The University Libraries, which includes the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center,  Teaching & Learning Technologies, DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library and Savitt Medical Library will begin providing limited-access, in-person service to University users as part of the phase two reopening of campus beginning July 6 at 8 a.m.  Users wishing to visit in-person are asked to check the Libraries website in advance to ensure the best possible on-site experience. The website contains the most up-to-date information regarding hours of operation, virtual support opportunities, as well as Phase 2 protocols and service updates.

Additionally, the Libraries will be following the University Administration and Governor Sisolak’s guidelines regarding wearing masks/face coverings when on campus. Masks will be required to enter any of the Libraries buildings on campus.  Increased cleaning and sanitization efforts have been implemented, hand sanitizer is provided on every floor, and social distancing is being practiced.

Additionally, plexiglass has been installed at service points to help better protect users and staff, and wolf paws have been placed on the building floor to assist users with social distancing queues.

“Since mid-March our faculty and staff have been hard at work supporting teaching, learning and research across campus,” Associate Dean of University Libraries and Teaching & Learning Technologies, Linda Kopecky said. “We have all worked tirelessly to remain open and operational throughout the quarantine - both remotely from home, and safely, on a limited basis, from the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.”

To hear first-hand how the Libraries prepared for the reopening, or to learn more about what users can expect when they return to the Libraries, please listen to the latest episode of the Libraries podcast, Checked Out!

Faculty, students, graduate students and staff needing resources or assistance are encouraged to get to know their subject librarian. Subject Librarians have specialized knowledge and are available to help users get to know and discover all of the ways they can benefit from partnering with the Libraries.

Faculty and instructors interested in collaborating with Teaching & Learning Technologies or the Instructional Design Team should visit the TLT website. TLT provides support for instructional design, instructional technologies, such as WebCampus and the technology found in the University's classrooms.

“All University users wishing to visit the Libraries are encouraged to plan ahead,” Kopecky said. “Things will definitely look and feel different to users when they return, but rest assured the Libraries will continue to provide services, access to collections as well as a safe and clean environment to users as we work our way through the different phases of reopening.”

What can users expect when they return?

Knowledge Center

The Knowledge Center will be open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Only the first (@One) and second floors of the building will be open to faculty, staff and students. Floors three through five will remain closed at this time. Needed books/materials will be retrieved for users via a paging system by Libraries staff. Virtual services and assistance will continue via chat, email, phone, Zoom with very limited face-to-face services available. A limited number of computer workstations will be available for student use with strictly enforced distancing and sanitization procedures. All group study, conference and meeting rooms will remain closed at this time.

@One

Those users wishing to access @One printing and production services (located on the first floor of the Knowledge Center) are asked to order online in advance by emailing Harry Thomas or calling 775-250-1660. A pick-up time to retrieve printed materials will also be prearranged.

Lendable technology will be available with limited hours and advance reservations are encouraged. Users wishing to check-out equipment are asked to email Daniel Fergus or call the Lendable Technology office phone at 775-784-4924. Lendable Technology check-out is available from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, beginning July 7.

A limited number of computer workstations will be available for student use in the @One with strictly enforced distancing and sanitization procedures. The Dynamic Media Lab (DML) and DataWorks Lab are closed to onsite users, but remote access to specialized software and StorNext storage remains available. @One’s 4K Suite, video editing room, sound booth and virtual reality studio, @Reality, remain closed.

Special Collections and University Archives and the Jon Bilbao Basque Library

Both Special Collections and University Archives and the Jon Bilbao Basque Library will offer very limited onsite services.

DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library

The DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library, located on the University’s historic quadrangle, will be open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday. DeLaMare’s Phase 2 webpage has the most up-to-date information with regard to Phase 2 policies and protocols. The first and second floors will be open to University affiliated users. The third and fourth floors of DeLaMare will be restricted to library staff only. The Makerspace will remain closed. The Ansari Map Library is closed for self-service, but materials are available through a library paging system. A limited number of computer workstations will be available for student use (10 computers) with strictly enforced distancing and sanitization procedures. All group study, conference and meeting areas will be closed.

How do I check out a book?

Beginning July 6th, books from the Knowledge Center and DeLaMare Library are available for checkout to students, staff, and faculty unless they are available full-text in Hathi Trust.

HathiTrust, a not-for-profit collaborative of academic and research libraries preserving 17+ million digitized items recently took an important step (at the onset of the pandemic in March) and opened up copyrighted material in their digital library to member institutions with copies of those items in their physical collections. The University Libraries at the University of Nevada, Reno is a member of HathiTrust. HathiTrust’s online collection contains more than half of the Libraries’ physical book collection.

HathiTrust offers reading access to the fullest extent allowable by U.S. copyright law, computational access to the entire corpus for scholarly research, and other emerging services based on the combined collection.

Search the Library Catalog or OneSearch and request the item(s) you’d like. First, click the title to get to the full record. Next, use the “Request this item” button at the top of the book record for items from the stacks. Then, use the “Request from MARS” button for MARS items. Finally, repeat for any additional items. We’ll pull them together in one place.

When the item(s) are ready users will receive an email notification that the item(s) is ready to be picked up. The Libraries ask users to kindly allow one business day for processing. For Knowledge Center items, the notification will include the locker location and locker combination to retrieve the item(s). Please bring this information when you come to retrieve materials. Users will need to come to the Knowledge Center lockers (1st floor alcove outside @One). Please retrieve items within three days of the notification or contact us if unable to come in. For books checked out at the DeLaMare and Savitt Libraries, users will go to the circulation desk to check out materials. Masks are required for all in-person book pick-ups.

The item(s) will already be checked out to the user. Items can be renewed online. Users can also see all items checked out, and verify due dates via My Account.

About the University Libraries

The University Libraries embrace intellectual inquiry and innovation, nurture the production of new knowledge, and foster excellence in learning, teaching and research. During each academic year, the Libraries welcomes more than 1.2 million visitors across its network of three branch libraries: the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library and the Savitt Medical Library. Visitors checked-out more than 80,000 items and completed more than 2 million database searches.