Library Services and Access Guide

Effective August 12th per OWU campus mandate, face masks must be worn in public areas including, but not limited to, community lounges and study spaces, shared offices and classrooms. The requirement will be reviewed weekly and includes all areas of the libraries open to faculty, students, and visitors. 

Masks used should be medical or cotton masks that include a strap around the ears and fully cover the nose, mouth, and chin. One-ply "gaiters," or neck coverings that are pulled up over the mouth and nose, typically do not provide the same of protection and should be avoided.

Each floor has also been equipped with a sanitization station, which includes hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for your use.  Should you notice supplies running low, please alert library staff. 

With social distancing no longer required, furniture has been returned to pre-pandemic configurations. Please remember that whether you are sitting alone or in a group, masks are still required. Thank you.

Study rooms on the second and third floor will remain unavailable until further notice as we have had to repurpose many of these spaces for other needs.

Available group study spaces currently include the ICECube and select rooms in the Media Center. Please contact the Media Center  directly to see if we can help with your request. For reserving the ICECube, please note the following:

• Reservations should be placed via the ICEcube Google Calendar.
• The Room is available only during library hours for OWU students, faculty and staff.
• Right now, the maximum reservation time for a group is two hours each day. 
• Reservations for consecutive, concurrent meetings, or recurring meetings are not permitted at this time, nor are reservations for semester-long classes. Groups may stay longer as long as there no pending reservations waiting.

Study carrels located around the stacks on the second and third floors are now again for use.

The following sections will continue to be closed to users:

• Government Document section (main floor)
• Bound Periodical stacks (basement) 
• Third Floor

Users will be able to request items from these areas with the exception of Government Documents. Please ask library staff if you require assistance.

Locker services are back! Please visit our Lockers page for more details.

A variety of directional and safety signage has been placed in the building to help provide other important information about the latest safety protocols. We have doing out best to update signage with the latest decisions as they happen. We appreciate your patience during this time of transition. 

Please take time to read these and don’t hesitate to ask staff if you have questions.