Officials will close Gelman Library Friday in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an email sent to students.

Geneva Henry, the dean of Libraries and Academic Innovation, said in the email that the library will be closed to everyone except “designated staff” to follow social distancing guidelines. She added that Libraries and Academic Innovation will remain “digitally open” and access to the library’s remote resources, like databases and research tools, will still be available to the GW community.

“We are also committed to maintaining access to library materials, especially Top Textbooks and other items on reserve, that are needed for teaching and research,” she said in the email. “Wherever possible we will provide digital rather than physical copies, recognizing that we need to work within copyright guidelines.”

She said officials are prioritizing both the GW community’s safety and continuity of instruction and research during this time.

“Ensuring that faculty and students have access to the information and services they need in digital format or other online formats will best enable us to meet both of these priorities moving forward,” she said in the email.