diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index da26607..8717152 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ Gemfile.lock
 /test/tmp/
 /test/version_tmp/
 /tmp/
+/vendor
 
 # Used by dotenv library to load environment variables.
 # .env
@@ -218,7 +219,8 @@ flycheck_*.el
 .LSOverride
 
 # Icon must end with two \r
-Icon

+Icon
+
 
 # Thumbnails
 ._*
diff --git a/.ruby-version b/.ruby-version
index 0ddaf4d..eb39e53 100644
--- a/.ruby-version
+++ b/.ruby-version
@@ -1 +1 @@
-~> 3.3
+3.3
diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index df4c001..2c1b190 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# 0.2.1 (2026-02-04)
+
+- Add `URIs::HeadCheck`, an OkComputer check that performs a HEAD request
+  to verify the availability of a URL, with optional basic authentication.
+- updates Requester to support timeouts values passed to RestClient
+
 # 0.2.0 (2025-07-24)
 
 - Update to support Ruby 3.3+.
diff --git a/berkeley_library-util.gemspec b/berkeley_library-util.gemspec
index 6c592a5..399c353 100644
--- a/berkeley_library-util.gemspec
+++ b/berkeley_library-util.gemspec
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.add_development_dependency 'ci_reporter_rspec', '~> 1.0'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'colorize', '~> 1.0'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'dotenv', '~> 2.7'
+  spec.add_development_dependency 'okcomputer', '~> 1.19'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'rake', '~> 13.0'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'rspec', '~> 3.10'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'rubocop', '~> 1.78.0'
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util.rb
index 6952166..994db74 100644
--- a/lib/berkeley_library/util.rb
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util.rb
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Dir.glob(File.expand_path('util/*.rb', __dir__)).sort.each(&method(:require))
+Dir.glob(File.expand_path('util/*.rb', __dir__)).each(&method(:require))
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util/arrays.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util/arrays.rb
index 11d893e..6a4b24d 100644
--- a/lib/berkeley_library/util/arrays.rb
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util/arrays.rb
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@ def count_while(values:)
       #   @yieldparam target [Object] the value to compare against
       #   @return [Array<Integer>, nil] the indices in `in_array` of each value in `for_array`,
       #     or `nil` if not all values could be found
-      def find_indices(for_array:, in_array:, &block)
-        return find_indices_matching(for_array, in_array, &block) if block_given?
+      def find_indices(for_array:, in_array:, &)
+        return find_indices_matching(for_array, in_array, &) if block_given?
 
         find_all_indices(for_array, in_array)
       end
@@ -89,10 +89,10 @@ def find_indices(for_array:, in_array:, &block)
       #   @param in_array [Array] the array to search
       #   @param start_index [Integer] the index to start with
       #   @return [Enumerator] a new enumerator
-      def find_index(*args, in_array:, start_index: 0, &block)
+      def find_index(*args, in_array:, start_index: 0, &)
         raise ArgumentError, "wrong number of arguments (given #{args.length}, expected 0..1" if args.size > 1
         return Enumerator.new { |y| find_index(in_array: in_array, start_index: start_index, &y) } if args.empty? && !block_given?
-        return unless (relative_index = in_array[start_index..].find_index(*args, &block))
+        return unless (relative_index = in_array[start_index..].find_index(*args, &))
 
         relative_index + start_index
       end
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util/module_info.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util/module_info.rb
index 3dc1362..1f7f6fb 100644
--- a/lib/berkeley_library/util/module_info.rb
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util/module_info.rb
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ module BerkeleyLibrary
   module Util
     class ModuleInfo
       NAME = 'berkeley_library-util'.freeze
-      AUTHORS = ['David Moles', 'maría a. matienzo'].freeze
-      AUTHOR_EMAILS = ['dmoles@berkeley.edu', 'matienzo@berkeley.edu'].freeze
+      AUTHORS = ['David Moles', 'maría a. matienzo', 'Jason Raitz'].freeze
+      AUTHOR_EMAILS = ['dmoles@berkeley.edu', 'matienzo@berkeley.edu', 'raitz@berkeley.edu'].freeze
       SUMMARY = 'Miscellaneous Ruby utilities for the UC Berkeley Library'.freeze
       DESCRIPTION = 'A collection of miscellaneous Ruby routines for the UC Berkeley Library.'.freeze
       LICENSE = 'MIT'.freeze
-      VERSION = '0.2.0'.freeze
+      VERSION = '0.2.1'.freeze
       HOMEPAGE = 'https://github.com/BerkeleyLibrary/util'.freeze
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris.rb
index a06ae4f..73dee1a 100644
--- a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris.rb
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris.rb
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ def append(uri, *elements)
       # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
       # @return [String] the body as a string.
       # @raise [RestClient::Exception] in the event of an unsuccessful request.
-      def get(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
-        Requester.get(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log)
+      def get(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, timeout: Requester::DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+        Requester.get(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log, timeout: timeout)
       end
 
       # Performs a HEAD request and returns the response status as an integer.
@@ -47,8 +47,8 @@ def get(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
       # @param headers [Hash] the request headers.
       # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
       # @return [Integer] the response code as an integer.
-      def head(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
-        Requester.head(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log)
+      def head(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, timeout: Requester::DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+        Requester.head(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log, timeout: timeout)
       end
 
       # Performs a GET request and returns the response, even in the event of
@@ -59,8 +59,8 @@ def head(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
       # @param headers [Hash] the request headers.
       # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
       # @return [RestClient::Response] the response
-      def get_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
-        Requester.get_response(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log)
+      def get_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, timeout: Requester::DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+        Requester.get_response(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log, timeout: timeout)
       end
 
       # Performs a HEAD request and returns the response, even in the event of
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ def get_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
       # @param headers [Hash] the request headers.
       # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
       # @return [RestClient::Response] the response
-      def head_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true)
-        Requester.head_response(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log)
+      def head_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, timeout: Requester::DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+        Requester.head_response(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log, timeout: timeout)
       end
 
       # Returns the specified URL as a URI, or `nil` if the URL is `nil`.
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b90dd2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+require 'berkeley_library/util/uris'
+
+module BerkeleyLibrary
+  module Util
+    # :nocov:
+    if defined?(::OkComputer)
+      class HeadCheck < ::OkComputer::HttpCheck
+
+        def perform_request
+          headers = {}
+          if basic_auth_options.any?
+            user, password = basic_auth_options
+            headers['Authorization'] = "Basic #{Base64.strict_encode64("#{user}:#{password}")}"
+          end
+
+          options = { headers: headers, log: false }
+          options[:timeout] = request_timeout.to_i if request_timeout
+
+          URIs.head_response(url, **options)
+        rescue StandardError => e
+          raise OkComputer::HttpCheck::ConnectionFailed, e
+        end
+      end
+    end
+    # :nocov:
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester.rb
index 7f7c9ef..28edfe9 100644
--- a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester.rb
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester.rb
@@ -20,11 +20,12 @@ class Requester
         RETRY_STATUSES = [429, 503].freeze
         MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS = 10
         MAX_RETRIES = 3
+        DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 10
 
         # ------------------------------------------------------------
         # Attributes
 
-        attr_reader :method, :url_str, :headers, :log, :max_retries, :max_retry_delay
+        attr_reader :method, :url_str, :headers, :log, :max_retries, :max_retry_delay, :timeout
 
         # ------------------------------------------------------------
         # Initializer
@@ -38,9 +39,11 @@ class Requester
         # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
         # @param max_retries [Integer] the maximum number of times to retry after a 429 or 503 with Retry-After
         # @param max_retry_delay [Integer] the maximum retry delay (in seconds) to accept in a Retry-After header
+        # @param timeout [Integer] the request timeout in seconds (RestClient will use this to set both open and read timeouts)
         # @raise URI::InvalidURIError if the specified URL is invalid
         # rubocop:disable Metrics/ParameterLists
-        def initialize(method, url, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS)
+        def initialize(method, url, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS,
+                       timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
           raise ArgumentError, "#{method} not supported" unless SUPPORTED_METHODS.include?(method)
           raise ArgumentError, 'url cannot be nil' unless (uri = Validator.uri_or_nil(url))
 
@@ -50,6 +53,7 @@ def initialize(method, url, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX
           @log = log
           @max_retries = max_retries
           @max_retry_delay = max_retry_delay
+          @timeout = timeout
         end
 
         # rubocop:enable Metrics/ParameterLists
@@ -73,7 +77,7 @@ def make_request
         private
 
         def log_response(response)
-          return unless log
+          return unless log && response&.code
 
           logger.info("#{method.to_s.upcase} #{url_str} returned #{response.code}")
         end
@@ -90,6 +94,8 @@ def url_str_with_params(uri, params)
 
         def execute_request(retries_remaining = max_retries)
           try_execute_request
+        rescue RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout
+          raise
         rescue RestClient::Exception => e
           response = e.response
           raise unless (retry_delay = retry_delay_from(response))
@@ -99,7 +105,7 @@ def execute_request(retries_remaining = max_retries)
         end
 
         def try_execute_request
-          RestClient::Request.execute(method: method, url: url_str, headers: headers).tap do |response|
+          RestClient::Request.execute(method: method, url: url_str, headers: headers, timeout: timeout).tap do |response|
             # Not all failed RestClient requests throw exceptions
             raise(exception_for(response)) unless response.code == 200
           end
diff --git a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester/class_methods.rb b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester/class_methods.rb
index 456a559..ed5a155 100644
--- a/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester/class_methods.rb
+++ b/lib/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester/class_methods.rb
@@ -13,9 +13,11 @@ module ClassMethods
           # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
           # @param max_retries [Integer] the maximum number of times to retry after a 429 or 503 with Retry-After
           # @param max_retry_delay [Integer] the maximum retry delay (in seconds) to accept in a Retry-After header
+          # @param timeout [Integer] the request timeout in seconds (RestClient will use this to set both open and read timeouts)
           # @raise [RestClient::Exception] in the event of an unsuccessful request.
-          def get(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS)
-            resp = make_request(:get, uri, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay)
+          def get(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS,
+                  timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+            resp = make_request(:get, uri, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay, timeout)
             resp.body
           end
 
@@ -28,8 +30,10 @@ def get(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_r
           # @param headers [Hash] the request headers.
           # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
           # @return [Integer] the response code as an integer.
-          def head(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS)
-            head_response(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log, max_retries: max_retries, max_retry_delay: max_retry_delay).code
+          def head(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS,
+                   timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+            head_response(uri, params: params, headers: headers, log: log, max_retries: max_retries, max_retry_delay: max_retry_delay,
+                               timeout: timeout).code
           end
 
           # Performs a GET request and returns the response, even in the event of
@@ -40,8 +44,9 @@ def head(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_
           # @param headers [Hash] the request headers.
           # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
           # @return [RestClient::Response] the response
-          def get_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS)
-            make_request(:get, uri, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay)
+          def get_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS,
+                           timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+            make_request(:get, uri, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay, timeout)
           rescue RestClient::Exception => e
             e.response
           end
@@ -54,15 +59,18 @@ def get_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRI
           # @param headers [Hash] the request headers.
           # @param log [Boolean] whether to log each request URL and response code
           # @return [RestClient::Response] the response
-          def head_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS)
-            make_request(:head, uri, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay)
+          def head_response(uri, params: {}, headers: {}, log: true, max_retries: MAX_RETRIES, max_retry_delay: MAX_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS,
+                            timeout: DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+            make_request(:head, uri, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay, timeout)
           rescue RestClient::Exception => e
-            e.response
+            return e.response if e.response
+
+            raise
           end
 
           private
 
-          def make_request(method, url, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay)
+          def make_request(method, url, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay, timeout)
             Requester.new(
               method,
               url,
@@ -70,7 +78,8 @@ def make_request(method, url, params, headers, log, max_retries, max_retry_delay
               headers: headers,
               log: log,
               max_retries: max_retries,
-              max_retry_delay: max_retry_delay
+              max_retry_delay: max_retry_delay,
+              timeout: timeout
             ).make_request
           end
 
diff --git a/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check_spec.rb b/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8c02d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+require 'okcomputer'
+require 'berkeley_library/util/uris/head_check'
+require 'base64'
+
+module BerkeleyLibrary
+  module Util
+    RSpec.describe HeadCheck do
+      let(:url) { 'http://example.com' }
+      let(:check) { described_class.new(url) }
+      let(:mock_response) { instance_double(RestClient::Response) }
+
+      before do
+        allow(BerkeleyLibrary::Util::URIs).to receive(:head_response).and_return(mock_response)
+      end
+
+      describe '#perform_request' do
+        context 'without basic auth' do
+          it 'does not add Authorization header' do
+            check.perform_request
+            expect(BerkeleyLibrary::Util::URIs).not_to have_received(:head_response).with(anything, hash_including('Authorization' => anything), anything)
+          end
+
+          it 'calls URIs.head_response with the correct URL' do
+            check.perform_request
+            expect(BerkeleyLibrary::Util::URIs).to have_received(:head_response).with(URI(url), headers: {}, log: false, timeout: 5)
+          end
+        end
+
+        context 'with basic auth' do
+          let(:user) { 'user' }
+          let(:password) { 'pass' }
+
+          # Stub the configuration on the instance directly
+          before do
+            allow(check).to receive(:basic_auth_options).and_return([user, password])
+          end
+
+          it 'adds the Authorization header' do
+            expected_headers = { 'Authorization' => "Basic #{Base64.strict_encode64("#{user}:#{password}")}" }
+
+            check.perform_request
+            expect(BerkeleyLibrary::Util::URIs).to have_received(:head_response).with(URI(url), headers: expected_headers, log: false, timeout: 5)
+          end
+        end
+
+        context 'when URIs.head_response raises an error' do
+          let(:error_message) { 'Something went wrong' }
+
+          before do
+            allow(BerkeleyLibrary::Util::URIs).to receive(:head_response).and_raise(StandardError, error_message)
+          end
+
+          it 'raises an OkComputer::HttpCheck::ConnectionFailed error' do
+            expect { check.perform_request }.to raise_error(OkComputer::HttpCheck::ConnectionFailed, error_message)
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester_spec.rb b/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester_spec.rb
index 00aae9a..c75f0cf 100644
--- a/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/berkeley_library/util/uris/requester_spec.rb
@@ -305,6 +305,13 @@ module URIs
                   requester = Requester.new(:get, url)
                   expect { requester.make_request }.to raise_error(RestClient::ServiceUnavailable)
                 end
+
+                it "raises #{RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout} when the request times out" do
+                  url = 'http://example.edu/timeout'
+                  stub_request(:get, url).to_raise(RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout)
+
+                  expect { Requester.get(url, timeout: 10) }.to raise_error(RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout)
+                end
               end
             end
           end
@@ -374,6 +381,13 @@ module URIs
             end
           end
 
+          it "raises #{RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout} when the request times out" do
+            url = 'http://example.edu/timeout'
+            stub_request(:head, url).to_raise(RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout)
+
+            expect { Requester.head(url, timeout: 10) }.to raise_error(RestClient::Exceptions::Timeout)
+          end
+
           it 'handles redirects' do
             url1 = 'https://example.org/'
             url2 = 'https://example.edu/'