UPDATES: Library Response to coronavirus

Library services at the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Campus Libraries continue to shift and change in response to student and faculty need, and in response to the need for continued vigilance about safety concerns related to the spread of the coronavirus. We will continue to update this page as delivery of services may shift over time. Follow the links below for more information on each resource or service:

• Library Hours: Follow the link to see the current library hours..
• Library material returns and renewals: No fines will be assessed for materials returned late. Please see the Due Dates and Returns guide for more detailed information about returning books, graphing calculators, and laptops.
• Reference desk or Research help: Librarians are available to help students and faculty with their research and citation needs.
• Technology help: Students with technology needs may contact the Help Desk for assistance: 319-398-1264. Students experiencing problems with their own computers may contact Kirkwood's EagleTech for tech support.
• Information resources: The library's online resources are available to all current students and faculty through the library homepage and Databases A to Z. 
• Laptops: Laptops are available for short term checkout. See borrowing guide for details.
• Hotspots:A limited number of hotspots are available for semester-long checkout. See this page for more details. 
• Interlibrary loan: The Interlibrary Loan service is back on track. Make your requests for materials from other libraries as usual. See the link for more detailed instructions.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a librarian!

Librarians are available for research help, in person or through the Ask a Librarian chat during the library's open hours. We help students and faculty:

• Search and locate information sources

• Define your research topic

• Create citations

• Evaluate sources

• Any other part of your research process

Instant messaging (chat):

Wherever you see "Ask a Librarian" on the library website, you can chat with a Kirkwood librarian. Just click on "Ask a Librarian" and a window will open where you can type in your question and get help in real time.

Text:

You can also chat with a librarian by sending a text message to: 319-774-6491

Email:

You can email questions to: library @ kirkwood.edu. 

Phone:

In Cedar Rapids (or any location): 319-398-5697

In Iowa City: 319-887-3613

Online research help (Zoom):

The library can share screens or video chat using Zoom software. It's a great way to get research help! Use the "Ask a Librarian" chat function to get started.

Scheduled research consultation:

• For students who prefer to plan their research help ahead of time, OR
• For students who know they have a big research assignment they need to work on, and know they want to make a good start by getting expert librarian help, OR
• For faculty or staff who could use some research assistance on a project, OR
• For any reason at all!

Just follow the link below, select a day and time, and fill out the form. There's also a spot to enter your phone number so you can get a reminder text before your appointment.

Remember:

If the time you want isn't available, but it's during our regular hours of operation, know that you can always come to the reference desk in person or through the Ask a Librarian chat.

What if we're closed?

We have many online guides where you might find answers to your questions:

• Research Help
• Citations
• Evaluating web resources
• All guides
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Library has adapted some faculty services due to safety concerns. However, almost all resources and services remain available. See the Library's Faculty Services Guide for details on the many services and resources we provide to faculty. We are here to support you!

• Librarians continue to be available for reference, research, and citation help. See this page for details on the different ways students and faculty can get help from home.
• The Library has determined that it's not possible to safely provide our traditional print reserves service, so this has been suspended for now. Please contact us for help with determining possible substitute resources, or to see if electronic copies of the books can be ordered.
• Librarians can still provide instruction for your classes through Talon. Options include:
  • Students may schedule an individual research consultation using the library's Zoom meeting room. See "Reference Help" section on this page for details on scheduling a live web conference.
  • If your class is meeting synchronously using Zoom, a librarian could also join in that virtual meeting. See our Instruction guide for more information.
  • Request a demonstration video for searching a specific database, or looking for a specific type of information or topic. Contact a specific librarian or use the library @ kirkwood.edu email to request this service.
  • Incorporate librarian-created guides from the library website into your assignments by linking to them in your Talon course. Research Help, Citations, and Evaluating Web Resources are some of our most-used guides. Or see our complete list of guides for even more options.
  • Incorporate Credo Instruct tutorials into your Talon courses and assign to students. We like these tutorials as tools to introduce a research topic to students, before following up with a lecture, an activity, or a scheduled research meeting with a librarian.

We have created a guide to locating information about the coronavirus (COVID-19), located here:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) LibGuide

Library Service has added additional online resources during the spring semester to try to make up for not having access to our print resources. Most of following resources are already integrated into the main library search (WorldCat Discover):

• Internet Archive eBooks have been integrated into the WorldCat search, with over a million records added.
• Project MUSE has opened up additional eBook and journal article titles
• Project MUSE has also created a new landing page for MUSE in Focus: Contextualizing Pandemic. This collection of more than 25,000 books and 300 journals are available during the pandemic at no charge to users.
• JSTOR free access to selected COVID-19-related articles. This large collection can be browsed by topic.

Due to the overwhelming safety concerns around COVID-19, Kirkwood Libraries has taken the unprecedented step to limit Library usage to only current students, staff, and faculty. This is a temporary policy, and we will revisit it regularly.

If you are not a current student, but need access to the internet, there are several spaces around campus where you may sit and connect to the college's free WiFi. Ask a Librarian for the latest information on WiFi locations.