The Main Library is Closed.
After moving library servers back to the Main Library, they are now up and functioning. Online services should be back to normal operating levels.
Retrieving Teaching/Research Materials from Main Library – UPDATED
Since the Main Library will be closed longer than previously hoped, we are setting up a process for library staff to go into Main Library once a day, Monday-Friday, to retrieve teaching/research materials.
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Print materials – please use the delivery service request form (http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/forms/deliveryrequest.html).
Media materials – please contact Media Services staff by emailing lib-media-services@uiowa.edu or calling 335-5944.
In both cases, please provide as much information as possible about your needs – class date, best location for delivery, whether the materials should also be placed on Reserve, etc.
We are being allowed into Main Library for only 30 minutes each day, and are not able using the building elevators, so will need to prioritize requests in order to best meet the needs of as many of our users as possible.
If you have questions, please contact Library Circulation staff at lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu or (319) 335-5912.
Wet, Muddy, Damaged Library Books?
If you have library books that were damaged in flooding, there are several options for returning them the UI Libraries.
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DRY/UNDAMAGED BOOKS — return to Hardin or one of the branch libraries or wait until the Main Library is open.
SLIGHTLY WET/DAMP BUT NOT MUDDY — wrap in wax paper and put in your freezer. Contact Main Library Circulation lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5912. We will coordinate the retrieval of the damaged materials.
MUDDY/ICKY BOOKS and live in the Iowa City area — rinse as best you can, put in freezer bag and freeze. Wear gloves when handling books to protect yourself. Contact Main Library Circulation lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5912. We will coordinate the retrieval of the damaged materials.
BOOKS TOSSED/LOST DURING RECOVERY EFFORTS OF HOME — contact Main Library Circulation lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5912. Staff will retrieve title information and start the replacement process.
The Libraries Damaged Library Materials Policy states “When a fire, flood, or some other event, beyond the control of the user, causes damage to library materials, the Libraries’ response will vary depending on the individual situation. If the user has access to property insurance, the library will charge the user the cost of repair or replacement and provide them with a price estimate statement for the insurance company. If the user has no insurance, the library will not charge for replacement of the damaged materials. However, library staff can consider fines and/or additional damage in determining whether to charge users beyond the basic cost of repair or replacement.”
Flood Recovery Health Information
Librarians at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences have compiled links to important health information in an online resource guide.
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http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/floodrecovery
For other health information related questions, please Ask a Librarian.
Voss Receives Scholarship
Eric (Bill) Voss, library assistant in the University of Iowa Libraries Preservation Department, has received a $500 scholarship from The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC).
Voss will use the scholarships for a class on the “Care of Oversize Paper Artifacts” at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies. As part of his application, Voss noted that “our library collections contain a great many oversized paper artifacts. This course will improve the skills necessary for my work as a Preservation Assistant in the care and handling and treatment of physical artifacts.”
The Campbell Center, located in Mt. Carroll, Illinois, offers courses in Historic Preservation, Collections Care and Conservation Refresher courses.
Overdue Fines during Flood Recovery
All fines will be forgiven while the UI Libraries are in flood-response mode. Once library services return to some semblance of normal we will provide a brief grace period before re-instituting our regular fine policies.
Grad Student Books Renewed Automatically
All the materials that were due June 25, 2008 have been automatically renewed through January 28, 2009.
Graduate students can review their list of checked out materials through My Account in InfoHawk and contact library staff at lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu if you have any questions.
You are welcome to return any books or other checked out materials to Hardin Library for the Health Sciences or any of the other branch libraries on campus.
Main Library Flood Update – June 26
The Main Library is currently closed.
Before the Main Library can be re-opened there are several critical steps that must be completed.
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The remaining muck left by floodwaters that entered the lower level must be cleaned. And a visual inspection of this work must be approved.
The fire safety panel that was removed during the evacuation must be re-installed and operational.
Environmental safety engineers will take air samples throughout the Main Library building with extra concentration of samples from the lower level. These air samples will be sent to the lab for analysis.
Once the environmental quality assessment is a complete, a team consisting of people from UI Police/Public Safety, Facilities Management, ITS and Risk Management will collectively make the decision for re-occupancy.
Until that time, Libraries staff is working to provide the best services possible. Since the length of time before we are able re-occupy the Main Library has extended, Libraries IT staff has reinstalled critical interlibrary loan servers which will facilitate online requesting, processing and receiving of materials that may be housed (and currently inaccessible) in the Main, Art and Music libraries.
Hours at some of the branch libraries have been extended to provide students with quiet study space during the summer session. If you received a notice of materials being held for you at the Main Library prior to June 13, those materials are available at the Lichtenberger Engineering Library.
We will continue to update this website with information as it becomes available.
Main Library Flood Update – June 23
The Main Library is currently closed.
Re-opening the Main Library has been a priority for Facilities Management. Sandbags were removed, and crews have been working to remove floodwater and clean the resulting “muck” from the lower level. A fire panel that had been removed in the flood evacuation must be re-installed and the air quality must be tested before the building is approved for occupancy.
Once the Main Library is accessible to library staff, we will begin returning materials to the lower level storage areas. Currently the third floor is impassable because of stacks of boxes, and the second floor reading rooms are filled with stacks of books on the tables and floor.
Meanwhile Main Library staff who have been temporarily relocated to other libraries on campus, are working to resume library services as best as possible. No library staff are allowed in the building currently (except to check building conditions). Most of our online resources are still available and any materials needed for teaching and research that are currently located in the Main, Art or Music libraries can be requested through Interlibrary Loan. See previous entry for contact information.
We hope to return to the Main Library very soon and will continue to update this site with news and information.
Holds, Recalls and Reserves at Engineering
While the Main Library is closed, we have made temporary arrangements for holds, recalls and reserve materials.
If you received notice before Friday, June 13 that materials were on hold or had been recalled from another user for you, those materials were moved to the Lichtenberger Engineering Library in the Seamans Center.
Course Reserve materials were also moved to the Engineering Library.
If you have questions about these types of materials, please contact the Main Library Circulation at lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu or the Main Library Course Reserves at lib-res@uiowa.edu.