While the University Libraries' buildings have been closed for the last few weeks, in compliance with the New York State on PAUSE directive, our faculty and staff have been hard at work assisting the UAlbany community from their homes. 

Library resources and services remain available virtually, thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff. They continue to answer research questions, consult with faculty and students, and deliver instruction. And that just scratches the surface. 

Here's some of the work they've been up to while at home. 

You may not be able to visit the physical Reference Desk, but your research questions will still get answered! Reference librarians are available over chat 24/7, through Zoom meetings, or FAQs. 

Here's what Jane Kessler, Head of Reference and Research Services, says:

The University Libraries may be closed, but reference librarians are available 24/7 to help students and faculty find online resources for assignments, papers, instruction and research. Many students are looking for online versions of books and materials they were using in print, and we can help. Some academic publishers are making textbooks available free online temporarily through certain web sites, and we can help students search for the textbook they need. In order to make more books available online, we subscribed to a large ebook database (Ebsco eBook Academic Collection) of 200,000 academic ebooks.     

“Members of the Information Literacy Department are using some of our time to come together virtually to discuss our new or ongoing research projects,” says Trudi Jacobson, Distinguished Librarian and Head of the Information Literacy Department. 

“We are also gathering via Zoom to explore foundational and novel, thought-provoking ideas found in the recent professional literature about pedagogy and information literacy.”

Subject Librarians are in constant contact with faculty and students, providing them with resources for the transition to remote learning. They make Libguides and hold research consultations virtually. 

“I was just providing one-on-one assistance using Zoom to José Carlos Vela Bueno, director of the Academic Program of UAlbany in Madrid,” says Jesús Alonso-Regalado. “He was recently given a UAlbany NetID and password so he is authorized to use our online resources.

“Most of UAlbany students that enrolled in the program in Madrid this semester are now in the US but they continue taking their classes online with the faculty that had in Madrid. In addition to classes in Spanish language and culture, they are also taking classes in disciplines such as Business, Communications, and Data analytics.

“During our Zoom session, we mainly covered how to use our main search tool, finding ebooks, using the database finder, our guides and how to contact a Subject Librarian.”