The COVID-19 crisis has created a strain on both the personal and professional lives of library staff everywhere. As libraries respond to rapidly evolving information and guidelines, building closures, and loss of resources, staff are considering new, virtual ways to connect with and support patrons and colleagues.

View this 90-minute OCLC virtual town hall with a welcome from Skip Prichard, President and CEO of OCLC. This event features WebJunction and OCLC Research Library Partnership program staff and four guest panelists from public, academic, special, and school libraries who share their experiences with the shifting landscape, including how libraries are moving services, programming, and learning online.

Panelists also discussed methods for taking care of ourselves and one another as we grapple with the stress and fear that results from a crisis of this magnitude. Having a strong network of support is essential to everyone’s well-being, so we appreciated hear ing from you, too. Attendees brought ideas, questions, and insights, and participated via chat and in other interactive elements of the town hall.

Panelists: 

• Lauren Pressley, Associate Dean for Research & Learning Services, University of Washington Libraries, and Past President, Association of College & Research Libraries
• Kendra Jones, Deputy Director, Timberland Regional Library
  
• Bobbi Newman, writer, consultant (librarianbyday.net), and Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region
  
• Ashley Cooksey, consultant (ashleycooksey.com), Library Media Specialist, and Adjunct Instructor, University of Central Arkansas
  
• Rachel Frick, Executive Director, Research Library Partnership, OCLC
• Kendra Morgan, Senior Program Manager, WebJunction

Tweet: #OCLCcovidtownhall

Access Recording

• View Town Hall Recording (on YouTube)
• View Town Hall Recording (To receive a certificate for viewing the recording, you will be prompted to log in to our free Course Catalog.)
  

Webinar Attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat from Webex audience (xls)
• View captions (txt)  

Related Resources and Links

• OCLC COVID-19 Information and Resources to Help
• Including WebJunction COVID-19 Resources
  • Evolving list of resources, including examples of how libraries are managing the COVID-19 crisis, links to other library-specific resource compilations, and relevant events
  • How to keep hours current in search engine listings
  • How libraries are communicating with their communities
• OCLC Research Library Partnership
  
  • Overview of RLP work
    
  • Hanging Together blog, including The Interlibrary Loan Community Mobilizes — Mostly from Home — to Meet the COVID-19 Crisis
    
  • Works in Progress webinars
  • OCLC Research publications
• WebJunction
  • Upcoming webinars
    
  • List of past webinars
  • Crossroads, WebJunction's newsletter
  • WebJunction Projects 
  • WebJunction Course Catalog
• On social media
  • WebJunction on Facebook
  • WebJunction on Twitter
  • WebJunction on LinkedIn
  • Geek the Library on Facebook
  • OCLC Research on Fac
  • ebook
• Wireless discounts & grants
  • Sprint 1 Million Project
    
  • Cox Communications: Connect 2 Compete
    
  • Verizon Grants
    
  • AT&T Access
    
  • Everyone On
    
• Additional links shared in chat
  • School Library Journal has a good round up of publisher permissions, Publishers Adapt Policies To Help Educators
  • Youth Programming Goes Virtual—Storytimes, Crafts, Teen Activities, and More, on WebJunction
  • Copyright: Within the UK, RLUK and partners called on providers of digital content to help research communities during COVID-19 crisis: https://www.rluk.ac.uk/rluk-and-partners-call-on-providers-of-digital-content-to-help-research-communities-during-covid-19-crisis/
  • At a University library in Houston, TX. Our campus libraries are all closed & people are working at home. Our services as they currently stand are here: https://libraries.uh.edu/covid-19/
  • IMLS, CDC Offer Guidance for Disinfecting Returned Library Books, School Library Journal
  • Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19: Survey of Response & Activities, PLA
    
  • Sneezeguard for working with the public, a recommendation from attendee
  • Beanstack for summer reading program management
  • An attendee asked: Has anyone had to furlough staff because of uncertainty around property taxes (like Akron, Ohio) - https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20200410/akron-summit-county-public-library-system-to-furlough-more-than-330-employees
  • PC Magazine, How to Prevent Zoom-Bombing
  • Denver Public Library's Outreach Team safely and distantly wrapped and packed over 1,100 books for Denver Public Schools' families for distribution on Monday. https://twitter.com/denverlibrary/status/1248704962496024577
  • Information on Book Bikes from Pima Public Library
  • Webinar, Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: Teaching in Uncertain Times (see free coupon code in description)
  • Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves, In the Library with the Lead Pipe
  • National Digital Inclusion Alliance
  • "Help a Library Worker Out" HALO fund from Everylibrary to donate to help those library workers who have lost their jobs
  • Academic librarian Emily Drabinski is a labor leader & she shared a resource, Organize your Workplace against COVID-19, to seek out help organizing a workplace to advocate for safety, supplies, etc.
  • "Sometimes you just need to get outside yourself and help others. Whenever I need to do that and I'm not sure what to do I go to https://www.zooniverse.org/. It's a website were people post online citizen science projects that anyone can participate in."
  • From Richland Library in SC, a fantastic "We miss you" video from staff
  • NNLM webinar, Putting the Self back in Self-Care: Wellness in the time of COVID-19
  • Vermont libraries crowdsourced some working at home ideas (pdf) 
  • Recent webcast by Discovery Behavioral Health, Coping with Covid Community
  • Self-care ideas Ashley Cooksey uses with her students