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January 2022 3C&RL News 

Welcome to the January 2022 issue of C&RL News, the first issue of the magazine pub-
lished under our new online-only model. At press time, the newly discovered omicron  
COVID-19 variant was making news around the world, showing that the pandemic con-
tinues to have an impact on all of our lives. As a new term starts under these continuing 
uncertain conditions, recognizing the pyschological impact of COVID-19 remains as im-
portant as ever.

Prior to the pandemic, the Cornell University Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library launched 
a program to address the mental health challenges experienced by many of their students 
by prodiving free tea in the library as a calming force. Erin R. B. Eldermire and Wasima 
Shinwari write about their efforts at supporting student wellness by “Brewing tranquili-tea.” 
While the project remains on hold due to COVID-19, similar programs to foster connec-
tions between students and the library can be one way to address the stress of the ongoing 
pandemic.

The need to take a step back and address wellbeing extends to library workers as well as 
students. During 2020 and 2021, the Bryant University library used tea to allow for con-
tinued connections between colleagues and a venue for sharing the impact of the pandemic, 
a practice that has adapted after their return to their physical spaces. Angie Cox and Jaycie 
Vos discuss the impact of their “Virtual staff teas” this month.

Supporting student success in these challenging times also extends to providing access to 
materials and library instruction. Jennifer L. Murray and Christopher Boyd outline ways 
the “Technical services and systems” departments at the University of North Florida and 
Florida Gulf Coast University libraries provide support for continuity of instruction and 
learning in a remote environment 

On the instruction front, Emily Reed of Penn State University writes about her efforts at 
engaging international students in library instruction during the pandemic through the use 
of educational technology like Nearpod in “From passive listeners to active participants.”

In the first of two The Way I See It essays this issue, Karen O’Grady of the University of 
San Diego reflects on her conversion to being a “Zoombrarian” through creating personal-
ized  database instruction videos for her health sciences students during the pandemic.

In this month’s Scholarly Communication column, Patricia Lombardi and Sam Simas 
highlight “The Bryant Faculty Spotlight,” a podcast series launched at the Bryant University 
Douglas and Judith Krupp Library to promote their institutional repository that grew and 
flourished over the course of the pandemic into a way to highligh faculty research in general.

Make sure to check out the other features and departments this month, including a look 
at “ACRL candidates for 2022” and a The Way I See It essay by Shin Freedman on breaking 
barriers to having librarian scholarship recognized in campus award programs.

Thanks as always for reading the News!
—David Free, editor-in-chief, dfree@ala.org