Ohio University Libraries announce changes for Fall 2021

Ohio University Libraries opened its doors fully again for students, faculty, staff and community members earlier this summer after limiting operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the return of full operational use, University Libraries has implemented changes for Fall 2021 to help keep the OHIO community safe and advance educational resources.

Masks

Visitors to the libraries are required to wear a face mask at all times, in accordance with the University’s mask mandate that states masks are to be worn in all indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status. This includes wearing a mask in the Libraries’ study spaces, book stacks, computer labs, group study rooms and restrooms.

Hours

Hours for the various libraries on the Athens campus and all regional campuses have also been updated.

Alden Library’s late-night hours will change from being open all night to being open 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, allowing for custodial staff to clean thoroughly and efficiently when the building is empty. Hours have also been expanded on weekends, opening two hours earlier on Sunday.

Access to Alden Library will be limited to students, faculty and staff with a valid Ohio University ID after 10 p.m. using their ID to swipe into the second- and fourth-floor entrances. After midnight, only the second and fourth floors of Alden will be available for study, with the other floors being closed for cleaning.

Libraries staff will continue to monitor building usage and adjust hours as necessary, as well as engage the University Libraries Student Advisory Board, the Student Senate, and the Graduate Student Senate in dialog about improving study spaces across campuses.

The Music & Dance Library in Glidden Hall on the Athens campus opened Aug. 16 for all users and will only be open during weekdays as new student employees are trained. Weekend hours are expected to be added starting in October.

Libraries on regional campuses have determined their own hours based on perceived student needs. OHIO Southern has extended hours until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; OHIO Lancaster has extended hours until 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; and OHIO Chillicothe has extended hours until 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

OhioLINK transition causing delays

Ohio University Libraries, as well as all academic libraries around the state, are currently experiencing significant delays in receiving print materials via the OhioLINK lending service. Under normal operating conditions, books requested from other libraries generally arrive in three to five business days, however, current delays have books arriving in two to four weeks, and occasionally longer. Libraries’ staff are working with OhioLINK and the new courier service to return to the expected level of service.

Faculty and graduate students in need of time-sensitive critical research materials are encouraged to submit an Interlibrary Loan request for the items. Instructors in need of course materials should contact their subject librarian.

Research consultations go hybrid

Throughout the pandemic, subject librarians, archivists, and regional campus librarians have provided remote research consultations to students, faculty and staff. With the positive feedback from these consultations, Libraries staff will continue to offer the option of remote consultations via Microsoft Teams.

Students, faculty and staff will also have the option of meeting with their librarian in person and can click on the “appointment” link for their specific librarian to find a time and modality that best works for them.

New content in honor of the University’s Juneteenth Celebration

University Libraries also now offers the Black Studies Center which consists of scholarly journals, overview essays by top scholars in Black Studies, historic indexes, and The Chicago Defender newspaper from 1910-1975.

Additional significant purchases

In addition to the new articles, essays, and journals in the Black Studies Center, Univeristy Libraries now also offers the Black Abolitionist Papers, a primary source collection detailing the extensive work of African Americans to abolish slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War. Covering the period 1830-1865, the collection presents the international impact of African American activism against slavery, in the writings of the activists themselves.

The Libraries also purchased the Black Drama 3rd Edition which contains approximately 1,200 plays from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 200 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries. Some 440 of the plays are published here for the first time, including many by major authors.

More content like Indian Claims Insight, Disability in The Modern World, Race Relations in America, and Ethnomusicology will also be available soon.

Alden Library self-pickup of materials

Alden Library will continue the service of self-pickup of Libraries-requested materials. Students, faculty and staff can request an item from Alden Library, the Music & Dance Library, Annex, a regional campus, or OhioLINK, and pick it up on the self-pickup shelves located on the second floor of Alden, just past Café Bibliotech. Individuals will receive an email when materials are ready to be picked up.

Pick-ups for Interlibrary Loan items request through ILLiad will continue to be picked up at the fourth floor service desk.

New technology in Alden

Alden Library now offers new technology, such as touchless printing using the Pharos app to print documents without touching the printer touchscreen; media recording kits that faculty, staff and graduate students may borrow and take home to record themselves delivering lectures, spoken presentations, or other materials for instruction; and the one button studio, a new space where individuals can record themselves delivering lectures, presentations, and other materials for instruction.

Students, faculty and staff interested in learning more about the University Libraires can  can visit their campus library or https://www.ohio.edu/library/.