Are You Finding the Information Resources You Need Online? UK Libraries Is Here to Help.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 14, 2020) — Having served patrons online for decades now, University of Kentucky Libraries has a well-established infrastructure in place to support students, faculty and researchers remotely. As long as campus continues the online instruction format, faculty, staff and students can expect the same high level of service from UK Libraries they have always had, just delivered in an online format.
As a reminder, UK Libraries' electronic resource collections, including access to databases, e-books, e-journals, newspapers, government documents, digitized primary sources and a variety of streaming media, are available to the UK community anywhere, anytime. Just start your search from the UK Libraries website, where links to online journals and databases are modified to prompt users to login with their LinkBlue credentials.
Library personnel have also worked to increase access to electronic books, increasing the number of trade and university press titles available by an additional 200,000+ volumes in the last two weeks. Now, HathiTrust has activated its emergency temporary access services (ETAS), allowing University of Kentucky students, faculty and staff to access digitized copies of copyrighted materials currently held in its print collections. This service provides immediate online access to approximately 40% of UK Libraries' physical collections.
For details about how to take advantage of the HathiTrust ETAS and more information about additional resources being made available during this unprecedented crisis, visit UK Libraries Electronic Resources blog.
Getting Help
If the resources you need are available only in print or currently not owned by UK Libraries, staff can try to help you locate an electronic version or an appropriate alternative. Librarians are available to assist patrons daily via chat (Ask Us) and email to refdesk@uky.edu.
Chat hours for spring have been extended:
8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday
10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Medical Center librarians are also offering Zoom reference hours noon to 2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. And UK Libraries Undergraduate Peer Tutors are holding drop-in hours for students from 5-7 p.m. Mondays.
Instructional Support
With the temporary closure of physical locations and suspension of print circulation, plans for how students should use library materials may need to be adjusted. Librarians are still available to create online course guides to help students find and use library resources specific to a subject or course requirements. Instruction sessions are still available via Zoom or other online methods. To request a session, submit an Instruction Request form.
Additional online teaching support can be found in the following guides:
For more information about remote services and resources, please visit the UK Libraries COVID-19 Updates page.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.