SLIS 702 Community Engage and Service

March 11, 2020 proved to be one that would change the course of the entire world. The Covid-19 virus caused a global wide pandemic which seemingly caused a huge amount of the population stop completely stop in their tracks. For many this proved to be impactful on our lives and made us realize that life before this day would never be the same. Businesses, restaurants, airports to a certain degree were shut down for what we thought would only be a few weeks, which turned into months and here we are in 2022 still dealing with certain aspects of the pandemic. One of the places that was hit the hardest as well, but not talked about that much, was the library. As an institute that’s been around for centuries and adapted with the times, this one event proved to be one that helped change how the library worked both good and bad.

The interview with Christopher Cox discussed the resources and methods a lot of librarians have had to face and endure in the wake of the covid pandemic. The challenge of still making the library accessible in a time where most establishments have been shut down and vastly effected by the pandemic has shown how resilient and resourceful a lot of people are or have been forced to become. IT was refreshing to see how it’s being taken note that we do live in a time where social media has allowed the world to connect more than it has been in the last 10 years. Because of this, the path to making the library work and still accessible even in the wake of a pandemic like the corona virus shows that libraries are definitely evolving with the times whether the public realizes it or not.

Even before the pandemic these were issues the public libraries have been on the front lines dealing with and negotiating how to address while still providing essential community services while keeping staff and the community healthy. Freudenberg also points out how the pandemic has created an endless loop of ambiguity where the coronavirus has causes so much drastic changes it’s become more of a challenge to keep things in line. With much of what is discussed in the article, it takes not that we can look at these issues and find a proper way to deal with them within our own facilities. It’s important for the libraries to keep the community in the thick of things and to help keep a straight line of communication between the librarians and the patrons despite the hindrance of Covid-19.

THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK

1. When patrons return books, how long should the books be quarantined when they come back? Also, what are some proven effective methods to help successfully quarantine and decontaminate returned books that will reduce the risk of spreading the virus as well as not having any long term damaging effects on the books themselves?

2. What guidelines can be implemented when it comes to the usage of masks, gloves, sneeze guards, hand sanitizer, and other protective measures throughout the library? With these guidelines in place should we also require it to be mandatory for all patrons to wear these within the building?

3. With social distancing playing a key role in safety, how can we as the library change the floor plans of the library to better accommodate social distancing without changing book sections or having to radically alter various sections of the library?

SLIS 702 taught me the importance of competency and how that plays a crucial part in running a library. With the pandemic hitting like it did in 2020 it provided such a challenge for libraries that it seemed like it would be impossible for the library itself to stay afloat during this very crucial time in history. This course helped me to understand the concept of information organization and information retrieval more thoroughly. Aside from keeping the library running with such techniques as book side service and being able to check out items online, there was also the need to help people become more aware of Covid-19 and understand the facts and myths that surrounded this new virus. What it did was help me find the footing needed as a librarian to organize a search engine designed to answer any queries centered around Covid-19 whether it be literature, articles, and also to help aid the numerous health workers who were working day and night during this time by helping them find science based answers and information that would help counter the potential of confusion and misinformation during this crisis.