Sustainable Online Library Services and Resources

Happy National Library Week! This week's review looks at how librarians can build sustainable virtual services, analyzing lessons gleaned from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Posted on April 24, 2023 in Reviews of the Month

Sustainable Online Library Services and Resources: Learning from the Pandemic

ed.by Mou Chakraborty, Samantha Harlow, and Heather Moorefield-Lang Libraries Unlimited, 2022
257p bibl index, 9781440879258 $65.00, 9781440879265

Sustainable online library services and resources: learning from the pandemic book cover.

Out of the COVID tragedy comes growth and revitalization for various library services. The 16 essays in this volume focus on refurbishing aspects and services of libraries, including information literacy, hiring practices, and digital repositories. Whereas most essays describe sustainable services within the US, two contributions are by professionals in Barbados and Brazil. The majority of the essays depict instruction in academic libraries, but library staff and outreach are also examined. The gem in this collection is “Maintaining Comics and Gaming Programming during Institutional Change,” by Zach Welhouse and Kelly Stormking, a study of Oregon State University. This innovative program not only enticed student and community users but also broke down departmental silos within the library. Other noteworthy chapters include one on library staff well-being, which focuses on mental health and training needs, and one on retooling hiring practices to include online scheduling and more diverse search committee membership. Chapters on hybrid information literacy and converting instruction offer useful discussion of workflow, practical advice, and other takeaways. The book would benefit from reorganization: essays would flow better if they were grouped under headings such as instruction, library staff, and outreach. That aside, this useful collection illustrates how enthusiastic and energized employees can adjust admirably to changing needs.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.
Reviewer: K. Condic, Oakland University
Subject: Reference – Library & Information Sciences
Choice Issue: Jul 2023

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