Policies & Procedures

Phased Re-Opening Plan for the Ernest J. Gaines Center

On Aug. 17, 2020, the Ernest J. Gaines Center will re-open under the "Phase 2" guidelines developed by the center's head, and approved by the center's board. Guidelines for "Phase 2" are:

"The Ernest J. Gaines Center will also require all faculty and staff (including student workers) to wear masks and social distance. During this phase, the Gaines Center still encourages research appointments to use the materials, and walk-ins will be allowed access for short research questions and research consultations only. Due to the limited table space for research in the reading room, the Ernest J. Gaines Center will only be able to accommodate 4 researchers at a time. The Ernest J. Gaines Center will also begin scheduling tours for classes with 10 or fewer students and coordinating with faculty and educators to schedule in-class library instruction in their classrooms instead of the library. Conference Room cannot be reserved."

This phase, and all other phased access plans, was developed reflecting the phased access plans of the University and Louisiana at Lafayette and the Edith Garland Dupré Library. Ease of access to information and research was taken into consideration along with the health and safety of the Ernest J. Gaines Center's faculty, staff, patrons, and researchers. We acknowledge that is presents a change in operations, and we are dedicated to doing all that we can to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Read the entire phased re-opening plan (PDF).

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we all navigate through this pandemic.