Kansas University’s dean of libraries, Stella Bentley, listened to concerns and answered questions from faculty members about library policies, including whether the number of computers in Watson and Anschutz libraries was adequate and whether they were actually used for library research.

“Can we restrict the use of library computers to a limited range of legitimate library functions?” asked associate English professor James Carothers at Thursday’s two-hour forum.

Many faculty members said they had seen students playing video games on the library computers. They worried that treating the libraries like a computer lab would discourage other students from legitimate research.

Bentley responded that library staff members do not generally try to restrict computer uses because of privacy issues, but she said staff members could ask someone to vacate a computer at the request of someone who needs it for research.

Thursday’s forum came after the English department’s library committee recently wrote a position paper on the future of KU libraries. In the paper, the committee said the university should change the libraries’ course.

While mostly faculty members and teaching assistants attended Thursday’s session, library staff members also sat in on the discussion that filled the 100 chairs in the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union.

Several faculty members also asked Bentley about having reference desk staff, mainly students, properly trained to help with research.

“We know we’ve got some staff training issues, and we’re working on those,” Bentley said.

Marjorie Swann, associate professor of English, said there had been a breakdown in communication and called for a new liaison council that better represented the faculty on library issues and policies. Most faculty at the meeting seemed to agree.

“We should have more dialogues about the libraries,” said Isidro Rivera, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese. “My main concern is that my undergraduates are not able to maximize their research time in the library.”

“It was very useful to have this dialogue, and there are things to take away from it,” Bentley said.