Dear Faculty, Students and Staff,

Welcome back after the Thanksgiving holiday. We are zeroing in on the final weeks of the semester and the final weeks of the Physical Sciences Library facility. Many facets of the library transition are coming together and I wanted to update you on a few exciting developments for the spring semester.

First, a quick update on the book moving: over 95% of the collection has now moved to other libraries: Engineering, Mann, Math and the Annex. The final move of the books will be completed this week, with the exception of Reserves and a few Reference items that will remain in Clark Hall through the study and exam periods. The book drop at PSL will remain open for returning books until noon on December 23, after this time please return books at any of the other libraries. If you need to renew books that you checked out from PSL, this will need to be done in person at any library circulation desk, you can NOT do this through your online account because the library management system is in the process of updating the locations of these books.

I am very happy to share with you the general plan in place for the library space through the spring semester. The open space will continue to be available for quiet study through the spring semester. The small rooms in the back hall will be available to sign out for group use. The librarians will be moving into the current reading room and will have office hours posted. These arrangements will be made over the January interim period, look for more specific information on these options as plans crystallize.

The Physical Sciences subject librarians will continue to be available to manage the electronic collections, assist you in finding the information you need, introducing new resources and advocating for support at the university level. I am also happy to report that the physics librarian position has been approved for re-hire and we are planning to post the position internally in January. The interview process will be coordinated by a committee and I will be in touch with the relevant departments to solicite membership for this committee.

The website upgrade continues behind the scenes. We are concentrating primarily on easier access to electronic books, journals and databases across a wide range of physical sciences sub-disciplines. We will want your input on the live prototype, calls for help test-driving will be forthcoming shortly.

And for a bit of fun, enjoy the following tribute to the library created by Professor Elser’s group, link to video. Thank you all for your support of this great library. Please contact me with any questions or concerns regarding library services as we move forward with the new manifestation of Clark Library electronic collections and services.

Regards,
Leah Solla
Physical Sciences Librarian
Cornell University