A message from the Vice Provost for Libraries and University Librarian, Lisa Carter

by Lisa Carter, Vice Provost for Libraries

It’s hard to imagine a month ago that in the Libraries, we were looking forward to the energy that comes from students studying for finals and the excitement of another graduating class.

The last several weeks have presented challenges that we’ve had to navigate quickly: attending courses or working remotely and recalibrating our everyday lives. Concerns for the health and wellbeing of those closest to us weigh heavy on our minds. It’s important during this time to focus on taking care of ourselves and each other. 

As I shared with library staff recently, I have seen a tremendous strength in our campus community. We have chosen to focus on what we can accomplish. The sense of community, respect, and partnership I’ve witnessed within the Libraries has helped us focus on what we do best: provide our users with the information and solutions they need to be productive and achieve their goals. 

The Libraries examined the areas where we could make a significant impact and use our expertise and our resources, while helping everyone commit to the critical need for social distancing. We assisted campus with teaching and learning strategies to transition courses to alternative delivery.  We provided laptops for those in need of technology. We have been digitizing materials not available electronically to meet instructional needs. And we have extended our popular Ask a Librarian chat service to assist with questions and research strategy when our students need expert help. The Libraries stand with the rest of campus in working to ensure our current challenges are met with relevant solutions. 

There’s still a lot of work ahead of us, but I want to thank the UW-Madison community for pulling together at this time. We have all grown stronger together as the values of collaboration, ingenuity, and compassion allow us all to move forward – as Badgers.