UG Library offers unreliable service

Dec 23, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
As a first year student at the University of Guyana, I believe that the library system is very atrocious. On a normal day a student has to wait several hours before paid photocopies could be collected. It is in very rare circumstances that copies could be collected in at least fifteen to twenty minutes.
The University is currently in its examinations phase and as such, the library is open seven days per week with a twenty-four hour reading room service.
On Sunday last I visited the library to do some studies and research. Because time didn’t permit me to read all of my findings at the library, I had to do two separate sets of photocopying. The Caribbean Research Library (CRL) division do not allow for its books to leave the department. So I requested my copies circa 15:00 hours. The library was scheduled to close at 17:00 hours. Circa 16:45 when I went to uplift my copies I was told that the machine had a problem and the operator on duty was incompetent to solve it.
While insisting that I must get my copies to complete my work on time, the supervisor on duty recommended an online research site- EBSCO- and asked that I collect the copies the following day. Unfortunately, the site was of no use.
So, the following day I went to collect my copies shortly after noon and they were nowhere to be found. I tried to explain to the staff that I had paid for my copies since the day before. I asked her to kindly insist that I get them when I return later that day. To my surprise, in a raised tone she said, “You have an attitude… you better keep it to yourself”.
Around 18:00 hours when I returned to the circulation desk, there was another staff on duty. He brought the copies to me, and just when I thought that I could “breathe again”, it was only one set in two parts. That’s not all; it was done in the wrong format.
At that time, according to the staff, there were no photocopying operators on duty and the supervisor present was new to the job. Yes, at exam time when students are overwhelmed with studies and assignments, there was no one to operate to photocopying machine. So, I am yet to receive my other set of copies.
Mr. Editor, I stood blank for quite a few minutes. It is very difficult for me to understand how an institution at that level could have such an unreliable service. I wouldn’t even proceed to make comparisons because our country is so far from development.
The “haves”, more often than not, criticise Guyanese who migrate for better living standards, but in my opinion, the push factors in Guyana’s brain drain begin with these very minor situations.
It is time for the relevant authorities to make the required adjustments to improve the standard of our indigenous university or we will lose many more of our intellectuals to foreign countries that are way ahead of us.
T. Weekes

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UG Library offers unreliable service

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