Remote Resources FAQ
Last updated Sept. 1, 2020
More information on Library Services During COVID-19
Spaces
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Starting Wednesday, Aug. 26, the current plans are for the Library to be open to the Brandeis community with reduced hours. View our
hours page for more details on the planned fall schedule. We will continue to operate online portions of our services. Library staff are available to help you access online materials, pursue your research, prepare for teaching, and more. See FAQs below for more information.
The University Archives and Special Collections Reading Room is open to researchers by appointment only. We would also be happy to help you remotely; please email ascdepartment@brandeis.edu with any questions. You may experience delays with regard to your reference requests. We appreciate your patience during this time period and look forward to working with you.
The MakerLab, Automation Lab, and Digital Scholarship Lab are physically closed, but virtual consultations are available. We are not loaning any equipment or handing out 3D Prints or Lasercuts.
Research Technology & Innovation is offering the following by request (email makerlab@brandeis.edu):
- Consultations available via zoom.
- Workshops or lectures available via Zoom.
- Limited design as a service and fabrication as a service.
- Remote 3D scanning as a service (send digital files).
- Limited remote desktop seats in DS Lab (8). Provisioned on a case by case basis.
- Meeting with research & entrepreneurial teams to support projects virtually/online as much as is possible
Our facilities are available for in-person use during the following hours, and student staff will be on-site to assist (both in-person and remotely) during these times. This semester reservations will be required to use any and all of our computer workstations, studios, and equipment. We recommend making reservations in advance through the forms on our website, though walk-in reservations may also be possible depending upon the day's traffic. Both in-person and remote consultations may also be scheduled. Remote access to some resources is possible. General inquiries may be directed to sims@brandeis.edu. Faculty interested in instructional sessions on media production may reach out directly to Mark Dellelo.
As of Wednesday, Aug. 26, the ITS Help Desk plans to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays.
Brandeis faculty, staff, and students should continue to direct all tech-related inquiries by submitting a help request, sending an email to help@brandeis.edu, or calling 781-736-4357. Visit the ITS Help Desk website to learn more.
The Writing Center will hold all consultations for the remainder of Spring 2020 online. There are two consultation formats to choose from:
More information
Yes; however, no food or drink can be consumed inside the Library until further notice. Please eat in your room, outside, or in a designated eating area.
When the Library reaches capacity, or even before, students are welcome to study at other campus common spaces (subject to change during the fall semester).
- Shapiro Campus Center, floor 1 lobby and study rooms, floor 2 and 3 conference rooms
- Shapiro Science Center, floors 1-3 open spaces on floors
- Hassenfeld, floor 1 conference rooms
- Mandel Center for the Humanities, floor 1 lobby
- Golding Judaica Center, floor 1 lobby
- Lemberg Academic Center, floor 1 lobby
- Tent (when not in use for programming): Great Lawn (3); Goldman-Schwartz (2); Usdan (1); Skyline (1); and Athletics (1)
These campus commons spaces can be accessed on weekdays during the usual class hours, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The Brandeis Library is open to only active students, faculty, and staff until further notice. Alumni and other community members who receive borrowing privileges but cannot come to campus are welcome to use our
Ship to Home services.
Online Materials
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Yes. Please log in to Library resources with your Brandeis Account before you start searching to ensure that you have access to online content available through Brandeis Library subscriptions.
- OneSearch: Use the filters on the left side of the screen to focus on digital materials, including ebooks, streaming audio or video.
- Databases A-Z: Our databases provide access to digital articles, ebooks, video, and more. If a database is only available on campus, this information will be noted in the database description on our A-Z list.
Borrowing Materials
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You can renew most items through your
OneSearch Account. If items are not renewable, contact
borrowing@brandeis.edu for more information. Items can be returned in-person at the Information & Borrowing Desk or via the exterior book drop at the Usdan facing entrance of the Goldfarb Library.
If you need a book that we don’t have in the collection, you shouldn't’t hesitate to use
Interlibrary Loan for chapter or section requests, since those can often be turned around very quickly. In your ILL request, please write a note indicating the chapter or section that you need. If you want to see a scan of the table of contents first, you can also note that and we will work with lending libraries to get that to you. If you determine that you need more than a chapter or section, please use the
purchase request form and we will buy the ebook, if available.
We are now accepting
interlibrary loan requests for books, DVDs, CDs, scores, and other physical materials!
Items arriving at Brandeis Library, will be quarantined for 3 days before being handled by staff. Once ready, you can pick up your items at the Information & Borrowing Desk or request items for Ship to Home.
If you are local, you can return materials in-person at the Information & Borrowing Desk or through the external book drop at the Usdan facing entrance of the Goldfarb Library. Equipment must be returned at the Information & Borrowing Desk. You can also ship materials back to the Library at the address below. For materials that were shipped via the Ship to Home service, contact borrowing@brandeis.edu and we will send you a prepaid UPS label via email.
Information & Borrowing
Brandeis Library, MS 045
Brandeis University
415 South Street
Waltham MA 02453-2728
You may authorize a proxy to borrow materials in your name. Eligible proxies must be current members of the Brandeis community and possess a valid Brandeis ID. To set up a proxy, complete the
Proxy Borrowing Form.
Yes, we will ship materials to you regardless of location.
Research Help
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Yes! Our research help librarians are still working and will be happy to speak with you.
Support for Teaching
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We are working to license and digitize materials as quickly as possible, but requests could take up to 3-4 weeks to complete during peak times. Materials are digitized in the order requests are received. Please submit your requests as soon as possible to ensure materials are ready for the start of your course.
Yes, our primary sources for getting videos through a streaming service are
Swank,
Kanopy, and
Alexander Street Press. Feel free to browse these sources to see what is easily available for streaming. After finding a film that you are interested in using in your course, please fill out the request form through the LATTE Video Block so that we can purchase the film.
Yes, videos produced and distributed by Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu cannot be licensed for institutional use.
Yes! Please reach out to your
subject librarian, who can assist you in gaining online access to books, films, journals, etc.