Flood Update – University Library
Patron access to Library Building unavailable until further notice. Temporary study spaces, staffed by Library personnel, to be established.
On Monday, June 10, floors 10 and 11 of the University of Lethbridge Library were reopened to the general public after being flooded the week before. As the University continues to make efforts to protect its physical collection from the high humidity in the library building, levels of service to students and the public will vary.
Remediation efforts have reduced the relative humidity in the library, however, this level must be reduced significantly further in order for moisture to be drawn from collection materials. Maintaining low relative humidity levels over the next week is vital in returning most materials to their pre-flood condition. However, materials in the worst affected areas will not be remediated for up to two weeks from today.
Over the next two weeks, a significant portion of the collection located on level 9 of the library will be moved to level 10. This is necessary to protect the collection from damage due to humidity and to remediate parts of the collection that were housed in the highest impacted areas. Moving this portion of the collection is a significant undertaking and will be disruptive for library patrons. For this reason, patron access to the library building will be unavailable until further notice.
To serve students and the public, temporary, quiet study spaces will be established that will be supported by library staff. These spaces will be available as quickly as possible. Details outlining the location, hours and services of these spaces will be posted at www.uleth.ca/library
Further, library staff will maintain services to our patrons remotely, and will utilize increased Inter-Library Loan (ILL) services to meet patrons' needs. This will undoubtedly delay the availability of loan items, so please endeavour to plan ahead, with respect to your borrowing needs. Electronic resources are not affected by this problem, and will be available online, in the usual manner. The physical collection will be unavailable for use or borrowing during this remediation process.
It is estimated that full borrowing privileges for patrons will resume in two weeks.
We apologize for this inconvenience. As always, our Library staff will continue to do its very best to serve the needs of our patrons.
Christopher J. Nicol, Ph.D.,
Acting University Librarian
