By the Library Team

Following the announcement by the University management regarding the partial reopening of the campus, the Library is pleased to announce that we will be open during the Summer semester 2021.

How we are adhering to COVID-19 protocols
The library just like other places in campus has put in place a number of measures to ensure that staff and clients alike observe COVID-19 regulations of social distancing, masking and sanitizing.

Right at the entrance you get to check your temperature, then scan your ID to gain entry, no finger print needed. Once within the space, there are various warnings throughout the building indicating where to sit, where to stand in the queue, where to sanitize and even reminding you not to touch the hand rails at the stairs and to mask-up. To avoid overcrowding, the total number of clients within the library is closely monitored.

We are also making efforts to reduce contact when returning or picking books. It is possible to make an order of the books you intend to borrow by filling this online form. The librarian will assemble these orders and communicate when they are ready for collection. The order must be made 24 hours in advance. For those wishing to do a face-to-face consultation, the booking option is available to them via USIU-Africa Library Attendance/Usage Form so as to reduce the waiting time.

Support available online
Online services are not new to the library. You can access online support via LibChat – a live chat service accessible via the library platform and AskALibrarian which is email based – askalibrarian@usiu.ac.ke. We have recently added a WhatsApp line - +254 782 620858 and another helpdesk – service libraryhelpdesk@usiu.ac.ke. The pandemic, online learning and teaching, has had clients rely heavily on these platforms to get support from our very committed team of librarians.

We also offer information literacy training virtually via Zoom. This can be organized by an individual, a group with common interest, a faculty for his/her class or one can attend the scheduled trainings that take place every semester by registering here.

To support online access to resources, librarians have developed over 110 subject guides which serve as pointers to key resources – print and electronic books, e-journals and e-databases, video and image repositories, as well as professional sites so that clients do not feel lost at any one time. We are proud to announce that in the past year we have increased the number of e-books and e-journals just so that the online experience is rich.