It's a quiet Friday afternoon, the first Friday of summer, and my thoughts turn to what a change from the last time I posted to this blog.  It was March and we were in the midst of surviving what was truly a brutal spring for a variety of reasons.  It is so peaceful in the library today.  The students who are taking summer classes are focused on their work and even though the library is generally quite full, there is none of the loud talking and disruptive behaviour that was the hallmark of March.  I am reminded of one of my favourite summer haiku.

Matsuo Bashō

furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto

an ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water [1686]

But even in the midst of the summer doldrums we are thinking toward what changes need to be done to improve library services in the fall.

For example, we noticed that a lot more students are using Microsoft Office 2007.  Should we be offering 2007 on some of our public workstations and if so what is the right mix?  Please let us know if you are using 2007 or 2003.

Our IM Chat research service has picked up but not as well as I had hoped.  I wonder why?  Please let me know if you have heard of our IM Chat service and if you have used it what you thought of it.

We are also contemplating a mobile research service, i.e. a librarian would visit the marketplace and the downstairs study areas and be available to help with you with your research.  Do you think this is a good idea?

You will be pleased to know that we have upgraded our photocopiers and that you can now print on legal size paper at the public print workstation.

These are just a few of the things the staff in the Bronfman Business Library are contemplating.  What else should we be thinking about, in your opinion?