Access & Hours
| Library Hours | Galter Library is open Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm; Saturday, 10am-6pm; Sunday, 12pm-8pm. These hours refer to the entire library space, i.e. all publicly-accessible areas and levels. Outside of these hours, the library's Extended Hours Study Space is open to FSM affiliates 24/7. |
| Access | Galter Library is open only to Feinberg School of Medicine affiliated faculty, staff, students, residents, and fellows. To enter the library, you will be required to use your Wildcard for swipe access through the front entrance at 320 E. Superior Street. No friends, partners, roommates, or “hold the door open”. |
| Residents and Fellows | To enter the library, you must use a university-issued Wildcard or Northwestern Medicine badge for swipe access. Hospital-issued badges will not work. Contact the Wildcard office directly about obtaining this type of identification. |
What to Expect at Galter
| Masks | Masks are required by all persons in Galter Library at all times, per University policy. (more details) |
| Social & Physical Distancing | Galter Library is zoned for quiet study throughout the entire library. In-person meetings or collaborative study will not be possible within Galter until further notice. Containers of sanitizing wipes are available throughout the library for patrons to use to clean their space before use. Please follow guidance for occupancy, seating, and use of the space as indicated. |
| Food and Drink | No food is permitted in the library at any time. Drinks are limited to personal beverage containers with secure, leak-proof lids (e.g. water bottles or sealed travel mugs). |
| Finding a Seat | Furniture has been arranged and marked to indicate appropriate social distancing. Patrons may sit in any seat with a GREEN dot on the back of the chair. Please do not rearrange furniture or sit in seats that have not been marked available. There is a limit of one person per table. |
| Computers | You may use any available desktop computer. Please wash your hands before and after use, as the keyboard and mouse will not be sanitized. You may sanitize the mouse and keyboard with a sanitizing wipe, available throughout the library. |
Library Space
| Occupancy | Maximum occupancy is clearly posted for each of the spaces in the library. If a space has reached maximum occupancy, please seek out open seating in other areas of the library, across the street in SQR or Lurie Research, or in other open study areas on campus. |
| Open Seating Areas | All open seating areas on the first and second floor of Galter Library are available for quiet study on a first come, first served basis. |
| Furniture | Furniture has been arranged and marked to indicate appropriate social distancing. Please do not rearrange furniture or sit in seats that have not been marked available. There is a limit of one person per table. (more details) |
| Small Group Rooms | Small group rooms are available by reservation only. |
| Extended Hours Study Space | Galter Library's Extended Hours Study Space is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week only to Feinberg School of Medicine affiliated faculty, staff, students, residents, and fellows. To enter the library, you will be required to use your Wildcard for swipe access through the front entrance at 320 E. Superior Street. No friends, partners, roommates, or “hold the door open”. |
Help & Services
| Librarian Help | For librarian assistance, email Galter Reference (monitored 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday) or contact your liaison librarian directly. All requests will be answered in a timely manner. |
| Library Services |
Galter Library staff are primarily working remotely. We ask students and other library users to continue to use the Galter Library website or contact us with your questions. Galter Library classes are being delivered remotely. GalterGuides continue to be a one-stop portal for library instructional content and expert-recommended subject resources. Check out our COVID-19 Resource Guide. Book checkout for most items has resumed and items may be requested from other campus libraries or via interlibrary loan. Library items may be returned at the front service desk during any open hours or in the library drop box located in the Searle Lobby. If you cannot return your items at this time, please request renewals as needed, there will be no penalties. |
Share Your COVID-19 Stories
Galter Library is gathering materials to archive the experiences of the Feinberg School of Medicine community during this extraordinary time. Learn more and submit your story.
FAQs
Can I still meet with a librarian for a consult or to ask a reference question?
All meetings and consults for the foreseeable future will be conducted online or by phone.
- If you have a general question about access or resources, please contact the library's reference desk by email (monitored 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday). There are no library staff currently on site at Galter Library.
- If you need assistance with a search, systematic review, database support, or EndNote training, contact your liaison librarian. Depending on your need, we will work with you to determine the best way to assist you. That might be an email conversation, a phone call, or an online meet-up using Zoom. Don't worry, the business of assisting you with your information needs will be conducted as usual.
I've signed up for a class on the Galter Library website or would like to in the near future. Are you still offering those?
Yes, we are! We've moved our instruction delivery to an online format using Zoom. If you've signed up for a class or plan to soon, we will provide details by email on how to join the class. We can share our screens, show you slides, do live demonstrations, and respond to questions. And you'll always have online access to our librarians after your class for follow-up support.
I need to order items through interlibrary loan. Is that service still available?
All document delivery services are proceeding as usual. Most of our interlibrary loan (ILL) requests are sent to us electronically from other libraries. Due to closures at partner institutions, Galter has suspended ILL of physical items as well as scans from physical volumes. We expect this will affect a fraction of requests. We will continue to provide PDFs from electronic content.
How can I get technical help with library resources, meeting software, or anything else I need to work remotely?
All technical support is continuing as normal, although we recognize that there might be challenges if you're not used to working off-campus. Here's a rundown of who can help you and how:
- Library resource access (journals, books, databases): email Galter Library
- EndNote support: see our EndNote FAQs, contact your liaison librarian, or contact EndNote Technical Support
- IT support for teaching, learning, and working remotely: Feinberg Information Technology
- Taking an online class with Galter Library: Zoom meeting software. All classes will be recorded so you can play them back at your convenience.
Where can I find out more about Coronavirus, at Northwestern and beyond?
Check out our COVID-19 GalterGuide.
Updated: September 25, 2023