Our guiding principle is to support students and faculty while protecting the health of our community and our staff are providing online services while physical locations are closed. As we continue to be flexible and in constant review of what is possible for the coming fall semester, we plan to begin offering limited onsite services starting on August 31.

While there is currently extensive access to materials and research support available digitally, we will enhance these offerings by adding curbside pickup of physical materials at HBL in Storrs, and at each of the Regional Library locations. The hours available for pickup and the specific mechanisms for “curbside” offerings are still to be determined.  We will also support access to physical materials that are not currently available online through digitization when possible, particularly of Archives & Special Collections materials. Physical library locations will only be open to retrieve paged materials, or return items, and for pick-up of print jobs as well as very limited computer usage for those that do not have their own devices.  At HBL there will be scheduled courses in rooms on the Plaza and First level, and traffic will be directed to be uni-directional to maintain social distancing. Outside of scheduled courses, the library will be unavailable for study, group work, or as an indoor gathering space.

This is the Phase 2, later phases will allow for more activity in the building and advancement to later stages will be determined following guidance from the CDC, the State of Connecticut, and the University, as well as availability of cleaning supplies, PPE, and staff for onsite work.  All Library locations funded and staffed by UConn Library will fall under this centralized planning, including all Regional Campus Libraries, this does not include the Lyman Maynard Stowe Health Sciences Library or the Thomas J. Meskill Law Library.

Please stay tuned as we work out the details around our August 31st opening at lib.uconn.edu/about/covid-19. The latest official guidance and updates on UConn’s response to COVID-19 and its impact on the university community is being provided in real time at https://uconn.edu/public-notification/coronavirus/.