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| 1. Who do you want to have access to reserve the rooms, only MU students? UM System students? Faculty? Non-Affiliated patrons? |
Concannon: I propose limiting to MU Students, faculty and staff.
Geoff: I agree w/ Marie. Others would have to go through a staff member.
Gwen: Only MU students should be able to reserve them. The Info. Commons was designed with them in mind. Faculty and staff can go through the Reference Desk (most likely Cindy Cotner) if they want to reserve them. We've already had non-student groups ask for reservations. We don't want the rooms monopolized for nonstudent meetings/gatherings.
Hunter: students, faculty, & staff should be able to make a booking.
Jim C.: Absolutely limit to current MU students, faculty and staff.
Rachel: Sounds like there are 2 options: either ONLY students (Gwen) or students, faculty & staff (others). Jim, when you say "absolutely," do you mean "absolutely limit to MU" or "absolutely include MU faculty & staff?"
Kris: If memory serves, University policy restricts use of any campus facilities to current MU students, faculty and staff, except with prior approval. Check the most current M-book.
Jim C.: In answer to Rachel, I mean absolutely this should only be a service for MU persons. To me, that means students, faculty and staff.
| 1 1/2. Given how in demand these rooms have been, would there be a technical way to keep the same person from having more than one reservation in any given week/month/day/whatever (reflecting the current rule) if the system is patron-initiated/automatic, as I think we'd want it to be? (Rachel) |
Kris: Unless it's limited to one reservation per (whatever time frame), I can see individuals trying to reserve the space every day for the whole semester, to try to ensure that it would be available on whatever day they happen to need it. To me that's unfairly denying others of the opportunity to use the space. I think there should be some sort of limit, but not necessarily built into the system.
| 2. What rooms would you like patrons to reserve? |
- 151-E (1st floor Ellis)
- 151-F (1st floor Ellis)
- 151-G (1st floor Ellis)
- 3D61 (3rd floor Ellis)
- 3G61 (3rd floor Ellis)
- 3G62 (3rd floor Ellis)
- ENGR
- ENGR
- Health Sciences and other branch rooms
Gwen: I can only speak to the Ellis rooms, but all of them should be reservable.
| 3. Would you like the requests to automatically reserve the room, or should they be approved by a staff member? Who would that person(s) be? |
Concannon: Bookings could be sent to the Ellis Reference email account for approval. This could allow us to enforce rules * if we want. (See bottom for list of Ellis Library study room rules)
Geoff: Requests should be reserved automatically and the system itself should allow us to enforce rules (most real booking systems do).
Gwen: I agree with Geoff.
Hunter: No approvals, please. the system should be automagic.
Jim C.: The system should be automatic, but we should reserve the right to monitor and cancel reservations if necessary. For example, repeated abuses of system or scheduling pizza parties.
| 4. Are you going to prioritize the requests? Do Faculty have priority over Students? Do Library employees have priority over all other requests? |
Concannon: No priorities. The Ellis study room rules * seem to ensure fair access.
Geoff: First come, first serve.
Gwen: Students should be the only ones to do self-reservations.
| 5. Are you going to include equipment (projector, laptop, whiteboard, etc) in the room reservation? |
Concannon: It would be useful – maybe even essential - to show room specs and amenities such as the number of people it can seat, the presence of whiteboard or chalkboard, and whether a wireless signal is available. We are not presently using a booking system for equipment, I guess because the Ref Dept doesn’t have equipment to lend. Presently equipment checkout is done on a first-come, first-served basis at the Reserve Desk. I’m not sure if Reserve wants to add the extra complication of people reserving the time they will check out a laptop.
Geoff: Yes.
Gwen: Whiteboards are included. I don't care about the other.
| 6. When would you like to start making the rooms available to reserve publicly? |
Concannon: By the beginning of the fall semester.
Geoff: One week prior to the beginning of the Fall semester.
Gwen: Fall would be ideal, but if we need to make sure we are getting a GOOD reservation system (not just any old thing), winter 2007.
| 7. How do you plan to advertise this new service? |
Concannon: Put signs on study room doors. Put announcement on web site.
Geoff: + MU Info.
Gwen: Once students know about it, it'll spread quickly.
| 8. How will you deal with potential scheduling conflicts? |
Concannon: This will depend on the software that is selected. Some software will not allow double-booking. Outlook does, but compensates by sending an email to a designated email account.
Geoff: The software should not allow scheduling conflicts.
Gwen: Software would prevent this.
| 9. Other things that are important to us: |
- The online booking system should only allow users to reserve study rooms that they MAY reserve. Rooms the users may NOT book should not even show up in the list (Rooms like the Admin Conference Room, the Electronic classrooms, etc.)
- The software should be easy and intuitive to use. We want to avoid having to write instructions or give tutorials on how to do it.
- The interface or web page should give room locations – maps or written directions or something. Often people book a room with us without knowing exactly where the room is.
- System should generate automatic confirmation of reservation, sending e-mail to requestor. Maybe even allow requestor to enter e-mails of others taking part in the meeting, so system could send confirmation to them. (JC)
- Hunter: Deletion of reservations should be possible.
*These are the rules currently in force for the Ellis study rooms.
- Reservations are for groups (2 or more people)
- Reservations may be made up to one week in advance
- A group may have only one reservation pending at any time (we have not been enforcing this)
Gwen: Currently students may only reserve them for two hours. This time period works well. We have to rely on students to honor the rules. I suspect that they are violated at times, but I hope most are honest.
Possible Solutions
Online Room and Equipment Reservation at University of Washington Libraries
http://www.lib.washington.edu/services/facilities/studyRooms/
http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/search/tstudy+rooms+suzzallo
York University room reservation system (this is free, open-source software that has been customized to handle local needs)
http://delta.library.yorku.ca/mrbs/?g11n.enc=UTF-8
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