Dear Caroline

Some confirmation at last about what the plans are for St Andrews Special Collections within the University’s Libraries and Museums over the coming months.

We continue for the rest of this week to have limited access to our stores, and are able to offer a scanning/digitisation service for priority users as according to SG guidance ie university services and Research students with deadlines only. From Monday 26^th April we will be able to have increased onsite access for staff and will begin to tackle our backlogs of enquiries and scanning from non-priority users. Our reading room reopening will be after the end of semester, since the University decreed there would be no in-person access to collections during this semester. So we will reopen in June by appointment and beginning with a reduced service, gradually increasing according to demand. The timing is to coincide with the re-opening of museums public spaces and will take into account the University’s inward visits policy. So our first bookings will be for staff and students, but we hope to extend the reading room to the wider community soon.

Our reading room was used for teaching in first semester last year and it remains likely that this will be needed in second semester so we are revising our use of spaces in the same building to enable us to accommodate both readers and student classes in two adjacent spaces at the same time, while maintaining social distancing for both. This means a reduction of the number of reader seats on occasions when classes are taking place.

Some of our staff have had access to site throughout, and we have managed a strict bubble for those working at the store. We now have a second bubble to allow more people to work on site but it is unlikely that we will return to on-site working as the norm for all staff. There is an as yet undefined wish for people to work from home some days, and from site some days, largely due to need to access collections and equipment and we are currently planning how to manage all aspects of this.

We understand that students will be encouraged to come to St Andrews in person in September and that teaching in small groups will be delivered in a safe, socially-distanced and carefully risk-assessed manner as happened in 1^st semester this year. Therefore we are currently planning to continue to deliver in-person classes with collections to small groups as we have done this year, but on the understanding that a blended teaching model is needed – ie delivery to both on-site and remote students, using different grouping of students according to time zone and location. Hybrid learning (both onsite and inperson in the same session) is being seen as a last resort.

Best wishes,

Rachel

Rachel Hart

Senior Archivist (Keeper of Manuscripts and Muniments)

Special Collections Division, University Library

Library Annexe, North Haugh,

St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9WH

+44 (0)1334 46 2327

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www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/specialcollections

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Many thanks Karl. An update from Dundee – we are also opening by appointment but this time we will be open to all researchers, not just to academics and students.

Caroline

The University of Dundee is a registered Scottish Charity, No: SC015096

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