(Apr 26/11) Do not move the journals off of 2nd floor. Graduate students, professors, and undergrads, rely on those journals to write papers or run experiments. Moving the journals to an inaccessible location in the basement will retard research, which will affect grant money and recruitment. Remove some of the computers on the main level (that are often not used for study purposes) or get rid of the eatery (which shouldnt be in a library anyways) if you need more room, the journal articles are way more valuable than checking your facebook status or getting a coffee.
Library response: Thank you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts on moving the journals from the second floor of Thode. I certainly understand your concern about maintaining access to these volumes. Balancing the need for increased user space with space for collections is a challenge facing nearly all university libraries. The second floor of Thode will become much needed study space for McMaster students. Many of our journals are now received online as electronic resources, with only the older issues remaining in paper. The back issues of a journal are, of course, still important to research. When possible, the Library acquires online backfiles in order to provide direct and immediate access to the content of older issues. In cases where we do not have stable, ongoing electronic access to the older volumes, the Library will continue to provide access to these materials in print. Relocating the print journal volumes within the building at Thode has been part of the Thode renovation planning process over the past several years, and was itself a result of public meetings regarding the renovations. We have posted a review of the planning process on our website at http://library.mcmaster.ca/news/8806. Any print journal volumes that you need following their relocation can be requested online (http://library.mcmaster.ca/php/storage_thode.php?status=noncirc) and will be retrieved for you within one weekday of your request. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have additional questions. (May 19/11)
Answered by: Wade Wyckoff (Associate University Librarian, Collections)
Answered by: Wade Wyckoff (Associate University Librarian, Collections)