Abstract
The authors of this article, both instruction librarians, have researched the emotional labour that information literacy instruction librarians perform for several years. Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, they discuss concepts of emotional labour among instruction librarians in that evolving context. They outline common aspects of emotional labour that manifest differently during the pandemic, compared to non-pandemic times. They identify and analyse new layers of emotional labour that many instruction librarians currently experience on top of their “normal” lives and emotional labour. They provide a brief overview of aspects of emotional labour that may be easier or lesser during the pandemic. The article concludes with a call for future research on these concepts, particularly using qualitative and mixed-methods research.
Highlights
Several years ago, we began researching the emotional labour that information literacy instruction librarians in higher education experience
Much of the discussion we currently experience within our home department at the library, and much of what we read through our professional connections on social media, deals with the emotions of working in academic libraries during the current pandemic
We will discuss the emotional labour that academic librarians perform in the course of their work
Summary
We began researching the emotional labour that information literacy instruction librarians in higher education experience. Much of the discussion we currently experience within our home department at the library (virtually, ), and much of what we read through our professional connections on social media, deals with the emotions of working in academic libraries during the current pandemic. We will discuss the emotional labour that academic librarians perform in the course of their work. We will compare emotional labour during the current global COVID-19 pandemic with labour performed during normal, non-pandemic times. We connect our work with psychologists’ recent assertions that some individuals currently experience improved emotional states during the pandemic. We identify several aspects of emotional labour among instruction librarians that would benefit from qualitative and mixed methods research in the near future
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
