Academic Librarianship in the Age of COVID: Finding Solutions

Sponsored by SAGE Publishing

Recorded on 08/26/2020
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 150

Being an academic librarian during a global pandemic means rolling with the punches. Whether it be budget cuts or temperature checks, librarians are adjusting in real time to the rapid changes needed to support to virtual learning.

Sally Gibson of Missouri Western State found that the sudden reliance on digital content and services helped her staff get into their patrons’ shoes. “I think the one positive of having everyone working from home is that we were really able to find out what it’s like to be a distant student who’s off campus. We were able to troubleshoot some of the issues that they’d run into, or just have the overall experience of what they are going through.”

In this third episode, Linda Van Keuren of Georgetown Medical and Kat McGrath of the University of British Columbia join Gibson to discuss the lack of student staff, loss of their physical space, and the appeal of point-of-need content delivery. In this new world of curbside pickup and socially-distant study, all solutions are welcome in today’s library.

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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