A number of UGA Libraries will operate under limited hours during the intersession period between the fall and spring semesters, with all locations closed for winter break beginning Dec. 24, reopening Jan. 3.

Intersession hours will be in place at the Main Library, McBay Science Library, and Miller Learning Center beginning Wednesday, Dec. 14, which means that the locations will not be open for the usual night hours. The MLC will be closed during weekends, and all locations will be closed on Sundays until classes resume on Jan. 9.

Some libraries will remain open during normal business hours, including the Special Collections Libraries and the Music Library, but the Art Library and Map & Government Information Library will be open by appointment only. The Carnegie Library, located on the Health Sciences Campus, will be closed for much of the intersession period, although students with approved card access can access the basement study area during certain hours. 

Some resources, such as the Makerspace at the McBay Science Library and the digital Media Lab at the MLC, will be closed.

For a full schedule of UGA Libraries locations and services, visit libs.uga.edu/all-hours.

UGA Libraries’ full course reserve services and support are available to faculty planning fall 2021 courses. Requests submitted by July 16 are guaranteed to be completed and accessible by the first day of fall semester classes.

As faculty members prepare their fall course syllabi, UGA librarians can aid in the preparation of supplemental materials. Faculty members can consult with research and instruction librarians in their subject area (https://www.libs.uga.edu/subjects) to consider alternative materials prior to requesting reserves of physical or electronic versions of books and materials, including the scanning of journal articles and book chapters. For questions about the fair use of materials, refer to the USG Copyright Policy or contact Mariann Samuel at mariann@uga.edu.

The Libraries encourage instructors to utilize electronic course reserve resources, which can integrate with eLC. Electronic course reserves also position faculty for greater flexibility with hybrid, asynchronous, or online instruction and ensure that students can access materials at any time.

For faculty members who wish to reserve physical course materials to be held within a library location, options include a 2-hour, 1-day, 3-day, or 7-day loan period.

Physical course reserves may be circulated from any of the following locations: Main Library; Science Library; Curriculum Materials Library (Aderhold Hall); Veterinary Medicine Reading Room (CVM Original Building); Music Library (Hugh Hodgson School of Music); Art Library (Lamar Dodd School of Art); Owens Library (College of Environment & Design); Carnegie Library Learning Center (Health Sciences Campus).

To request electronic or physical course reserve materials, complete the online form at http://www.libs.uga.edu/contact/course_reserves_form.

For streaming or physical media reserves, please contact the Media Desk at mediadep@uga.edu.

For any questions about course reserves, contact Ben Lawrence at mainresv@uga.edu (Main Library) or Brenda Robbins at sciresv@uga.edu (Science Library).

UGA Libraries will be open and ready to serve the campus community throughout the summer. Librarians, archivists and staff will be available for help, research consultations and other activities — both in person and online — for students, faculty, and others, whether they are taking summer classes, preparing for the fall semester, working on independent projects, or have other needs.

After a brief intercession closure after Commencement, the facilities will open for Maymester hours of 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at the Main and Science Libraries, with the Miller Learning Center opening 30 minutes earlier. On Fridays, the locations will close at 6 p.m., with Saturday hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday hours of 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The MLC will close on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the Maymester.

During the summer semester, beginning Sunday, June 13, evening hours will extend to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

UGA Libraries will close for Memorial Day and Sunday and Monday for the Independence Day holiday.

The Special Collections Libraries will continue operations of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and hours will remain similar to the spring schedule at branches dedicated to art, music, and curriculum materials, as well as the Carnegie Library on the Health Sciences campus.

Because of the intercession periods, closures and holidays, we encourage patrons to check our website prior to stopping in at a library locations. For up-to-date service hours at each location, as well as online chat hours, see libs.uga.edu/all-hours.

Masks are encouraged for unvaccinated visitors to UGA Libraries locations.

Students will soon be able to hit the books into the early morning hours at three key University of Georgia study spots. Extended hours at the Main Library, Science Library and the Miller Learning Center will begin April 5 and continue through spring semester finals.

The Miller Learning Center, the busiest academic building on campus, will close two hours later Sundays through Thursdays, closing at 2 a.m. from April 5 through May 10. The Main and Science Libraries will transition to a closing time of 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays April 5 through April 25, and the hours will extend to a 2 a.m. closing time April 26 through May 10.

“The UGA Libraries are pleased to address student requests to extend hours and particularly during the time in the semester when students use our study spaces the most,” said Toby Graham, university librarian and associate provost. “We ask that students continue to use sanitizing stations, practice social distancing, and wear face coverings to keep our buildings safe at all hours that we are open.”

The hours extension which adds 34 additional operational hours per week, comes at the request of UGA students, including through the Student Government Association.

“As we continue through midterms and move into finals, it is very important that students are able to access dedicated study spaces.  We are confident that we and many other students will benefit from this extension and we thank everyone who worked with us to bring this idea to reality,” George Moore and Kinya Williams, first-year SGA senators who co-authored a resolution seeking the extension, said in a joint statement.

These three library facilities offer a range of study options for students, including open areas for quiet study, individual study carrels at the Main and Science Libraries, and group study rooms at Main and MLC, most of which are limited to two during the pandemic. The MLC also offers space for group study in classrooms when they are not in use. The Main Library’s fourth floor study space and the eastside of the MLC’s second and third floors have been designated as Zoom Zones to allow for students to log in and participate in online classes.

For more information about hours and study spaces at UGA Libraries facilities, visit libs.uga.edu.

As part of the UGA Libraries’ commitment to affordable access to learning materials, the Libraries recently ceased the collection of late fees from students who return overdue books.

“Overdue book fines are educational materials costs borne directly by our students. Those with the least ability to pay feel the effect of fines most keenly, as do graduate students who are particularly heavy users of the Libraries’ print collections,” said Toby Graham, associate provost and university librarian. “This step will save students about $25,000 per year.”

Late fees remain in place for students who check out special materials, including course reserve materials, media and equipment such as laptops. They also may be bound to late fees from other institutions for materials borrowed via interlibrary loan.

To ensure availability of materials, students will continue to be charged fines when books that have been recalled due to a request from another patron are not returned in a timely manner, and lost book charges will apply when an item has been overdue for 56 days (after two automatic checkout renewals).

Other library users, such as alumni and other members of the community at large, remain subject to late fees. For more information on fines, visit libs.uga.edu/access-services/fees