Health and Pandemics
How can libraries prepare for and respond to pandemics, disasters, and other public health crises? How can libraries ensure access to current, accurate, inclusive, and free information and services in times of heightened uncertainty, panic, xenophobia, and disinformation? How can archives inform understanding through collecting and preserving records and firsthand accounts of ongoing crises? What can be done to protect the health and livelihoods of staff and patrons, through closures, remote and alternative services and events, improved sick leave and flexible work policies, hygiene, sanitation, and social distancing in library spaces and services, and more?
See also our pages on Labor/Staffing/Training, Sustainable Libraries, and Self Care and Mutual Aid
Health Resources
Factsheets, Handwashing Guides, etc. Printouts, Handouts and Posters (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
COVID-19 Toolkits (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
Finding the Evidence: Coronavirus (Public Health England)
Health in the Workplace: COVID19/Coronavirus Resources and Information for the Museum Field (American Alliance of Museums)
Coronavirus Project: Debunking Viral Misinformation (Federation of American Scientists)
COVID-19 Exit Strategy (Data aggregation)
COVID-19 Resources (Union of Concerned Scientists)
COVID Tracking Project (COVID data aggregation, by The Atlantic)
COVID-19 Health Data (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)
Taking Care of Your Mental Health in the Face of Uncertainty (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)
Libraries and 3D Printer-made Masks, Face Shields, and Component parts for Health Care Workers (Updating Google doc)
COVID-19 Resources for Medical Librarians and Other Health Information Professionals (Medical Library Association)
Guidelines on Contact Tracing, Health Checks, and Library Users' Privacy (American Library Association)
COVID-19 Clinical Resource Guide (Duke University Medical Library & Archives)
COVID-19 Resources (Brooklyn Public Library)
Vaccination
EveryLibrary Calls on State and Local Health Officials to Prioritize Librarians and Library Workers in Vaccination Plans (December 23, 2020)
Vaccinations and Immunizations Resources (Network of the National Library of Medicine)
Statements and Letters in favor of Priority Vaccinations for Library Workers (updating Google doc)
Library Management
Public Libraries Closed for COVID-19 (Google spreadsheet list)
#Closethelibraries: closure advocacy resources and list of libraries still open (Updating Google doc)
Library-Related Special Event Closings, Cancellations, due to COVID-19 Concerns (Infodocket)
Tracking Library Layoffs (Updating Google doc)
Coronavirus: Library Business and Operations Planning (National Library of Medicine)
Pandemics: Library Planning and Responding (Library 2.0)
COVID-19 and Library Managers (Urban Librarians Unite)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
Guide to COVID-19 for Public Libraries (National Network of Libraries of Medicine)
In Case of Emergencies: Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning Course (National Library of Medicine)
Evidence for Global and Disaster Health (E4GDH) Special Interest Group (International Federation of Library Associations)
Resources for Response to COVID-19 Health Crisis (Society of American Archivists)
Librarians Respond to Coronavirus and Other Pandemics (Library 2.0 Webinar, March 26, 2020)
Libraries and the Coronavirus: Evolving Information and Resources (OCLC Webjunctions)
Being Trauma-Informed During a Pandemic: An Introduction for Library Staff (Webinar by Bryce Kozla, April 30, 2020
Open Learning for Uncertain Times (Association of College and Research Libraries)
Resources for Libraries on Coronavirus (EveryLibrary)
Coronavirus Information and Resources (School Library Systems Association)
Pandemic Resources for Academic Libraries (ACRL Libguide)
Free Webinars and Trainings for Academic Library Workers (COVID-19) (crowdsourced Google doc)
Coronavirus Tech Handbook (crowdsourced doc; includes a subpage for Library Workers)
Public Libraries and the Pandemic: Digital Shifts and Disparities to Overcome (Education Policy Report by Lisa Guernsey, Sabia Prescott, Claire Park, NewAmerica, March 1, 2021)
Fobazi Ettarh & Chris Vidas. "'The Future of Libraries:' Vocational Awe in a 'Post-COVID' World." Serials Librarian, May 4, 2022.
Re-Opening and Recovery Planning
REALM Research Project: Re-opening Archives, Libraries, and Museums Information Hub (OCLC, IMLS, and Battelle)
Handling Library Materials and Collections during a Pandemic (Association for Library Collections and Technical Services)
Australian libraries responding to COVID-19: Checklist for reopening libraries (Australian Library and Information Association)
Library Reopening Resources (Shared Google drive compilation)
Recover, Retrench, Reset: an international symposium exploring the reopening of research libraries and the ‘new normal’ in the Covid-19 landscape (video and slides from June 3, 2020 event; International Alliance of Research Library Associations)
COVID-19 Library Re-opening Plan Database (New York Library Association)
COVID-19 Pandemic Resources and Plans for Library Reopening (New Jersey State Library)
Coronavirus and Massachusetts Libraries: Re-Opening Your Library Resource Guide (Massachusetts Library System)
Guidelines for Reopening Libraries during the COVID-19 Pandemic (American Library Association)
Special Collections, Archives, Oral History, etc.
Institutional Responses to COVID-19 (ACRL Rare Book and Manuscript Section)
Rare Book and Manuscript repositories' responses to COVID-19 (Google spreadsheet list)
Moving Archival and Special Collections Instruction Online (Crowdsourced Google document)
Working Remotely: Technical Services in Special Collections (Crowdsourced Google document)
Archivists at Home (Google doc from Accessibility and Disability Section of the Society of American Archivists)
Coronavirus Preparedness Community Document for Cultural Organizations (Google Spreadsheet; primarily museum oriented)
COVID-19 Oral History (List of resources and projects compiled by Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
COVID-19 Project (to collect and preserve source material related to the pandemic; Brooklyn Historical Society)
COVID-19 Resources for Cultural Institutions (Conservation Center for Art and Historic artifacts)
Collecting Community Responses to COVID-19: Webinar, May 5, 2020 (Ontario Museum Association = Association Musées de l'Ontario)
COVID-19 Collections and Resources: An Update for Web Archivists (Internet Archive)
Pandemic Diaries (New York Public Library)
COVID-19 Web Archiving Project (Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries)
Specific Populations
APALA Condemns Rise in Xenophobia and Racism Due to the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak (Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association)
Protecting Asian American and Pacific Islander Working People, In response to COVID-19 (Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance)
Black America and COVID-19 (Harvard Library)
COVID-19 Resources for Indigenous Peoples (Arizona State University Library)
COVID-19 Resources in English/Recursos en Español (San Francisco Latino Task Force; includes also some videos in Maya language)
Planning for the Digital Accessibility Needs of Students with Disabilities as Part of a Campus Mitigation Plan for COVID-19 (Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities)
Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies: COVID-19 update and call to action
Coronavirus: Resources for Reporters (First Draft News)
Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center (NewsGuard)
NYC-Area Institutional responses to COVID-19 (Metropolitan New York Library Council)
COVID-19 Resources for Authors, Publishers, Booksellers, Parents, and Educators (We Need Diverse Books)
Mutual Aid, Advocacy
HALO Fund: Help a Library Worker Out: donate or apply for support (EveryLibrary Institute)
RADLAM COVID-19 Relief Fund for Library, Archive, & Museum Workers
Coronavirus Mutual Aid projects list by region in US and Canada (It's Going Down)
Healing Justice. 'Coronavirus: Wisdom from a Social Justice Perspective." (Podcast with Transcript, and Resource List)
COVID-19 Mutual aid and Advocacy Resources (collaborative Google doc)
Collective Care Is Our Best Weapon against COVID-19 (Mutual Aid link compilation)
Jade Begay. "Decolonizing Community Care in Response to COVID-19." NDN Collective, March 13, 2020.
COVID-19 and Mutual Aid (Northstar Health Collective)
COVID-19 Response Hub (WITNESS)
Katie Way. "How to Protest Safely During a Pandemic." Vice, June 1, 2020.
COVID-19 Relief Fund (Know Your Rights Camp)
Social & Software & Patron Resources
Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists: Fair Use & Emergency Remote Teaching & Research (collectively generated, well-cited)
Remote Services Libraries Can Provide (Crowdsourced Google Doc)
Libraries Step Up In Times of Crisis (Facebook Group)
COVID4GLAM (Discord Group)
COVID-19 and Student Privacy (Zotero list)
Building Classroom Communities during Coronavirus (for parents)
COVID offers from US Internet Service Providers (ISPs) (National Digital Inclusion Alliance)
Booklist for Children, Teens, and Adults: Viruses, Pandemics, and Germs (Brooklyn Public Library)
Nimble Tents Toolkit: timelines, instructions and sample materials for urgent challenges and crisis response
Civic Engagement during COVID-19
How to Protest Safely during the COVID-19 Pandemic (University of Washington Medicine)
Journal Articles, Databases, etc.
Some database providers and publishers have temporarily removed their usual paywalls, waitlists, or fees for selected articles or resources for public health purposes and to support remote services.
COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) (Dynamed)
Novel Coronavirus Information Center (Elsevier)
Novel Coronavirus articles (Wiley Online Library)
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 (Springer Nature)
Novel Coronavirus Web Archive (Internet Archive)
National Emergency Library (Internet Archive; CLOSED June 16, 2020)
Free Resources during COVID-19 (Project Muse)
Resources during COVID-19 (JSTOR)
COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (Semantic Scholar)
COVID-19: Novel Coronavirus Content (Taylor and Francis)
Emergency Temporary Access Service (HathiTrust)
News Articles, Blog Posts, etc.
Cass Balzer. "Reopening Gets Real." American Libraries Magazine, June 2, 2020.
Maddie Bender. "It's a Moral Imperative: Archivists Made a Directory of 5,000 Coronavirus Studies to Bypass Paywalls." Motherboard, February 3, 2020.
Stephen Buss. "What Public Libraries Need to Know About the Coronavirus." Library Journal, February 5, 2020.
Concerned Staff of the New York Public Library. "NYPL Workers Speak Up About Mounting COVID-19 Fears." Medium, August 1, 2021.
Cuseum. "How Museums and Attractions are Preparing and Responding to Coronavirus." March 2, 2020.
Ferrin Evans. "Love (and Loss) in the Time of COVID-19: Translating Trauma into an Archives of Embodied Immediacy." American Archivist, vol. 85, no. 1, July 1, 2022.
Aimi Hamraie. "Accessible Teaching in the time of COVID-19." Mapping Access, March 10, 2020.
Glen Harper. "#Lockdownlibrarianship." Library Whisperers, March 17, 2020.
Interference Archive. "Response to COVID19." March 11, 2020.
Patrick Lloyd. "Prioritizing Staff Mental Health When Reopening." Public Libraries Online, June 5, 2020.
Sarah Ostman. "The Facts: Fighting Fake News in the Pandemic." Programming Librarian, March 19, 2020.
Anne Helen Petersen. "The Librarians Are Not Okay." May 1, 2022.
Meredith Schwartz. "Library Labor: We Need A National Library Workers Organization." Library Journal, 1 June, 2020.
Jacqueline Wernimont. "Thoughts & Resources for Those About to Start Teaching Online Due to COVID-19." HASTAC, March 9, 2020.
Thomas Wilburn. "Libraries Are Dealing With New Books and Services During the Pandemic." MPR News, June 16, 2020.
Becky Yoose. "When Libraries Become Medical Screeners: User Health Data and Library Privacy." Choose Privacy Every Day, May 8, 2020.
Kara Yorio. "A Crisis—as in School Closures Due to Coronavirus—Justifies Fair Use, Say Librarians." School Library Journal, March 14, 2020.
Jeffrey R. Young. "How Librarians Continue Their Work Digitally Even as Coronavirus Closes Libraries." EdSurge, March 17, 2020. (podcast audio and transcript)