Academic Librarianship in the Age of COVID: The Online Scramble

Sponsored by SAGE Publishing

Recorded on 08/06/2020
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 147

Being flexible. Staying fluid. Chasing a moving target. Besides dealing with overused analogies, academic librarians face the challenging task of providing digital resources and assistance to faculty and students in an online learning environment many have never before experienced—nor been equipped to handle.

Three librarians, Linda Van Keuren of Georgetown Medical, Sally Gibson of Missouri Western State, and Kat McGrath of the University of British Columbia, found surprising overlap in the strategies assumed and tools provided at their libraries in the aftermath of college closures in March, despite their institutions’ varying populations and needs.

In the first episode of this four-part series, they discuss their institutions’ background, the first few weeks of scrambling online, and the new initiatives that have stuck through the summer months. Whether it’s collecting a COVID-19 resource list, creating online education workshops for faculty, or taking a deep dive into inventory lists to avoid superfluous spending, Van Keuren, Gibson, and McGrath have much to discuss on the universality of staying flexible, and the unique needs of their colleges’ populations.

About the guests:

Linda Van Keuren
Assistant Dean for Access & Resource Management
Georgetown Medical

Sally Gibson
Library Director
Missouri Western State

Kat McGrath
Renewals and Collections Librarian
University of British Columbia

Enjoy the episode? Check out the others in the series:

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