On March 12, 2020, Alana Nuth, the Library’s head of Collection Management reminded faculty that educational videos were available to stream from Films on Demand and Academic Video Online, which the Library subscribes to. Alana and Bill Jones, our Digital Systems & Electronic Resources Librarian, also fully switched our collections to be electronic or online-only.
The week of March 9, 2020 brought a flurry of messages from the President, Provost, HR, Campus Communications, CIT, and other offices, as well as the Governor, SUNY, and our unions. All led to the same eventuality—the campus would be transitioning to all-remote learning after the spring break, and students should plan on not being able to return to campus. Libraries started preparing for transition to electronic delivery, limiting collection access, services, and resources to be online-only. …
Growing concerns about COVID – messages from higher powersRead More »
Even as library staff were getting settled in Sturges, and students and faculty were getting used to the temporary library “situation” brought on by the discovery of asbestos in Milne, news of COVID-19 was catching the attention of the world—and the campus. By the beginning of March 2020, unprecedented shutdowns were taking place throughout the United States and the rest of the world and across all sectors of society, including academia.
On March 5, 2020, President Battles sent a message updating the campus community about preparations being made on campus, urging everyone “to remain calm as we learn more about the direction the outbreak is taking,” and stating that currently “all campus operations and events are proceeding as scheduled.” Still, Battles said, “Provost Stacey Robertson today sent a message to deans, directors, and department chairs with advice on academic contingency plans in the event of COVID-19 disrupting campus operations.”
