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Dependable During Disruptions: Ensuring Remote Access to Library Resources, Redeploying Staff, and Offering Relevant Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2024-06-12 , Charleswood A
Language: English

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted access to health library services, spaces, staff and resources. We conducted a bilingual Canada-wide survey in early 2023 to document the experiences of library technicians, librarians, managers, and other health library staff. The objectives of the survey were to document: (1) services provided by health library staff; (2) staffing levels in health libraries; (3) redeployment of library staff to alternate roles or activities; (4) frequently used skills or competencies; (5) challenges faced and (6) lessons learned during the pandemic. Over 280 respondents provided insights on the role of library staff during the pandemic. During the pandemic, library staff provided services such as environmental scans, literature searches, instruction sessions, and alerts to information on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 so that hospital staff, public health staff or researchers could implement the most up to date evidence. Meanwhile, staffing levels at health libraries were variable between 2019-2022. In addition, survey data shows that 57% of respondents were redeployed to alternate roles or tasks and 22% of staff who were redeployed continued to perform library work simultaneously. Skills and competencies such as literature searching, project management, networking, or communication were used daily or weekly by over 40% of respondents. Many library staff identified challenges such as reduced or increased service requests, online service delivery, deployment to alternate roles and health concerns. Overall, health libraries ensured remote access to resources, redeployed staff to meet organizational priorities, and provided relevant services during the pandemic. Future considerations to improve service delivery are explored.

Minakshi Sharma is an Information & Policy Management Consultant at Toronto Public Health (TPH). Designing a survey for library staff has been a humbling experience. She has experience planning instruction sessions, conducting comprehensive searches and tackling information or data management tasks within academic, public health, and hospital libraries for over 15 years. Minakshi is an alum of the Association of Research Libraries Kaleidoscope Program. Currently, she is serving as Past-President for the Toronto Health Library Association.

Coordonnatrice du consortium des ressources électroniques du RUISSS UdeM depuis 2018, elle œuvre au sein du Réseau Universitaire Intégré de Santé et de Service Sociaux (RUISSS) de l’Université de Montréal depuis 2015. Elle a développé une offre de service provinciale pour l’accès aux ressources documentaires pour les professionnels de la santé et des services sociaux. Son expertise combine la négociation des contrats de licences, l’analyse statistique de l’utilisation des ressources, la gestion des accès et le développement de collections numériques ainsi que la coordination de services. Elle siège depuis 2022 sur le conseil d’administration de la Fédération des milieux documentaire (FMD) en tant qu’administratrice. Elle est présidente de la section Santé et Services sociaux de la Fédération des milieux documentaires (FMD3S) et du chapitre québécois de l’ABSC/CHLA. Avant de se joindre au RUISSS de l'UdeM, elle a œuvré dans les bibliothèques universitaires.