Will the Math and Natural Resources Libraries be closing?
- Yes
When will the Math Library and the Natural Resources Library (NRL) close?
- Math will close in June 2025 and NRL is anticipated to close in the summer of 2026.
- Math’s closing date may be slightly adjusted based on the timeline for the Libraries’ move into the Collections Facility and the remodeling of Vincent Hall by the College of Science & Engineering (CSE), but is expected to take place in Summer 2025.
- NRL’s closing date may be delayed by the St. Paul Campus Center project which is in the pre-design phase and planned for the Magrath Library site. More information on this possibility will be available in Summer 2024.
What are the reduced hours and when will they start?
- Math and NRL will both be open from 9am-3pm Mondays-Thursdays beginning after the end of spring semester on May 9th, 2024.
Will services be impacted at Math and NRL during this period?
- Starting May 9th, 2024, users will no longer be able to select Math or NRL as hold pickup locations in Primo. Existing holds will be phased out and these locations will be removed as hold locations in Alma once they are clear.
- Users can pick up holds at nearby libraries or use home or office delivery.
- Equipment for checkout and print reserves at Math and NRL will be moved to Walter and NRL beginning in May.
- Starting at the beginning of FY25 (July 2024) new acquisitions for Math will be received by Walter Library.
- Circulation services and browsing will be available in both libraries until collections move dates.
Why will these locations have reduced hours and services?
- As part of our budget compact, student employee funding was reduced for these locations, so they will be staffed by full time employees only until their closure date.
What can users expect in the Math Library leading up to closing?
- Hours and services will be reduced beginning May 2024.
- Collections will begin moving out of Math to Walter Library in summer of 2024 and users may experience noise and disruptions during this time. Some furniture may need to be removed and sections of the library closed off to accommodate collections moves.
- In December 2024 and January 2025, significant furniture moves will take place in the space to accommodate large scale collections moves in spring 2025. Seating will be significantly reduced in the library and will remain reduced through closure. Art will also be removed from the space at this time in preparation for the move.
- In April 2025, large scale collections moves will begin in Math. Depending on the timeline for the move, it is possible that Math will need to close for up to two weeks to accommodate the scale of collections moving. If the space remains open, users can expect significant noise and disruption as a team of movers quickly removes the remaining collections in the space.
- Through the collections move and until closure, sections of the library will be closed off to users and empty of furniture and collections. Shelving and furniture will continue to be removed from the space in May and June, potentially causing noise and disruption.
Why are the libraries closing?
- Libraries reviewed their physical campus footprint once the Collections Facility was approved for construction. It assessed four branch libraries on the Twin Cities campus: Architecture, Math, Music, NRL.
- Based on the feedback from the Branch Analysis report, UL decided to close 2 of the four branches. The two branches to be closed are NRL and Math.
- In addition to the assessment, the interest/investment from the colleges, including the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) for NRL and the College of Science & Engineering (CSE) for Math, was taken into consideration.
- CSE administration has shown an active interest in the library space in Vincent Hall. As a result of their desire to utilize this space, and in discussions with Dean Lisa and Dean Alleyne, the timeline for this closure was seen as a high priority to include quickly.
- The Libraries FY25 Compact request included no longer hiring student workers for the Math and NRL spaces starting in July 2024.
Who was consulted about this decision?
- University Libraries contracted with a consultant, Emily Goff, PhD, to do an analysis of four of the Twin Cities Branch Libraries, which was completed in summer of 2022. NRL and Math were among the four branches reviewed.
- Emily Goff drew on qualitative surveys, interviews with campus leaders and users combined with internal documentation from the Libraries that includes usage reports and statistics.
- Related to NRL, interviews conducted by Emily Goff included: Greg Cuomo, Associate Dean; Mike White, Associate Dean, Sujaya Rao, Head of Department of Entomology, Mike Kilgore, Heal of Department of Forest Resources.
- Related to Math, interviews conducted by Emily Goff included: Katherine Dowd, Department Administrator; Dennis Hejhal, Emeritus Mathematics Faculty and Chair of Mathematics Library Committee, Dmytro Bilyk, Professor, Mathematics
- The report was given to Dean Lisa German, Cabinet, and the AUL’s Summer 2022.
- AUL’s spoke directly with staff from each of the four libraries and took their feedback into account before proposing the decision to close Math and NRL. This was approved by Dean Lisa in Fall of 2022.
- The timelines for closure have consistently been a moving target as discussions with stakeholders, progress of the Collections Facility, and possible impact based on University wide projects like the St. Paul Campus Center, continually influence the progress of these closures.
Will the level of support the University Libraries provide change for the departments impacted by the closures?
- No, the Math Department, Forest Resources, Entomology, and Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Departments will continue to get the same level of support from the University Libraries.
What is the closest physical library?
- Magrath Library is the closest to NRL
- Walter Library and the Architecture Library are closest to the Math Library
Which collections will be moving? Where will they move?
- Materials will be moved out of Walter to accommodate active collections from Math. The remainder of the Math collections will be moved to the new Collections Facility. Materials moving from Math to Walter should be accessible with slight delays.
- The Branch Closure Project Task Force currently working on planning. Carolyn Bishoff and Philip Herold are in this group and can speak to collections-specific questions.
What will happen to the spaces?
- Dean German is in conversations with the CFANS and CSE administrations.
- CSE Administrators have expressed an interest in the Math space and reimagining its use with a focus on creating shared spaces for students and collaboration.
Who should I contact with questions or feedback?
- Internal inquiries from staff can be sent to the branch closure task force ([email protected]).
- Feedback and questions from users that fall beyond the scope of this FAQ can be routed to Mark Engebretson ([email protected]).