In the event of an emergency or campus closure, the Office of the President well send an HSC Alert through email and text message to mobile telephones. If the announcement says that only essential personnel must report to work, the Library will be closed. All staff are expected to sign up for HSC Alerts.
The UT Health Science Center Handbook of Operational Procedures (http://www.uthscsa.edu/hop2000/8.3.1.pdf) outlines procedures for closing of the campus due to severe weather or during an emergency. Campus Status information can be found on this site: http://www.uthscsa.edu/status.asp.
Physical disaster that poses a threat to lives or property: the Library will close immediately.
Power failure: University Police should be contacted at 7-2800. Always contact the Executive Director of Libraries and the VP for Academic Affairs’ office (210-567-2004) for approval to close. If it is determined the cause is mechanical failure, the following guidelines apply:
| Daylight Hours | After Dark |
| Library will remain open for 30 minutes, to allow time for power to be restored | Library will remain open for 15 minutes to allow time for power to be restored |
| After 30 minutes, the Library will be evacuated | After 15 minutes the Library will be evacuated |
| Library staff must remain in contact for one additional hour | Library staff must remain in contact for one additional hour |
| If the power is off for a total of 90 minutes, then the Library may be closed and staff sent home | If power is not restored after a total of 30 minutes, then the Library will be closed and staff sent home |
| If power is restored earlier than 6 hours prior to closing time, night or weekend staff must return to re-open the Library | If power is restored earlier than 6 hours prior to closing time, night or weekend staff must return to re-open the Library |
Inclement weather: During business hours, the Library will close if the University President or his designee declares a campus closure and cancellation of classes due to extreme weather or an emergency or disaster. After 5 pm or on weekends the Executive Director of Libraries or her designee has authority to close the Library in case of extreme weather or an emergency. Hours of work missed will be recorded as Administrative Leave. However, if an employee received prior approval for vacation or sick leave, then the absence will be recorded respectively.
The Library will open if the weather is severe but the campus is not closed. Staff members are expected to make every reasonable effort to report to work. If staff cannot safely make it to work, they should notify their supervisor by telephone immediately. Hours of work missed if the campus is not closed will be handled like other absences and charged to vacation leave or pay will be reduced.
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