Instructions for Contact less Pickup of Library Materials

Instructions for Contact less Pickup of Library Materials

Beginning August 24, 2020, you can obtain books and other physical materials from the Libraries and Four Colleges through our contact less pickup service. This is a walk-up service available at the Du Bois Library and the Science & Engineering Library.  

1. Find the item you want in the Discovery search and use the “Request item” button to ask us to retrieve it for you.  Please note that some library items do not circulate, and some items may not be available.  We will notify you if your request cannot be filled. 
2. If you are requesting equipment from the Digital Media Lab, please visit the DML Equipment page for details regarding the reservation of equipment and scheduling a pickup time. DML equipment will be available for pickup from the shared contact less pickup service location(s) for books and other physical library materials. 

3. When your request is ready, you will receive an email from the Library which includes a link to schedule a pickup date and time.  Contact less pickup is available Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Please do not come to pick up your request until you have received a confirmation email.   

4. Once you have been notified, please bring your UMass ID (UCard) as identification to pick up your request.  Please wear a mask, maintain a distance of 6 feet from others, and follow the directional arrows to the service desk. We will be placing all requests in bags. Once you have picked-up your request, please follow the directional arrows to exit the facility. 

Returns 

• Please do not return books through the pickup service. Instead, return them at one of four book drops: at the Du Bois Library entrance, outside the Science & Engineering Library, the Robsham Visitors Center, and Lederle Low-rise.
• Equipment may be returned to the Du Bois Library, Monday-Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please do not return any equipment in any book drop or you will be liable for any damage. 

Safety 

• The University Libraries have set up numerous safety precautions for both patrons and staff, including all guidance provided by UMass Amherst, the CDC, and library-specific organizations such as the American Libraries Association. 
• Safety precautions include quarantining materials for 72 hours upon return, staff wearing masks and gloves, and adhering to physical distancing guidelines. 
• Please note that, despite the Libraries’ best efforts to help ensure user safety, the Libraries cannot guarantee that all collection materials are 100% free of any infectious material at the point of delivery to users via contact less pickup. Users who choose to participate in the contact less pickup service do so at their own risk. 

 

 

 

April 10, 2020

Dear Campus Community,
Daily monitoring of one’s health and well-being prior to coming to work can aid in early detection of infectious disease and is an effective measure to prevent community spread of COVID-19. In our ongoing effort to protect on-site employees, we have established a new practice: All employees should review a COVID-19 Daily Self Checklist before reporting to campus.
The checklist has eight questions, and if you answer YES to any of the questions, you MUST STAY HOME, notify your supervisor and call or email the COVID-19 HR Response Team. In addition, if you start feeling sick during your shift you should notify your supervisor and the COVID-19 HR Response Team, and GO HOME. In either circumstance, YOU WILL BE PAID.
Checklists can be downloaded here, and copies will also available at your workplace. Checklists are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Nepalese.
It is important to note that this is not a change in procedure. The university continues to emphasize that all employees who are feeling ill, whether it is related to coronavirus or not, should stay home for their well-being and the well-being of their colleagues.
We are deeply grateful to our staff, faculty and students for all that you’re doing to keep UMass and our community strong during this unprecedented time. We express special thanks to our on-site personnel who are sustaining a variety of key operations.

• Listen and follow directions of state and local authorities
• If you feel sick, stay home; do not go to work and contact your medical provider
• If your children are sick, keep them at home and contact your medical provider
• If someone in your household has tested positive, keep the entire household at home
• If you are an older person with a serious underlying health condition, stay home and away from other people
• Even if you are young or otherwise healthy, it is critical that you work from home; avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people; avoid eating or drinking in public eateries and use drive-thru or delivery options instead; avoid discretionary travel, shopping trips and social visits; do not visit nursing homes or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance; practice good hygiene by washing hands and avoid touching your face.

Corona virus Update: UMass Amherst has shifted to remote delivery of all instruction, having suspended in-person classes, including laboratory, studio, capstone and graduate courses, until the end of the semester. In accordance with the Governor’s emergency order, only onsite personnel should report to campus, unless contacted by a supervisor Additional updates and resources can be found at umass.edu/coronavirus.

NEW DESK STATS FORM

There is a new desk stats form that needs to be filled out every time a patron asks a questions at the desk. This form is on the bookmarks tool bar- if you open fire fox look for "desk stats form" on the tool bar located directly under the web address.

In case you have trouble opening it, please cut and paste the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclL7zfrATxZBfNOsC9qbt8EL-EmWKu4wSX3iEHLpTk5e-Rpw/viewform

Phone charging table moved to the 9th floor

The phone charging table that was in the entrance lobby has moved to the 9th floor.

Student services in the Learning Commons

Hours for these student services in the LC:

• International Programs Office Study Abroad – Monday – Thursdays 4pm-8pm (with Calipari sessions on Wed., 6pm-8pm)
• Financial Aid – Tues and Wednesdays 5pm-8pm
• SAM Smart About Money – Tu and Thursdays, 5pm—8pm

These student resources are located in Room O and P, adjacent to the Calipari Room.

Please note that these are “satellite” locations; and there are links to their permanent offices from the LC page: https://www.library.umass.edu/learningcommons/

Students should be referred to the permanent offices outside of their evening hours in the LC. 

Student Union Construction

As of tomorrow, Thursday, January 17, a construction site fence will completely enclose the Student Union construction area (see map, right).  Temporary walkways will also be in place on the south and west sides of the site.

The construction vehicle route is via Hicks Way, west of the site, with a Main Gate located at the northwest corner.  Pedestrians will need to exercise extra caution in this area.  Flaggers will control foot and vehicle traffic in the Main Gate area, as necessary, during regular construction hours, M-F, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The construction site fence and temporary walkways will remain in place for the duration of the project which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2020.

Bicycles

Bicycles that have not yet been retrieved from the front of the Student Union will now be stored on-site by the contractor until Friday, January 25.  Bicycle owners can retrieve their bicycles until Friday, January 25, by going to the Main Gate at the northwest corner of the site, M-F, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.  After Friday, January 25, all remaining bicycles will be removed and stored at Tillson Farm.  To retrieve a bicycle at Tillson Farm, the owner will need to contact Gary Glazier, Manager of Landscape and Construction Services, at gglazier@facil.umass.edu or (413) 835-1253.

More information about the Student Union Renovation Project is available at the Design & Construction Management project page.  Questions and comments should be directed to DCM project executive Jeff Quackenbush at 413-326-1644, or jquacken@facil.umass.edu.

student union.jpg

Grad students request access to Grad Commons

If a student comes to the desk asking for access to the Grad Commons on the 5th floor please send them to the library website and show them to click on the "Locations" tab, then under that tab they can click on the "Grad Commons" where they then can click on the "submit an access request" form on the Grad Commons page. Please stop directing them to Terry's email as that is not correct course of action. The link is here:

https://www.library.umass.edu/locations/graduate-commons/

eCampus chosen to operate virtual bookstore

eCampus will provide textbooks and other course materials for academic terms beginning with the 2018-19 four week winter session through June 2024. Amazon will maintain its pickup point in the UMass Amherst Campus Center.

There was a student wide email that Cherise showed me that lists iclicker rental information and we thought it was something that our info desk student workers should be aware of. on occasion we get the question about renting iclickers so here is the most updated info...

iClicker Lending Library
Thank you for making the iClicker Lending library a success! We have rented out all 100+ iClickers this semester, but you can join the waitlist for when one opens up! Please visit the SGA office to do so.

If you have any questions, please contact the SGA Chair of Academic Oversight at: sgaacademic@umass.edu. 

Access to the Graduate Commons on the 5th floor.

If a Grad student comes to the desk and tells you they don't have access to the Graduate Commons please refer them to the Library Website.

Library.umass.edu > Locations > Graduate Commons > Red box on right hand side that says REQUEST ACCESS.

They must go here and fill out the form to receive access to the Grad Commons with their card.

PLEASE don't send them to the Circulation Desk!

Thank you!

NO Table & Chairs near East entrance of lobby

EH & S came to the library this morning and let us know there can NOT be any tables and chairs near the East stairwell/ monument stairwell due to it being an emergency station with fire extinguisher. The charging station must be kept out of the way if it is to be left there. The table and chairs must stay across in the open lobby area where the other tables and chairs are. If someone moves a table and chairs over to that area we are to move them right back. Any further questions feel free to ask a supervisor.

New My Library Account

In response to user feedback, the UMass Amherst Libraries are pleased to announce the deployment of My Library Account, a new website feature designed for the campus community to streamline and integrate borrowing, access to course materials, and interactive online content. The feature is currently available in beta throughout the remainder of the Spring 2018 semester and the summer, deploying in full for Fall 2018.

Designed by Ian Walls, UMass Amherst’s Web Services and Emerging Technologies Librarian, My Library Account offers an improved, “one-stop shop” interface where users can access a unified list of their borrowed items, including all requests and interlibrary loans. The lists are sorted by date; overdue items appear at the top and can be renewed directly from the page, if eligible. Additionally, My Library Account will connect with UMass Amherst courses, giving students and instructors easy access to the complete list of their library-provided course materials.

As part of the release of this feature, the Libraries debut the first generation of a series of “Easter Eggs”: hidden content throughout the Libraries website that reveal virtual badges trackable through each user’s My Library Account page. An Early Adopter Badge is exclusively available to users who create an account during the program’s beta phase, which provides clues to the locations of the other first-generation Eggs.

Until further notice we are NOT validating any parking.

At this time the software used in the online parking validation has not been working correctly and people haven't been receiving their validated hour and have been getting charged for it. If anyone comes to the desk asking to get parking validated please let them know "we will be validating parking once the online validation program is usable, but at this time we are not validating parking unfortunately, sorry for any inconvenience."

Grad Commons Card Access

If a grad student is having trouble accessing the Grad commons with their U card refer them to  Terry Warner, do not send them to circulation.

Map Room Closing

On December 20th the Maps room on the 2nd floor will close and no longer be a service point.

  BOOK RETURN BOX RETURNING TO THE LOBBY

I’m sure you will all be pleased to know a new book return box has been ordered for the lobby.  It will be a smaller footprint than the old one and should blend in nicely with the new color scheme.  It will be put in between the new self checks – which are also on order.

THE NEW BOOK SHELF IS BACK!

The new book shelf has moved back to it's original home, in the North West corner of the library on the Entry level.

Financial Aid services in the LC

Financial Aid Services in the LC (located next to the Calipari Room) will be open this semester on Mondays and Thursdays, from 5pm-8pm. Students will not be able to reserve Room P during these times as Financial Aid Services will be using the room for consultations.