Current Brown faculty/instructors and students may request up to ten (10) items per week from our collections, including physical books. Materials held at the Rockefeller Library, the Library Annex, the Sciences Library, and Orwig Music Library should be requested directly through Josiah, the Library’s online catalog and picked up in the Rockefeller Library lobby. Library staff will retrieve the items and email the requestor with instructions for pickup when the items are ready. Pickup for ALL items will take place in front of the Rockefeller Library.
If you reserve space in a library, please continue to make use of Josiah (and Aeon for special collections) to request materials. Please do not enter the stacks.
Contactless Pickup — Available without Reservation during Open Hours
Materials requested for pickup will be placed in bags on carts and quarantined, untouched, for a minimum of 72 hours. The most current research tells us that 72 hours (three days) of quarantine is safe for circulating library materials.
You will be notified with the date the material will be available. Once available, the requested materials will be pre-checked out to you and placed in bins arranged by last name in the Rockefeller Library lobby. You may retrieve this material any time the Library is open — no reservation required.
Please do notclean or disinfect library materials. It would likely damage the item(s) and is not necessary given the precautions Library staff are taking.
Supporting education and research through remote consultation with the Library’s experts
These services are described in more detail below. We will continue to adapt as circumstances change, and provide updates to the campus community accordingly.
Library Town Hall
TheLibrary University-Wide Town Hall meeting from September 17, 2020 was recorded and can be found on the Library’s YouTube channel and below:
Safety Is Everyone’s Priority
Our opening plan is based on the most up-to-date, reliable safety protocols to ensure a healthy environment for our patrons and staff. It is up to all of us to keep each other healthy and safe, and we feel confident that members of the Brown community will gladly share in this responsibility so that the Library can operate safely and continue providing the services that students and faculty most need.
When you come to the Library,please
Wear a mask over your mouth and nose at all times
Maintain social distance
Sit in your reserved seat only
Sanitize your study space when you arrive and before you leave
Orwig Music Library will be closed to users until further notice. Orwig materials will continue to be available by request.
The cafés in the Rock and SciLi will be closed until further notice. You may bring a personal water bottle. We ask that no food is brought into the libraries unless medically necessary.
When will the Library be open?
Library spaces opened to graduate and medical students on Wednesday, September 16.
Undergraduates are welcome in Library spaces as of Monday, October 5.
Reservations can be made up to one week in advance.
Graduate and medical students may reserve carrels on a monthly basis. Alternating sides of each carrel will be used on different days of the week. To apply, fill out the LibraryCarrel Request for Graduate Students form.
To maximize the availability of limited library seating for students, we ask that faculty and staff continue making use of online services and pickup circulation and leave seats and carrels available for the students.
Requests for materials will continue to be made through Josiah, the online catalog, for general collections, and through Aeon for special collections materials.
All requested materials will be retrieved by staff for contactless pickup. More information.
For everyone’s safety, we ask that patrons do not enter the stacks.
How do I get help?
Library staff are standing by online to help students and faculty. Please use the Ask a Librarian service for questions and to get research support. You can also email rock@brown.edu (general) and hay@brown.edu (special collections) with questions.
Staff onsite will be primarily engaged in helping to keep our study spaces safe and healthy. They will not be providing in-person Library services.
Special Collections: Wednesday and Thursday 1 – 4 p.m.
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Spaces with reserved seating available:
Willis Reading Room (first floor) – Opens September 16
Gildor Family Special Collections Reading Room (first floor) – Opens September 23 to graduate and medical students; opens October 7 to undergraduate students
Orwig Music Library is currently closed. Orwig materials are available by request through Josiah.
Reservations
study space Seating
The web-based LibCal reservation system is available now for seating starting on September 16 for graduate and medical students and October 5 for undergraduates.
Please make a reservation before going to a library.
Please make only one reservation per day to allow for equitable access to the limited number of de-densified seats. Seat reservations are for two-hour blocks of time with a half hour in between.
Carrel reservations will be made on a monthly basis, using alternate sides of each carrel on different days of the week to ensure safe distancing.
Once you place a reservation, you will receive a confirmation email. When you go to the library for your confirmed time, please bring a printout of the confirmation or be able to show it on an electronic device. Queue up outside, maintaining six feet of space with others in line. A security staff member will check your reservation confirmation before you will be allowed to enter the building.
We ask that patrons bring only a personal water bottle into Library buildings.
graduate and medical student Carrels
Graduate and medical students can make a reservation for a carrel using the Library Carrel Request for Graduate Students form. Reservations are for one month at a time. Carrel use will be on an alternating schedule to ensure safe distancing between carrels.
Clean In / Clean Out
We ask that all patrons clean your designated area when you arrive and before you leave, using provided disinfectant wipes.
Faculty, visiting scholar, and staff use of library space
We ask that faculty and staff allow students only to reserve seating and carrels in the libraries. We will continue to provide digital delivery and distant circulation of materials for faculty and visiting scholars.
Faculty members with individual Faculty Studies will receive a Faculty Study Card via email. Please print the card, queue at the Rock, show the guard the card, and proceed to your study. You will need to bring the printout of this card with you each time you go to the Rock to access your study.
Graduate Teaching Assistant rooms
Graduate TA’s may also access a limited number of small study/collaboration rooms to conduct your online sections. Registration is required through 25Live. Please follow all safety protocols including Clean in / Clean out.
Classes in Library Spaces
At this time, the only classes scheduled to be held in Library spaces will be on floors of the Sciences Library that are managed by other campus units. Students will be asked to identify themselves as members of the class upon entry to the building.
Library Materials and Services Requesting Library Materials
Requests for materials will continue to be made through Josiah, the online catalog, for general collections, and through Aeon for special collections materials.
Contactless Pickup and Digital Delivery
All requested materials will be retrieved by staff for contactless pickup. For everyone’s safety, we ask that patrons do not enter the stacks. If materials are available digitally, they will be delivered to you via email.
There are a number of videos on the Library’s YouTube channel that provide information about how to use the Library, conduct various aspects of research, and more.
This Is Your Library
You belong here. While these are extraordinary times, we know the Brown community is also extraordinary. We will rise to the challenges of this pandemic, work together, support each other, and succeed with each other. We are grateful to the many students and faculty who have let us know how important the Library is to your academic work and experience at Brown. We are proud of our staff members who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to support Brown’s academic mission and who will be both onsite and at home, ready to help you and collaborate with you on your research journey — this semester, in 2021, and beyond. We are here for you. This is your Library.
The Library is thrilled to welcome students into our large study spaces for independent work during the Fall 2020 semester. Staff onsite will be primarily engaged in helping to keep our study spaces safe and healthy. They will not be providing in-person library services.
We are continuing to provide a robust slate of online services, detailed below. If you have any questions, you can email rock@brown.edu (general) or hay@brown.edu (special collections). You can also chat with a Library expert through the Ask a Librarian service. Many other services, resources, and updates can be found at library.brown.edu and here on our news blog.
Requesting Physical Materials
The Library is pleased to announce an expansion of circulation services. Materials requested will be available for pickup any time the Library is open. It is no longer necessary to make a reservation for pickup. (Reservations to study in the Library are still required.)
Current Brown faculty/instructors and students may request up to ten (10) items per week from our collections, including physical books. Materials held at the Rockefeller Library, the Library Annex, the Sciences Library, and Orwig Music Library should be requested directly through Josiah, the Library’s online catalog and picked up in the Rockefeller Library lobby. Library staff will retrieve the items and email the requestor with instructions for pickup when the items are ready. Pickup for ALL items will take place in front of the Rockefeller Library.
If you reserve space in a library, please continue to make use of Josiah (and Aeon for special collection) to request materials. Please do not enter the stacks.
Contactless Pickup — Available without Reservation during Open Hours
Materials requested for pickup will be placed in bags on carts and quarantined, untouched, for a minimum of 72 hours. The most current research tells us that 72 hours (three days) of quarantine is safe for circulating library materials.
You will be notified with the date the material will be available. Once available, the requested materials will be pre-checked out to you and placed in bins arranged by last name in the Rockefeller Library lobby. You may retrieve this material any time the Library is open — no reservation required.
Please do not clean or disinfect library materials. It would likely damage the item(s) and is not necessary given the precautions Library staff are taking.
Requesting Special Collections
The John Hay Library will digitize special collections material for research and teaching needs. Requests from current Brown faculty and graduate students will be prioritized. Other requests will be fulfilled as time allows. This service is limited to members of the Brown community. To make a request, email hay@brown.edu or fill out the request form.
Brown University graduate and undergraduate students and faculty: the Special Collections Reading Room opened on an appointment-only basis on September 23, 2020, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments must be made at least one week (5 business days) in advance so that staff can adequately prepare materials.
Requesting Course Reserves and Course Packs
Faculty members should continue to use Online Course Reserves Access (OCRA) to request materials for course reserves and course packs. Once received, the Library will make the reserves available to students through the course site in Canvas.
If you are using a course pack from a previous semester, the Library will make the content available in Canvas and/or OCRA. Email rock@brown.edu to initiate this process.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) for physical materials will not resume until a later phase, and (by agreement with our Ivy-plus partners) no earlier than September 1. We will continue to accept and fill ILL requests for articles and book chapters that are available electronically, which will be sent to patrons via email. We will also continue searching for electronic versions of requested books.
Requests for Digital Material
Contact us at the following email addresses to request items, ask research questions, and connect with a Library expert:
hay@brown.edu for questions relating to special collections
Expanded Access to Digital Content and Services
As a response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, many of the Library’s content providers have expanded Brown’s access to digital content in order to support online research, learning, and teaching. In addition to the 2 million+ digital books and journals available through the Library’s subscriptions, we are excited to share many additional resources from our partners.
How Long Will Requests Take?
All requests may take up to seven days. Quarantine protocols for handling physical materials will make requests for rush or expedited delivery less feasible for the time being.
Faculty and Student Support
We are providing online services, including research consultations and instruction. Subject librarians can be reached by email and on chat, which is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Not sure who to ask? Email most questions to rock@brown.edu and email questions about special collections to hay@brown.edu.
Please return physical materials to the Rockefeller Library, through the book return drop located to the left of the front doors.
You can keep the items in your possession until you are able to return to campus. This includes items obtained through Borrow Direct, easyBorrow, and ILLiad. Fines and late fees will be waived.
Safe Staffing
To protect the safety of staff and patrons, we are operating at minimum staffing levels with modified workflows to allow for social distancing and quarantine of materials. We will add staff and increase service levels as public health guidance allows.
Welcome, from the Brown University Library! We offer a variety of services to Brown students and faculty in the sciences that can help with teaching and research.
We can assist you with:
Planning and conducting research (such as literature review services, finding funding, using LabArchives Electronic Lab Notebooks, and writing data management plans)
Publishing and sharing research (organizing citations, ensuring compliance with journals and funders’ public access policies, and measuring researcher and publication impact)
Teaching information literacy, advanced searching, and digital curation skills
Providing orientation to library resources and services for your departments, divisions, and students.
For the most comprehensive information about the Brown University Library hours and resources, start at https://library.brown.edu/. Focused resource and service guides are at:
Brown librarians have been working remotely through the pandemic, continuing to provide research consultations and instruction. For upcoming Library workshops, see the Library calendar. To find out more information, or schedule a consultation, please contact us at HealthSciLibrarians@brown.edu.
An Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Chinese Books in the Brown University Library by Li Wang
Prestigious Chinese publisher, China Book Company, has published An Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Chinese Books in the Brown University Library by Dr. Li Wang, the Library’s Curator of the East Asian Collection. The volume contains detailed bibliographic and research information on all Chinese rare books found in the Library published before the end of the Qing dynasty (1912). Most of the 256 books in the Catalogue are part of the Gardner Collection at the Rockefeller Library, though several of the books are held at the John Hay Library.
This published work is a result of many years’ dedicated efforts in special collection management and providing Library patrons with an effective reference and research tool in Chinese and East Asian studies. In the Preface, the author expresses his sincere gratitude to many people who have helped and supported the long journey of research, especially Prof. Gardner and his family, former East Asian Collections curators and staff, other library colleagues, East Asian Studies faculty at Brown, students and scholars, and other friends, both domestic and international.
The publication is a milestone in the development of the East Asian Library at Brown. 2020 marks the the 120th anniversary of the birth of Charles S. Gardner (Jan.1, 1900 – Nov. 30, 1966). This new book is not only a scholarly summary of Gardner’s legacy, but also a way to pay homage to this devoted and pioneering scholar in East Asian studies and cross-cultural exchange.
Kenneth Molloy, a PhD candidate in the Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies, has been awarded the 2020 – 2021 John Hay Library/Center for the Study of the Early Modern World Fellowship.
This fellowship, a partnership between the University Library and the Brown Center for the Study of the Early Modern World, provides support to PhD candidates completing their dissertations in any field involving study of the Early Modern World, defined as the period between 1500 and 1800, and that involves an innovative project to be completed using resources available at the John Hay Library.
Kenneth’s dissertation project comprises “a critical historiography of Islamic theories of theatricality and performance in the post-Mongol to early modern period” that highlights cosmological readings of shadow and puppet theatre in Arabic and Persian materials.
His fellowship project at the Hay will involve organizing an interdisciplinary symposium “on theatricalities and the global early modern world” with the aim to “showcase innovative performance-based inquiry into the early modern world.”
The Brown University Library, together with the Office of the Provost and the Department of Africana Studies, is delighted to announce the appointment of Renée Ater as a Provost’s Visiting Professor for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Professor Ater, Associate Professor Emerita of American Art at the University of Maryland, is highly regarded for her pathbreaking research on the intersection of race, public art, and national identity. She is currently working on a born-digital scholarly publication, Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past: Race, Memorialization, Public Space, and Civic Engagement, for which she has received fellowship support from the Smithsonian, NEH-Mellon, and the Getty Research Institute. Professor Ater received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College and her Ph.D. in art history from the University of Maryland.
A self-described “public art historian,” Professor Ater is curious about the ways in which politics imbue monuments with shifting meaning over time, and she is passionate about sharing her observations and insights with a broad audience. Her innovative scholarship has had an impact on both scholarly dialogues and community conversations. Professor Ater visited Brown last spring and provided a clear demonstration of the kinds of distinctive contributions and cross-disciplinary connection-building that she will bring to the University under the Provost’s Visiting Professor Program. In particular, she will make significant contributions to campus interests in slavery and justice, digital scholarship, and mentorship of students and younger faculty from Historically Underrepresented Groups in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.
MASS Design Group, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, dedicated April 2018, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, Alabama (Photograph: Renée Ater)
Professor Ater’s work, located at the intersection of politics, biography, and critical art theory, aligns closely with that of scholars in Brown’s Africana Studies Department, with their established interdisciplinary interests in critical Africana theory, black feminism, cultural studies, and performance, through the Department’s Rites and Reason Theatre. She will also provide significant support and mentorship for graduate students working on varied themes in contemporary popular culture, the civil rights movement, and the resistance to racism, particularly in the contemporary period. Her academic constituency on campus will also extend to the History of Art and Archaeology, History, and American Studies departments, the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, and the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage. The University Library will support Professor Ater’s current research focus on developing a digital publication. The Library is home to a pioneering Digital Publications Initiative supported by the Mellon Foundation and the Center for Digital Scholarship, which provides essential staff expertise and technology infrastructure for faculty digital projects.
The pathbreaking multimodal digital book — Furnace and Fugue — wasdeveloped with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Providence, R.I. [Brown University] Brown University’s Center for Digital Scholarship, based at the University Library, announces the publication of the first born-digital scholarly monograph under the Digital Publications Initiative, a collaboration between the Library and the Dean of the Faculty. Furnace and Fugue: A Digital Edition of Michael Maier’s Atalanta fugiens (1618) with Scholarly Commentary, edited by Professor of History Tara Nummedal and Independent Scholar Donna Bilak, brings to life in digital form an enigmatic seventeenth-century text, Michael Maier’s alchemical emblem book Atalanta fugiens. This intriguing and complex text reinterprets Ovid’s legend of Atalanta as an alchemical allegory in a series of fifty emblems, each of which contains text, image, and a musical score for three voices.
Published by University of Virginia Press as part of the distinguished academic series Studies in Early Modern German History, Furnace and Fugue re-renders Maier’s multimedia masterpiece as an enhanced and interactive digital scholarly work that allows contemporary readers to hear, see, manipulate, and investigate Atalanta fugiens in ways that were perhaps imagined when it was composed but were simply impossible to realize in full before now. “We saw an opportunity to bring Maier’s 1618 vision to life in a completely novel way,” said Tara Nummedal. ”The interactive digital format allows us to reach multiple audiences at once: not only fellow scholars and students, but also singers, practicing alchemists, and visual artists.” The Press will publish Furnace and Fugue on an open access basis, making it available immediately, for free, to anyone. “UVA Press is delighted to collaborate with Brown University in bringing out this cutting-edge digital publication. Furnace and Fugue presents the best in innovative and creative publishing, combining rigorously reviewed and edited scholarship with a multi-sensory presentation of Maier’s seventeenth-century music and text,” explained Nadine Zimmerli, Editor of History and Social Sciences at University of Virginia Press. “We hope that this digital monograph will inspire and enrich all readers and listeners.” The development of Furnace and Fugue through the Digital Publications Initiative was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Social Science Research Institute at Brown University.
Screenshot from Furnace and Fugue: A Digital Edition of Michael Maier’s Atalanta fugiens (1618) with Scholarly Commentary
Brown is at the vanguard of digital monograph publishing, facilitating the creation and validation of new scholarly forms that demonstrate a range of ways in which the digital environment is necessary for articulating and advancing scholarly argument beyond the capabilities of print. “Furnace and Fugue is a wonderful example of Brown’s Mellon-supported Digital Publications Initiative, which attempts to develop technically diverse and innovative digital publications demonstrating the unique opportunities of digital platforms,” said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin, co-principal investigator for the Initiative. “We are delighted to be able to support the outstanding scholarship of Brown faculty by leveraging this opportunity.” With oversight from Digital Scholarship Editor Allison Levy and drawing upon the expertise of the Center for Digital Scholarship, faculty selected for this opportunity are enabled to develop their scholarship in ways that take advantage of emerging digital methods and formats. These pathbreaking scholarly works are then submitted to leading university presses that have corresponding academic interests and the infrastructure for peer review and digital publication.
“Brown University, and the University Library in particular, has a long history of pioneering work in digital scholarship,” said Joukowsky Family University Librarian Joseph S. Meisel, co-principal investigator for the Initiative. “Leading the way in models and practices for first-rate digital scholarly monographs is making a significant and much-needed contribution.” Five additional born-digital publications covering a range of humanistic fields are currently in various stages of development under the Digital Publications Initiative. One is forthcoming with Stanford University Press in 2021. Over the next six years, thanks to renewed support from the Mellon Foundation, the Initiative plans to add four to five new projects to its portfolio.
The University of Virginia Press will host a virtual book launch for Furnace and Fugue on August 25 at 1:00 pm EST.
Media inquiries: Jennifer Braga at (401) 863-6913 or Jennifer_Braga@brown.edu.
The leadership and staff of the Brown University Library join the national outpouring of anguish at the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and numerous others that continue the centuries of violence against Black people in our country. Black Lives Matter to the Brown University Library. We also deplore the devastating impacts of systemic racism that are also found in the pandemic of COVID-19, which has resulted in disproportionate death and suffering in communities of color.
The Library stands firmly in opposition to racism and racial violence, and laments the nation’s long history of murderous and systematic oppression of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. This opposition comes with recognition that persistent structures of racism in the U.S. have benefitted and shaped privileged institutions like ours. We want to be in the vanguard of change.
We also recognize that statements ring hollow if they are not grounded in substantive actions. We commit to becoming actively anti-racist through an intensive interrogation of our work, practices, policies, and collections. We will engage in programmatic and resource planning to ensure that we are continually uncovering and dismantling our participation in systems of structural racism. Through our partnerships with the University’s departments, centers, and institutes, we will also contribute to advancing education and scholarship to confront racism and racial violence in our society. We will provide more information about specific actions in the coming weeks.
We hold ourselves accountable to this work. The Brown community should hold us accountable as well.
PubMed users will notice some major changes this week. As of May 18, the biomedical literature database is now defaulting to the new, redesigned interface. As always, the best way to see Brown University’s full text options is with the Library’s custom link.
New interface changes include:
Ability to cite references quickly in your preferred citation style format (AMA, APA, NLM, or MLA)
Option to share references via social media or a permalink
Responsive design for use on any device — mobile, desktop, or tablet — with the same features and functionality. On your mobile device, bookmark (or add to your home screen) this URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?myncbishare=brownu
Citations are initially sorted by the Best Match algorithm, but display preferences such as sort order and items per page can be adjusted using the “Display options” button.
Most features remain – including clinical queries, the advanced search, MeSH database, search details (on the Advanced page now), and your MyNCBI account. Additionally, you’ll be able to export citations to citation management tools (e.g., EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley) through the “Cite” feature or by sending a batch of citations to your Citation Manager.
