The lived experience of Australian public library staff during the COVID-19 library closures

IF 1.3 Q2 INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE

Library Management Pub Date : 2022-07-25 DOI:10.1108/lm-04-2022-0028

J. Garner, S. Wakeling, P. Hider, H. Jamali, M. Kennan, Yazdan Mansourian, H. Randell-Moon

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experiences of Australian public library staff during the COVID-19 library closures. The study examines the effect of mandated physical library closures on staff well-being, along with the challenges they faced as library operations moved to a remotely delivered model. The paper includes an examination of staff perceptions of their library's value in the lives of their users.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 Australian library staff from three library networks. A process of inductive coding resulted in a thematic description of the participants' experiences of continuing to work during a period of where their libraries were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.FindingsAustralian public library workers experienced many challenges that affected their well-being during the period of library closures. These included challenges relating to moving library programming to a virtual delivery model, managing significant change in their work lives, managing the emotions of self and others, and concern for the well-being of library users. Positive outcomes relating to skill development and innovative thinking were also reported.Originality/valueThe operational responses to the COVID-19 library closures in Australia and elsewhere have been well reported. This paper takes a different approach by examining the emotional and well-being outcomes for public library staff during these periods of closure.

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新冠肺炎疫情期间，澳大利亚公共图书馆工作人员的亲身经历

目的探讨新冠肺炎疫情期间澳大利亚公共图书馆工作人员的生活经历。这项研究考察了强制关闭实体图书馆对员工福祉的影响，以及随着图书馆运营转向远程交付模式，他们面临的挑战。这篇论文考察了工作人员对图书馆在用户生活中价值的看法。设计/方法/方法对来自三个图书馆网络的15名澳大利亚图书馆工作人员进行了半结构化访谈。归纳编码过程对参与者在其图书馆因新冠肺炎限制而关闭期间继续工作的经历进行了主题描述。发现在图书馆关闭期间，澳大利亚公共图书馆工作人员经历了许多影响他们福祉的挑战。其中包括将图书馆编程转移到虚拟交付模式、管理他们工作生活中的重大变化、管理自己和他人的情绪以及关心图书馆用户的福祉等方面的挑战。还报告了与技能发展和创新思维有关的积极成果。原创/价值澳大利亚和其他地方对新冠肺炎图书馆关闭的运营反应已得到充分报道。本文采用了一种不同的方法，研究了公共图书馆工作人员在关闭期间的情绪和幸福感结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Library Management INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

15.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： ■strategic management ■HRM/HRO ■cultural diversity ■information use ■managing change ■quality management ■leadership ■teamwork ■marketing ■outsourcing ■automation ■library finance ■charging ■performance measurement ■data protection and copyright As information services become more complex in nature and more technologically sophisticated, managers need to keep pace with innovations and thinking in the field to offer the most professional service with the resources they have.