ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 5 3 6 / C&RL News maintain clarity of publications and ideas as they are developed and to encourage further discussion and action on the agenda that em anated from the Think Tank. W e hope that this le tter helps to achieve th a t goal. — B IS Think Tank Steering Committee; Betsy Baker and M ary Ellen Larson, co-chairs; Beth Sandore, Randy Hensley, Melanie Dodson, Deborah Campana. Response fr o m Hannelore Rader: I appreciate the thoughtful letter subm itted by the BIS Think Tank Steering C om m ittee clarifying the purpose of the BIS second think tank m eeting held before the 1989 ALA Annual C onference in Dallas. It was not my intention to m isrepresent the purpose, rationale, or content of this most im por­ tant and exciting event. However, it was my in ten ­ tion to stimulate debate on the relationship of bibliographic instruction and information literacy and I am pleased that this is now beginning.— Hannelore Rader, Director, University Libraries, Cleveland State University. ■ ■ IN N O V A T IO N S Fines for food: A citation system to control food and drink consumption in the library By Pat L. Weaver-Meyers Access Services D epartm ent Head University o f Oklahoma Libraries and Stephen D. Ramsey Security Supervisor University o f Oklahoma Libraries Many libraries face the problem s associated with food and drink consum ption by patrons. Some institutions have student lounges within the library; others simply cope with food and drink brought in by patrons. Uncontrolled, the situation can pose a potential hazard to the collection and an unsightly custodial challenge. In 1985 the University of Okla­ hom a Libraries im plem ented a citation system to control food and drink consum ption in unauthor­ ized areas in the library. The system has proven reasonably effective and has provided some addi­ tional unforeseen benefits. Background In 1982 Bizzell Library at the University of Oklahoma opened a new wing that doubled the square footage of the main library structure. The new facility included a student lounge that con­ tained vending machines for snacks and drinks. The lounge was posted with signs indicating that consum ption of food and drink outside o f the lounge area was strictly prohibited. Not surpris­ ingly, the signs were virtually ignored and library custodians soon began a losing battle with candy w rappers, drink cups, and associated litter. Library staff w ere drafted to confront violators and dem and that they retire to the lounge with food or else dispose of it. N either the custodians nor staff ap­ p eared to have any m easurable im pact on the consum ption o f food and drink, and concern for the safety o f the collection began to develop. At the same tim e the new wing was opened, student library security assistants w ere hired to patrol the library due to the increased square foot­ age and rem ote, poorly lit areas of the building. Although not originally hired with this intention, the new assistants w ere soon conscripted into the June 1990 / 537 War on Snacks. Unfortunately, assistants and staff were ignored, or worse, becam e the victims of some rather well-organized mob protests. One staff m em ber told of an incident in which an entire reading room full o f students booed and hissed as the left carrying a confiscated soda cup. Needless to say, staff enthusiasm for enforcing the rules quickly abated. However, the custodians’ enthusiasm for resolving the problem did not and concern for the safety of the collections continued to rise. F or the next two years, strident protests were voiced about closing the student lounge, mostly h eard from th e ill-fated, w ould-be enforcers. Meanwhile, turnover in the student security assis­ tant positions rem ained high and staff ten d ed to look the other way rather than confront a patron with food or drink in their possession outside of the lounge area. As th e p ro b lem escalated, several possible strategies were investigated. Twice, exhibits were prepared that explained the potential insect p ro b ­ lems and the libraries’ concern about the safety of materials. The exhibits seem ed to measurably re ­ duce the num ber of wrappers and cups found by custodians for a few weeks. However, im prove­ m ent proved temporary. Eventually, consultation with student governm ent and student affairs p e r­ sonnel led to the possibility o f a different enforce­ m ent strategy. At that time, the university housing authorities used a citation system to enforce violations of housing policy in dormitories. The citations were issued to residents by resident advisers or by com ­ munity service officers when violations occurred. Violations included m inor infractions such as litter­ ing and more serious concerns such as defacem ent o f property and possession of alcohol. Once issued, citations w ere filed with the student affairs office, which handled any appeals and com pleted the paperw ork required to place a fine on the student’s university account. Fines doubled if not appealed or paid within five working days. The citation sys­ tem was an alternative to the filing o f formal charges, and was part o f the formal student code. Since it provided a simple and direct incentive, fines from $10.00 to $50.00, th e m ethod was judged appropriate for the type of problem the library had. Implementation Several steps had to be taken to adapt the cita­ tion system to the library environment: 1. Form al procedures for changing the student code were negotiated by the public services direc­ tor with the assistance of student government. Changes included adding the proscribed conduct, “Violation o f posted library food and beverage restrictions,” to the existing list of citation offenses. 2. Two-part citation forms were designed in accordance with the code and the requirem ents of the Office of Student Affairs. 3. The University Police D epartm ent was con­ sulted to verify that library security assistants and staff would be authorized to issue citations and to inform the police that the library was im plem enting the system. 4. Procedures were established with the Office of Student Affairs to handle the paperwork associ­ ated with the citations. 5. New signage was created warning patrons of potential fines if they did not comply with regula­ tions: “Food and drink not perm itted: Violators may be fined, Title XIII Student C ode.” TABLE 1 UNIVERSITY LIBRA RIES’ CITATIONS ISSU ED , 1985-1989 Number of Citations Issued per Year Proscribed Conduct 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 U nauthorized entry 0 1 0 0 0 Littering 0 0 0 0 0 Removal of ſurniture/fixture 0 0 1 0 0 Propping open security doors 0 0 0 2 0 Possession of alcohol 0 0 0 0 0 Noise 4 3 0 4 0 Violation of posted library food and beverage regulations 34 58 38 44 10 Failure to comply with officials acting in perform ance o f their duties 1 13 14 21 4 Misuse o f institution property 0 1 3 2 2 D efacem ent o f University property 0 2 1 1 2 Totals 39 75 56 74 18 5 3 8 1 C&RL News Upon the adoption o f the changes in th e student code and the printing of citation forms, th e library began using citations to enforce th e ban on food and drink in the stack areas. Im m ediately th ere was a noticeable im provem ent in student security assis­ tant morale and a reduction of candy w rapper debris throughout the library. Table 1 is a summary o f the num ber o f citations issued since th e program was im plem ented in O ctober 1985. As can be seen, th ere was an initial flurry of activity when th e program was first im plem ented. M ore citations w ere issued in th e last th ree months o f 1985 than w ere issued in the first six m onths of the following year. Violations still do occur, but once patrons clearly understood that lack o f com ­ pliance was punishable, most chose to rem ain in the student lounge with consumables. Although the major objective o f th e program was to enforce food and beverage policies, the system has proven useful in o th er ways. T he statistics in Table 1 indicate that the most frequent use of the citation system is for food and drink violations. However, failure to comply with an official and noise violations account for a num ­ b er o f issuances. Failure to comply with an official has proven to be a useful generic category. F or example, citations in this category have been issued to patrons for such reasons as: a. the use o f chewing tobacco, which is not allowed in the building; b. non-com pliance with the tw o-hour tim e limit for m icrocom puter use; c. failure to leave the building at closing time; d. non-com pliance with group study room poli­ cies. In addition, the prohibitions on defacem ent and misuse o f university property have allowed assis­ tants to fine patrons for such pranks as stealing signage or books and hiding them in the backpack o f an unsuspecting friend. Overall, th e program has given the student secu­ rity assistants th e authority to enforce policies and cope with the p e e r pressure often associated with such a task. Certainly, th e assistants find that most difficult patron situations can be handled with a warning and a verbal request for compliance. In fact, a the end o f 1987, we stopped issuing citations for food and drink to freshm en and required an initial verbal warning. However, the occasional recalcitrant patron who refuses to comply presents a difficult dilemma. T he citation system offers a solution to th at problem and may prove a viable alternative to libraries with similar concerns. Humor and creativity: A bulletin from the front lines in the war on mediocrity By John Maxstadt Instruction Librarian University o f Arkansas, Fayetteville The University Libraries at M iddle States U ni­ versity, a medium -size research institution, re ­ cently m ade headlines throughout academia as the result o f a com prehensive library assessment p e r­ form ed by Maxine LeC outeau, the assistant direc­ tor for library systems. L eC outeau’s amazing find­ ings, which w ere published in th e prestigious journal Academic Library Update, indicated that the Middle States University Libraries perform ed at exactly the national average on all standard measures of library collections and services for academic and research libraries. All of the Libraries’ collections w ere o f perfectly average size; circulation statistics m atched the national average for academic and research librar­ ies in every detail. T he average num ber o f interli­ brary loan requests were received, and an average percentage w ere filled in the average length of time. T he backlog in cataloging exactly duplicated the national average. T he reference d epartm ent routinely provided incorrect and incom plete an­ swers to betw een 14.7% and 61.8% of all patron queries,1 the exact figure varying to match the latest estim ated average published in the library research journals. Even patron theft and vandalism cost the Libraries a sum exactly equal to th e national aver­ age. Tan Douglas, “Reducing Failures in R eferenc Service,” RQ 28 (Fall 1988): 95.