Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!watdragon!violet!ajhainer
From: ajhainer@violet.waterloo.edu (Allen J. Hainer)
Newsgroups: uw.general,uw.library
Subject: Re: Term Loans
Message-ID: <15866@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 11 Aug 89 18:28:31 GMT
References: <15761@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <28235@watmath.waterloo.edu>
Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu
Reply-To: ajhainer@violet.waterloo.edu (Allen J. Hainer)
Distribution: uw
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 32

In article <28235@watmath.waterloo.edu> kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:
>Strange idea.
>Why can't term loans require a small cash transfer from a Profs or
>grad students supervisor account-#
>Not a great amount, but something to show up in the book-keeping as a
>reminder to both the budget-holder and buget-granter...

I like this idea.  Paying for library services may upset alot of people 
(although it would help pay for more books to fill those empty spaces), but
maybe something like a form that has to be filled out by the borrower for 
every term book would slow down the abuse of the system.  

As it is, I've had books put on term loan without even knowing it.  This is 
too easy.

I agree that there is a need for term loans, but the current system is being
abused.  I think that those who feel that the system should be left the way
it is don't realize that the majority of people here have yet to specialize
(don't forget all those undergrads).   They often need information about a 
topic but don't have any specific references.  When they do a subject search 
and find that there are no useful books in the stacks, they are left with two 
options:

   1 - Recall 5 or 10 books and wait and hope for a week that at least one
       of them has the information they are looking for or

   2 - Give up.

Recalling a book works if you have a specific reference, but otherwise
there should be enough books left in the library to quickly find information 
on ANY topic.
                       -al (ajhainer@violet.waterloo.edu)