The Laurentian University Library and Archives and the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The University Librarian at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, describes the experience and actions of the Laurentian University Library and Archives in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic over the spring and summer of 2020. The sudden shutdown of the university campus in March 2020 entailed financial strains that had direct consequences for library management, affecting operations, collection access and staffing. The shutdown itself was an extreme disruption to the provision of library and archival services. The pandemic and the campus shutdown were experienced as disorienting and stressful for library employees, although work continued as well as possible. Over the course of the summer, a kerbside pickup and scanning service was launched, a HathiTrust membership was sought, on-site archival work was restarted and plans were prepared for opening library space for study.