All timeline stories.
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.
Two additional open forums were held by the Library in conjunction with Campus Auxiliary Services and the campus administration to gather input from students on a proposed Library move to Fraser Hall. Stakeholders wanted to hear what sorts of seating options and supplemental services students hoped to see in a long-term temporary library space in Fraser 203.
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.”
Additional open forums focused specifically on the Library took place at the end of February and in early March. Corey Ha, Alana Nuth, and Daniel Ross fielded questions about the state of library services in the wake of the Library’s move to Sturges.
With rising concerns about a number of different campus issues at the start of the Spring 2020 semester, SUNY Geneseo Administration held an open forum to hear concerns from students. The Library was represented by Alana Nuth, Milne’s Head of Collection Management.
Library staff put together a breakfast and dinner celebration for members of Facilities Services for their tireless, round-the-clock efforts to prepare Sturges Hall for the library’s emergency move. Letters of gratitude were also handed out to members of the Facilities Services team.
By the first day of the semester, nearly all library services were operational, and library staff members were moved into their new Sturges offices. While the closure of Milne was deeply upsetting to students, faculty, and staff across the campus, resuming operations in such a short period of time was the result of a truly immense amount of time and effort by library staff, Facilities Services, state contractors, and the campus administration.
Facilities delivered the entirety of the Library’s Reserve Collection (approximately 1,000 books), with the goal of having materials ready for checkout by the first day of classes. This collection was among the highest priority of items to be retrieved from the Library, as this relatively small collection regularly accounted for more than 50% of all physically circulated items.
Less than two weeks after the initial evacuation of Milne, library staff moved into the Sturges office suite to begin preparations for the start of the Spring 2020 semester.
