Virtual Reference at Health Sciences Libraries in the Time of COVID-19

Objectives: Virtual reference services have become a staple in many libraries of today. These services reached a new level of importance when in-person library reference services shut down worldwide in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic response. As many libraries begin reopening and once again providing in-person services, what does the future hold for virtual reference in health sciences libraries? This research project aims to discover how health sciences librarians are utilizing virtual reference services including chat, email, text, and video consultations, to perform reference duties in their institutions, and how a pandemic has changed the use of these technologies.

Methods: Librarians developed and distributed a survey to health sciences librarians within the United States. The survey addresses the status of virtual reference services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as any changes that are being seen as libraries reopen and students return to campuses. Questions focus on the types of virtual reference provided, if libraries found increased or decreased use in virtual reference during the pandemic, and if the pandemic forced an expansion or change in virtual services provided. The survey attempts to understand the level of service change, if any, health sciences librarians experienced with virtual reference services.

Results: Responses to the survey were focused on academic health sciences and hospital settings. The majority of libraries pre-pandemic relied on email as their main virtual reference source with less than one half using any sort of video conferencing. While only 87% of librarians worked at home, for any length of time, video conferencing became the medium of choice for virtual reference, with email still being heavily used. Of the virtual services libraries had available, every service showed an increase in usage overall, with video conferencing, email and chat seeing the highest increase. Most libraries did not purchase new virtual reference software, but many did expand upon software solutions they had already implemented. Most institutions simply responded by adding Springshare LibGuides solutions or expanding Zoom or Microsoft Teams subscriptions to accommodate needed uses.

Conclusions: These changes remained even as libraries returned to in-person work, showing a potential permanent shift in how reference will be performed in the future. Next steps include qualitative analysis and future dissemination.