The UCR Library buildings remain closed during Fall Quarter 2020 to protect the health of the essential employees who are working on the premises to meet the teaching and research needs of our undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and researchers.

Although this means that students won’t be able to enter the Rivera or Orbach Libraries during fall quarter, rest assured: the UCR Library has not forgotten about R’Students!

As soon as campus closed in mid-March, the library quickly pivoted to online access to our services and library collections, as much as we possibly could.

Following the campus guidelines from the Chancellor and Provost, we are focusing our fall quarter plans on remote services that put students first, including:

Get stuff

• Curbside delivery of physical materials
• Expanded/free digital access to existing collections
• Additional online Course Reserves (E-Reserves)

Get help

• Ask a Student (starting Sept. 28) is a new chat service that connects students with peers to provide the resources they need to be successful in a remote learning environment, in collaboration with Undergraduate Education
• Ask a Librarian (online chat 24/7, text or email)
• Librarians assigned to Highlander Connections communities for first-year and transfer students, in collaboration with Student Life
• One-on-one Consultations with UCR Librarians

Learning communities

• Biweekly Maker Meetups with the Creat’R Lab
• Biweekly Digital Scholarship meetups
• Special Collections & University Archives workshops & events
• Workshops on a variety of other topics

In 2019, the library partnered with representatives from ASUCR’s Student Voice Committee to identify more ways in which the library could support our students. Through that survey, we identified the top five challenges facing UCR students at that time. However, we recognize that new challenges have certainly arisen in this new remote learning environment.

We want you to know that we are still listening. If you have ideas on how the Library can help you during remote instruction, please fill out this form so that library leadership can consider your suggestions. You can also suggest a book you need for your research, if we don’t already have it in our collections.

We know that many students miss the community and opportunities for collaboration that came from seeing one another face-to-face at the library. Library staff miss your in-person presence every day. We are offering online meetups and workshops on an assortment of topics to facilitate human connections and a chance to learn together.

UC Riverside aims to help students succeed academically and strive toward their dreams beyond graduation. The UCR Library is here to serve you, so please, let us know how we can best support you during these challenging times.