For the Norlin library building: From Friday May 2 to Wednesday May 7, hours will be 7:30 a.m. - 2 a.m.
Thursday, May 8, we will be open from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
On Commencement Day, May 9, we will be open 8 a.m - 5 p.m.
The library is closed Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and 11.
The most updated hours can always be found on our hours page.
Government Publications Announces the Completion of its Country Guides
The Government Publications Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder is happy to announce that its country guides for all countries of the world are now complete.
You can access the pages directly from the Government Publications web site under "Foreign Gvts/ International Orgs" OR by searching the Research & Subject Guides Database by country name. The guides database is linked at the bottom of the opening Chinook menu.
For ease of use, each page is arranged in a consistent manner. A navigation menu at the top provides quick access to frequently-requested information:
- Government Information
- Country Profiles
- Articles & Databases
- Diplomatic Relations
- Health
- Peacekeeping & Military Information
- Resources in the Catalog
- Related Topics
Selecting one of the resources in the catalog links generates a live Chinook search for country-specific e-resources on economics, history, or politics. There is also an option to limit your search to government information only.
A number of instructors direct their students to use these guides. The country pages are also among the most frequently-searched-for items in the guides database.
Although some of the links are limited to CU-Boulder because of license restrictions, a majority of the links are to freely available resources.
We would like to extend our special thanks to Darci Card who worked at breakneck pace to complete the guides before leaving the Libraries for her new position at the Utah State Library.
Change is Coming to Norlin Library!
A new “Learning Commons,” will be the first stage of a gradual renovation process that will bring Norlin up to date and provide services in keeping with user’s needs and expectations. The Learning Commons will be located on the first floor northeast side of Norlin in the current reference department space. It will include features identified from a tour of some of the nation’s most sophisticated and successful academic library learning facilities.
Construction on the 15,050 square feet, technologically-sophisticated, academic, study, and social area will begin in May of 2008 and be completed in spring or summer 2009. The renovated space will remain open beyond regular library hours, perhaps on a 24/7 basis. A coffee shop facility will be moved from the first floor west to the Commons area and expanded. Modifications to the east entrance of the building include patio seating.
The renovation aims to create a learning library that integrates technology in a flexible innovative design, and user ease and flexibility will be emphasized in every aspect. Group study areas in the Commons will feature furniture and equipment that can be reconfigured for different sized groups. The consolidation of group study space in the Commons area will also return other space in the library to quiet, single-reader space.
The Learning Commons is a joint project of the University Libraries and Information Technology Services. The blending of ITS and the Libraries will give students comprehensive assistance with information sources and productivity tools. Through the merging of content, technology, and services the new space will enable the full continuum of student learning and discovery with flexible individual and collaborative work spaces, team technology rooms, a “hot topic” reading area, a technology classroom, and the coffee shop.
The estimated cost of the project is $5.2 million. $1 million of this budget comes from student computing fees over three years. The budget includes remodeling of the current third floor northwest Mac Lab into a new graduate student study area because the older fifth floor graduate facilities are extremely outdated and insufficient.
As a first step, the current reference and second floor periodical services will be reconfigured to increase and enhance access to electronic resources and research services. The second floor east area will be converted to a Research area, including facilities for research consultation, a central reference desk, the reference and periodical collections, and new instruction classrooms. The Learning Commons and the Research floor will work together to meet the research and information needs of the campus community in a new revitalized library.
In preparation for this restructuring, Libraries bibliographers and subject liaisons are reviewing the collections and services of Reference and the Periodicals Room. They are working with faculty to determine which print collections may be moved to other locations, usually our off-site storage facility, PASCAL. Although approximately 50% of each collection must be moved or transferred to accommodate the remodel, all content will be maintained. We will continue to provide desk top delivery from PASCAL for journal articles that are less than 50 pages and one business day delivery on print materials.
The Writing Center, operated by the Program for Writing and Rhetoric and now located on the first floor east of Norlin in E156, will continue to be available in the first floor area, with only a minor adjustment to its location. The Libraries works closely with the PWR first year writing classes, providing information literacy instruction and research support. The continuation and strengthening of this collaborative effort demonstrates the type of student access along the continuum of learning that the Commons and Research floor will support.
In order to further improve existing reference services and determine desired services for the Learning Commons itself, the Libraries is conducting focus groups with undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff. We look forward to creating state-of-the-art learning environments for today's students and scholars.
The architects are H & L Architects and JBA Incorporated. Additional technical consulting, planning and design is provided by the Sextant Group.
News, updates, and photos of the construction are available at the renovation web page. The Program Plan is available online. Questions may be directed to library liaisons or the Associate Director for Public Services, Susan Anthes at 492-6897.
