UW Libraries Blog

September 24, 2020

Welcome, Huskies: A Message from the Dean

UW Libraries

Hello Huskies!

On behalf of UW Libraries–16 libraries across 3 campuses—a warm welcome to all new and returning students, faculty and staff. The start of the fall quarter always feels like a jumping off point – a time to learn new things, make new connections and refocus. The current remote learning circumstances are creating more opportunity for academic communities to adapt and learn differently.  All of UW Libraries staff are actively building on our robust online capabilities to maximize support for teaching, learning and research. Our staff have adapted, increased e-resources, and are continuing to help you navigate and plan for a successful, Safe Start to fall quarter. Curbside-pick up services will be the next service available, and this update outlines the next steps of the process.  The following highlights all of the new and existing resources you can expect from the Libraries:

  • For students: Everything you need to know about UW Libraries plans and available resources is in our Student FAQ for Fall;
  • For faculty:
  • UW Bothell and UW Tacoma Libraries provide campus-specific online help and resources.
  • Since March, UW Libraries has purchased more than 250,000 additional electronic resources and through the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service, made an additional 1.7 million electronic resources from our print collections available to you from any location.
  • A new virtual Media Arcade provides access to more software aps, tools, online tutorials and online help with audio, video, graphic design projects and related technical needs.
  • Libraries events, workshops and trainings online engage the UW community across disciplines, and prepare students through events like the GSRI and fall orientation DawgDaze events.
  • Research and writing consultations continue online through the Odegaard Writing and Research Center, providing personalized support for all students.
  • Graduate student services continue remotely with the Research Commons including online consults for graduate funding information.
  • The Special Collections team is working remotely to help users navigate our extensive digital collections and create high quality digital exhibits to enhance historical and cultural learning in class and for our community.
  • The Libraries Scholarly Communication and Publishing team is a virtual “one stop shop” for questions about copyright, open access, author rights, research data management, and digital scholarship.
  • Interlibrary loan continues to fill requests for scans of articles and book chapters from e-collections and through other Libraries.
  • UW Libraries staff are always here to answer questions via 24/7 chat services, Zoom consults, and email – just ASK US!
  • Your subject Librarians provide expert advice and support relevant to your area of study
  • All information and resources are available on our web site, and the latest updates on services are always posted on our COVID-19 update page.

The health and safety of our users and staff continue to guide our planning. Our phased reopening plan remains unchanged at this time.  As health conditions and guidance change, we will expand access and services as soon as it is feasible to do so safely. As noted in the Libraries phased re-opening chart, we plan to open limited spaces for student study in Phase 3, and we will update and share our plans as they evolve and change.

This fall, students, faculty and staff will continue to adapt and improve our collective resources and capacity for online and hybrid learning.  We are working together to make this quarter and this year the best it can be in these challenging times.  We appreciate your patience and welcome your questions, suggestions and concerns to help us better support you.

We got this, Huskies!

Betsy Wilson

Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of University Libraries at the University of Washington Libraries