How the Library is Responding to COVID-19

We appreciate that anxieties are running high about COVID-19; below are some details about how the Medical Library and our department Learning Resources are responding. If you have questions or concerns, please contact library director Rachel Walden at waldenrr@etsu.edu. For the most up-to-date information from ETSU on COVID-19, please see https://www.etsu.edu/coronavirus/.

Steps the Library has Taken:

***Update 7/9: See this page for information on the library building's phased reopening, beginning July 13.

***Update 5/1 regarding library due dates: ETSU students enrolled for Summer or Fall 2020 will have the due date on checked out library materials extended to 7/15/20. This includes interlibrary loan items. ETSU employees will also have due dates extended to 7/15 unless contacted by the library to resolve special cases. This applies to items checked out from both the Medical and Sherrod Libraries.

***Major Update 3/23: The building is closed, but Learning Resources services are still open online! Effective 3/23 the Medical Library building is closed as ETSU has moved to online instruction and work from home. There will be no library or basement card swipe access to visitors until further notice. Services will still be provided as described in our prior updates below, but key items are:

Medical Library help with searches, instruction, resources, medical evidence, or other needs: email medref@etsu.edu
Assistance moving your course online: email Matthew Carroll at carrollmo@etsu.edu
Academic support (for students): email Dr. Daniels at danielsj@etsu.edu to arrange a consultation
Design, print, or production services from Biomedical Communication: email Jill Fair at fair@etsu.edu or order online at bmccreative.org
Faculty and staff needing articles via Document Delivery can email quillenill@etsu.edu (Kelly Loyd at loydk@etsu.edu is your contact person)
Departments needing to add content to websites: contact Sylvester Renner at rennersk@etsu.edu

For other questions and concerns, contact Associate Dean and library director Rachel Walden at waldenrr@etsu.edu.

***Major Update 3/16: Effective immediately, we will be limiting access to the medical library to only those who have card swipe access to the basement. The basement will be the only floor accessible to visitors; staff will be working on the first and second floors and the front doors will be locked. This is in effect 24/7 and we will revisit each week as we receive feedback and the situation shifts.

A couple of things have contributed to this decision: the desire to protect our students who use the library by minimizing extra visitors, and the move to online learning causing us to be short-staffed without the 20+ student workers who help us staff the service desk. We are making this change in cooperation with the Sherrod Library who also has plans to limit visitor access to the first floor of their facility.

A few specifics you may need to know:

We are trying to strike the right balance between safety and mission – if you have any concerns, questions, complaints, suggestions, etc., please send them directly to waldenrr@etsu.edu
If you need help with a search, training, library resource access, or other items, please direct your message to medref@etsu.edu – this email box is monitored by librarians Monday through Friday during normal business hours.
If you do not have a working ETSU ID badge with a swipe strip on it you will need one for library access. If your card does not work for library access, please contact waldenrr@etsu.edu with your name, E#, Department, and status (faculty, staff, student, or resident) and we will complete an authorization form for you to gain access.
If you need a print item housed on the medical library’s first or second floor, please contact Kelly Loyd at loydk@etsu.edu and we will arrange to get you the item. All due dates have been extended to May 8 in coordination with Sherrod Library.
The virtual reality lab and second floor computer lab will be unavailable during this time. We have a few computers in the library basement for public use, and we are working to move a printer to the basement as well. ***We have now moved a printer to the basement.
We will continue to arrange consultations with the experts in our department (Dr. Daniels, Matthew Carroll, librarians, Biomedical Communications, etc.) by appointment on an individual basis. These may be in person, by phone, by Zoom, or other mechanisms that work for the parties involved.
We encourage all students and faculty to go ahead and install/access Zoom. Learn more at https://www.etsu.edu/helpdesk/conferencing/webconference.php

I appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to provide services while attempting to reduce gatherings and risk. If we can do anything to assist, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our library director at waldenrr@etsu.edu. Card swipe access is already available and will continue 24/7 until further notice. We will continue to post updates/changes to library operations to our website on this page.

Prior Notice on Measures Taken:

Communicated with QCOM Facilities about sanitizing measures.
Developed and distributed a list of additional sanitizing tasks being taken on by the department staff (sanitizing keyboards and other public areas/equipment).
Communicated with the Director of ETSU’s Environmental Health and Safety to determine whether the library should be taking any additional measures.
Communicating with other libraries to share response practices.
Assessing work-from-home readiness in our department in case ETSU instructs us to work remotely.
Encouraging team members to complete Remote Desktop request forms to help support remote work and keep library experts available to you if that occurs.
Promoting Zoom training among team members to support web-based instruction and consultations if needed.
Continuing to support online library/searching/resource questions via our online Ask a Librarian request form or by emailing medref@etsu.edu, monitored Monday through Friday by librarians.
The library has a wide variety of online resources which can be accessed remotely using your ETSU ID and password. See the “Login with your ETSU ID (Off-Campus Users)” link on the left side of our website at https://www.etsu.edu/medlib/.
***We have extended the due date on all library materials to May 8 in coordination with the Sherrod Library who is also offering this due date extension.
***Suspended self-serve coffee service in the library lobby.

***New items since initial post.

We recommend that Medical Library visitors continue to take precautions such as frequent, thorough handwashing, use of hand sanitizer when handwashing is not practical, and social distancing (making sure to keep some distance between yourself and others while studying in the library). Please also make sure to cover any coughs or sneezes to help protect other library users.

Elsewhere in Learning Resources:

In the event students and/or faculty/staff are instructed to work remotely, Dr. Daniels will continue being available to advise QCOM students via phone, Facetime, or other modalities as needed.
Matthew Carroll is available to train QCOM faculty on Zoom and other technologies to support online learning.
Sylvester Renner can help update QCOM departmental websites if that becomes necessary to convey changes in operations.
Biomedical Communications will continue to support online project requests for graphic design, print, and production via their BMC Creative project request and tracking portal.

We will update this post and our social media (Facebook/Twitter) as the situation evolves.

IMPORTANT: We cannot guarantee that any of these or other steps will prevent the spread of COVID-19 to visitors of the Medical Library. Each person should use their own best judgment in deciding whether to be in public spaces such as the library.