Update on the Art and Architecture Library

Although Ike spared Blaffer for the most part, he tore part of the roof off of the architecture building, which substantially damaged the art and architecture library. Here's an update from librarian Catherine Essinger:

As you likely know by now, the College of Architecture building suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Ike. Part of the roof was blown off and rain filtered through four floors and into the library. The Architecture and Art Library will be closed until further notice. Please pass this message on to any member of the Blaffer Gallery staff who will need to access library resources during the fall semester.

Collections
We were lucky that most of the water poured over computers, pathways, and staff space. For the most part, it missed our library collection. There were loses in the closed collection where the water poured directly onto books. We are also worried about mildew and mold, both of which were in ample supply during the last nine days. The VHS collection was beside a major leak and has been exposed to mildew. While dvd's are impervious to mildew, videotape is not. The VHS collection, therefore, will have to be replaced with DVD copies when all this is over.


Current locations
Our first priority was to remove the collection as quickly as possible. The university contracted with Roadrunner Recovery to protect and repair the building and its contents. The rare books collection was moved to the Special Collections department in the M.D. Anderson Library. The general collection on the south side of the building (call numbers A-NB) was moved to the 4th floor of the M.D. Anderson Library's blue wing. We made no effort to remove these items in call number order, as we had to act quickly. We will get the nearly 40,000 in call number order as soon as we're able. You and your students are welcome to check out these items. The rare books collection will be off limits until it is returned to the Jenkins Library facility. All closed collection items, current journals, and the general collection on the north side have been removed to offsite storage for drying and treatment. Those areas of the library were heavily mildewed. I am hopeful that all will fine after treatment.

Holds, Recalls, ILL books
All may be retrieved at the M.D. Anderson Library's service desk.

Current journals
Any new journals that arrive before we move back to the College of Architecture building will be displayed in the M.D. Anderson's current journals section. They will separated from Anderson's serials.

Staffing
Donovan Parker will office in the Music Library until we move back to Architecture, but will continue to help us rebuild our library. Tina, Tyler, and I now have offices in the Reference and Instruction Services department at M.D. Anderson. Feel free to ask for any of us at the information desk and we'll show you how to find us in the future. Office telephones have not yet been set up, but Tina's extension will remain x32338, Tyler will take my old phone number x32337, and the main number x32340 will be sent to my temporary office. Please encourage your students to ask for us whenever they need assistance, as before.

Research
I am now primarily concerned will developing services that will adequately meet your and your students' needs during this difficult semester. This is no mean feat, given that entire subject areas (graphic communications, painting, photography, furniture, construction technology, landscape architecture, and typography) are now offsite and not currently retrievable.

Clinics
We have been given a consultation room directly behind the information desk and student computers. The room number is 106F. Once we're a little more settled we'll establish shift hours, so students and researchers may schedule time or drop in for the same personalized, focused research assistance they received in the Jenkins Library. We will offer clinics to explain interlibrary loan service, consortial privileges at other Houston libraries, and our online resources. We will work with customers to identify resources here and in other locations for their papers and projects. We will help them create a plan for acquiring the information they need throughout the semester.

If you have any suggestions how we might further help you and your students meet the needs of your courses, please email me at the address above. I would love to have your input and we'd like to implement creative service solutions our current staffing and circumstances will allow.

Thank you
Thanks in advance for being flexible and patient during such a chaotic time. Please tell your colleagues where we are and let us know what we can do to help you.