The Rotation: A Himmelfarb Library Blog
Resources, tools & health news from GW Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library
Topics in this category can include hours, closures, renovations, and other facility announcements.
Updated
Himmelfarb Library will be closed Thursday, January 7, 2021. While the physical library will be closed, our online services will remain open. If you have questions or need assistance, please ask us; we are available via instant message, text, phone and email.
Himmelfarb Library will reopen on Friday, January 8, 2021 at 8 a.m.
All About Himmelfarb’s Courtyard Pickup Service for Borrowers
Are you on your way to Himmelfarb to check out the copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 that you requested online? Did you just get notification that The Complete Sherlock Holmes you ordered through our Consortium Loan Service is ready for pickup? Are you finished with the book on qualitative analysis you borrowed through ILL and hoping to return it?
If you are confused about what to do next, don’t worry! We will cover the procedures here. Also, please feel free to call us during our regular hours at 202-994-2962, and we will be happy to help you!
If you have Ross Hall/Himmelfarb access this semester, you may come to the Himmelfarb Circulation Desk to complete your transaction. If you don’t have access, or would feel safer using courtyard pickup, read on!
To use our Courtyard Service, the procedures for picking up and returning items are the same, whether we or another library owns the book. Once you have received notification that items you requested to borrow are ready to pick up, or once you are ready to return items that you borrowed:
IMPORTANT: Always check the Himmelfarb website for our current Hours of Operation, so you can plan your trip accordingly.
Would you like to borrow materials 
from Himmelfarb Library, but can’t access the building? Himmelfarb now offers Ross Hall Courtyard Pickup as well as a new Shipping service!
How will this work? For items that you’d like to pick-up, you simply locate your item(s) via the Health Information @ Himmelfarb Catalog search; 
NOTE: select Himmelfarb Catalog from the drop-down menu in order to search physical books and media and login to Health Info @ Himmelfarb so you're offered the pick-up and shipping options. Then click on the Delivery Request Form
link and complete the form. Wait for an email letting you know that your item is ready. You can pick your item(s) up during our available hours; simply call just before you arrive in the Ross Hall Courtyard and we will bring your item(s) out to you. Remember to bring your GWorld Card for pickup; please don't enter Ross Hall or use the 24th St. loading dock.
Shipping requests work similarly: locate your item(s) via the Health Information @ Himmelfarb Catalog search, then complete the Delivery Request form (soon to be linked right from Health Info @ Himmelfarb) and provide your mailing address. We will send the item(s) out to you and they should arrive in 7 days. When you return your item, you ship them back to Himmelfarb (USPS + insurance recommended).
To learn more about Courtyard Service and Shipping Service, consult our new Borrow from Himmelfarb guide which includes policies, renewals and holds information, and FAQs.
If you have questions, please contact the Circulation Desk at (202) 994-2962.
Are you looking for a quiet study room at Himmelfarb Library? Before you pull out your books and laptop, please make sure you reserve the room. In order to comply with the GW’s COVID-19 regulations, we now require that any study room you occupy must be reserved online. This helps the library to gauge when we are nearing seating capacity (which is currently less than half of our normal capacity), and it assists GW with contact tracing.
Look around the library for signs with a QR code that will take you directly to our Study Rooms Reservation page. Or scan the QR code below to reserve a room now!
For information on study room reservations, visit our Study Rooms Reservation page.
We want your visit to Himmelfarb to be a safe one. To promote social distancing, we have changed how you navigate the library.
For your convenience and safety, Himmelfarb Library has transitioned away from first-come, first-served study room use. All study rooms are now available via advance online reservation! Because of reduced seating capacity in all our study rooms, you can guarantee that you will have a place to study before venturing over to Himmelfarb by reserving a study room.
To comply with social distancing requirements, most study rooms only accommodate one user. Several rooms can accommodate 2 people, and one allows for 4 occupants at a time.
Signs near the room entrances remind you of the occupancy limits, and floor decals in the study rooms will indicate where you should sit.
Currently, seating at study tables, computer labs, and individual carrels remain available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please stop by the Circulation Desk, or call (202) 994-2962, if you have any questions or issues.
The Himmelfarb Library will open on Monday, June 15 to patrons that have been approved to be on campus during phase 1 of reopening and to students currently enrolled in classes or on clinical rotations. Our summer hours (subject to change) are:
Mondays – Thursdays: 8am – 8pm
Fridays: 8am – 6pm
Saturday – Sunday: 12n – 8pm
We are implementing a number of safety measures to promote social distancing and safeguard your health.
Masks
Getting around
Using study spaces
Handling library materials
Restrooms
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. You may text a librarian at 202-601-3525, or send an email to: himmelfarb@gwu.edu. You may also contact the Circulation Desk at 202-994-2962.
Students, faculty and staff in GW's SMHS, SON and Milken School of Public Health have full access to the collections and services of the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library online. Many major public health and health sciences textbooks are available online to support coursework, plus databases and research tools are accessible to find information and manage citations and bibliographies while audiovisual and multimedia resources support research and education. The Library regularly offers webinars to teach students how to use these resources.
Himmelfarb librarians are available 64 hours each week, including evenings and weekends, to provide consultations and support via web conference, e-mail, and instant messaging. Himmelfarb librarians are experienced in conducting systematic reviews and supporting culminating experiences. Students, faculty and staff also have full access to the electronic collections of the University Library.
Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library provides the following resources:
Image: Courtesy of https://torange.biz/
During the week of March 16, Himmelfarb Library's hours have been changed:
All electronic collections are available: 24/7. For instructions on remote access, please refer to our off-campus access page.
Consortium Loan Service will have normal operations; Documents2Go service will provide normal services for electronic holdings; services for print items will not be available. If the status of these services changes, we will provide updated information.
