Mardigian Library News

African American Periodicals, 1825-1995 contains more than 170 periodicals, published in 26 states, by and about African Americans. This database includes popular magazines, academic and political journals, organization bulletins, and other genres. Selection of periodicals is based on James P. Dankey's African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography (Harvard, 1998) and was scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

We received the following questions this morning:

I have two questions to ask about our library.

As a famous university in the US, I want to know why the UMD-Wireless is too weak and unstable to be connected in the library on the 3rd floor? And also, I think the electric sockets are too few to our laptops in the 3rd floor. So, why don’t you put enough sockets on the desks or floor for students’ laptops in the library?

Answer: Trust us, we are aware of the significant problems with access to wi-fi and electrical outlets in the library. These are the top two issues raised by students. Here is some info about the problems and the plans to fix them:

1. Wi-fi: Wireless access capacity is an issue across campus. Many of the original buildings that received wi-fi, including the library, are now experiencing inadequate wi-fi access capacity. An infrastructure upgrade is being planned by Information Technology Services (ITS), the department that manages the network and wireless access. The library will be in the first phase of the planned upgrade.

2. Electrical Outlets: The library opened in 1980, at a time when there were no personal computers or laptops, and electrical outlets were mostly needed in the public areas for vacuum cleaners. As student demand for outlets grew, additional outlets were added in the public areas. However, the electrical power available to the building is now basically maxxed out. We do continue to look for ways to add a few outlets here and there without causing power outages in the building. A major renovation of the building's electrical grid is needed, and this will be expensive, over $100,000 per floor.

Things we have done this year to help with these problems:
1) All of the wireless access points in the library were reviewed and redirected to improve coverage.

2) Nine new outlets were installed on the second floor this summer by re-purposing some existing wiring.

The library is in need of a major renovation to accommodate the needs of how students are studying today (and in the future). A campus-wide committee was formed last fall to create a library "Master Vision" so we can plan a major renovation. The building's electrical needs will be an important part of any renovation because we simply can't create the type of spaces needed without significantly more power. As part of the planning process, this semester we will be asking students to complete surveys, participate in focus groups, etc. so that they have an opportunity to tell us about their study needs and how the library should change. Students who are interested in participating in focus groups or other activities can contact Barbara Kriigel, Associate Director, at bkriigel@umd.umich.edu or 313-593-5614. We hope you participate!

Reminder: The Brothers Grimm trivia contest for UM-Dearborn students ends today! To be entered into the drawing to win a $20 gift certificate to Club Cappaccino, you can enter online. But, answers to some questions may be found in the Brothers Grimm display on the first floor in the Mardigian Library.