The State of Online and Remote Work of Academic Librarians in Virginia

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the number of hours and percentage of time spent working remotely and online by academic librarians in Virginia and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of this type of work. Returning to work following the COVID-19 pandemic has sometimes been flexible, with some librarians continuing to work remotely part-time. Due to technological advances, librarians are working more in an online environment allowing them to get their work done no matter where they are located. In September and October 2022, 672 invitations to participate in the quantitative study were sent to publicly available email addresses at 75 Virginia colleges and universities, including two-year, four-year, public, private, profit, and not-for-profit. A total of 146 responses were collected, with 67% of librarians reporting that they work remotely each week. The average number of days working remotely per week was 1.9. The advantages of working at library locations were related to in-person interactions with library faculty and staff, school faculty, and students. More advantages were reported for working remotely. The highest reported advantages were saving time and money on transportation and being more environmentally friendly. Transportation issues, such as gas money, traffic, parking, and time driving, were reported as disadvantages to working at library locations by 23% of participants, the highest percentage of responses to any of the advantages or other disadvantages. Lack of connections with library faculty and staff was the highest reported disadvantage of working remotely. Although focused on academic librarians in Virginia, this study reflects the continuance of online and remote work nationwide.