{"title":"Library of the National Congress of Argentina: How BCN Argentina has responded to the immediate crisis of the pandemic, development of protocols for reopening and the future of libraries","authors":"Alejandro Lorenzo César Santa","doi":"10.1177/09557490211002750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09557490211002750","url":null,"abstract":"In the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, BCN Argentina has faced new challenges in order to go on providing access to information and culture to all. At this particular time, we feel compelled to find new ways to achieve our goal of assisting the community and with quality services, through the incorporation of new digital services and the development of protocols for a safe reopening.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124035611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Laurentian University Library and Archives and the Covid-19 pandemic","authors":"Brent Roe","doi":"10.1177/0955749020982898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749020982898","url":null,"abstract":"The University Librarian at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, describes the experience and actions of the Laurentian University Library and Archives in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic over the spring and summer of 2020. The sudden shutdown of the university campus in March 2020 entailed financial strains that had direct consequences for library management, affecting operations, collection access and staffing. The shutdown itself was an extreme disruption to the provision of library and archival services. The pandemic and the campus shutdown were experienced as disorienting and stressful for library employees, although work continued as well as possible. Over the course of the summer, a kerbside pickup and scanning service was launched, a HathiTrust membership was sought, on-site archival work was restarted and plans were prepared for opening library space for study.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124461056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acting like a start-up: National Library of Estonia during Covid-19 pandemic","authors":"Janne Andresoo","doi":"10.1177/0955749020983479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749020983479","url":null,"abstract":"Emergency situation was declared in Estonia in the middle of March; the country was placed under partial lockdown. Libraries had to close. One of the first steps taken by the National Library of Estonia in these exceptional circumstances was to establish a crisis management committee to monitor the overall situation and decide how the library should proceed. The library was able to react quickly and continue with basic services, providing them online or contact-free. New services were introduced, making home lending and reference enquiry more efficient and convenient. The library reopened on 18 May. Looking back, we are happy to have not just survived but managed the crisis as an opportunity. This was reflected in increased numbers of new registered readers and usage. The emergency situation clearly indicated one of the most important requirements for libraries – the need to be ready to react fast and adapt to new situations.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125954602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The National Library of Lithuania: Lively, innovative and creative","authors":"R. Gudauskas","doi":"10.1177/0955749020983493","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749020983493","url":null,"abstract":"We live in a constantly transforming society, and, therefore, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, which celebrated its centenary last year, is also constantly transforming. By adapting to constant change, we continue our core mission, which in today’s digital age is to preserve and manage what has been created in this country over the centuries. We are actively developing a unique library model, live library. In other words, it is the living space of living people. Our field of activity is very wide. We are not only the custodians of the national documentary treasure but also a cultural institution, open to all, a scientific library and a parliamentary library that cultivates community, public spirit and democracy. Never before has the National Library been as popular, needed and even as fashionable as it is today. We work to meet the professional, intellectual and spiritual needs of today’s people, whether they are library visitors, readers, employees, partners or just those who want to improve themselves.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129756784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Library and Archives Canada: The next 10 years, post Covid-19","authors":"Leslie Weir","doi":"10.1177/0955749020986900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749020986900","url":null,"abstract":"The new Librarian and Archivist of Canada shares experiences of leading Library and Archives Canada (LAC) during a period of transition with the change in leadership and two major construction projects including a new net carbon zero preservation centre and a joint facility with the Ottawa Public Library. This transition leads to the establishment of the two strategic priorities of service transformation and digital optimisation and the launch of a visioning exercise for LAC in 2030. The vision anticipates new audiences in light of the partnership with the public library and the development of new services and highlights the importance of a virtual presence for national libraries. The transition is interrupted by the arrival of Covid-19 6 months into the process and the future of the national libraries and their role must be reimagined post Covid.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133584179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"British librarianship in the time of Covid-19","authors":"Nick Poole","doi":"10.1177/0955749021989580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749021989580","url":null,"abstract":"Covid-19 has impacted on every aspect of daily life across the United Kingdom. At once both a public health crisis and an ‘infodemic’ of misinformation, it has presented unique challenges for library and information services. Yet despite these challenges, the pandemic has also given our services a new-found relevance. Readership has increased dramatically. Librarians in health have turned their skills to the search for an effective vaccine. Our colleagues in schools, colleges and Universities have stepped up to help their institutions achieve a rapid ‘digital pivot’. In the private sector, librarians and information professionals have used their skills to help their companies go online and to ensure the continuity of their activities. It is not yet clear how the pandemic will change our habits, attitudes and behaviours in the long term. As we begin to look ahead to a future in which ‘digital’ has taken its place on equal terms with face-to-face services, the library and information sector is uniquely positioned to help our communities thrive in a post-pandemic era. In this article, Nick Poole, the Chief Executive of CILIP, the United Kingdom’s Library and Information Association, looks back at the last year for UK libraries and explores the challenges and opportunities ahead.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"35 2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114322908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coronavirus 2020: From lockdown to resumption at the National Library of Scotland","authors":"John J. Scally","doi":"10.1177/0955749020983478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749020983478","url":null,"abstract":"Pandemics are nothing new to libraries. Our collections contain many works on epidemics and pestilence through the centuries. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the National Library of Scotland to deal with a public health crisis that went beyond the experience and policies of the institution. This account describes the measures taken to close the Library rapidly and to set up a staff of over 300 to homeworking. It is then explained how the Library continued working under lockdown and provided a digital service to the public. In the final section, the Library’s approach to reoccupying the buildings and resuming public services is discussed, emphasising the complex administrative and human issues involved. Finally, a short assessment of the ‘new normal’ for the National Library is posited.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131851267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Covid-19: The National Library of New Zealand experience","authors":"Bill Macnaught","doi":"10.1177/09557490211001699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09557490211001699","url":null,"abstract":"This article summarises the experience of the National Library of New Zealand in coping with the first year of the global Covid-19 pandemic. It is written from the perspective of the National Librarian, Bill Macnaught CBE, in the months before he retired in December 2020. The new National Librarian, Rachel Esson, can be contacted at rachel.esson@dia.govt.nz for any enquiries about the current status.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114310010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public libraries in times of Covid-19","authors":"Ezio Neyra","doi":"10.1177/09557490211000148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09557490211000148","url":null,"abstract":"This article deals with the way in which, because of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, the National Library of Peru found ways to continue creating spaces, physical, virtual or remote, of access to information and culture. The article understands this right as a fundamental right of people, which must not be diminished and which, on the contrary, must be promoted even in times of emergency or pandemic.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"31 Spec No 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123208932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Library collections and services during Covid-19: Qatar National Library experience ","authors":"K. Medawar, Myrna Tabet","doi":"10.1177/0955749020986377","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749020986377","url":null,"abstract":"The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic made a tragic impact on the entire world throughout the economy, education, businesses, health, jobs and so on. In order to survive this disease, and to minimise the losses, most of the businesses and educational institutions switched to the virtual and offered online services with the help of technology. This article describes how Qatar National Library embraced the situation and what it offered in terms of collections, services and support.","PeriodicalId":431623,"journal":{"name":"Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues","volume":"64 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131788748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}