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To the Users of the Mary and John Gray Library:

The library is taking certain precautions to help in the effort to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. These changes also align us with the move to online instruction through the end of the semester that has been made by Lamar University.

First, our hours have been reduced. We are now open until 7:45 pm on most days. We are closed on Saturday. Floors 1 and 2 are fully open, with computers and the Circulation Desk on the 1st floor and study space on the 2nd. The upper floors are closed to the public, but Circulation Desk staff will retrieve books from the stacks on request. The 7th floor computer lab will be reopened toward the end of the semester, if needed. A computer lab is also available in the residence halls.

Second, the Reference Desk will be closed through the remainder of the semester. Reference services will be available through our online chat service or by telephone (409-880-7264). You can access our chat service on our home page at www.lamar.edu/library/.

Library instruction sessions through the end of the semester are also provided online. All face-to-face sections of LIBR 1101, Introduction to Library Research, are online along with all other Lamar University classes.

As books are returned, they are being quarantined for 3 days (the time that the Covid-19 virus can survive on hard surfaces) before being re-shelved. This is an added protection both for our employees who re-shelve the books and our users who check them out.

Half of the computers on the first floor have been temporarily disabled to promote effective social distancing. Please do not gather in a group around a single computer.

Note that the library is only serving the students, faculty, and staff of Lamar University and LIT.

Computers, elevator buttons, and most hard surfaces are being disinfected on a regular basis. Please remember to say a word of thanks to our custodians for the excellent work that they are doing in working to keep the building safe.

Purell hand sanitizer dispensers are located on each floor at the elevators and within the 7th floor computing lab. We urge you to use them periodically. We also urge you to heed the handwashing signs in the restrooms. After washing your hands, please use your paper towel to pull the restroom door open to keep the door handles free of germs and to avoid picking up germs.

We realize that these precautions will create some inconvenience, but we believe that they will be helpful in keeping us all healthy and in slowing the spread of the virus. For information on how Lamar University is addressing the situation, please refer to the university’s Covid-19 information page.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask at the Circulation Desk on the first floor.

I wish you a healthy and successful remainder of the semester.

Best regards,

In order to promote and expand access to scholarly journal content, the Mary & John Gray Library has recently added the JSTOR Arts & Science IV Collection of online journal archives, thus adding access to an additional 109 journals, with dates of coverage ranging from 1852 to 2016, varying by journal.

The library has also acquired the digital archives for the IEEE periodicals for the following date ranges: 1884-1964, and 1995-2000.