Except For My Commute, Everything Is the Same: The Shared Lived Experience of Libraries During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives: This longitudinal study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on academic health sciences libraries over three pivotal time periods during the pandemic. Findings from the study provide context for the challenges libraries faced and the tactics they employed to ensure continuity of services and support of their staff. The study sought to capture the experiences of libraries as they transitioned to remote service environments, evolved over the course of an uncertain academic year, and began to transition or plan to transition back to in person services in some capacity.

Methods: This study used a multi-site mixed-method approach to capture the direct experience of libraries as they evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic at three time points: April 2020, August 2020, and February 2021. Respondents to the April 2020 survey were invited to participate in the next two surveys. The data was collected in Qualtrics and coded using DeDoose, an online platform for analyzing qualitative and mixed methods research. Two researchers developed an initial code set and used open coding techniques to uncover themes that emerged from the data. A sample of the coding independently verified by a third researcher to ensure inter-rater reliability. Results from this study aim to strengthen and elucidate what is known about how libraries responded to COVID-19, as well as identify best practices when responding to future events.

Results: Thirty-seven AAHSL libraries across all regions participated in the April 2020 survey, followed by 26 and 16 libraries for the August 2020 and February 2021 surveys, respectively. We identified 29 independent themes from the qualitative data, with the categories of Lessons Learned, Internal Communication, Telecommuting and Library Building being used most frequently across all three surveys. Throughout the data, staff remained a central theme.

Conclusions: From April 2020 to February 2021, academic health sciences libraries shared a transformative experience as they responded to new challenges due to the pandemic. The phenomenological approach used provided a rich dataset that assisted in the creation of a shared experience by libraries. At the onset of the pandemic, library leaders were energized as they focused on the transition to remote services and well-being of staff. As the pandemic dragged on, respondents expressed exhaustion, having to maintain focus on internal communication and staff well-being, but also working through the challenges of budget reductions, reopening planning, and a lack of certainty. Final data analysis, presented at the conference, will include an analysis of thematic clusters, breakdowns by region, and descriptive statistics.