2009 was an active year in the Bronfman Business Library and we made changes which I think have been of benefit to the students, faculty and staff who visit the library, either in person or virtually.  I asked the staff to identify their top ten changes and here is the list in no particular order.  If you have other items, we would love to hear from you.

1) We acquired a projector which students may borrow for use in the Library's group study rooms.  This is much in demand and we hope to get a second projector.

2) We acquired a second printer (If you read my last point you will appreciate what this means!)

3) We are playing music for the last five minutes before closing time instead of making announcements over the PA.  A number of you have asked who the artist is and the music we generally play is Closing Time by Leonard Cohen.

4) The Library has been much quieter this fall and we appreciate your cooperation in making this an environment where we respect the needs of all students to have a place that is conducive to studying.  Spring of 2009 was a nightmare and I received numerous complaints from students who couldn't hear themselves think, let alone study, because of the inconsiderate behaviour of other students sharing the same space. The staff were diligent at the beginning of the fall semester in reminding students that this is a shared space meant for studying and that there is lots of recreational space in the building for those who want to take a break.

5) The soft furniture in the Current Periodical Room was replaced by tables and a counter and this has created a space that is conducive to studying.  The feedback has been very positive to this newly created environment.

6) We installed many new power outlets on the counter area of the mezzanine floor and on the main floor of the library in the Current Periodical Room and Lounge Areas.

7) We removed the garbage and recycling bins from the Group Study Rooms and I am relieved to report that most students remove their garbage and recyling to the bins outside the library.  This removal of the bins was necessitated by a reducation in the services provided by the  York University cleaning staff.

8) Our public workstations were upgraded and MS Office 2007 was installed.  The upgrade has improved the response time at these workstations and has improved the speed of sending printing jobs although it unfortunately doesn't affect the time to takes to print the longer jobs or the ones with a lot of graphics.

9) We have a great team of student assistants working in the Library and this means that our shelving is done quickly and correctly, the circulation desk is staffed efficiently as well as many little tasks that are completed quickly and which we wouldn't notice unless they weren't being done, e.g. searching for missing items.

10) It seems like a long time ago but when we were in the midst of the labour disruption which lasted well into the Spring we know that it was a very difficult time for our students, faculty and staff and we appreciated your understanding and patience.  The summer continued to be a stressful time and things weren't back to normal until the end of August.  I am pleased to say that we survived and the 2009/10 academic year has been off to a fine start.

The staff of the Bronfman Business Library wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.