Brandeis Library Resources During COVID-19
Spring 2021 Semester:
The Library is open to Brandeis students, faculty, and staff with reduced hours. There are special precautions for handling materials. When visiting the Library, please follow campus guidelines, as well as any signage and staff directions. Library services also will continue to be delivered via Zoom, chat, and email.
Last updated Feb. 3, 2021
As we work to offer more services on campus in accordance with the University's Scaling Up Guide, the health and safety of our community is a top priority. The Library is working with campus partners to design and implement policies and procedures for each scaling up stage, and we are monitoring the pandemic closely so we can adapt our services and access to our spaces and materials as needed.
Brandeis’ Spring 2021 semester is being conducted in a hybrid fashion, with some students living on campus and taking a portion of their courses in person and some students studying completely remotely. Students, faculty and staff coming to campus should comply with all measures required within the Campus Passport, including testing and taking the Daily Health Assessment. For complete information, visit the COVID-19 Response website.
Remote Resources FAQ
Building Hours for the Spring Semester
The Library will be open to all members of the Brandeis community with the following hours:
Spring Semester Hours: Saturday, Jan. 30 - Friday, May 14
- Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
- Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
For a full list of holidays and exceptions, please visit the Hours page.
Library Entrance and Exit
The Usdan door is designated as the entrance to the Library. The Plaza door is designated as the exit. Signs will mark the flow of traffic throughout the building. People will use the card swipes at the doors when entering the building, and a monitor will check passports. People must have a green or yellow passport to enter the library.
The Library Starbucks Cafe will be closed for the spring semester, and the Farber door also will remain closed.
No Food or Drink in the Library
Until further notice, no food or drink can be consumed inside the Library. Please eat in your room, outside, or in a designated eating area.
Alternative Study Spaces
When the Library reaches capacity, or even before, students are welcome to use other campus common spaces available to students (subject to change during the semester).
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- 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.
Pick Up and Ship to Home Service Information
Details for the Pick Up and Ship to Home services are available on the Library website. To improve this service outside of operating hours, contactless pick up lockers are available in Upper Usdan.
Appointments
Some Library departments are appointment-only at this time. Information on how to schedule an appointment for the following departments is available below.
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Subject liaisons are available by online appointment to help
you use Library and technology resources in your teaching, learning, and research. Find your subject liaison.
Appointments can be made for physical access to the MakerLab and Automation Lab, while access to the Digital Scholarship Lab will continue through virtual desktops. RTI staff will work with users to offer virtual/remote access whenever possible; if virtual/remote access is not a solution, staff will work to find a time for an onsite appointment. For appointment requests or for additional information, reach out to
makerlab@brandeis.edu. See available services and tools on our
website, or apply to our
microgrant programs.
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.
HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service
The HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS) program has allowed the library to provide users with digital access to hundreds of thousands of books that are available in the library’s physical collection while the library supports teaching and learning in our current, hybrid environment. We recognize that print access to these titles may be preferable for some members of our community. The Brandeis Library is committed to providing the broadest possible access in support of the full community. To do so, we have remained in the ETAS program even while the library building is open. This means that physical circulation of these titles is not possible. This service is helping the Brandeis Library meet the teaching and learning needs of remote patrons in the most cost-efficient way since ebooks and shipping costs have put strains on the library’s budget. When searching OneSearch, please utilize the digital copy of items available through HathiTrust. To identify these items, look for the orange elephant (alt text is “HathiTrust Logo”) and use the link “Full Text Available at HathiTrust.”
Users have the following options if they would like to use or borrow a HathiTrust ETAS item:
- Use the electronic copy from HathiTrust by clicking on the Full Text Available at HathiTrust link in the record.
- Request Scan on Demand for the select chapters needed (Takes around 3-5 days)
- Scan the chapters needed from the public scanners
- Use the book in the library
- Request a physical copy through Interlibrary Loan (Takes around 8-12 days)
If you have a book assigned for your class that is currently available through HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service, please submit a reserve request for the title. Hathi books can only be viewed by one patron at a time, and we do not know how long those copies will remain available. When you submit a course reserve request, we can ensure an ebook copy or digitized copy is available to your students when HathiTrust turns off its access.
Remote Resources
When the Brandeis Library building is closed, or you prefer to work remotely, the Library can continue to provide you with expert help and services to support your research, teaching, and learning.
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Consult with Library staff about options for providing research instruction to your students. Options may include customized instructional materials for courses, including online research guides and interactive tutorials, or providing instruction sessions via Zoom. Librarians can discuss which options are feasible and will most effectively meet the needs of your class.
- Please contact library@brandeis.edu to
- Consult on pedagogical approaches for using LATTE tools (e.g., LATTE quizzes, surveys, assignments) and the student-centered accessible course shell
- Consult on best practices for incorporating a software product within a course (e.g., STATA, SPSS, ArcGIS)
- Consult on academic technologies including VoiceThread, H5P, Voyant, Twine, and Perusall
- Consult with an instructional designer on course design and considerations based on modality
- Visit the University's Faculty Support Services page to learn more about the support provided by the Library, Information Technology Services, and the Center for Teaching and Learning.
- Requests for digitized materials can be submitted via email to reserve@brandeis.edu or the request form. More information about Reserves and how to access digitized books on reserve. The physical Course Reserve program is on hold. If you would like to assign a book in your class that is currently available through HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service, please submit a reserve request for the title. At this point, we do not know how long the HathiTrust emergency access will be extended, and we will try to purchase an ebook of the title for your class.
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The Center for Teaching & Learning and campus partners have put together a page about Teaching Continuity, where you can find round-the-clock teaching help and join Brandeis teachers who are sharing their suggestions, questions, videos, tutorials and other support for teaching remotely.
- Brandeis Library has many digital materials to support your research, teaching, and learning.
- 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.
- The Library can purchase online materials needed for class when possible.
- 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.
- When possible, please link to articles and other items in library databases, rather than uploading PDFs to LATTE.
- Explore Library research guides to find recommended resources and research tips.
- Archives & Special Collections can provide digital access to some materials via email, Box, or other electronic avenues. Digitized materials are also available on the Internet Archive, HathiTrust and Brandeis Institutional Repository:
- The Brandeis Institutional Repository is a digital collection of online materials for research, including digitized materials from Archives and Special Collections, faculty publications, masters and senior honors theses, Brandeis University Press publications, and more.
- Interlibrary Loan (ILL) offers free access to book chapters, articles, and other materials needed for coursework and scholarly research which are not currently available in the Brandeis Library. Availability may be affected by current restrictions at Brandeis and other institutions.
- Scan on Demand (formerly Document Delivery) allows users to request scanned chapters and articles as well as microform materials in the Brandeis Library collection.
- The Library will continue to operate online portions of our services. Content like articles and book chapters will continue to be available. The situation is fluid, but the Library strives to maintain strong continuity of services to meet your needs.
- Research Technology & Innovation is offering the following:
- 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
- Sound & Image Media Studios 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.
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Any current Brandeis faculty, staff, and students can request materials, including Interlibrary Loan materials, for Pick Up of Ship to Home.
- Books and media, including Interlibrary Loan materials, may be returned at the Information & Borrowing Desk or in the Library’s book return at the Usdan-facing entrance of Goldfarb Library.
- Equipment (laptops, calculators, headphones, etc.) can be returned via the book returns bin at the Information & Borrowing Desk.