Fordham Forward Libraries
Update on Services : Fall 2020
Welcome back for the Fall 2020 semester. Fordham Forward Libraries will provide links to library services for the entire Fordham community.
Our goal is to provide you with the resources you’ll need for your academic success, while at the same time safeguarding your health and safety in the unique library environment. The University libraries will adhere to University protocols with respect to prevention and screening measures.
When you come in…
While this is not the way we would choose to welcome you back to campus, we want to keep library users and library staff as safe and healthy as possible.
And speaking of library staff, even though you won't always see us, we're always there. We're all working full schedules, whether we're behind the scenes at home or on campus, but social distancing rules allow only a certain number of us to be on-site at any given time. We'll miss all the interactions that we're used to, but we've worked hard to develop contact free services along with the 24/7 online services we’ve been providing you with all along.
| Circulation: | univlib@fordham.edu |
| Reference & Instruction Services: | library@fordham.edu |
| E-Resources: | parliman@fordham.edu porretta@fordham.edu |
| Reserves/ARES: | libraryreserve@fordham.edu |
| Interlibrary Loan | labbe@fordham.edu |
| Acquisitions: (Books, e-Books, Videos) |
garity@fordham.edu gillette@fordham.edu |
| Online Access Issues: | helpit@fordham.edu |
| Archives and Special Collections: | wares@fordham.edu |
Dear Members of the Fordham Community,
Welcome back for a semester that will be unlike any other we have experienced. While library buildings and services will look very different in the Fall of 2020, and possibly beyond, we are fully committed to the safety and success of everyone who uses and depends upon the Fordham University Libraries.
As the University resumes with a blend of remote and on-campus instruction and research activity, the University Libraries have developed service models to support the initiatives and goals of Fordham Forward.
The focus for reopening will be a digital first strategy that will support both off-site faculty, researchers, and students as well as our on-site population. The University Libraries have increased our capacity to acquire and disseminate digital books and articles. We will also expand the digitization of print materials from library collections for research and teaching. Along with these efforts, we will introduce a contactless pickup and self-check service, Books To Go, which will allow students and faculty to easily and safely request books and other library materials from on campus or off.
Reopening will be an incremental and gradual process. As conditions change and as updated information becomes available, we will modify our approach. It may be possible to expand services, or it may be necessary to reconsider prior decisions in order to protect the health and safety of the Fordham community.
Whether you are on campus or off, the library is always here. Whether you can see us or not, the library staff is always here. We look forward to working with you.
Linda LoSchiavo
Director of Libraries
Fordham University
New York State, New York City, and University guidelines require face masks in all public and communal buildings, including libraries. Thank you for doing your part to keep all members of the Fordham community safe, including the library staff who are on campus all day and the family members and loved ones to whom they go home.
Because masks are required in all library spaces, no food will be permitted in the library. Please eat snacks or food items outdoors or in a designated dining area on campus. Beverages in covered containers are permitted, as long as you remove your mask only while drinking. Vending machines and water fountains will be deactivated this semester. Water bottle refill stations will be installed to replace some of the deactivated water fountains.
Study tables and carrels will be spaced at an appropriate 6-foot distance from one another. Seating will be limited in the libraries, as chairs will either be removed or made unavailable for use in order to adhere to the appropriate social distancing guidelines for study areas.
We encourage you to please bring your own laptop, jump drive, and any other technology that you plan to use, rather than using shared public equipment. In order to reduce crowding and minimize surfaces that require cleaning, we have reduced significantly the number of public computers and printers available in Walsh and Quinn.
Please be aware that physical access to the library may change throughout the semester due to environmental circumstances. Students should not make attendance or participation in their online courses contingent on access to library spaces. Group study rooms in Walsh and Quinn will be unavailable, at least for the start of the semester. Some will be used by staff whose existing work spaces do not allow for the appropriate amount of social distancing.
Visitors will not be permitted in the libraries for the Fall 2020 semester. Only members of the Fordham University community with valid Fordham IDs and Vital Check QR codes will be allowed on campus and in the buildings.