulation Desk, they take care of the notifications, and then take them over. Yes, it is possible for you to get the notice before the book is delivered, but only by minutes. That brings up the second communication problem–you should never have been told you would have to come back at 4 PM. We will try to speed up the first, and are taking care of the second.

Is there a reason why Lilly doesn’t own a single film by Andy Warhol?! I am flabbergasted. I would like to show them for my class this fall – Art History 177C, “Avant-garde art from the 1960s to the 1980s.” I would suggest aquiring Sleep, Lonesome Cowboys, Chelsea Girls, or Trash, for starters.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Your suggestion (and the holdings gap you “popped” up with) are going to the resource specialist for film & video. (It is always a good idea to send the request directly to the powers that be–see the RESOURCE SPECIALISTS AND LIBRARY LIAISONS” page at http://www.lib.duke.edu/services/resource.htm). Whatever you, I hope you don’t watch the films too many times, because, as Andy said, “. . . if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning.”

By the way, have I, Answer Person, already had my 15 minutes of fame?