Guidelines for Scheduling Spring 2015 Classes at the Beinecke

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library will close its Wall Street building for a major renovation following commencement next May. In preparation, the library is moving significant portions of its collections to the Library Shelving Facility. This will facilitate retrieval of material during the renovation, but it will cause longer retrieval times next semester. Several enabling projects in the library’s stacks as well as the process of packing up for the closure, with some staff moving as early as April 2015, could cause additional delays in paging items.

To ensure that we are able to fully support classes under these constrained circumstances, we have instituted the following policies for the Spring 2015 semester:

Semester-long classes

  • All requests for classes must be submitted by Dec. 1;
  • Syllabus, materials lists, and class projects for classes should be submitted by Dec. 15;
  • We ask faculty teaching semester-long courses to provide Beinecke staff with access to the Classes V2 site.

Individual class sessions

  • Requests for material for all classes should be submitted as early as possible, but no later than a full week in advance of the class;
  • Please plan to submit all requests for classroom reservations by March 6 (the Friday before spring break).

During the renovation, the Beinecke will operate a temporary reading room and a classroom in Sterling Memorial Library’s Periodical Reading Room and International Room, respectively. Due to the reduction in classroom space, the library will accommodate fewer class sessions during the 2015-2016 academic year. Classes will be scheduled through our online reservation form on a first come, first-served basis. We ask that faculty and teaching fellows make their classroom reservations and select materials at least two weeks in advance of the desired session.

Unfortunately, the Beinecke will be unable to accommodate semester-long courses during the closure. Some collections may be unavailable for paging while construction is under way. We ask for your patience and understanding as we make way for what will be a vastly expanded and improved teaching environment when the Beinecke reopens for the 2016 fall semester.

Please direct questions, concerns, and suggestions to our Research Services Librarian, Elizabeth Frengel. For updates on the renovation, please visit our renovation website.