COVID-19: Library updates & resources

Hours, Summer 2020:

Murphy Library continues to remain closed to the public in order to protect the health and safety of library personnel and patrons.

Starting June 1st, library personnel will have limited access to the library building but will continue to work remotely whenever possible to ensure access to the many resources and services that support campus research needs and online instruction. 

When campus and public health guidelines allow, Murphy Library will reopen in a reduced capacity to UWL students, staff, and faculty with additional safety restrictions in place. Unfortunately, our building will not be open for community use at that time, but we are happy to respond to requests virtually. Please continue to monitor this page for any updates, and we appreciate your patience during this time.

Contact-Free Pickup Service Now Available

Beginning Monday, June 15, Murphy Library is offering a contact-free pickup service for UWL faculty, staff, and students who want to check out materials during this period when the library is closed to the public. This service is only available for physical materials located at Murphy Library at this time.

Pickup service will be available Mondays through Fridays, 10:00am – 3:00pm.

To request and pickup materials, please follow the steps below:

  1. Use the library website to search our “UWL Books & Media” catalog for materials that are available in Murphy Library.
  2. Click the title to see the full record.
  3. Click Sign In, if you haven’t already, and sign in with your NetID.
  4. Use “Send to Email”
    1. Change email address in the To: field from your own email address to CIRSER@UWLAX.EDU
    2. IMPORTANT: Enter your name and UWL email address in the Notes field.
  5. Circulation Services will send you an email when your items are ready, asking you for the date and time you want to pick them up.
  6. Please use the EAST entrance to the library (facing the Prairie Springs Science Center).
    When you arrive, the doors will be locked. 
    Call 608-785-8507 to let staff know you are there.
  7. They will put your materials on a table, then let you in to get them, maintaining social distancing.
  8. If you have any items to return, please use the outside book drop.

If you have questions, please contact cirser@uwlax.edu.

Due Dates & Returning Materials

Due dates for library materials have been extended to the beginning of fall semester for returning students and staff. Any fines accrued because of this situation will be waived. If you are not returning to UWL or if you are moving out of state, your materials need to be returned before you leave.

To return library materials to Murphy Library, you have these options:

  1. Drop off items in the outside book drop by the main entrance on the NE corner of Murphy Library.
  2. If you are unable to drop off materials at Murphy Library, you can return your items to any UW campus library. Items will then be returned to UWL, but those items will stay on your account until Murphy Library actually receives them. This may take an extended amount of time, and we appreciate your patience. Any late fees will be waived. 
  3. Use USPS and pay to ship your books to: Murphy Library, UW-La Crosse, 1631 Pine Street, La Crosse, WI 54601.
  4. If you need to make special arrangements, contact Murphy Library at cirser@uwlax.edu

Additionally, items may be renewed at any time by visiting https://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/my-accounts/. Log into your library account with your NetID and password. Renewals will be extended to September 13.

Please contact cirser@uwlax.edu with any questions.

Donations & Gifts

Murphy Library is not currently accepting gifts or donations of books and other materials at this time.

Reference Services 

Librarians are still available to help support the research needs of our campus community. Reference services are available to all UWL students, faculty, and staff. Please allow extra time for responses to questions and requests.

Summer reference services are available May 26-August 14 and will include:

Library guides offer research help curated by librarians and tailored toward various subjects, courses, topics, and research tools & strategies.

Online Resources & Databases

Online resources are available to all students, faculty, and staff from on and off campus with their UWL Net ID, and we encourage all instructors to integrate this content into your courses to supplement instruction.

Some vendors are also temporarily offering expanded access to their e-resources. More information on these resources can be found here.

See our webpage for information on how to connect to the library’s electronic resources from off campus.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Collection Development Librarian Pam Cipkowski (pcipkowski@uwlax.edu) or E-Resources Librarian Katherine Fish (kfish@uwlax.edu) 

Library Instruction

All in-person library instruction is cancelled for the rest of the semester.

Faculty are welcome to contact our library instruction department (libinstruct@uwlax.edu) to make alternative plans for library instruction, including library guides, short videos, or other online content. If your instruction session was cancelled, the librarian who would have taught your session will be in contact with you to discuss these alternatives.

Alternatives to library instruction:

  • Library Guides – We have many subject and course guides available.
  • Murphy Library Research & Information Seeking Tools guide – This guide contains general resources on how to use the library as well as how to get started on the research process. Please share this with your students in addition to the course or subject guides most relevant to your class.

Requesting Materials

UW Resource Sharing and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) of physical materials is currently suspended. ILL will continue to fulfill requests for electronic materials (articles, scans, etc.). You can submit requests via your ILLiad account. Please allow extra time for requests to be filled. You can contact illoffice@uwlax.edu with questions or concerns.

Murphy Learning Center

The Murphy Learning Center will remain open in a virtual capacity using WebEx. Students will be able to drop into a tutoring session online, just as they would usually do in the MLC. The Writing Center and Public Speaking Center will work virtually mostly on an appointment basis, but will also offer drop-ins via WebEx. Information on how to enter the virtual tutoring rooms will be on the MLC webpage.

Special Collections & Area Research Center

Special Collections/ARC is closed to all in-person visitors. Personnel are able to provide limited services via email. All requests for transfers of archival materials from the Wisconsin Historical Society and other Area Research Centers have been suspended. Some of our archival resources are digitized and available online via Murphy Library Digital Collections. Please email questions to specoll@uwlax.edu.

Events

All in-person events for this semester have been cancelled.  

 

For any other questions not addressed here, please contact libraryoffice@uwlax.edu.