We seek transparency in our planning processes during this time of constant change. Our monthly blog updates will outline the latest news on UW Libraries reopening plans and resources each month. These monthly blog posts will also be posted on the Libraries COVID-19 update page ongoing.
Here’s the latest news for November:
Operations
UW Libraries remains in a Phase 2 operational plan, and we do not anticipate any changes to operations in the coming month in terms of access to public spaces, including special collections and study areas. Please see UW Libraries response to the Governor’s updated guidance on Libraries. The health and safety of our staff and users remain central to our planning, andour current approach is accurately reflected in the Libraries’ phased re-opening chart.
Curbside pick-up service is operating successfully across all three UW campuses, with more than 2,500 items processed just in the past month! Make a request to pick up books here.
Resources
New this quarter:
The Open Scholarship Commons launched in October, provides a suite of services, tools, workshops and more in service of knowledge creation and open scholarship. Through the OSC, faculty and students can access a wide range of support and explore digital scholarship tools for publishing, copyright, data management, data visualization and more.
Academic Video Online(database) — over 70,000 documentaries, educational videos, award-winning content from the BBC, CNN, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and more. Plenty of new content to use now, and over the Thanksgiving holiday!
Our Libraries Student FAQ and Teaching Support pages remain great resources for navigating online resources and support.
Libraries events, workshops and office hours provide connection, knowledge sharing, training and support for all UW community. Check out these upcoming November activities:
Please continue to share your questions and tell us how we can continue to support your teaching, learning and research needs. Our Libraries staff in Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell are here to help.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media to get the latest news on Libraries events and resources!
Stay healthy, huskies!
###
Stories
Labor Archives of Washington Spotlight: RIDGE Records Showcase Coalition-Building among Labor and Environmental Activists
November 5, 2020
“Save Roslyn RIDGE” postcard, RIDGE records, Accession No. 6295-001): A postcard from the RIDGE records Crystal Rodgers photographed during a visit to the archives.
This fall, I am working at the Labor Archives of Washington (LAW) in Special Collections at the University of Washington Libraries as their archivist-in-residence. Through a paid internship with Northwest Archivists, I have been processing the RIDGE records remotely from my home in Iowa. The newly-acquired collection documents land use activism in Kittitas County, WA. We selected this collection for processing because of its unique relationship to Washington State’s labor history. I was really drawn to working on this collection because of RIDGE’s model of coalition activism that united many different groups under the same banner: protecting land from development and over-extraction. We are excited to launch the updated collection here, in the RIDGE Records finding aid (Finding aids are research guides to archival collections).
About RIDGE and the RIDGE Records
RIDGE was a community organization formed in Roslyn, Washington in 1988 that engaged in activism centered on forestry and land use issues in Upper Kittitas County, Washington. Community members were concerned about the negative effects development and logging in the area would have on both the environment and economy. The group formally organized shortly before Plum Creek Timber Company (now Weyerhaeuser) announced plans to log approximately 15,000 acres of timber near Roslyn. Many residents in Roslyn were already familiar with the boom and bust cycle of extractive industries in small towns– Roslyn was a mining town that was hit hard when their last mine closed in 1963.
RIDGE’s efforts to support a sustainable economy and ecology in Upper Kittitas County took many forms. They participated in sustainable forestry groups and coalitions in Washington State, advocated for more protective zoning for forest lands, and fought to block the development of what is now the Suncadia Resort. RIDGE used strategies such as land use mapping, litigation, working with local and state government, and community meetings to fortify support and build their coalition. Once it was evident Suncadia was going to be built despite efforts to block the development, the coalition fought for and obtained a pledge for employing union workers in its construction– an important aspect of how the building trades were involved in RIDGE.
RIDGE’s most well-known project is perhaps their long legal battle with Suncadia Resort. RIDGE and the resort owners signed a Settlement Agreement in 2001 to mitigate the impact of the resort on the town of Roslyn and the surrounding environment– with several amendments added throughout the years for additional protections. However, the resort owners (which changed hands several times during the building of Suncadia) sought to dissolve the resolution in the courts and eventually succeeded. RIDGE dissolved in 2014 following the termination of the Settlement Agreement in 2013.
Records in the collection include litigation material related to the development of the Suncadia Resort, RIDGE office files, newspaper clippings documenting RIDGE’s projects and activism, land use maps, and RIDGE promotional material, such as pamphlets and newsletters. This collection is of high anticipated research value because of RIDGE’s coalition model of activism and the relative modernity of the collection– they were active into the 2010s! Students, faculty, researchers and organizers can use the primary sources in the collection to learn about topics related to land use, sustainable forestry, environmentalism, and labor union coalition-building.
RIDGE’s Connection to Labor
RIDGE brochure, RIDGE records, Accession No. 6295-001): A brochure from the RIDGE records Crystal Rodgers photographed during a visit to the archives. The image features RIDGE’s “sustainable ecology, sustainable economy” logo.
RIDGE’s connection to labor organizing is unique among other environmental groups of the time. Their alignment with the labor movement not only happened in practice through negotiating for union contracts, but through their philosophical positions. RIDGE challenged the notion that extractive economy workers and environmentalists have competing interests, and instead sought to harmonize the need for a sustainable forest economy among workers and those concerned with the environment. RIDGE’s motto, “Sustainable Ecology, Sustainable Economy”, is featured on material throughout the collection, including this pamphlet from RIDGE’s early years.
RIDGE challenged the notion that extractive economy workers and environmentalists have competing interests, and instead sought to harmonize the need for a sustainable forest economy among workers and those concerned with the environment.
The organization’s leaders also had strong ties with the labor movement. Doug Kilgore is connected to the labor movement in Washington State (he played a large role in brokering the involvement of labor groups), and Ellie Belew researched and authored several books in collaboration with labor unions and labor activists. We were fortunate enough to work with both Doug and Ellie during processing of the RIDGE collection! This was especially helpful because most of this work was done remotely, and access to the physical material was very limited due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Next Steps for the Collection
When staff members are able to safely return to work in the archives, the RIDGE records will receive more attention. They will be physically arranged to reflect the new series and subseries arrangement in the updated collection inventory of the finding aid, and some additional preservation concerns will be addressed, including better storage for the oversized maps and migrating and describing digital files stored on cd-roms that remain unprocessed. All of this work means increased access and longevity of these materials for use by future generations!
Once public operations resume, researchers can access these materials in the Special Collections Research Room located in the Allen Library South Basement. You can learn more about using the collections, including how to prepare for your research visit, on the Special Collections webpage.
About the Partnership
My position is funded as an “archivist in residence”, sponsored by the Northwest Archivists, a professional organization for archival workers in the Pacific Northwest that offers a paid internship for the applicant who jointly proposes a project with a sponsoring organization. The program is designed to offer early-career professionals a paid opportunity, tailored to their interests, while also working towards the long-term goal of eliminating unpaid work within the archival profession.
Given LAW’s strong commitment to ethical labor practices, we decided to collaborate on a project proposal for the pilot program, and we were very fortunate to have our proposal selected! In short, archival processing consists of tasks that help prepare the material in the collection for use by the public– including organizing the collection and creating descriptions. Though the collection was re-housed for long-term preservation in acid free folders and boxes and briefly described after donation to the Labor Archives in 2019, more processing was needed to make the collection more accessible to researchers. We selected RIDGE because of the size and scale of the project, but also because of the collections contents, and its relevance to current events and impact in the Pacific Northwest.
About the Author:
Abbey Maynard
Abbey Maynard (she/her) is a 2020 graduate from the University of Washington’s Masters of Library and Information Science program. She is Northwest Archivist’s 2020 Archivist-in-Residence at the Labor Archives of Washington. Abbey lives in Des Moines, Iowa.
###
Stories
The New Virtual Open Scholarship Commons
October 21, 2020
Screenshot of “Welcome to the Long Shadows of Seattle,” a podcast project exploring Seattle’s history of racial justice and political activism, supported by Libraries staff. OSC staff can help users find the right tools and support to effectively share stories waiting to be told within Libraries collections.
Research in the 21st century is based on interdisciplinary connections and relies on technology to create and share for the public good. We know that it can be challenging for students and faculty to connect across disciplines, access technology, learn relevant skills, and share research openly. We are excited to bring together a suite of services to more equitably support this work in the virtual Open Scholarship Commons (OSC). The OSC will provide a hub for cross-disciplinary knowledge creation and dissemination– supporting you in using digital tools to openly share your research and safely integrating new digital pedagogy techniques into your classroom.
The OSC will provide a hub for cross-disciplinary knowledge creation and dissemination–
use geospatial tools to create maps relating to your research;
integrate digital tools or methods into a classroom setting;
navigate rights for your own publications, your thesis and dissertation, or your born-digital work.
Screenshot of The Mill on the Floss, a digital edition created by students in English 440/529, hosted on Manifold. OSC staff can provide workshops and consultations to help develop projects like this.
This space will continue to grow and evolve throughout the coming year with the addition of campus partners joining us in the virtual space. We will modify services based on your feedback from OSC consultations, workshops, and events. Through participation, you will help shape the future of this virtual space that will eventually evolve into a new physical space within the Libraries when it is safe to be together again on campus.
We encourage you to explore OSC services and upcoming events on our website, including our OSC project page with many examples of how the OSC team is supporting open digital scholarship projects across UW. You’re helping create the OSC by using it!
graphic representing a web site accessibility checklist. Source:juiceboxinteractive
When UW Libraries buildings were closed at the start of the pandemic, our teams needed to respond quickly to adapt work for many employees whose jobs do not easily lend themselves to telework by identifying projects that could be completed remotely. At the start of the pandemic, we had multiple accessibility projects underway, but given the time-intensive nature of the work, progress was slow. With the increased availability of staff and student employees, there was an opportunity to tackle some of these accessibility projects, and we have made great progress since the spring. We developed workflows for efficiently testing our databases for accessibility, implemented PDF remediations of files on our websites and collections repositories, and created quality closed captions for the Libraries’ media collections.
Keyboard Navigation Testing
We started a pilot project in 2019 to do keyboard navigation testing of our subscribed third-party resources. We wanted to improve the accessibility of our subscribed electronic resources. Keyboard navigation testing would be a quick way to find the resources that are the least accessible. If a website is not keyboard navigable, it is nearly impossible to use with assistive technology. The pilot showed that the work was worth doing but would need more staff time than we had available to test the whole collection. When the shutdown occurred and student employees were unable to do their regular work, we quickly developed a training procedure so student employees could learn how to do the testing.
“After just nine weeks, we tested 555 resources, 86% of the total.”
After just nine weeks, we tested 555 resources, 86% of the total.
Surprisingly, 88% of the resources passed keyboard navigation testing. This is a higher percentage than we had been expecting; a more comprehensive accessibility review would surely result in a higher rate of failure. The remaining 66 resources failed our keyboard navigation testing. This means, 66 resources are basically unusable for many people with disabilities. These are the resources we will be prioritizing for improvement.
Now, we will enter phase two; working with our providers and vendors to improve accessibility of their products. We will identify and inform them of issues and request that improvements be made as part of new licensing contracts and renewals.
The third phase will proceed if the provider vendor is receptive. Not all providers will have the development resources to improve their products. On the other hand, some other vendors may simply be unaware of the issues and will be eager to improve their product. Not every company has accessibility experts on their staff. We can help them by pointing out what isn’t working and what we need. Ideally, we can work together on a timeline for improvements. At that time, depending on staffing and interest from the vendor, we can do a more comprehensive analysis of all accessibility issues that we can find beyond the basic keyboard accessibility. Building good working relationships is essential for this phase.
PDF Accessibility
Image source: 3PlayMedia
Academic libraries produce a lot of PDF files because they are an easy way to deliver digital versions of archival documents like newspapers, magazines, and other historical text. Libraries have been producing PDF versions of these documents for several decades now.
PDF files are great in that they provide access to items in our collections to folks all over the world, including those with disabilities. However, assistive technology such as screen readers and applications that can read text out loud can only do so much. Without proper remediation, access to a file isn’t very helpful if the assistive technology can’t efficiently interact with the file.
There is a significant number of legacy PDFs within the Libraries records, so we needed to prioritize our work. what we could work on. We ended up pulling 650 files from our library guides, and another 4,800 files from various special collections based on highest usage.
The remediation team consisted of four staff members and three student employees from the Seattle and Bothell campuses who volunteered to work on the project. About half the team had some experience in PDF remediation, while the other half had none. We created a training program for those less experienced to ensure everyone had the same basic skill level in the remediation process.
The team held weekly online meetings to go over any issues, observed demonstrations using assistive technology, and shared solutions we came up with for particularly tricky documents. We engaged a few outside PDF remediation experts from UW IT that were extremely helpful in providing troubleshooting tips that became part of our process guide.
The team spent a combined 600 hours on this project resulting in the remediation of 300 documents. We also identified 500 files for removal and replacement altogether within our library guides, and deferred another 200. Reasons for deferral included document language, page length, complicated image (map), or complex tables.
Moving forward, In the end we would like to reduce our PDF footprint wherever possible, since not all PDFs need to be PDFs. These files will be eventually converted into HTML or deleted entirely if the information they provide is no longer relevant.
Captioning Videos
The third project focused on captioning of videos from the Libraries’ Moving Image Collection that are available through CONTENTdm. There are currently hundreds of videos available in CONTENTdm, representing years of digitization efforts – and hours of materials that need to be made accessible. Adding closed captions to video content provides a wide range of benefits, for example, making content useful to users who have hearing loss, users who have trouble following spoken English dialog as well as users who simply are accessing materials in a situation where they have their sound off.
For the creation of the captions, we decided to take a hybrid approach of automated captioning to establish baseline transcripts and text timing, followed by several passes of proofreading. For this automated component, we decided to leverage the Microsoft Stream application which was already available through our University Office 365 accounts. MS Stream both functions as a platform for sharing media content among teams, as well as includes automated captioning capabilities, and thus was well suited for our work in a remote environment. Once the viability of the tool was established, Jesse Stanley, UW Libraries Preservation Supervisor, built a full workflow document to facilitate training and tracking the progress of student employees. In order to provide the highest possible results, the proofreaders are asked to start with the automated transcripts and then focus on specific tasks for each pass they give the captions – first correcting textual mistakes, then adding descriptions of sounds (such as music) and lastly, fixing timing errors.
Captioning is still an ongoing project, and to date over 70 videos have been completed and are now available in a more accessible format. Additionally, the workflow created within the Preservation department has been applied by individual curators to successfully caption videos in response to individual user requests. There is still a great deal of work to do, particularly due to the time-intensive nature of the process, but this captioning pilot has served as an important first step for increasing the accessibility of our time based media collections.
Together, these three projects implemented during the peak of the pandemic represented how quickly Libraries staff could adapt to our “new normal,” finding ways to engage student and staff workers across units with meaningful remote work, and most importantly, significantly improve the accessibility of hundreds of Libraries resources.
“…most importantly, (these projects) significantly improved the accessibility of hundreds of Libraries resources.
While these projects helped to clear some of the backlog of accessibility work we aspire to do, there is still more to be done. Accessibility of electronic resources has been built into the procurement process. We have included accessibility language in our license agreements and test new resources while we have trial access. We continue to remediate PDF documents. We have given emphasis to projects being “born accessible” — creating documents with accessibility built-in. We provide an ongoing series of staff trainings on how to accomplish this. Captioning work is ongoing, and has expanded to include items on the Libraries’ Internet Archive page. Additionally, plans are being made to integrate the captioning workflow in future audiovisual digitization projects thus ensuring that accessibility work and preservation work are coordinated and aligned.
###
Stories
International Open Access Week 2020
October 19, 2020
International Open Access Week (October 19-25) is a coordinated annual effort by scholarly communities across the world to celebrate both our achievements and aspirations in making “openness” the default for research and ensuring that equity is at the center of this work. This year’s theme, Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion, is especially relevant as the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of barrier-free access to trustworthy information and laid bare the inequities in our abilities to benefit from it.
The highlight of Open Access Week at UW this year is the virtual launch of the Libraries’ new Open Scholarship Commons (OSC) on Wednesday, October 21st. The OSC will serve as a hub, bringing together expertise and digital tools to help students and faculty openly share their research and safely integrate new tools and techniques into the classroom. Follow UW Libraries social media to see the official launch announcement on Wednesday to learn more about the exciting services and programs that the OSC will be offering.
We also have a series of online events planned for Open Access Week and the rest of autumn quarter. More complete description and registration information is available on the Libraries Hacking the Academy webpage. All require advance registration.
Open Democracy
Tuesday, October 20th 3:00-4:00pm
Register in advance (registration closes Oct. 19th)
Join us in celebrating Open Access Week with our panel on “Open Democracy”. This year’s Open Access Week theme, “Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion” asks us to reflect on building equitable systems of sharing knowledge. In this panel session, we reflect on how we can build equitable systems of knowledge sharing to further democratic processes.
Introduction to ResearchWorks Thursday, October 22nd, 2:00-3:30 Register online
ResearchWorks is the University of Washington Libraries’ Institutional Repository, which is used to house theses, dissertations, articles, data, and other digital materials that are created by UW faculty and researchers. This workshop will explain what ResearchWorks can be used for, how to deposit your materials, and how using ResearchWorks for manuscripts and data can meet publishing requirements by funders and publishers. A demonstration will be included, and there will be time for questions.
UW Theses and Dissertations Tuesday, October 27th 2:00-3:00pm Register online
For many students, the thesis or dissertation represents one of their first forays into publicly disseminating the products of their scholarship. This workshop will help students think through their options for how and when to share their work, including the copyright and publishing considerations they may need to take into account.
Supporting First Generation College Students Online Tuesday, November 10th 1:00-2:00pm Register in advance (registration closes Nov. 9th)
The shift to online instruction and support has been a transition for all of us but can be particularly challenging for students that are the first in their family to attend college. This panel will discuss what supports are in place for first generation college students, the strengths first-generation students bring to the classroom, and how staff and faculty can support students in the classroom and beyond.
Create the World’s Fastest Book: Manifold Workshop
Wednesday, November 18th 1:30-3:00pm
Register in advance (registration closes Nov. 17th)
Learn how to create the world’s fastest book using the Manifold digital book publishing platform. During this workshop, we’ll introduce you to the Manifold platform. Attendees will come away from this workshop with a public domain text of your choice loaded into Manifold. We’ll also explore Manifold’s annotation capabilities and opportunities for integrating multimedia into your text. This workshop is available to current UW students, faculty and staff only.
###
Stories
Labor Archives of Washington Spotlight: Creating Bilingual Access to Collections Documenting the Latinx Experience
October 16, 2020
This summer, the Labor Archives of Washington (LAW) within the UW Libraries Special Collections, was lucky enough to have Diana Rocha, MLIS student from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, complete their final semester practicum with us. Working remotely, Diana enhanced access to several important collections documenting the histories of the Latinx community in Washington. These collections are of great significance for academic research at the UW and beyond. Students and faculty, historians, journalists and other researchers can use these primary sources to better understand topics such as Latinx history in Washington State, labor organizing, activism, non-profit work, and immigrant rights.
CASA Latina records
CASA Latina flyer for labor dispatch hall and house cleaning hiring services (CASA Latina records, Accession No. 5975-001)
The CASA Latina records document the founding and early history of the Seattle-based worker center and Latinx and immigrant worker advocacy non-profit organization, CASA Latina. Founded in 1994, CASA Latina now runs a labor dispatch hall and offers training programs such as ESL classes, job skills and safety trainings, and community organizing in Seattle’s Central District. The collection includes paper and digital records related to the history, governance, founding, funding, finances, operations, and programs of CASA Latina as well as newsletters, flyers, photographs, and digital captures of the organization’s website.
Diana worked to enhance the description of the collection in the online finding aid published in the Archives West finding aid database. Finding aids are research guides to archival collections which include records of organizations and papers of individuals and families, that provide information about the collection contents, how to access and use the materials, and historical background about who created or compiled the collection. Part of Diana’s work enhancing the finding aid included creating series and subseries for the inventory of collection contents, making the finding aid easier to navigate for researchers. Diana also translated the entire guide into Spanish, including the biographical information about CASA Latina and the scope and content note which describes the material types one will find and the subject matter covered by the collection. This is the LAW’s second bilingual finding aid. To learn more about the CASA Latina records, you can view the bilingual finding aid here!
CASA Latina brochure (CASA Latina records, Accession No. 5975-001)
Farmworker History
In addition to their work on CASA Latina, Diana also translated oral history interviews with Washington farmworker organizer Rosalinda Guillén and former United Farmworkers of Washington President Julio Romero (stay tuned for digital access to these interviews). Also accessible for research are the papers of Rosalinda Guillén and Joseph Moore, a collection that documents their work as labor organizers, including their roles in the successful organizing campaign to unionize farm workers at Chateau Ste. Michelle (Washington’s largest winery) in the 1990s. This finding aid was translated into Spanish in 2015 and is the first translated finding aid of the LAW’s bilingual finding aid program. In 2015, the LAW also created an online bilingual exhibit in both English and Tagalog on Filipino American author, poet, and farm worker organizer Carlos Bulosan.
Enhancing Equitable Access to Our Collections
One of the Libraries Strategic Directions is to enhance equitable access for research, learning, and working. If we bring in a collection from a community, it is critical that community members can access their own historical records, especially for non-white, non-English speaking or working class communities that have been historically underrepresented in special collections and archives. LAW’s program of translating access tools for collections like CASA Latina documenting the histories of communities where English is not the primary language, are an important part of providing equitable access to our resources. Similarly, LAW provides the option for non-English speaking oral history interviewees to be interviewed in their primary language whenever possible. Transcriptions are then created in the original language of the interview before being translated into English.
Once public operations resume, researchers can access these materials in the Special Collections Research Room located in the Allen Library South Basement. You can learn more about using the collections, including how to prepare for your research visit, on the Special Collections webpage.
Finally, a big thanks to Diana Rocha for their excellent work in enhancing access to these collections and helping move us forward in our endeavor to be a more equitable Libraries for our researchers!
Additional Resources:
For more on the history of farmworkers in Washington State, view a recording of the 2016 Labor Archives’ Annual Event which featured Guillén and Romero as speakers.
UW Libraries Response to New WA State Guidance for Libraries
October 9, 2020
The UW Libraries Cabinet has reviewed our current plan for phased re-opening, and have decided to maintain our approach at this time. Based on the protocols outlined within University of Washington COVID-19 Safe Start Phases, Libraries spaces will remain closed to the public during Phase 2. Per our current plan, limited study spaces will be opening up in Phase 3. As always, the health and safety of our UW community remains at the center of our planning decisions.
Though the Governor’s recent guidance permits libraries to open facilities for limited in-person services, that guidance also encourages libraries to facilitate services through no contact pick-up to limit interaction between staff and patrons within enclosed space. Further, the statement generally discouraged libraries from allowing the use of group meeting or study spaces by patrons.
The UW Libraries Leadership will continue to monitor new information, guidance, and recommendations and incorporate this into our planning. Any changes to our current plan will be communicated on our COVID-19 update pages and announced as soon as there is a change.
Betsy Wilson
Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of University Libraries
Stories
UW Libraries Launches No Contact Pick-Up Service
October 7, 2020
UW Libraries is pleased to announce the launch of no-contact pick-up service– now available on all three campuses– Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma! The health and safety of our UW community has been our number one priority in planning for this new service. Anyone with an active UW Libraries borrowers card or current UW student, staff and faculty can request materials. Before you request an item for pick-up, there are a few things you need to know to ensure a safe and hassle-free transaction.
1.Search and Find: Log in and search to find your item in UW Libraries Search (standard process). You must log in via the green tab FIRST before making a request for pick-up.
2. Make Your Request (standard process). If an item can be requested, you will see a “Request” button in the record for the item. Select the “Request” button to initiate a pick-up and choose your preferred location.
If you do not see the purple request button, the item is not available to request for a variety of reasons (see below)*.
Delivery to campus mailboxes is not available at this time since some mailboxes are not accessible.
3. Wait: It may take a week or more to prepare your item for pick-up, depending on its location, destination and staff availability. Thank you for your patience. To check the status of your holds at any time, log in to your Library Account.
4. Get notice and follow instructions:
The Libraries will send you an email with specific instructions for pick-up when your item is ready.
If you have any questions, please reply to your email notification.
Requested materials will be held for 14 days after they arrive on the hold shelf.
TIMES/LOCATIONS: Pick-up days and times will be limited to start, and expanded over time. Pick-up instructions and requirements may change/vary by campus. Be sure to check your campus Library web site FIRST for current information.
PICK-UP TIMES: Pre-scheduled pick-up appointments must be scheduled online.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Pick-up instructions and requirements may change/vary by campus. Be sure to follow the instructions in your email and check your campus Library web site for current information. Generally, the following requirements apply for all pick-up locations:
Bring a cell phone to call when you arrive. If you do not have access to a phone, follow the procedures listed on the website for your pick-up location.
Wear a mask or other face covering when you pick-up items.
Leave 6 feet of distance between yourself and others who are waiting in line.
Be prepared to verify your identification over the phone by providing your name, school ID number or Libraries card barcode, and a piece of contact information (e.g. phone number). This is how staff will check materials out to you.
Remain behind the designated marker and wait for your item(s) to be delivered to the cart/table.
After the staff member has delivered your items to the cart and returned to the building, you may approach the shelf/cart and pick-up your items.
In order to prioritize health and safety, please avoid face-to-face conversations with libraries staff. If you have questions after you pick-up your items, please refer to instructions listed on the website for your campus Library/pick-up location.
We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we launch this new service. Updates to the Libraries phased re-opening plans are always posted on the Libraries COVID Update page and shared on social media as planning evolves including these helpful links:
*Here are some reasons you might not see a request button:
You haven’t logged in to the UW Libraries Search through the green bar. That is a necessary step even if you think you’re already logged in with your UW NetID. The green bar will disappear after you’re logged in and the request link will appear for books that can be requested.
Books at Summit libraries are not available for requesting.
The book is labeled “library use only”.
Items are rare or fragile items that cannot be checked out.
The item is part of the HathiTrustAccess Service (ETAS), providing access to over 1.7 million books in our collection for which we would normally not have online access because of copyright. In order to comply with the ETAS rules, we cannot allow print items that are available in this online collection to circulate. HathiTrust ETAS provides crucial access to our many students who are learning remotely and not in proximity to our physical libraries.
###
Stories
How WordPress Templates Can Transform Your Online Teaching This Fall!
October 2, 2020
Calling all instructors! Are you looking for opportunities to teach digital and public scholarship skills in your classroom? Are you looking for alternatives to the traditional research paper? We’ve got you covered with WordPress site templates! WordPress templates are simple to set up and can be as easy to use as filling out a simple form. Templates (with examples from other institutions) include:
Tru Collector, which collects student images and descriptions through a form submission and compiles them into a WordPress site. See Animal Body Plans and Online Ecosystem Maps as examples.
Tru Writer, which collects short student essays through a form submission and compiles them into a WordPress site for ease of reading. See the Community Performance Toolbox and Into the Pulterverse as examples.
Big Picture Calling Card, this template is perfect for image-focused sites with a text teaser that links to more information. See Just Lego 101 as an example.
Get Access and Help Using These Templates:
These templates are part of the Libraries’ three year digital scholarship infrastructure pilot. We are currently in year one of the pilot right now. Our Digital Scholarship Team is excited to work with you to reimagine your course to include these tools! Please contact us today for more information or to get set up with one of these templates.
On behalf of UW Libraries–16 libraries across 3 campuses—a warm welcome to all new and returning students, faculty and staff. The start of the fall quarter always feels like a jumping off point – a time to learn new things, make new connections and refocus. The current remote learning circumstances are creating more opportunity for academic communities to adapt and learn differently. All of UW Libraries staff are actively building on our robust online capabilities to maximize support for teaching, learning and research. Our staff have adapted, increased e-resources, and are continuing to help you navigate and plan for a successful, Safe Start to fall quarter. Curbside-pick up services will be the next service available, and this updateoutlines the next steps of the process. The following highlights all of the new and existing resources you can expect from the Libraries:
For students: Everything you need to know about UW Libraries plans and available resources is in our Student FAQ for Fall;
For faculty:
A new Teaching Support “hub” on our web site provides centralized resources for instruction support.
Since March, UW Libraries has purchased more than 250,000 additional electronic resources and through the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service, made an additional 1.7 million electronic resources from our print collections available to you from any location.
A new virtual Media Arcade provides access to more software aps, tools, online tutorials and online help with audio, video, graphic design projects and related technical needs.
Libraries events, workshops and trainings online engage the UW community across disciplines, and prepare students through events like the GSRI and fall orientation DawgDaze events.
Research and writing consultations continue online through the Odegaard Writing and Research Center, providing personalized support for all students.
Graduate student services continue remotely with the Research Commons including online consults for graduate funding information.
The Special Collections team is working remotely to help users navigate our extensive digital collections and create high quality digital exhibits to enhance historical and cultural learning in class and for our community.
Interlibrary loan continues to fill requests for scans of articles and book chapters from e-collections and through other Libraries.
UW Libraries staff are always here to answer questions via 24/7 chat services, Zoom consults, and email – just ASK US!
Your subject Librarians provide expert advice and support relevant to your area of study
All information and resources are available on our web site, and the latest updates on services are always posted on our COVID-19 update page.
The health and safety of our users and staff continue to guide our planning. Our phased reopening plan remains unchanged at this time. As health conditions and guidance change, we will expand access and services as soon as it is feasible to do so safely. As noted in the Libraries phased re-opening chart, we plan to open limited spaces for student study in Phase 3, and we will update and share our plans as they evolve and change.
This fall, students, faculty and staff will continue to adapt and improve our collective resources and capacity for online and hybrid learning. We are working together to make this quarter and this year the best it can be in these challenging times. We appreciate your patience and welcome your questions, suggestions and concerns to help us better support you.
