Amid the COVID pandemic, many accommodations and changes are being made on and off Stevenson University’s campus.

The library is also doing its part, though the “process” has changed. Here are some of the changes the Stevenson Library has instated to accommodate students and staff amid the COVID-19.

For starters, the Stevenson Library only allows 10 people inside the library at all times, including users of the library’s study rooms. The study rooms themselves look a little different due to COVID concerns, too, because they are set up for social distancing and only allow one user in at a time.

Students can still reserve time slots, but each individual room must be sterilized between uses. “This [new setup] is tentative and may change depending on how COVID regulations look in the upcoming future,” said Brianna Hughes, Stevenson Faculty Librarian for Outreach and Instruction.

Major changes have also been made to process the lending of books. Hughes explained that, for the most part, the library is not lending physical copies, though exceptions may be made to students who absolutely need them.

However, because there is no one way to effectively sanitize a book, these rarely checked-out texts are placed under quarantine for three days before they can be released to another person.

E-book lending is the primary process for checking out texts now. Hughes explained that students have a limited number of days to access a preferred text before it becomes restricted again.

The average time a student has with the book is about three weeks, with the option to renew available as long as someone is not on a waiting list.

“The University is looking to build its e-book collection due to higher demand,” Hughes added. All books are available through the online catalog online and can be checked out using one’s Stevenson ID and login.

Students can also chat online with librarians during the library’s hours of operation. “Students tell us how we can help them,” Hughes said of this feature. “They type in questions and get real time answers. Librarians also monitor their message boards outside of operation hours and we highly encourage students to post to those. We usually respond within a few hours.”

This feature can be accessed through the homepage at www.stevensonlibrary.org during the Stevenson Library’s hours of operation.

Additionally, other library resources are available 24/7, such as the “Leave a message for a librarian” aspect, and the research library capabilities, which can also be found on www.stevesonsonlibrary.org.