The Socially-Distanced Library: A Case Study of the Alabama Virtual Library & Auburn University at Montgomery

Sponsored by Taylor & Francis
Recorded on 07/30/2020

Posted in Library Leadership and Management

In this webinar:

In the second webinar of this four-part series:

When campuses across Alabama were closing due to COVID-19 this past spring, the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) board members quickly reached out to new and existing vendors to request temporary access to online resources to help K-20 educators and students make the transition to online learning. In a matter of a few weeks, 31 additional resources were made freely available statewide for several weeks to months. Based on the feedback we received about them, these just-in-time resources were a blessing to our residents. You’ll learn:

  • How AVL reached out to the vendors and negotiated access
  • About the challenges and successes AVL had when making the resources available
  • About an innovative approach AVL took to provide online access to students who were forced to return home to another state or country
  • How this experience is helping guide the future of the state’s libraries

In this series:

Choice and ACRL present a four-part webinar series that provides practical guidance for academic libraries to help their campus communities shift to online instruction and services in a socially-distanced environment. Designed for library leadership as well as front-line staff, the four webinars will address issues such as:

  • Publisher and vendor negotiations for services and content
  • How to identify opportunities in the midst of uncertainty for long-term changes to resources, services, and instruction
  • Planning for a “new mix” of scholarly resource formats
  • Programming designed to transition faculty to online teaching
  • How libraries can be proactive partners in the transition to online instruction and services
  • How academic libraries are reconfiguring their physical spaces

Check out the other three webinars in the series:

Speakers:

  • Image of Ron Leonard

    Ron Leonard

    Director of Special InitiativesAlabama Commission on Higher Education

    Ron Leonard is the Director of Special Initiatives at the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). As such, he is responsible for some large statewide projects, such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion project and an Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative, as well as several smaller projects. Also, he is the NC-SARA State Portal Entity Representative for the state of Alabama. Previously, he was the Director of the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries, which is a library consortium of ACHE and Alabama’s eligible public and private four-year colleges and universities. Ron’s background includes working in public, special, and academic libraries, as well as a national consortium called LYRASIS. He holds a Master of Science in Library Science from the University of Kentucky. When not working for ACHE, he volunteers to help the Alabama Virtual Library with database licensing, budgeting, and the Alabama OER Commons.

  • Image of Phill Johnson

    Phill Johnson

    Dean of the LibraryAuburn University at Montgomery

    Phill Johnson is Dean of the Library at Auburn University at Montgomery. He also represents the Alabama Commission on Higher Education as a member of the Alabama Virtual Library Council. As part of the Council, he serves on the database licensing, legislative, and OER Commons committees. Before joining Auburn University in 2015, Phill simultaneously owned and operated multiple small businesses and then spent over a decade in law library administration, mostly at the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Missouri Southern State University, a Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law, and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois.

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