Library questions

Some time ago, we asked you to submit your library questions.

Thank you for your participation and your many words of praise that have reached us! The intention is not to answer each of the cards individually, but to briefly discuss the questions grouped by topic.

Here are our answers.

The most difficult question is the first one.

Many questions revolve around the complex of opening. Some are easy to answer: "Why are we only open until 4 pm? This is due to the lecture-free period from 1 August to 30 September, when on the one hand fewer customers come to us, and on the other hand the library staff have to take leave. In addition, there was a renovation project in Schweinfurt during the lecture-free period that needed our attention.

Other questions need a little more explanation: "The FHWS library should also be open on weekends (like the university library)". Now the FHWS will soon be the THWS and we are all excited about the (hopefully positive) new opportunities this will bring us, but still, we will not have the same financial ressources like a university does. And that's the case for all universities of applied sciences! So we have to offer the most comprehensive service possible with massively fewer colleagues. Especially in Schweinfurt, staffing has been very tight for a long time and does not allow for any major upgrades. From October, a security guard will take over the hours from 5pm to 7pm. But this is not the answer to all our problems, because we don't just want to offer opening hours, we want to offer counselling services. And a security guard can't provide that.

In winter, the opening hours at both locations will initially be Mon-Fri 8am-7pm. That's quite a lot, and it's the most we can afford at the moment. We'll see if we can change that when the exam period comes around.

Most of our customers would probably do well not only to enjoy their coffee but also to leave carpets, tables and books intact. Unfortunately, some of them don't manage to do that. Again, unfortunately, no fancy fairies come at night to magically clean everything; cleaning our library takes effort and costs extra money. We'd rather invest that in our (media) services.

A walking break is also a good thing when studying, so let's leave it at "water is OK" and for the cup of coffee in between, just step outside the library.

Let's stick to coffee.

The good news first: there is no fine.

Now the bad news: the book does not belong to us, it does not belong to our customers, it belongs to the Free State of Bavaria as the sponsor of the FHWS. The Free State of Bavaria spent money to buy the book new. And to lend it out in as good a condition as possible to as many interested people as possible.

So if a mishap happens, it's not a big deal and there's no punishment, but the person who caused it discusses it with the colleagues at the lending desk and the solution is usually to get a new book as a replacement. That can cost a lot of money. So it's better to pour the coffee inside your mouth and nowhere else.

Surprising question!

Let's add this one: "Do you recognise us permanent bib-goers? :)"

Unsurprising answers: Not at all and definitely!

Our students are not machines. And, logically, neither are we (you have to trust us with this one). Everyone is happy about a little greeting, everyone is happy to see a familiar face again, everyone feels better with a little smile.

Ergo: Welcome and hello!

Although we mainly have scientific journals (many of them in English) in our stock and these are actually mainly online, we also have so-called general interest magazines such as Spiegel, Stern and Focus in our reading rooms. Unfortunately, we don't have any English-language printed magazines, but we are happy to receive suggestions.

Although not being a question, it's a good opportunity to clarify that there is a misunderstanding: In our catalogue you will find 392,000 English-language books, 327,000 of which are English e-books.

We license e-books from around the globe. And since the globe speaks English most of the time, books and also the technical essays are predominantly in English. And of course, we are an international university! And the same applies to our databases (a look at our database information system DBIS on the homepage shows this).

So: a look at our catalogue shows so much more than what's on the shelves.

This is a tip that reached us from Schweinfurt.

Our core task is to provide literature for studies and the focus of the subjects in Schweinfurt is on technology, while in Würzburg there is correspondingly more from the other subject areas. Printed books can of course be ordered to the respective locations, and the advantage of e-books is that they can be read from anywhere.

But if the question is about entertainment literature - just wait and see what happens...

Most of the questions in this direction were formulated in English and thrown into the box in Schweinfurt.

In fact, we were recently able to improve the WiFi in Würzburg (thanks to ITSC!) and there is also a cosy seating area there since the refurnishing last year.

In Schweinfurt, we are in talks with ITSC about WiFi. We will be happy to follow up on tips about flickering lamps and additional sockets. With existing floor tanks, additional sockets are also feasible, we are looking into it.

We can even fulfil the wish for more cosiness immediately! The entrance area in Schweinfurt was completely rebuilt during the lecture-free period. New bar, new technology. But above all, cosy seating and even the world's most beautiful photo wallpaper. Come by and enjoy the new library feeling.