International Journal of Librarianship
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Academic Libraries in Ghana and Their Strategies for Coping with the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFIn March 2020, institutions of higher education shut down in compliance with the directives of the President of Ghana to curb the spread of COVID-19. In July 2020, when the lockdown restrictions were eased, universities resumed teaching, learning, and research in order to continue the second semester of the 2020/2021 academic year. Universities and their libraries immediately adapted to online teaching and the delivery of services and resources to their patrons even though most of them were largely unprepared for this ‘new normal’ experience.
This paper adopts the qualitative research design which comprised documentary evidence of experiences of ten public and private universities libraries in Ghana with regard to their resources, services, facilities and staff as well as impact on library users during the pandemic. Findings reveal the strict compliance of the COVID -19 protocols and sanitation practices, the increased use of online databases, social media interventions and virtual training among others. The different strategies adopted by university libraries in Ghana are worth sharing and lessons learned provide a unique opportunity for academic librarians to rethink their key roles and core values in supporting the teaching and learning of their institutions during this very challenging time and the future
Grantseeking, Technology Renovation, and Creative Solutions to Support Library Access and Online Teaching and Learning During the Global COVID-19 Outbreak
Get PDFThe sudden global epidemiological outbreak in early spring 2020 challenged the academic libraries’ Access and Resource Sharing (ARS) department and prevented staff from providing the types of essential services that its users expect and require. With the full closure of campus and all courses moving online within a week, ARS staff were put on the front lines of finding ways to continue providing patrons with access to the library’s physical collections while library buildings were closed.
This paper details how the ARS community and a large research university library’s ARS department responded and adapted to these rapid changes, acted creatively, and reinvented services through collaboration, creative solutions, grantseeking, and technology renovation. ARS staff continued to test a scan-beside-the-stacks methodology through a grant-funded project to create an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) mobile cart. This mobile cart allowed for a single employee to handle all items to complete the digital conversion of print materials and reduced the risk of coronavirus transfer between library staff members during the COVID-19 pandemic. An on-demand book digitization program in collaboration with multiple departments opened up access to resources to effectively fulfill patrons’ needs. Through these and other adaptations, ARS staff retained their professional commitment to provide materials and a high level of services to their users
Content and Context: A Case Study of Cross-departmental Metadata Collaboration
No full textThis paper demonstrates how taking differences in end user behavior and differing interdepartmental perspectives on metadata into account can strengthen the digital object workflow to serve a greater variety of users. The University of Illinois Chicago University Library has successfully collaborated on metadata initiatives since establishing a cross-departmental Metadata Working Group. The article examines the perspectives of archivists, digital librarians, and catalogers on digital object metadata. It outlines the workflow established to enable each of these stakeholders to contribute their unique strengths to metadata and considers how bringing those strengths together serves different end user groups. It presents two examples of this workflow in action and considers the next steps for improving that workflow. Future efforts to strengthen the content/context balance of metadata are discussed in three areas: aggregated digitization and description, technology enhancements, and moving from a linear to a circular workflow model
Editorial: Special Issue on Pandemic and Libraries
Get PDFEditorial: Special Issue on Pandemic and Librarie
Re-looking at S. R. Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science
Get PDFS. R. Ranganathan’s work Five Laws of Library Science published in 1931 shaped library science and has served as a foundation for the profession of librarianship. The five laws of librarianship need to be revised as technology progressed in society. With the rise of digital libraries, however, it is essential to take a second look at these laws and see how they've held up in the face of new technologies. This study tries to explain how the theory is put into practice and to identify areas where it needs to be reformulated for the benefit of libraries. The Five Laws of Library Science by S. R. Ranganathan was reviewed for this research's literature study, and the five rules were combined with the traits of Generation Z to create new laws that are appropriate for this period. The research’s primary conclusions are (1) Information: Emphasize Content Over Container; (2) User Engagement; (3) Quantitative Information Analysis; and (4) Common Learning (Online and Offline)
The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Library Service Delivery in Zimbabwe
Get PDFThe higher and tertiary education system was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic leading to tremendous changes in service delivery in academic libraries. All the higher education stakeholders were affected including lecturers, students, researchers, and librarians, and they were forced to adjust accordingly in order to remain relevant. A survey was done using a multiple case study design where online questionnaires were distributed and participant observation were used to collect data from three academic libraries in Zimbabwe. It was discovered that academic libraries changed the way they deliver their services to meet the new demands when teaching and learning was shifted to online as a way of curbing the spreading of the virus. The author recommends that academic librarians should be continuously trained to deal with the skills gap created by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is need to provide appropriate information and communication technology infrastructure and the supporting policies and guidelines for academic libraries to continue supporting the research, teaching and learning activities in the COVID-19 environment
Illinois Fire Service Institute Library Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThe Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Library provides fire and emergency library and information assistance and services to the Institute’s instructional staff, students, Illinois fire departments and firefighters, and other fire/emergency-related users in the successful and effective performance of their jobs. In response to the COVID pandemic, IFSI Librarians have developed new services and resources to continue serving patrons. At the same time, new procedures and services were adopted. With the staff’s return to the library’s physical location, IFSI’s Learning Resource and Research Center building, new COVID-19-related safety measures have been instituted. IFSI Librarians worked with IFSI staff to create the COVID-19 Archives Collection to preserve important documents about the pandemic as it occurs. The Library received grant awards respectively from IMLS and ALA. During the pandemic, the IFSI International Programs continued to provide information resources and access to international users. The Library organized online academic activities via Zoom on a variety of workshops, lectures, and discussions to ensure that users were able to receive enough resources to continue their study and research
Ensuring Emotional and Psychological Wellbeing in Children through Bibliotherapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Experimental Approach
Get PDFSudden lifestyle changes and disruption necessitated by the COVID-19 precautionary measures resulted in children becoming frightened, bored, isolated and anxious which automatically posed a threat to their emotional and psychological wellbeing. These set of children could be helped through therapeutic reading of books. Reading stories provides children with opportunities to gain insight and learn healthier ways to face the uncertainty caused by their inability to do things that they normally do like going to school, visit friends, go to parties, visit parks, visit the library and so on. The study used a prestest - posttest quasi- experimental methodology which lasted for a duration of 10 weeks, the study population were twenty-five (25) within the age bracket of 7-16 years old. The study concluded that bibliotherapy is an effective tool in helping children to learn more about the coronavirus, help them to calm down, change their perspective and become more confident about the situation while looking forward to eventual reopening of the country
Creating New Correctional Programs and Services in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThis article explores the changed and changing COVID-19 pandemic programming implemented by Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library's correctional outreach teams. Every program or service offered by the correctional outreach teams was required to change to meet the needs of the pandemic. Additionally, the libraries created two new services: Library Hub, a tablet program for people in Rikers Island jail complex, and Immediate Access, a technology and resource access program for people on parole. The article explains the new services, provides the findings associated with almost two years of providing these services, and presents insights and suggested best practices