Welcoming You Back

Published on August 05, 2020

We are excited to welcome you back to our libraries this September. We’ve been working alongside campus health and safety partners and public health experts to adapt library services to meet provincial guidelines. This means reducing occupancy in library spaces to support physical distancing, requiring all visitors to wear face masks, and enhancing cleaning and sanitization procedures. It also means prioritizing access to spaces to support currently registered students, staff, and faculty.

We need your help to keep campus libraries safe. We know some of the changes in place will take some getting used to. We ask for your cooperation and thank you for your patience while we all work together to create a safe and welcoming learning space for our community.

Here’s what to expect when you visit a campus library this fall:

  • All visitors will be required to check in and out of the library
  • Access to bookable study space and computers
    • Masks and physical distancing is required at all times
    • You can book ahead online or on arrival (depending on availability) for 1-3 hours
    • Access will be limited to certain floors and spaces
    • Seating configurations will be fixed
    • Supplies will be provided to clean your space before/after use
    • No food or drink, except water bottles
  • Access to print/scan stations
    • Funds for printing will only be accepted online via Papercut
    • Supplies will be provided to sanitize the print/scan stations after each use
  • Access to collections
    • You continue to have access to a vast collection of electronic scholarly resources – e-books, e-journals and more
    • We will continue to retrieve books and other physical materials upon request for you via no-contact pickup and digital delivery
    • You will soon be able to request materials to pick up at additional library locations
    • Course Readings will be online-only due to health and safety requirements
  • Research help
    • Research help will be provided virtually through our Chat service
    • Library staff will also be available for in-depth virtual consultations
  • Teaching support
    • Faculty can add library how-to videos to OWL courses, along with assigned readings using our Course Readings service.
    • The Teaching and Learning team is available to provide library instruction to your students. Contact us to discuss instruction options in a virtual or blended environment. We can help you assemble key resources, integrate digital library materials into online courses or assignments, and develop content that will enhance student learning.

The D.B. Weldon Library will reopen to currently registered students, staff, and faculty the week of August 31. We’ll use this time to test and adapt our new health and safety protocols in advance of opening additional library locations. We plan to open the C.B. "Bud" Johnston (Business), John & Dotsa Bitove Family Law, Music, and Allyn & Betty Taylor Libraries on Sept. 8. We will update all location hours on our website closer to our reopening.

We look forward to welcoming alumni and community visitors back to our libraries once the fall semester gets underway and we can manage the additional capacity.

Wherever you’re working this term, take advantage of our extensive digital collections and remember research help is a click away through our Chat service.

For more information, please visit our main COVID-19 page.