Case Study on COVID-19 and Archivists’ Information Work

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents preliminary findings from an exploratory, qualitative case study bounded by the city of Philadelphia. The case study brings the literature on information work (IW) to bear for the first time on archives and special collections repositories. Empirical interview data on archivists’ information work at five medical history collections, pre- and post- pandemic onset, suggests that institutional and personal conditions surrounding COVID-19 prompted archivists to change their information work tasks in phases, first shifting office tasks to remote work under quarantine, then to hybrid work contexts. We explore an information work model including work purposes, work tasks, and work roles. The model shows how tasks of collection management, reference services, and outreach constitute the context and purpose for archivists’ information work. The paper details how hybrid work tasks and hybrid work contexts emerged.KeywordsArchivesInformation workPandemic