We had our first Q&A on Instagram stories this week. People are really interested in what our hours are going to be! You can check it out here.
Thanks to Instagram coordinator Tarira Meadowcroft for doing this!
Shannon Cary
The Mizzou Libraries Are Here For You: Currently Open
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!
The Mizzou Libraries have operated remotely since mid-March due to the COVID-19 emergency. In July we began curbside pickup service for MU faculty and students. This service will continue in a modified version throughout the fall semester.
As the campus welcomed students for the fall semester, the University Libraries began offering limited hours and study spaces in Ellis Library and most of the specialized libraries starting Monday, August 17.
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 when Ellis Library reopens:
- Everyone in library buildings will need to wear a face mask and maintain 6 feet of physical distancing.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bookmark Cafe will be open but with a limited menu and seating. Food will only be allowed on the ground floor of the library. Beverages in closed containers are allowed in Ellis Library.
- 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
New Muse Posts
LMT Action and Information Items, Including Highlights 7/14/20
Highlights from the July 14 LMT Meeting
- The Library Services Planning Committee proposed the following hours for Ellis: 7:30a-10p M-TR, 7:30-6pm Friday. Sunday hours were proposed to be 1-10pm. It was recommended to be closed on Saturdays.
- Hours have been reconsidered since the Library Services Committee last met. It was determined that the service desks would be open until 8pm while the library building will remain open until 10pm.
- Ellis Library is opening to the public on August 17th.
- We don’t need to move out of 52 Ellis Library.
- State Historical Society space is being considered for campus classroom space.
- Part-time officers will staff the West Desk as the only entrance to Ellis.
- The Libraries will not host in person events in the fall, but we will partner with the University of Missouri Press to hold some online book talks.
MOBIUS and ILL Borrowing Resumes August 3rd
We are pleased to share that MOBIUS and traditional Interlibrary Loan (ILL) borrowing resumes as of August 3rd. The service may be slower than in past years as most libraries are allowing time to quarantine books and some libraries remain closed or are open with limited staffing.
With the resumption of interlibrary borrowing and lending, we must sadly say goodbye to our HathiTrust Digital Library’s Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS). Please contact your subject librarian if you need assistance with identifying online access options for materials.
Town Hall 7/8/2020
Library Space Needs in 1971
A single service desk in Ellis, a new location for Archives, and re-purposing Ellis Room 52 are some of the current topics being discussed under the umbrella of “space needs.” Back in 1971, the need for more space was a topic of interest, too. An article in the Missouri Alumnus (May 1971) highlights how crowded Ellis library and some of the specialized libraries were even then.
- Dr. C. Edward Carroll, director of libraries “knows that the building was designed to hold two million volumes and, counting the items in the State Historical Society and the Western Historical Manuscripts collection, it already exceeds that number.”
- “The main library building was built in 1914. It became crowded as the campus grew and a new addition was added in 1939. With time and continued growth the new addition also filled to capacity. Planners at the University fore-saw the growth and another addition was completed by 1962. Since then, more than half a million volumes have been added to the library’s shelves. The number of students on the campus has nearly doubled.”
- “Also included in the request for next year are the funds to operate not only the main library, but also the network of seven branch libraries, housed in the professional schools. ‘The only one that has any space at all is the mathematics library,’ in the newly-opened Mathematical Sciences Building, Carroll said. If the veterinary medicine complex is built, that school will also have enough library space.”
The good news is that, despite space shortcomings, the strengths of the libraries were extolled, too:
- “The strengths are impressive: More than 1.5 million books and 18,OOO current journals make the main library complex on the Columbia campus one of the largest in the Midwest; its microfilm collection is the second largest of any research library in the country; its rare book collection is the best in the Big Eight; it is a nationally-recognized pioneer in library computer applications … “
Additional historical details are given in the article, which is available in MOspace: Mizzou Alumnus, 1971 May, pages 8-11.
Library Curbside Pickup Now Available for MU Faculty and Students
Library circulation services ceased abruptly in mid-March at the beginning of the Covid-19 closures. Reopening these services will be incremental starting July 1, and continue gradually until full check out services will be restored by the beginning of the fall semester.
How does Ellis Library Curbside Pickup work?
Starting July 1, curbside pickup of MU library materials will be available for MU-affiliated library users. Library materials requested through the MERLIN catalog (up to 30 requests per user) may be picked up at the Ellis Library Loading Dock. When the books requested (See How to Request/Place Holds for Curbside Pickup) are ready for pickup, you will receive an email with a link to the Ellis Library Loading Dock appointment calendar with instructions to select a time. (Pickup slots are 15 minutes long, Mon-Fri, between 10am-3pm.) You will not be able to make an appointment before the books are ready.
When you arrive during your 15-minute appointment, park in the loading dock area (or nearby on Hitt Street) and call the Check Out Desk (573-882-3362). Staff will then deliver your bag of checked out library materials. Please have your ID card out and ready to view. Staff are not able to accept library returns during pickup appointments. Please return library materials in the book drop located at the Ellis Library West Entrance, accessible 24/7.
How long must I wait to pick up my books after I place the request/hold?
Due to on-site staffing shortages, book quarantines, and reduction in some library services, the time for this process may take four to eight business days. We will try as hard as possible to fill requests quickly.
Can I get books from the specialized libraries?
Books from the specialized libraries may be picked up at Ellis Library, but this may take a few additional days. If you wish to pick up these books at the specialized libraries, however, please contact that library directly for specific details.
Curbside pickup for non-MU library users and for materials from other MERLIN and MOBIUS libraries will be available later this summer. In addition, equipment check out will resume when the fall semester begins.
Questions? Call Ellis Library Check Out Desk at 573-882-3362 or email MULibraryCircDesk@missouri.edu
Library Management Team Action and Information Items 6/16/20
FY2020 Librarian Promotions
Congratulations to all the librarians who received promotions this year!
Promoted to Librarian III
- Nav Khanal
- Joe Askins
- Kimberly Moeller
Promoted to Librarian IV
- Anne Barker