Rider University: Keeping Resources Available through the Pandemic & Construction

Abstract

During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, Rider University Libraries’ collections were unavailable to the entire Rider Community due to an executive order, but also because of Phase 1 library construction. Rider University Libraries’ interlibrary loan staff used open resources, controlled digital lending, and purchase on request to overcome the barriers to only being able to deliver digital resources. This paper documents both Rider University Libraries’ successes and failures in delivering materials digitally during the COVID-19 pandemic and Phase 1 construction, challenges that have been shared by many libraries in the past and that could face any library in the future.