Whether you want research help in person while social distancing or remotely from the safety and comfort of your home, the Mizzou Libraries will stay connected with you!

Many library services — including consultations and assistance, library instruction, reserves and events — will continue remotely online through the fall with some in-person options. The emphasis on remote library services will allow faculty and students to continue their work, regardless of location.

“We want Mizzou students and faculty to have a successful fall semester! That begins by doing everything we can to keep people safe,” said Deb Ward, interim vice provost for University Libraries and University Librarian.

Among the changes that library users will find this semester:

• Library users will be asked to display #ClearCampus app or have symptoms checked, including temperature checks.
• Everyone in library buildings will need to wear a face mask and maintain 6 feet of physical distancing. Library users may only remove their mask while eating at the Bookmark Cafe on the ground floor.
• An MU ID will be required to access the building after 5 pm.
• Ellis Library will have limited hours. The library will close most nights at 10 pm, and the Check Out and Information desk will close at 8 pm. Visit library.missouri.edu/hours for the latest information on all campus library hours. Additional hours will be added after Thanksgiving Break.
• The Check-Out & Information Desk on the north side of the first floor will serve as a single service desk for assistance in the library. Visit Ask the Librarians! for online help or to schedule a consultation.
• Furniture and computer workstations will be spread out in order to ensure physical distancing. The library’s Safety Team will monitor the building to make sure all library users are being safe. Library patrons are asked not to move furniture.
• Study rooms will be single occupancy only. Library patrons must use masks in study rooms and keep doors open for proper ventilation. You can reserve a study room through the online reservation system. We encourage study groups to meet on Zoom or other online platforms. If you need a space to do in-person group work, you many use rooms 114 and 114A. The furniture is set up for groups to work while maintaining proper distances.
• The ground floor and 1st floors of Ellis Library have been designated as “quiet conversation allowed” for library users, including students who need to attend their online classes in the library. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors are designated as quiet study space.
• Only the west entrance of Ellis Library (near Speaker’s Circle) will be open throughout the fall semester. The North entrance and the two reading rooms on the 2nd floor will be closed due to renovations of their windows.
• The west stacks will be closed. To request books or other items, please place an online request and the library will retrieve them for you.
• Circulation of books will resume, but receiving materials from other libraries may take longer. All materials will be quarantined when they are returned, and the items may stay on your library account during that time. No fines will be assessed for items that are in quarantine.
• Food and drink will only be allowed on the ground floor of the library. The Bookmark Cafe has been closed for the rest of the semester.
• DigiPrint services have moved out of Ellis Library and will be located in MU Student Center Room 1212A

Library personnel will carefully assess how the new service models are working and will determine whether services can be gradually scaled up or, conversely, whether conditions will require a return to delivering more services remotely. For the latest information on library services and hours, visit library.missouri.edu. You may also subscribe to one of our weekly email newsletters to stay up to date.

Additional Information Regarding Specialized Libraries
Zalk Veterinary Medical Library

J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library

Engineering Library and Technology Commons

Journalism Library

Need research help? You can ask a librarian for help using our chat service– almost 24 hours a day.

During the day you can chat with Mizzou librarians and library staff. At night, we offer access to a chat reference service called ChatStaff. They will be able to answer most research questions, except for some that are Mizzou-specific.

To access the chat service and see what hours chat reference is available, visit libraryanswers.missouri.edu.

At the Mizzou Libraries, we are concerned about the health and safety of our Tiger community. Part of that effort is creating a culture of awareness by requiring faculty, staff and students to monitor their health daily. The practice is also recommended for visitors. Now, self-monitoring is made easier with #CampusClear.

#CampusClear is a self-screening mobile application designed to support campus community members as they monitor their day-to-day health and respond to potential COVID-19 symptoms. #CampusClear provides a daily push notification and self-monitoring only takes a few seconds. The app will also act as a pass to provide students, faculty and staff access to designated locations in the future.

To sign up:

1. Access the app on the App Store, Google Play or via the web.
2. Indicate if you are a student, an employee or a visitor. Faculty, staff and students should use their university email address to automatically register with the university. No other contact information is needed.
3. Visitors will be asked to select the school they wish to visit and may provide either their phone number or personal email address to sign in.
4. Users will be asked to finish authentication via the email they provided for registration.

To help with social distancing and the need to take classes online, all reservable study rooms are now designated for individual use only. Reservations are for two-hours and each student can have one active reservation at a time. As soon as that reservation is complete or canceled, a new reservation can be made. You can find out more about available study rooms in Ellis Library at:

Study Room Information

Reserve a Study Room

If you need group study space, rooms 114 and 114A will be available with furniture arranged to accommodate groups of two to four socially-distanced students. In 114A, we can seat up to sixteen students (in groups of fours) as a large collaboration space. Conversation will be allowed in these rooms.

Please do not add or remove chairs from study rooms. Further, the Libraries follow University guidelines and require the use of face coverings in all library spaces including single-occupancy study rooms. The only exception to this policy is when seated and eating on the lower level, or when scheduled to film or record in the Digital Media & Innovation Lab.