As we look forward to the fall semester, we’d like to share an update with the community about our plans for supporting teaching this fall. We know that Graduate Center faculty and students rely on our resources and services. We remain committed to working with you to support the critical teaching and research that happens at the GC both online and, when we can do so safely, in person. We invite you to  join us on Tuesday, July 7th at 2pm for more updates and an opportunity to share your concerns and questions with us.

Course Reserves

For the Fall 2020 semester, the Graduate Center Library will support classes with electronic book reserves instead of print. Whether the Graduate Center is holding classes in person or remotely, we will do our best to purchase ebooks that can be accessed online and with the fewest technical restrictions. We may also link to public library collections or open access versions of an ebook if available. If we cannot find an ebook version of a text (not all books come in ebook form, have been scanned, or are sold to libraries), we will be in touch and will do our best to explore alternatives with you. We recommend sending us your reserve requests as soon as possible. As we work within the limits produced by the pandemic and government responses to it, processing these requests is more complicated. Please see our Reserves Request Form to submit book requests and the Reserves guide for more information and instructions for sharing articles in Blackboard.

Streaming Video

We do not have the ability to add streaming video or DVDs for the fall semester beyond our standing list of streaming films, but we recommend exploring MUBI for additional options. Students and faculty can sign up for a free account through the Film Schools Program (use your GC email address).

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan continues to be available to get journal articles and book chapters, and, very occasionally, whole e-book loans.  Even if the GC Library owns the material you need, if you can’t currently access it, we are happy to try to get it for you. Please try us!

Workshops and Instruction

Librarians will continue to be available to provide reference and research assistance for the community  via chat/email, in-depth consultations via phone or video, and course-specific instruction about library research. We would love to join your classrooms this fall to let students know about research during these challenging times. We also offer a robust schedule of standalone workshops.

Welcome, Alma!

Early this August, CUNY libraries will implement a new library services platform. This system will touch all aspects of the complex work of acquiring, processing, cataloging, and circulating digital and print materials to the entire community. We anticipate that the user experience will not shift significantly, but ask for your patience as this system comes online. As with any software, there will likely be issues upon implementation that we cannot anticipate in advance. We will share widely with the community as we proceed.

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