COVID-19: Library Services Available

Services available to the campus community during the COVID-19 response:

• Borrowing: Use Curbside Pickup to borrow many physical Library materials through contactless walk/drive/bike-up service. Renew Library materials online in My Library Account or submit a billing appeal form online. Current faculty, staff and students from other UCs residing in the San Diego area are eligible for borrowing privileges at the UC San Diego Library. Direct any questions about renewals, billing, or borrowing to LibraryBorrowing@ucsd.edu.
• Research Assistance: Users can get real-time online research assistance through our 24/7 online chat service, ask questions via email, or schedule a consultation with a subject specialist. Please note that the 24/7 service is staffed by a national network of librarians while email is staffed exclusively by UC San Diego librarians.
• Special Collections & Archives: Research appointments are available on Wednesdays and Fridays for UC San Diego faculty, students, and staff who need access to these materials. Please contact spcoll@ucsd.edu.
• Article/Chapter Requests: All Library cardholders are eligible to request article/chapter scans of UCSD-owned materials for digital delivery.
• San Diego Circuit : UC San Diego Library cardholders have access to the wide variety of books beyond our campus through the San Diego Circuit Consortium. See this step-by-step guide on how to request items for pickup through Campus Curbside Pickup. Most requests are processed within a week.
• Interlibrary Loan: The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) office can assist with requests for items not available in the Library collection. Please send questions to ill@ucsd.edu.
• Returns: To return Library items, use the drive-up book returns at the Geisel turn-around, which will continue to be emptied on a regular basis. You may also use the book returns near the Geisel entrance and outside the Biomedical Library Building. For items too large for book returns, contact LibraryBorrowing@ucsd.edu to coordinate returns. You can also return items by mail to the address below:

  UC San Diego Library
  University of California San Diego
  9500 Gilman Drive #0175L
  La Jolla, CA 92093-0175

  Returned items will be quarantined for 3 days and remain on your account until checked in by Library staff.

• Tech Lending: Technology items can also be requested for checkout for the quarter and delivered through the Curbside Pickup service. Laptops are not available through the Library but UC San Diego students are eligible for the campus's Laptop Loaner Program, which enables students to request a laptop, hotspot, or other technical support.
• Tours: In-person Library tours are currently suspended, but you may visit the Geisel Library Building’s 1st and 2nd Floors through our Virtual Library Tour.
• Online Access to Materials: Access to hundreds of thousands of copyrighted materials belonging to UC San Diego's physical collections in addition to millions of digitized public domain volumes are temporarily available via HathiTrust. Learn more about HathiTrust emergency temporary access to copyrighted books.
• LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning is a library of over 100,000 video tutorials on software, technology, design, photography, business, life skills, and more. UC San Diego faculty, staff, and students can email LinkedInLibrary@ucsd.edu to get a license.
• Printing: Contactless printing is available in the Biomedical Library Building breezeway during study space hours. No reservation is required to access printing.

Services available to faculty during the COVID-19 response:

• Library Instruction:
  • For Spring Session, Library instruction will be online only. Request Library Instruction.
  • For questions about Library instruction contact our Library Instruction Coordinator, Crystal Goldman.
  • For personal assistance with Library instruction and materials for your courses, contact your subject librarian.
• Course Reserves:
  • Submit requests for course reserves for Spring Quarter.
  • Electronic copies of texts will be purchased, when available. Physical reserves will not be offered during Spring Quarter. Scanning of print materials has resumed. For more information, or contact reserves@ucsd.edu.
• Library Guides: Search Library Guides by subject for connections to databases and other resources.
• Online Course Support:
  • The Teaching and Learning Commons for best practices and assistance.
  • Educational Technology Services for technical support with Canvas, video and podcasts.
• Copyright & License Information:
  • Read this brief overview about copyright of course materials at UC San Diego.
  • Link to Library licensed content such as journal articles or do a fair use assessment if you want to post the actual content. Be sure to remind the students they need to sign on to the VPN to get access to Library content remotely.
  • Locate an Open Educational Resource (OER). All are open access and Creative Commons licensed so that you can post the actual content immediately.
  • Don't have time to dig through licenses and fair use assessments? Use Open Educational Resources (OER)—all types of content and ancillaries!
  • Contact scholcomm@ucsd.edu for copyright, fair use, and OER questions.
• Special Collections: For questions about teaching or research with Special Collections & Archives materials during the closure contact spcoll@ucsd.edu. We will gladly assist you with finding creative solutions to teaching or research inquiries until our regular services resume. Digitized materials are available through the Library Digital Collections.

Services available to students during the COVID-19 response:

• Study Space: The Library will offer a limited, socially-distanced study space during designated hours for UC San Diego students in the Biomedical Library Building, by reservation only.
• Library Guides:
  • Use the Library Guide for Getting Started with Research.
  • Search Library Guides by subject to connect to databases and other resources.
  • Find course-specific Library Guides.
• Course Reserves: See if your instructor has placed any materials on electronic reserve.
• Research Assistance: Get real-time online research assistance through our 24/7 online chat service or ask questions via email.
• Consultations: Schedule a consultation with your subject librarian for personal assistance with your research.
• Computer Labs: Limited computing is available with a reservation in the Biomedical Library Building during study space hours. Find other computer labs on campus using the UC San Diego Computer Lab Lookup tool.
• Scanning: Free scanning is available in the Biomedical Library Building during study space hours. Make a seat reservation to access the scanner in the study space.
• Library De-Stress Activities: Taking care of one’s mind, body, and overall well-being is especially important in times of uncertainty. Library virtual student activities and de-stress resources are available to support you as you work and study remotely.

Services available to members of the public during the COVID-19 response:

• Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Materials:
  • Due to the closure, there is currently no physical access to Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) materials. Full access to that collection will be restored when the library re-opens.
  • In the meantime, members of the public may request FDLP-related research assistance using our 24/7 online chat service. You may also use the U.S. Government LibGuide for help finding online information, or the Federal Depository Library Directory to locate other FDLP libraries.
• Special Collections: Special Collections & Archives will be working remotely during this period to provide support for remote research and teaching as best as we can. Please contact spcoll@ucsd.edu with questions.
• Borrowing: Current Community Borrower library card holders are eligible for both Curbside Pickup and our Local Scanning services.
• Building Access: No physical access to Library buildings is permitted for members of the community.