Goal 4: Physical Environment
Enrich the total study and campus experience through provision of innovative and welcoming facilities that both stimulate learning and respond to study and research needs.
Provide study spaces which meet the differing needs of users for group and individual study
Facilities continued to be improved across all branches. Over 450 vinyl student chairs were replaced with ergonomic chairs at the Sir Louis Matheson, Law and Caulfield libraries and 170 group study chairs were replaced at Peninsula Library. Changes were made to the entrance of the Gippsland Library to make it more functional and consistent with the Facilities Master Plan. Self Loans machines have been purchased for all branches and new rapid book check units were installed at the Sir Louis Matheson, Peninsula, Caulfield and Pharmacy libraries. Flexible furniture, data projectors and smart boards were installed into new flexible teaching spaces at each branch in response to Learning Skills requirements.
Provide reliable high quality physical libraries, technology and workstations
The Library has implemented improvements to facilities for students at several branches in response to issues raised by the 2007 Library Users Survey. The demand on Library resources and facilities is increasing and the space available is not. The Library’s current challenge is to make the best possible use of existing space and to constantly improve seating.
The Caulfield Library has gained 73 student workstations for laptop use on Level 3 and new ergonomic furniture for individual study. Caulfield Library remains significantly under-sized for the community it serves.
Sir Louis Matheson Library has twenty additional student computer workstations and sixteen additional computers in a new training room. Twelve additional power points have been installed in the basement for laptop computer users and new study chairs installed. The functionality and amenability of the Sir Louis Matheson Library would be greatly enhanced through refurbishment.
The Berwick Library and Learning Commons has new flexible furniture for the group study room, and over 620 new chairs have been installed at Peninsula, Law, Caulfield and Sir Louis Matheson Libraries.
The C L Butchers Pharmacy Library relocated to the ground floor of 407 Royal Parade during late January 2007. This move was in preparation for the refurbishment of the Library’s existing space in the Manning Building. In response to student feedback on the lack of space in the temporary location, the Faculty agreed to open the old Library space as a student study area until the mid year break, when it was finally closed for refurbishment to commence. The Library introduced an open reserve collection, allowing students to take material from the premises for limited times to help compensate for the lack of seating. Journals were moved offsite, where they are being held for the duration of the refurbishment. The new Library is due for completion in mid 2008.
Provide a secure and safe environment
Security
An upgrade of security cameras and digital video recorders in the Sir Louis Matheson and Hargrave-Andrew Libraries was completed in 2007. The emergency system was improved in the Sir Louis Matheson Library, with a further review of the security system to be undertaken in 2008.
Safety
Materials Handling and Binding staff transport crates of books between the Library loading bay and Sir Louis Matheson Library return chutes. By motorising the large trolleys used to shift these materials the risks associated with this activity have been reduced, along with the number of trips required.
The Library met all of the occupational health and safety criteria in 2007, and improved considerably from the 2006 results. Over 75% of staff were inducted and had training in safety. Rapid discharge machines were replaced in many of the libraries with improvements to the work flow and work environment to meet occupational health and safety requirements.
Provide facilities for people with special needs
Services provided by the Library for students with disabilities include retrieval of books from the collections, arranging intercampus and inter-library loans, and personal assistance with use of adaptive technology equipment available at seven of the eight branch libraries. A resting room service is provided in the Sir Louis Matheson Library. Use and appropriateness of these facilities is monitored by the Library’s Disability Services Officer.
Provide responsive hours of opening
Opening hours were amended as follows to make them more consistent and responsive to users’ requirements:
- Weekend opening hours were increased prior to exams each semester at all Clayton campus libraries.
- Clayton opening times were standardised to 8.30 am Monday to Friday all year round.
- Caulfield Library was open at 8.00 am Monday to Friday all year round.
- Peninsula Library opened for an additional hour during summer semester, on Sundays, and for an additional three hours on Sundays during exam periods.
- Pharmacy Library was open at 8.00 am Monday to Friday during semester.
The Library continues to receive requests for longer opening hours at nearly all campuses.
House the collection to standards that ensure preservation of resources for long-term research value
Sir Louis Matheson Collection Refurbishment Project
The review and weed of the Sir Louis Matheson Undergraduate Collection was completed at the end of August 2007 under the stewardship of the Sir Louis Matheson Library Collections Review Project Steering Committee. About 15,000 last copy items that have not been borrowed since at least 2000 have been moved to the CARM Store. About 25,000 older multiple copy items have been discarded. Some of these were donated to overseas community organisations as identified by the Senior Asian Studies Librarian. Some were relocated to Monash South Africa. An important outcome of this project is that the Undergraduate Collection is more current and better shelved.
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