To help ensure the wellness of our community, we are offering special guidance for accessing library resources online. As face to face classes are being moved online, keep in mind that you can access many Library resources from wherever you are. Here is a basic primer to library services on all three campuses, focusing on what can and cannot be done remotely. As always, we will do our best to support URI students, faculty, and staff during this challenging time. Please contact us if you experience any difficulties as you work or research.
Have suggestions or comments on services during the crisis? We want to hear from you!
Immediately, all student materials have had their due dates extended to 31 July 2020. Faculty and staff due dates have been extended to 11 September. If you have questions, contact Circulation at (401) 874-2672 or circ@etal.uri.edu.
Effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020 all URI Libraries branches will be closed to the public, although services will still be available (see below for details). Should you have additional questions regarding the use of the library, please visit the libraries' website for contact information, changes to hours of operation, and resources available. Statement from the Dean of the Libraries
The current hours of operation are:
The Robert L. Carothers Library & Learning Commons (Kingston)
The Feinstein Providence Campus Library (Providence) More information
The Pell Marine Science Library (Narragansett) More information
Individual offices and resources may not be open. See the complete Hours page for more details.
Distinctive Collections must be contacted by email.
Digital Collections are completely accessible.
URI Libraries Services Currently Available
The Kingston Information and Research Help Desk can be reached via live chat during the following hours:
You can also email us at urilibrarian@gmail.com. Please allow 1 business day for an email response.
Almost all of the Libraries’ holdings of journals and magazines published since 2000 - and many before that date - can be accessed online using the search tools in the Articles & Databases link on the Libraries' website, and using the URI Libraries Search to look for specific periodicals or articles.
If you use Google Scholar, see the instructions for connecting Google Scholar to the URI Libraries.
Books on all three campuses must be picked up at the library; there is no remote access to books, although we have been increasingly purchasing ebooks, which are available as normal. Materials that are near their return dates can be renewed online through the My Library Account link on the Libraries home page. More on renewing. We no longer charge overdue fines on most materials, and we will work with students in the unusual time to return materials when it is less problematic.Call the Kingston Circulation Desk (401) 874-2672 for more information.
If you would like to request a book for purchase, we will do our best to order it. We will get ebooks wherever possible. Please use your URI email; this service will not be available to alumni or Rhode Island Resident Card holders.
Lobby Service for picking up books
If you connect to resources via the Libraries home page, you will automatically be connected to materials via our proxy server, which authenticates you as a URI student, faculty, or staff member. See https://uri.libguides.com/circulation/ezproxy for more information.
If a paywalled online information resource is set up to work with URI's proxy server, you can add https://uri.idm.oclc.org/login?url= before the URL to gain access, for example https://uri.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896841120300469.
If your class could benefit from a librarian-led information literacy session, we can deliver sessions remotely. Contact Prof. Mary MacDonald, Information Literacy Librarian, at marymac@uri.edu for more information.
We know that students value the group study rooms as a place to interact with fellow students. Out of concern for student safety, we obviously cannot allow you to use the rooms at this time. However, there are online alternatives. Your campus Gmail accounts have Meet as an option -- video conferencing software for small groups. Additionally, the University offers access to Microsoft 365 which invludes both WebEx and Microsoft Teams, both of which help with distance collaboration for small and larger groups.
The Library does not directly support these tools, so, if you have questions about their use, please contact the ITS Support Desk at (401) 874-HELP or helpdesk@uri.edu.
The Carothers Library is working with University services to ensure state and national recommendations for prevention of COVID-19 spread are followed. Measures taken include:
Click on the black arrow to open the chat in a new window.
If we're not online, please email us at urilibrarian@gmail.com. Please allow 1 business day for a response.
We will be adding to this page frequently as the situation changes, and as we develop better systems for providing you access to the materials you need for your research and studies. If you have suggestions, feel free to email us directly at urilibrarian@gmail.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.