Library Coronavirus (COVID-19) Service Update

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates on Library Services & Operations

Please visit this page regularly for updates on changes to library hours, services, and operations.

Last updated: October 23, 2020

Scan on Demand

The Library is piloting a new digitization service (Scan on Demand) which will provide Faculty and Graduate students with the ability to request digital scans from books or journals within Omni. Scanning will be limited to items from the Library’s Waterloo collection and will follow the University's Access Copyright and Fair Dealing guidelines.

For more information on how to access and use this service, including lists of which resources are included, please see the Scan on Demand service details page.

Books to Go

The Library is committed to supporting Laurier faculty, students, staff, and University’s educational and research missions by maintaining core academic operations online. Our primary concern is the health and safety of library users and staff. We will maintain close contact with the university's leadership and working groups in the days and weeks ahead, making adjustments to Library operations as needed.

Books to Go Service Highlights:
  • Requests can now be placed in Omni
  • Users select a campus pick up location at time of request
  • Items requested for Brantford pick up will be delivered by our service partner the Brantford Public Library (BPL)
  • Full details on the Books to Go service can be found here
Item Pick-up Schedules and Locations:

Pick up times:

  • Waterloo: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00am-11:00am
  • Kitchener: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30am-12:30pm
  • Brantford: by appointment (you will be contacted to set up appointment)

For more information on pick-up locations, see the Library’s Books to Go service page

Library Spaces

All library campus locations (Waterloo, Brantford and Kitchener) were closed effective March 17, 2020 until further notice. We understand this will have a significant impact on many in our community and we will continue to monitor the situation in coordination with the university. Library staff will continue to support faculty, students and staff through online modes of instruction, research consultation and assistance, learning support and resources as outlined below.

Bookable study space for students is now available at our Waterloo campus library Monday through Friday. This service is currently only available for Laurier students. For details, see: Bookable Study Space

Help & Research Assistance

The Library’s Ask Us chat service is available Monday to Friday 10 AM to 10 PM and Saturday and Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM.

Subject librarians are also available to work remotely with members of the Laurier community. Appointments can be booked online with Librarians. Course guides and subject guides can provide support for your class assignments. You can also send us your questions directly by Email.

Online Resources

Online resources continue to be available to support the university's academic and research mission. These include:

The Library has also recently acquired the following online resources, all accessible through Omni:

The Library is working on strategies to provide access to individual streaming video titles for classes through distributor sites, including Kanopy.

If you have trouble accessing online resources, consult: troubleshooting off-campus access problems.

Print Collections - Access & Returns

No fines will be charged for overdue Library books and other materials not returned during building closures. All borrowed items will have their due dates extended accordingly.

Current due dates for all books and materials on loan from Laurier and Waterloo are being extended to January 8, 2021. Loans from University of Guelph must be renewed (if desired) through your My Library Account in Omni. If you are unable to new items from the University of Guelph, email Vera Fesnak. The Library will provide additional information about materials borrowed from other libraries (interlibrary loan) in future.

You can review your borrowed items online through the My Library Accounts menu option in Omni. Should you have trouble renewing your loans, or have any questions, please contact us Library’s Ask Us chat or Email us.

Your items can be returned to the book bins at the entrance to the Waterloo library and at the BPL main branch in Brantford. Returns can be done at any time. Returns at the Kitchener location can only be done while the Books to Go van is on-site (Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30am – 12:30pm).

Interlibrary Loans

Borrowing and lending of print books and physical materials from other libraries are suspended at this time (including TUG and Omni) as most libraries are closed or operating at significantly reduced capacity. The library continues to provide Interlibrary Loan services for electronic materials only (e.g. journal articles that can be provided in electronic format).

If you have already placed an ILL request, Library staff will make every effort to follow up with you regarding the status of the request if it has not been filled.

Course Readings (Reserves) & Copyright

All library electronic reserves remain available via Ares. Library print reserves are not currently accessible as our facilities are closed. Faculty members are encouraged to work with Library Copyright and Resource Delivery Services Department (CaRDS) to develop and provide access to electronic reserves and electronic course packs. Please consult the “Faculty” section of the course readings (reserves) page or email libreserves@wlu.ca for assistance with course readings (reserves). Students are encouraged to check with their professors with questions about revised course readings.

Subject librarians can also provide assistance to faculty members for course readings through purchase of electronic books (where available). The Library also maintains a resource page with information on openly licensed teaching materials, such as Open Educational Resources (OERs).

The Library provides a number of copyright services to faculty, including copyright clearance services for course materials. The Library’s Quick Guide to Copyright is available. Questions on copyright including clearances should be emailed to: libreserves@wlu.ca.

Online Instruction Support

Librarians can support online courses by providing online research skills instruction and student research help. Some possible options are suggested on the online instruction support page. Librarians can do live instruction using Zoom, create help resources, or be added to your MyLearningSpace course to assist students. Please contact your subject librarian to discuss options. The Library also provides a large number of video tutorials on basic research skills, which can be linked to or embedded in MyLearningSpace.

Accessibility Services

The Library continues to offer accessibility services to Laurier students, faculty and staff with disabilities who are working online. For research or other assistance, please email the Library's Accessibility Services staff.

Students can continue to use electronic library resources, searchable through Omni, specialized subject search tools, and ebook collections.

The ACE service, which provides alternate formats of printed books, has now resumed. Students with ACE tokens can browse materials currently digitized and contained in the ACE repository, and make a request to digitize items not found in the repository. The ACE service is currently limited to books available through one of the University of Toronto libraries participating in curbside pickup, and may be slower than usual due to COVID staffing restrictions. If an item is not available through ACE, Library staff will attempt to locate it using a number of other options. These include the HathiTrust Accessible Text Service.

For more information, please contact the Library’s Accessibility staff.

Laurier Archives

While access to physical collections continues to be restricted, bookable appointments to acces physical items in the Archives and Special Collections will be available in fall 2020. More details coming soon.

Some digitized materials are also available. Staff are working remotely and can provide some virtual reference services and answer questions about supports for classes and research. Please see the Laurier Archives Research collections and University Archives websites to research our holdings online. Please contact the Laurier Archives by email.

Research Data Management & Scholarly Communication

The Library continues to support research data management services, and support for scholarly communication, including: