Published: Aug. 6, 2020

The University Libraries are opening the Gemmill Engineering, Math & Physics Library on August 10, 2020. Gemmill Library will be open to CU Boulder affiliates Monday through Friday, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. We will gradually introduce another location, the Business Library, and extend our hours from 8 am. to 5 p.m.

We are working to provide the important services that our community has come to expect from us and it is our goal to offer these services in a manner that is safe for everyone and sustainable for us. This means that you should expect that our services will be provided differently than they have been in the past. This is a developing situation and access to Libraries services and spaces may rapidly change. We appreciate your patience and understanding, please check our website for the most updated information and contact us with your questions and feedback.

Service Changes

Study spaces (general)

We are pleased to offer CU affiliates the ability to reserve socially distant, individual study seats in the library. You can make these reservations in 45-minute increments, for up to 135 minutes, and reservations can be made up to 14 days in advance.

Two hours prior to your reservation time, you'll receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to check-in upon arrival and check out upon departure. You can check in beginning five minutes before your scheduled reservation time. We ask that you please be mindful of maintaining distance if the reserved seat is still occupied.

We all have a role to play in keeping our community safe. We will provide sanitizing supplies and we request that you sanitize your seat upon arrival and when you leave. Please protect our herd and comply with city and campus public health guidelines, including maintaining distance and wearing a mask, for the entirety of your visit. Anyone who does not comply with these guidelines will be asked to leave.

Study spaces (Gemmill)

You will need your Buff OneCard in order to access the Math Building. Gemmill Library will have three different options of seating that you can select from and you can choose your preferred seating type as well as location, pending availability. The three seating options are:

  • Computer Lab (CL): These seats have a computer with the same software as the computer labs in the Engineering Center
  • Individual seats with power outlets (P): These seats have access to a power outlet
  • Individual seats (no power outlets) (NP): These seats do not have access to a power outlet

Review this seating map before making your selection.

Study spaces (Business)

The Business Library is not open, but individual study spaces in this location are coming soon! Be sure to check our website for the latest information about this and other services.

Electronic course reserves

We are excited to be able to provide access to course reserve materials. Course reserves will be in electronic form only for the Fall semester.

Schedule a consultation

Our Information Desk in Gemmill can aid you in scheduling a consultation with one of our expert librarians via phone, email, instant messaging or Zoom. Librarians can help you refine and focus research topics, develop successful search strategies and identify appropriate sources for academic research projects and assignments. They can also assist you with literature reviews and citation management software like Zotero.

Ask A Librarian

You don’t need to schedule a consultation with a librarian to get expert help. The Ask A Librarian service is available via phone, text, email and chat. Our librarians are standing by to answer your questions, within operating hours, of course.

Borrowing

Contactless hold pickup is being offered at Norlin Library. Unfortunately, in-person borrowing and returning books will not be available at Gemmill Library at this time. You can still return books using the outdoor book drop on the northwest side of the Math Building.

Stacks are closed

We are not able to open Gemmill Library stacks to CU Affiliates at this time.

Why we’re opening Gemmill Library and the Business Library

We remain committed to our value of empowering the complete student and creating accessible, functional, inclusive, welcoming and inspiring library spaces. We must provide these spaces and services in a manner that is safe, sustainable and comprehensive.

The Gemmill and Business libraries offer us the best opportunities to provide study space and libraries' services to our community. They have the most robust HVAC systems along with the largest number of socially distant seats. We can also close the stacks in these libraries, allowing us to continue our emergency access to the HathiTrust, giving our community digital access to 48% of our print collection.

Why Not Norlin

We understand that Norlin has the largest number of study spaces available to our community. However, Norlin is being used to maintain continuous operations and services like contactless pickup. We have also been asked to provide some Norlin space as part of the campus drive to provide safe and adequate classroom space in unconventional locations.

The libraries' website will have the most updated information about our services and spaces. Be sure to check back often.