Book Donations Temporarily Suspended

The Seminary Library has benefited greatly from book donations in the past, and has continued to receive offers of donated books throughout the pandemic period. We are very grateful for these offers, but one of the earliest decisions that we made while transitioning to modes of service that will protect patrons and staff during the pandemic was to temporarily suspend the acceptance of book donations.  With students and faculty working online and Library staff rotating in and out of Library buildings on weekdays to provide essential services while limiting potential exposure to the virus, we simply don’t have enough on-site staff time to process book donations efficiently, or sufficient space to store donated books until they can be processed.  So, our plan is to suspend book donations for now (a step that many if not most libraries are taking) but to accept book donations again when our campuses reopen fully and staff have returned to working at the Library on a daily basis.

I look forward to the day when we’ll be able to accept book donations again and I apologize sincerely for any inconvenience caused by this temporary suspension.  In the meantime, thank you for understanding and supporting the safe, socially-distant work that is underway at both campus Library locations to provide a range of modified/extended services while the pandemic lasts:

 

  • GENERAL LIBRARY SERVICES FOR STUDENTS AND FACULTY
    • Twice-daily touch-less pickup service in Richmond, M-F
    • Library research appointments in Richmond (masks required), 9-4 M-F
    • Charlotte location open to students Tues. 12-3; Thurs. 12-4; Fri. 4-7.
    • Scanning from print-only Library items upon request (email rmccall@upsem.edu)
    • Physical interlibrary loans in Richmond and physical intralibrary loans to Charlotte
    • Digital interlibrary loans available to all students, faculty and staff
    • Support from all Library departments/staff via email and phone
    • Rotating Library staff schedule to reduce number of staff in buildings
    • Book donations temporarily suspended
    • Close work with faculty and students to meet demand for online materials
  • REFERENCE SERVICES FOR STUDENTS AND FACULTY
  • INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
    • Virtual Library instruction for classes available upon demand (email drowe@upsem.edu)
    • Specialized online instruction for the ThM and DMin programs

 

If you have questions about any of these services, check out our updated Richmond Staff page, which lists key Library contacts in Richmond and Charlotte.

 

Christopher Richardson, Seminary Librarian