Pilots Prevent
Library
January 19, 2021
Most Pilots will tell you that the Clark Library is one of their favorite places to study, but for the past 11 months it has only been open for limited hours and quick visits to pick up materials. Thankfully, that's about to change.
“We’re very excited to have students in the building again,” says Xan Arch, dean of the Clark Library. “It’s been a big, empty building since March, and usually it’s such a vibrant place.”
Although the library has (and will continue to) offer a wide range of online services — including ebooks, scanned and emailed book chapters, physical books mailed right to your door, and even live chat with a librarian — this spring it will be open for studying again.
“It won’t be the same, but it’ll get us closer to where we were,” says Arch.
This spring, students, faculty, and staff can walk in to pick up a book they’ve requested or come in to print, copy, or scan. But the biggest change is that those in UP’s COVID-19 testing pool through Carbon Health can take advantage of study areas on the main floor too. That means students living on campus and employees considered “High Contact” and “Low Contact,” who will all be part of the surveillance testing in spring, will be able to reserve a seat or a study room and actually hang out for up to two hours.
“We have 100 seats and four study rooms available. Half the seats are reservation only and you can reserve them up to two weeks in advance,” says Arch. “The other half are available for walk-ins.”
Of course, symptom-tracking and mask-wearing are mandatory before coming into the library, as they are for going anywhere on campus. And there’s no food or drink allowed, aside from a water bottle. But those are small concessions for keeping yourself and others safe, and for having the opportunity to study somewhere other than your dorm room. The library will be open for studying seven days a week beginning February 1, and the hours are posted online.
But even if you’re not coming in to study, the library is a one-stop shop for just about anything students need to be successful in their coursework this spring. “Many of our materials are available for use online,” Arch says. “And we also have a lot of course readings available not just online but in print too, so students may be able to access their course texts through us. We also have laptops to borrow and we’re the only place that checks out laptops to students on campus.”
Best of all, there’s a cadre of library faculty and staff eager to help, whether at the service desk, by phone, by live chat or email. “They are working and ready to help with research and class work and whatever is necessary,” says Arch. “We’re so excited to keep finding ways to support students.”
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
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