Librarian Contributions to a Regional Response in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Western North Carolina

Med Ref Serv Q. 2021 Jan-Mar;40(1):79-89. doi: 10.1080/02763869.2021.1873626.

Abstract

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mountain Area Health Education Center formed a response team with the goal of building capacity across Western North Carolina health systems to collectively identify needs, coordinate resources to fill gaps, and strategically manage the regional threats of the pandemic. The library team collaborated on interprofessional projects by gathering information and using LibGuides to quickly and easily organize and share resources. The team met challenges, including moving to telecommuting, balancing a growing workload, and navigating a changing information landscape, and in doing so, strengthened relationships across the organization and the region.

Keywords: COVID-19; Collaboration; LibGuides; North Carolina; information management; library; pandemic; telecommuting; workload.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • COVID-19*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Information Dissemination / methods*
  • Intersectoral Collaboration*
  • Librarians / psychology*
  • Libraries, Digital / organization & administration*
  • Libraries, Digital / statistics & numerical data
  • Libraries, Medical / organization & administration*
  • Libraries, Medical / statistics & numerical data
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • North Carolina
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Teleworking*