Abstract
Objectives:The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the scope and adaptive nature of reference services provided by academic health sciences librarians over a one-year period (between March 2020 and March 2021) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods:In March 2021, academic health sciences librarians in the United States were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey about their experiences providing reference services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey was developed, pretested, and distributed to various listservs.Results:A total of 205 academic health sciences librarians and other information professionals with health sciences liaison responsibilities in the US (N=205) responded to the online survey. The scope of reference services provided during the COVID-19 pandemic included email-based reference services (97%), virtual reference (89%), telephone (80%), text-based (33%), and in-person (31%). The most common types of COVID-related reference questions included COVID-19 treatments (53%), safety precautions (46%), vaccines (41%), and prevalence (38%). Additionally, the identification of challenging reference questions and examples of misinformation were provided by respondents.Conclusions:The results of the survey characterize the evolving nature and scope of academic health sciences reference work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Librarians reported an increase in reference questions during the pandemic and are answering them in creative ways despite barriers (e.g., limited time and reduction in resources). There is an opportunity for librarians to continue to address COVID-related misinformation. Overall, these findings provide useful insight for library practitioners and administrators planning reference services during public health crises.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the alarming number of novel coronavirus cases, commonly known as COVID-19, a global pandemic in March 2020 [1]
This study examined the scope of reference services, changes to reference work, and the range of reference questions that academic health sciences librarians received amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
Survey questions asked respondents about their experiences of providing reference services over a oneyear period (March 2020–March 2021) during the COVID19 pandemic, including the types of reference questions, opinions on how reference work changed during this time, and any factors that may have impacted reference services during the pandemic (Appendix A)
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the alarming number of novel coronavirus cases, commonly known as COVID-19, a global pandemic in March 2020 [1]. During this time, contagion concerns regarding the COVID-19 disease outbreak led to widespread lockdowns across the United States and internationally. Many libraries were completely closed or offered limited in-person services for extended periods of time With this shift to online work, remote library operations, and more virtual services due to social distancing concerns [3], librarians previously providing services both in person and online were often working remotely to provide information services for their patrons [4,5,6]
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