Virtual Library Transition

Memorandum

From: Matt Pappathan, UI&U Library Director
To: Union Institute & University Community
Re: UI&U Online Library Transition Update

On behalf of the UI&U Library staff and the Provost’s Office, I’m pleased to update you on the progress of the UI&U Library transition to a comprehensive online library. Our goal is to be fully virtual by June 23, 2011. Much progress has been made since our initial decision to transition the existing operations into an online university library, and we will soon be entering the final operational phase.

What does the transition to an online library mean for our academic community?
Two benefits stand out:
• The UI&U Library is committed to an ongoing process of adding more virtual research resources.
• All virtual items can be accessed simultaneously by multiple library users, are never lost in the mail, damaged, or unavailable, and can be transmitted from our library to your computer desktop or mobile internet device almost instantaneously.

Most aspects of our library research services will remain unchanged:
• We will continue to offer the wide range of online databases that we currently have available, including access to electronic books, journal articles, dissertations, and theses.
• UI&U Library staff will continue to provide the comprehensive services that our community has come to expect and enjoy.
• We will continue to offer access to reference librarians, research instruction services, interlibrary loan, document delivery, web-based research guides/self-tutorials, and much more.
• We will continue to offer access to more than 60,000 electronic books, 800,000+ online full text doctoral dissertations and master’s theses, and more than 100 million full text journal articles.
• Our contact information (library@myunion.edu or 888.828.8557, ext. 8747) will remain the same.

What will change?
• UI&U library staff will move to the Stone Science Hall at UI&U’s Montpelier Academic Center.
• We will no longer have direct access to the books and other printed materials housed in the Gary Library building. Those materials, as well as the Gary Library building are the property of the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
• The library will no longer be called the Gary Library, but instead the UI&U Library.

What’s next?
As we get closer to the June 2011 final transition date, we will be sending out further communications, by email or by university website postings to let our library users know when Gary Library’s print books on loan need to be returned. We will provide answers to frequently asked transition questions, etc. We have timed the transition to coincide with the end of the university’s spring academic term in order to minimize any potential disruptions to our library users’ research activities.

Questions?
The UI&U library staff members are available to answer any questions that you might have about this transition. Please contact us at library@myunion.edu or 888.828.8557, ext. 8747.