Abstract
The COVID‐19 pandemic has posed significant challenges for health science librarians. During this pandemic, librarians are playing an active role by increasing the public’s awareness of the virus, maintaining document delivery services and providing research support. This paper uses the method of desktop analysis of the websites of selected library associations to identify the responses of health science librarians to the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study highlights significant initiatives taken by some health science librarians which can be replicated by others to meet the needs of library users in the COVID‐19 health crisis.J.M
Keywords: global health, health sciences, librarianship, library and information professionals
Introduction
The coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) is a communicable infectious disease caused by the newly circulating coronavirus (WHO, 2020a). As of 21 April 2020, confirmed cases of coronavirus have been found in 213 countries; 2 356 414 people worldwide are known to be infected and the number of reported deaths has reached 160 120 (WHO, 2020b). A genus of the Coronaviridae family, it spreads through droplets released during coughing, sneezing or secretions of the infected person and targets the human respiratory system. The seriousness of the virus can be gauged by the rate of its rapid spread around the world (Lipsitch, Swedlow, & Finelli, 2020) and the many infected persons confined in isolation wards in health centres (Munster, Koopmans, Doremalen, Riel, & Wit, 2020). Due to the lack of either a vaccine or drug for coronavirus, non‐pharmaceutical measures are being introduced as preventive and controlling measures (Tian et al., 2020). In order to shield people from exposure to the coronavirus, most countries have introduced lockdowns on human mobility. According to the BBC, by the end of March 2020 more than 100 countries instated either complete or partial lockdowns (BBC, 2020). Besides health challenges, the coronavirus has given rise to various rumours and fake information on social media platform (Shimizu, 2020; Tasnim, Hossain, & Mazumder, 2020). Newitz (2020) argues that video conferencing and video calling apps such as Zoom and Skype have become a necessity in home quarantine despite being unsecure and filled with fake and abusive information.
According to Gerber (2020) ‘as health professionals, medical librarians are sometimes considered essential personnel and therefore required to work, either onsite or remotely’. With the closure of physical spaces, librarians are working in virtual spaces to provide remote services, resources and support for research, innovation and public health in the current health crisis. The role of academic health librarians now includes controlling fake information and providing authentic, updated information to health workers and the public. According to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA, 2020) ‘Health librarians – working in hospitals, research centres and governments –have to deliver more than ever, even as they face the same restrictions and rules as everyone else’. However, the biggest challenge in the COVID‐19 crisis for librarians is to keep providing their usual services to library users. The intention of this paper is to present a summary of the broader initiatives taken by the librarians across the globe. A desktop analysis of selected websites of library association was carried out to identify innovative approaches taken by health science librarians during this unprecedented pandemic.
The author suggests that health science librarians have three important roles to play during the COVID‐19 pandemic:
To provide awareness on preventive measures relating to COVID‐19
To provide document delivery services during lockdown
To support researchers working on COVID‐19
Scope of paper
The paper uses the method of desktop analysis to review the initiatives undertaken by health science librarians around the world in response of COVID‐19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Objectives of this paper
To explore initiatives undertaken by health science librarians for to raise public awareness on preventive measures for dealing with COVID‐19.
To identify problems faced by health science librarians in providing document delivery services in this global lockdown.
To identify useful resources and websites providing the latest COVID‐19 research findings which health science librarians can access to support researchers and faculty.
Methodology
A desktop analysis approach was used in the study. To explore the role of librarians and library associations around the world, the author examined the official websites of some of the oldest library associations and organisations with an international scope. A summary of sources used in the study is listed in Table 1.
Table 1.
Sources used for to explore the role Health Science Libraries are playing during the 2020 pandemic
| Name of association/Organization | Year of foundation | URL |
|---|---|---|
| American Library Association | 1876 | http://www.ala.org/tools/ala‐covid‐19‐response |
| International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions | 1927 | https://www.ifla.org/covid‐19‐and‐libraries |
| Library Association (merged with CILIP– Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in 2002) | 1877 | https://www.cilip.org.uk/news/493378/CILIP‐Coronavirus‐Information‐Service.htm |
| Medical Library Association | 1898 | https://www.mlanet.org/page/covid‐19‐resources‐for‐medical‐librarians |
| Online Computer Library Association | 1967 | https://www.oclc.org/en/news/announcements/2020/oclc‐statement‐coronavirus‐covid‐19.html |
To meet the objectives of study, data were extracted from the dedicated COVID‐19 pages created by these library associations.
Findings: how health science librarians are responding to the pandemic
The findings in this paper are organised under the three study objectives.
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1
Initiatives by health science librarians to generate public awareness about COVID‐19.
The key measures to prevent infection from COVID‐19 are as follows: social distancing; using masks; using sanitizers; and hand washing. Library associations and individual libraries have been designing posters to educate people regarding COVID‐19. Table 2 lists some initiatives aimed at generating awareness through posters. These posters aim to educate people on social distancing, the use of masks and how to wash hands properly.
Table 2.
Raising awareness about the virus through posters – examples
| Name of library | URL |
|---|---|
| Australian Library and Information Association | https://www.alia.org.au/resources‐libraries |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries | https://www.masslibsystem.org/blog/2020/03/04/coronavirus‐resources‐for‐librarians/ |
| National Network of Library of Medicine | https://news.nnlm.gov/gmr/2020/02/covid‐19‐coronavirus‐for‐public‐libraries/ |
| University of Mississippi Libraries | https://guides.lib.olemiss.edu/posters/pandemic |
Librarians are also playing a vital role in motivating COVID‐19‐infected people to share their experiences. User experiences related to COVID‐19 provide useful information for researchers and doctors. Such information is not only vital to understand how patients cope; it is also required for drafting disaster management policy which will be helpful in the future. Researchers at Arizona State University have created a separate web portal, ‘A Journal of the plague year’, to collect the experiences of users (Tebeau, 2020 https://covid19.omeka.net/about).
Most countries are experiencing a shortage of masks and face shields which are necessary for preventing infection. Librarians have been offering webinars on how to create masks. Some librarians are using 3D printers to produce N95 masks for medical professionals. The University of Utah’s libraries and Fort Atkinson Middle School library have started producing N95 masks on a trial basis. Columbia University libraries have also released guidelines for preparing face shields which can be used by the libraries having 3D printers (Columbia University Libraries, 2020).
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2
Problems faced by health science librarians in providing document delivery services during this global lockdown.
As a result of lockdown in most countries, libraries are closed. But some libraries, such as the US Library of Congress, need to support their parent bodies and therefore remain open. Some libraries are offering home delivery of documents and consequently sanitizing of documents has become a big concern. At present, no research has been conducted on the transmission of corona virus through library document surfaces (such as book cloth, book jackets, coated and uncoated papers) which is a cause for concern amongst librarians. The best advice is to seek help from professional services for sanitizing documents before delivery. Also, proper care should be maintained while using solvents or disinfectants on the library collection. Northeast Document Conservation Center has released a series of guidelines for disinfecting books and other collections which will be helpful for the librarians who are working in the COVID‐19 crisis (NEDCC, 2020 https://www.nedcc.org/free‐resources/preservation‐leaflets/3.‐emergency‐management/3.5‐disinfecting‐books).
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3
Useful resources and websites providing the latest COVID‐19 research evidence to enable health science librarians to support researchers and faculty.
Access to the right information at the right time is critical for researchers working on COVID‐19. Various publishers are offering free access to e‐content on COVID‐19. Librarians can use these databases to download information related to the research interests of their researchers, research teams, faculty members and health workers. Librarians have a key role to play as the quantity of information explodes. Coren (2020) observes that scientific papers on COVID‐19 are doubling every 14 days. Another study by Reuters reveals that owing to the pace at which academic papers on COVID‐19 are being published papers are not always being peer reviewed which can leading to false information being published (Sharma, Scarr, & Kelland, 2020). Librarians using keywords and other tools have the skills to monitor recent publications and provide the most reliable papers to researchers.
The WHO has created an important database of global literature on COVID‐19. Figure 1 shows a screenshot of this resource.
Figure 1.
WHO global literature database – screenshot (Source:WHO, 2020c) https://search.bvsalud.org/global‐literature‐on‐novel‐coronavirus‐2019‐ncov/
Elsevier has created a Novel Coronavirus Information Center to provide free information related to SARS‐CoV‐2 and COVID‐19 (Elsevier, 2020 https://www.elsevier.com/connect/coronavirus‐information‐center). Some researchers have taken the initiative to create a COVID‐19 open research dataset (CORD‐19) which comprises about 24 000 research papers for researchers working on COVID‐19. Figure 2 shows a snapshot of the CORD‐19 data set.
Figure 2.
CORD‐19 dataset – screenshot (Source:Semanticscholar, 2019) https://pages.semanticscholar.org/coronavirus‐research
Some major publishers are providing free access to articles on COVID‐19. Table 3 lists some of the major journal publishers providing free access and the links to their articles on COVID‐19.
Table 3.
Articles on COVID‐19 made available by major journal publishers
Some librarians have also compiled material on recorded knowledge related to past pandemics and disasters which might help in the present crisis. The Library History Round Table of American Library Association has assembled an exhaustive list of resources related to epidemics or related disasters. The Society of American Archivists (2020 https://www2.archivists.org/resources‐for‐response‐to‐covid‐19‐health‐crisis) has also put together a compendium of resources of global initiatives taken in response of COVID‐19 crisis.
Conclusion
In the current health crisis created by COVID‐19, the role of librarians has of necessity expanded significantly. Librarians are playing crucial roles from generating awareness, filtering fake information, supporting researchers and faculty members, to providing reference and document delivery services. Library professionals have always been committed to providing people with information; during the pandemic they are finding new ways to support their mission as demonstrated in this paper.
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