Crisis Librarianship: An Examination of Online Librarianship Roles in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Karen Nourse Reed; Brittany Kester; Karen F Kaufmann; Lindley Homol; Camielle Crampsie

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102530

Crisis Librarianship: An Examination of Online Librarianship Roles in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of academic librarianship. 2022 Jul;48(4):102530. doi: 10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102530. Epub 2022 Apr 12.

Authors

Karen Nourse Reed¹, Brittany Kester², Karen F Kaufmann³, Lindley Homol⁴, Camielle Crampsie⁵

Affiliations

¹ Middle Tennessee State University, Walker Library, MTSU Box 13, 1301 East Main St., Murfreesboro, TN 37128, United States of America.
² University of Florida, 1500 Norman Hall, PO Box 117016, 618 SW 12 St., Gainesville, FL 32611-7016, United States of America.
³ Seminole State College of Florida, 100 Weldon Blvd., Sanford, FL 32773, United States of America.
⁴ Northeastern University, Snell Library, 300 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, United States of America.
⁵ University of South Florida, 140 7 Ave S., POY 118, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, United States of America.

Abstract

This study surveyed the members of a professional library organization for their perceptions of their online librarianship role. In particular, the survey sought to examine any change in online librarianship roles after March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Participants were administered a survey comprised of both quantitative and qualitative response options. Findings present a nuanced professional environment post-lockdown in which individual job duties largely remained the same; however participants reported increased demands stemming from workplace issues, including attrition and lack of resources.

Keywords: Academic librarianship; Academic libraries; Embedded librarian; Library instruction; Online learning; Subject specialist librarians.