In order to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and meet the quarantine recommendations of a national COVID-19 research partnership, WSU Libraries in Pullman will not offer physical course reserves this fall.
Faculty who already placed requests have been contacted with alternative options, which include requesting that the libraries purchase the item in electronic format if possible (faculty can go to https://libraries.wsu.edu/purchase-request/ to make such requests), asking that parts of a book are digitized for regular e-reserves and contacting the subject liaison librarian (https://libraries.wsu.edu/about/subject-specialists) for additional options.
The Institute of Museums and Libraries teamed up with library cooperative OCLC and Battelle to form REALM (REopening Archives, Libraries and Museums), a partnership conducting research on how long the COVID-19 virus survives on materials that are prevalent in libraries, archives and museums. The project will draw upon the research to produce authoritative, science-based information on how—or if—materials can be handled to mitigate exposure to staff and visitors. REALM recommended 72-96 hours of quarantine for the types of materials circulated by libraries.
“For most scenarios, this is easily done, but with materials that typically circulate for two hours at a time and have people waiting their turn, this will not be feasible,” said WSU Libraries Associate Dean Beth Blakesley. “Given this, plus the fact that most instruction will be done remotely and that many students are not expected to be residing in Pullman, it will be impossible for the Libraries to provide physical course reserves in Pullman during the fall. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes.”
