Research Article
Federal Library Utilization of
LibGuides to Disseminate COVID-19 Information
Sarah C. Clarke
Medical Reference Librarian
Darnall Medical Library
Walter Reed National
Military Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland, United
States of America
Email: Sarah.c.clarke.civ@mail.mil
Emily E. Shohfi
Clinical Medical Librarian
Darnall Medical Library
Walter Reed National
Military Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland, United
States of America
Email: Emily.e.shohfi.civ@mail.mil
Sharon Han
Engagement Specialist
All of Us National Program
Network of the National
Library of Medicine
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa, United
States of America
Email: Sharon-han@uiowa.edu
Received: 29 July 2021 Accepted: 14 Dec. 2021
2022 Clarke, Shohfi, and Han. This is an Open
Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons‐Attribution‐Noncommercial‐Share Alike License 4.0
International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial
purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the
same or similar license to this one.
DOI: 10.18438/eblip30017
Abstract
Objective
–
In winter 2019-2020, the world saw the emergence of coronavirus disease
(COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2). More than a year later, the pandemic continues with the U.S.
death toll surpassing 550,000. Over the last decade, librarians have increased
their roles in infectious disease outbreak response. However, no existing
literature exists on use of the widely-used library content management
platform, LibGuides, to respond to infectious disease outbreaks. This research
explores how Federal Libraries use LibGuides to distribute COVID-19 information
throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
–
Survey questions were created and peer-reviewed by colleagues. Survey questions
first screened for participant eligibility and collected broad demographic
information to assist in identifying duplicate responses from individual
libraries, then examined the creation, curation, and maintenance of COVID-19
LibGuides. The survey was hosted in Max.gov, a Federal Government data
collection and analysis tool. Invitations to participate in the survey were
sent via email to colleagues and listservs and posted to personal social media
accounts. The survey was made publicly available for three weeks. Collected
data were exported into Excel to clean, quantify, and visualize results. Long
form answers were manually reviewed and tagged thematically.
Results
–
Of the 78 eligible respondents, 42% (n = 33) reported that their library uses
LibGuides to disseminate COVID-19 information; 45% of these respondents said
they spent 10+ hours creating their COVID-19 LibGuide, and 60% of respondents
spent <1 hour a week on maintenance and updates. Most LibGuides were created
in early spring 2020 as the U.S. first saw an uptick in COVID-19 cases. For
marketing purposes, respondents reported using web/internal announcements (75%)
and email (50%) most frequently. All respondents reported inclusion of U.S.
Government resources in their COVID-19 LibGuides, and a majority also included
guidelines, international websites, and databases to inform their user
communities.
Conclusion
–
Some Federal Libraries use LibGuides as a tool to share critical information,
including as a tool for emergency response. Results show libraries tend to
start from scratch and share the same resources, duplicating efforts. To
improve efficiency in LibGuide curation and use of library staff time, one
solution to consider is the creation of a LibGuides template that any Federal
Library can use to quickly set up and adapt an emergency response LibGuide
specifically for their users. Additionally, findings show that libraries are
uncertain of archiving and preservation plans for their guides post-pandemic,
suggesting a need for recommended best practices.
Introduction
In
the winter of 2019-2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) emerged, creating a new strain of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (WHO, 2020). People infected with
COVID-19 present varying symptoms and degrees of severity; common
characteristics include coughing, difficulty breathing, fever, and loss of
taste or smell (CDC, 2020a). COVID-19’s
rapid global spread and severity in impacted populations led the World Health
Organization (WHO) to declare the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus on
March 11, 2020 (Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 2020).
Early official reports of COVID-19 cases in the United States emerged in
January 2020, and cases have exceeded 32.5 million as of May 12, 2021 (CDC, 2020b; Stein, 2020). Following examples
set from previous management of respiratory disease outbreaks, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS, 2012)
and severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS, 2003), public health officials recommended frequent
handwashing and avoiding close contact with infected individuals to reduce
transmission rates (Lai et al., 2020). In
the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided further
guidance to slow virus transmission by limiting mass gatherings, closing
schools and non-essential businesses, issuing stay-at-home orders, and wearing
cloth face coverings in public areas (Schuchat,
2020). As COVID-19 cases continue in the U.S., mitigation and monitoring
strategies remain priorities for many Government and public health
professionals.
Literature Review
Over
the last decade, libraries have increased their roles in infectious disease
outbreak response. During the 2014-2016 Ebola
outbreak, librarians were involved with providing information and website support
to affected African countries (Jackson, 2014;
Landgraf, 2014). At the U.S. Federal level, the Disaster Information
Management Research Center (DIMRC) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM)
created a special health topic page, “Ebola Outbreak 2014: Information
Resources” (Love et al., 2015). DIMRC
also curated pages for pandemic influenza, Zika, and the 2018 Ebola outbreak.
Through the Medical Library Association (MLA), librarians can earn a Disaster
Information Specialization, which provides knowledge of disaster preparedness
and response structure at varying levels of Government and prepares them to
assist in the response of various disasters, including infectious disease
outbreaks (MLA). There is no existing
literature focused on the use of the widely-used library content management and
curation platform, LibGuides, to respond to
information needs during infectious disease outbreaks. However, during
the current COVID-19 pandemic, Springshare, the creator of LibGuides,
highlighted several examples of COVID-19 specialty pages on their blog (Creech, 2020; Talia, 2020). A recently
published paper examines the roles librarians fill in response to COVID-19 and
determined there are three dimensions of librarian support: to promote consumer
level information for preventive measures, support researchers and/or faculty
in their varying needs, and maintain core-needs of patrons (Ali & Gatiti, 2020). LibGuides is an acceptable platform to meet these objectives.
LibGuides
is an annually licensed product designed specifically for libraries. The
purchased system serves as the primary web presence basis for many libraries,
helping library staff curate knowledge, share information, and organize subject
specific resources (Springshare, 2020b).
As of May 2021, LibGuides were employed at 6,100 institutions across 82
countries, with nearly 800,000 guides created by more than 130,000 library
staff (Springshare, 2021). Springshare is
unable to provide a complete list or data regarding Federal Library customers
(Ware, 2021). The platform is known for its ease of use and navigation, as well
as its reusability for resources. It is mobile-optimized and available without
institutional log-in. It provides automatic link checking and easily captures
usage statistics for entire LibGuides or individual pages (Leibiger & Aldrich, 2013). Because of its
ease of set-up and external access, libraries that use LibGuides can quickly
add or pivot content to meet user demands without relying on intranet
administrators, therefore removing lengthy wait times. However, some barriers
may exist to those acquiring LibGuides, such as budget constraints, staffing,
or IT concerns surrounding security.
The
LibGuides Community allows for libraries to choose to share all or part of
their guides for other libraries to reuse. Customizing a reused guide will not
affect the original guide. When a library chooses to use this function, the
original guide owner will be notified. Best practices call for obtaining
permission before copying a guide (Springshare
2020a). The system allows for private and hidden pages, which many use
for content pages under development, or those with more sensitive information
not intended for public audiences. Customization is important as it allows
libraries to highlight licensed resources accessible to their patron base.
Aims
Multiple
U.S. Federal Libraries utilize LibGuides, many of which are publicly available.
With this in mind, we set out to understand how Federal Libraries use LibGuides
to distribute COVID-19 information throughout the course of the pandemic. The
decision to restrict the scope of research to Federal Libraries was inspired by
the literature gap in Federal Library response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently published literature regarding library response to the pandemic was
heavily focused on public and academic library response. Similarly, a gap in
the literature exists with regards to Federal Library utilization of LibGuides.
Due to security, some Federal Libraries must create and maintain their
LibGuides privately to protect their organizational mission. Surveying this niche
population begins a conversation surrounding which types of Federal Libraries
utilize this tool. Learning more about the creation, curation, and maintenance
of COVID-19 LibGuides will shed light on response effort capabilities within
Federal Libraries and help determine future best practices for streamlining the
urgent information-sharing process, should there be future pandemics or other
emergencies.
Methods
Survey Design
In
this qualitative study, we selected a written survey method for assessing the
Federal Library sample population on their practices in utilizing LibGuides for
distribution of COVID-19 information. Surveys are common in library research,
and for our purposes, were utilized for conveniently and safely obtaining
information from a sizable, wide-spread sample of Federal Libraries amid a
global pandemic. They are especially useful in eliciting information about
attitudes that “are otherwise difficult to measure using observational
techniques” (Glasow, 2005). Survey
questions were designed based on research objectives and demographic
information of interest. The final survey included 20 questions. Two questions
screened for participant eligibility for the study, and three questions
collected broad demographic information used to identify duplicate responses
from individual libraries. The remaining questions focused on the creation,
curation and design, and engagement and preservation of COVID-related LibGuides
in Federal Libraries. These topics were selected to obtain a comprehensive overview
of the continuum of LibGuide activities related to the pandemic. Questions were
externally reviewed by colleagues and key stakeholders and revised based on
feedback. The survey was submitted for creation to MAX.gov, a Federal
Government data collection and analysis tool, for hosting. MAX.gov
administrators created the survey and made revisions before survey
dissemination. MAX Survey allows for conditional logic and used a generic
survey link. Survey questions can be viewed in Appendix A.
Survey Distribution
The
written survey was distributed electronically. Email, forums, and social media
were used to solicit responses from Federal librarians. Emails or forum posts
were sent to Federal librarian groups, such as FEDLIB, a listserv moderated by
the Library of Congress, and other Federal librarianship interest groups within
national library associations, including the Medical Library Association,
Special Libraries Association, and the American Library Association. These
groups are commonly used to connect with Federal librarians and are heavily
utilized to recruit voluntary survey participants. The authors’ personal social
media accounts on Facebook and Twitter were also used to invite participants.
Posts used the following hashtags to promote the study: #medlibs,
#librarytwitter, #covidlibrary, #librarians, #LibGuides, and #federallibraries.
The
initial timeframe for responses was two weeks, beginning September 23, 2020,
and was extended an additional week until October 16, 2020. Three rounds of
reminders were engaged to elicit voluntary survey participants.
At
the beginning of the survey, respondents were asked a screener question gauging
if they were a federal librarian. If they responded no, the survey would
automatically end.
Data Collection, Cleaning, and Analysis
Survey
responses were collected online and data was stored securely through Max.gov’s MAX Survey. Survey results were exported in XLSX
format view using MAX Analytics.
Results
data were de-identified, cleaned, quantified, and visualized using Excel. Long
form answers were manually reviewed and tagged based on consistent themes that
appeared in responses; we reviewed these themes as a group. Themes are further
explained in the Results and Discussion. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in
Open Source Framework (OSF) at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SWF34 (Clarke, Han,
& Shohfi, 2021).
Results
Use and
Creation
The survey had 96 library respondents. Eighteen
respondents (19%) were immediately screened out for eligibility, as they
selected that they did not work in a Federal Library. Based on the broad
demographic responses provided, we did not identify a single library as having
multiple staff respondents. Of the remaining 78 respondents, 33 (42%) reported
that their library uses LibGuides. One-third (n=11) of respondents reporting
LibGuide use had publicly viewable LibGuide pages, 7 (21%) had LibGuides set to
private access, and 2 (6%) had a mix of both private and public pages.
When surveyed if
their library utilized LibGuides to disseminate COVID-19 information, 20 (61%)
respondents utilizing LibGuides stated yes, 12 (36%) stated no, and one was
unsure. Ten respondents explained with free text why their institutions did not
share COVID-19 information in their LibGuides. Of these, 80% of the respondents
elucidated that this information was out of scope for their library’s services,
or the duty belonged to another department within their agency. The remaining
respondents could not share COVID-19 information due to logistical reasons
including staffing constraints.
Thirteen
respondents had primary responsibility over their library’s COVID-19 LibGuide
page(s), while five shared responsibility. 2 respondents did not have
responsibility over their library’s COVID-19 LibGuide page(s) but were able to
provide details about what their guides contained.
Figure 1
Months which respondents
reported creation of their COVID-19 LibGuides in Federal Libraries.
Figure 2
Reported time spent on
initial content curation and ongoing weekly maintenance.
According to responses, the earliest
Federal COVID-19 LibGuide was created in January 2020 (Figure 1). 7 COVID-19
LibGuides were created in March 2020, making it the most popular month for
creation. COVID-19 LibGuides creation continued during data collection for this
study, which began in September 2020.
The estimated
initial time spent on the creation/curation of COVID-19 LibGuide information
varied amongst respondents (Figure 2). While one respondent spent under an hour
and two spent 1-5 hours on initial LibGuide creation, the majority of
respondents spent either 6-10 hours (40%) or more than ten hours (45%). After
the initial set-up and curation of resources, respondents reported less time
investment engaging in weekly updates and maintenance. Twelve respondents
estimated they spent under an hour each week updating COVID-19 LibGuide
information, and six respondents spent an estimate of 1-5 hours. One respondent
spent between 6-10 hours, and one respondent spent over ten hours.
Respondents
using LibGuides had varied audiences for COVID-19 information. The number of
respondents who selected specific audiences (count and %) are represented in
Table 1. Respondents were able to select more than one audience type for their
COVID-19 LibGuide while responding to this question on the survey. Responses
indicated many had overlapping or multiple audiences.
Table 1
Intended Audiences for COVID-19 LibGuides as Selected by Respondents (N
= 20)
|
Intended Audience |
Number of Respondents Included (N = 20) |
% of Respondents Included |
|
Health Professionals |
9 |
18.8% |
|
Military |
7 |
14.6% |
|
Government |
7 |
14.6% |
|
Library Staff |
6 |
12.5% |
|
Researchers |
5 |
10.4% |
|
Students |
5 |
10.4% |
|
Administration |
4 |
8.3% |
|
Other |
3 |
6.3% |
|
Public |
1 |
2.1% |
|
Patients |
1 |
2.1% |
Figure 3
Types of resources used in COVID-19
LibGuides as reported by respondents.
Curation, Organization, and
Marketing
As
seen in Figure 3, respondents shared a wide variety of resources on their
LibGuides. Government websites were included in all Federal LibGuides, and
databases, guidelines, international websites, journal websites, and specific
articles were included in more than half of respondents’ COVID-19 LibGuides.
Less than a third of respondents indicated they included social media or
internal documents on their LibGuides.
Regarding
reuse, only 3 respondents reused all or part of another library’s COVID-19
LibGuide. Thirteen respondents did not reuse all or part of another library’s
COVID-19 LibGuide, instead creating and curating their content from scratch. 1
respondent granted reuse permission to multiple libraries to reuse their
COVID-19 LibGuide, 4 did not grant reuse permission to other libraries from
requests received, and 10 were not asked for their LibGuide to be reused.
There were 12 free-text responses on
how libraries determined sources most applicable and appropriate for their
COVID-19 LibGuides. To determine which sources were most appropriate for a
LibGuide, respondents reported consideration of the following: quality (7
responses), user feedback/focus (5), what others were doing (4), convenience
(2), access/availability (2), and current topics (1).
One respondent reported great freedom
and latitude in decision making, focusing content curation and resources based
on conversations and feedback with their patron base and communication from
leadership. They also were able to respond to needs based on common questions
or ongoing topics of conversation within their organization. Another respondent
sought authoritative information based on recommendations from healthcare
professionals.
According to free-text responses, some
respondents (greater than four) looked primarily at user feedback, or focused
on their user base, while others looked more toward what other libraries were
doing to guide decision-making in source curation. Both groups sought to have
current topics and up-to-date information. In several instances, respondents
looked to other individual information professionals’ pages, such as other
Federal Health Libraries, or to institutions that took a lead in information
curation during the early part of the pandemic (e.g., Johns Hopkins University)
to guide their content curation. Some respondents sought broad information,
rather than in-house content, while others specifically tried to tailor their
pages to local resources and internal guidance.
At least two respondents mentioned
convenience, access, and availability of resources being a deciding factor.
Some of these were resources sent to them by their agency or easily copied or
downloaded from another Federal Agency. Others used resources that were open
access, or their content curation was driven by what vendors were providing
through their license agreements.
Across the board, respondents agreed
quality of information was critical in their source curation. Peer-reviewed and
authoritative sources, such as Federal Government agencies (e.g., CDC and NLM)
were cited often. There was also a focus on finding non-biased coverage of
information and looking to leading institutions in the pandemic for clear
direction.
Twelve respondents reported four different ways of
organizing their content within their LibGuides, which included: by content
(7), resource type (6), audience (4), and chronologically (1). Content included
references to specific information provided by resources. While most mentions
of content were specific to the spread and response to COVID-19 (“disease
tracking” and “Local Information”), at least one respondent also included
information on teleworking (“teleworking during COVID tips”). Resource type
included mentions of different publication formats, although only two
respondents provided specifics (“special reports, peer-reviewed literature,
preprints”; “databases, and then other research tools”). Several respondents
mentioned creating resource pages for specific users, particularly for medical
staff (“nurses, physicians”) and patients. Only one respondent mentioned
ordering information chronologically so the most current information would
precede older information.
Sixteen
respondents provided free text answers regarding marketing their new COVID-19
LibGuide pages. To market these guides, respondents implemented the following:
web/internal announcements (12), email (9), social media (2), targeted audience
messaging (3), and word of mouth (1). All but one free-text response relied on
electronic means of marketing. Most
respondents noted using a combination of two marketing practices (9), and one
respondent utilized a combination of three. Included in the web/internal
announcements category were agency intranets, web notices, newsletters, webpage
announcements, blogs, or online message boards. Social media platforms
mentioned in the responses included Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a more
general “social media channels.” Targeted audience messaging referred to
marketing towards leadership, relevant department heads, or specific students.
While the question referred to the marketing of new LibGuide pages, one
respondent provided that they had not “been diligent about updates.”
Engagement, Quality, and Future Plans
Eleven
respondents provided free text responses discussing how they measure
engagement, including feedback, of their COVID-19 LibGuide page(s). Eight
respondents (73%) utilized Springshare’s integrated LibGuide web analytics,
five respondents (45%) engaged patrons for feedback directly, and one library
reported not currently measuring engagement. Respondents using LibGuide’s web analytics mentioned usage statistics or page
view statistics, or more broadly referenced Springshare statistics. One
respondent noted that “for a few months [the COVID-19 LibGuide] was our most
visited LibGuide page.” Personal feedback included responses such as e-mails, phone
calls, narratives, direct contact, and patron engagement. One respondent shared
that their library tries “to engage our patrons and encourage them to submit
relevant content/resources. If they provide any input, it is discussed and
responded to.”
To
measure the quality of COVID-19 LibGuides, respondents relied on patron
feedback (15%), analytics (7.7%), and peer/self-review (38%). Three (23%)
respondents were unsure or did not implement any quality measures. Several
respondents specifically mention taking audience needs and expectations into
consideration, and one respondent mentioned directly responding to input if
provided. Peer/self-review described by free-text responses explicitly
mentioned personal expectations or group curation efforts to produce a quality
LibGuide (“personal high standard”; “curated by a team”). Only one respondent
mentioned continuous review of information in order to remove “incorrect or
outdated links.” One respondent also used analytics, such as site visits, as a
measure for quality.
A
final question asked respondents to describe their plans for the COVID-19
LibGuide once the pandemic ends. Post-pandemic, six respondents planned to
maintain and regularly update their COVID-19 LibGuides, three planned to keep
the guides viewable but no longer update, one planned to archive the page, and
seven were unsure or had no plans at the time of the survey.
Discussion
Our
findings show that, of the Federal Library respondents who used LibGuides, over
half (61%) were using LibGuides to share COVID-19-related information. This
value indicates that LibGuides were actively being used to disseminate critical
public health information in a timely manner. It is important to note that of
the respondents who used LibGuides, those who did not use them to disseminate
COVID-19 information were often constrained by job responsibilities or another
agency department having authority over COVID-19 information dissemination.
At
the beginning of the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust
initiated a statement calling on funders, researchers, and publishers to ensure
that relevant data is openly accessible to ensure a prompt health response
globally (Trust, 2020). Because of this
collaborative statement, many major publishers or journals created open access
COVID-19 resources and marketed them to their library customers. Such resources
were often used (64.7%) in Federal Library COVID-19 LibGuides. Such a statement
ensures broad access to crucial information regardless of existing licenses.
More libraries, regardless of their purchased content or operating budget, were
able to share timely articles on COVID-19.
There was heterogeneity with respect to the degree to which
Federal Libraries had control over their content and where the responsibility
lay for disseminating pandemic information. Respondents varied in accessibility
to page viewing, time spent curating and updating information, best practices
for measuring quality of the information provided, and plans for archiving the
information post-pandemic.
To market COVID-19 LibGuides, respondents used a variety of
techniques throughout the pandemic. Most utilized internal or web announcements
or email to reach their target audiences, whereas some sent targeted messages
to their audiences or had to rely on word of mouth. Of note, at the beginning
of the pandemic, many libraries transitioned to virtual services, at least
temporarily (American Library Association, 2020),
and some lost access to their normal avenues for marketing in this transition.
While some libraries were able to continue with marketing on agency intranet
sites, others may have needed to rely more heavily on email
communication to the agency at large or to smaller specific audiences to spread
information. Additionally, libraries may have relied more heavily on word of
mouth or non-traditional platforms such as social media sites to inform their
customer base, given the widespread access limitations the Federal workforce
experienced during the work-from-home transition for non-essential personnel in
the early months of the pandemic.
The
number of COVID-19 LibGuides created over time appears to reflect the early
spread of the disease and widespread uncertainty beginning in spring 2020. For
example, the highest number of COVID-19 LibGuides were created in March (7) and
April (6), correlating with mass telework options made available to Government
agencies via the Office of Personnel Management (Office of Personnel
Management, 2021). As the pandemic continued, respondents were still creating
new COVID-19 LibGuides in fall 2020. It is unclear as to why respondents
specifically created LibGuides six months or more into the pandemic, as the
survey did not ask for respondents to provide rationale for creation.
Researching,
reviewing, compiling, building, organizing, and formatting a new LibGuide on an
emergent topic from scratch can be daunting and time-consuming; 40% of
respondents spent 6-10 hours and 45% spent more than ten hours on LibGuide
creation. Survey results, paired
with free text responses from
respondents about their curation process, suggest that the bulk of the curation and creation time was spent reviewing and
selecting resources. To
reduce the time burden and labor of this task, three respondents reused all or
part of another library’s COVID-19 LibGuides. And while audience types varied
widely, types of resources included in a COVID-19 LibGuide had evident overlap.
For example, Government websites were present in all respondent LibGuides,
acting as a baseline resource across varying audience types. In future
pandemics or public health crises, libraries with similar audience bases can
save time and effort perhaps by collaborating to create a LibGuide with
standard information as a starting point to share with one another.
Creating
such a collaborative effort would involve proactively locating similarly scoped
libraries, contacting them for interest, and creating a collaborative plan for
domain of responsibility. Depending on how many libraries are participating,
tasks like researching, reviewing, and compiling resources at the broadest
level appropriate could be assigned. Furthermore, libraries or librarians with
the greatest collective expertise could build, organize, and format the content
in LibGuides. All libraries participating in this collaborative effort could
have permission to reuse and edit the LibGuide as they saw fit for their
individual library. Benefits of taking part in such a collaboration include
saved time and effort of library staff, both of which can impact personnel
budgets. The LibGuide could also be peer-reviewed, as multiple library staff
with different levels and areas of expertise could work collaboratively while
engaging in constructive feedback. An
additional benefit could be giving back to the library science field and
allowing these LibGuides to be available for reuse by libraries outside of the
Federal Government who may not have the staff or means to create their own.
Best
practices in LibGuide design for specific audiences cannot be determined from
this survey, as most respondents serve a wide variety of military, civilian,
internal, and/or external audiences. However, general guidelines for where to
start finding relevant public health information for the broadest audience
could be informed by the most common resources used by respondents, to include
government websites, databases, guidelines, international organizations, and
journal websites. Knowing where to start reviewing resources to curate could
then potentially reduce the initial time and resource burden to create these
guides.
Limitations
Due to the narrow scope of our research question and audience,
addressing the use of LibGuides for COVID-19 information in only Federal
Libraries, we may have missed other findings from the general or specialized
library populations (medical, academic, public, research, law, etc.) that also
contribute to best practices for disseminating information. Additionally, we
only explored the use of LibGuides, and we recognize that while this is a
broadly-used platform, many Federal Libraries do not use it and may be
providing curated content and library services related to the pandemic in other
ways. While this focus was chosen purposefully given the dramatically different
relationships that exist between Federal Libraries and the populations they
serve, and the broader library community and their patrons, it may still have
excluded important findings. With these limitations in mind, this study can serve as a springboard for future inquiries
into the literature and studies in the library community for pandemic planning,
preparedness, and response.
Conclusion
The
ability to quickly disseminate information is imperative during a public health
crisis, let alone a global pandemic. The emergence of COVID-19 put the U.S.
health response to the test as organizations at every level scrambled to
provide answers to an ever-growing list of questions. Federal Libraries found
themselves in a unique position of providing services remotely while also
attempting to curate and provide quality COVID-19 resources for their diverse
patrons. This research surveyed how Federal Libraries used LibGuides to
distribute COVID-19 information throughout the course of the pandemic. Federal
Libraries began publishing their COVID-19 LibGuides as early as January 2020,
when the U.S. announced the first case, with a spike in their creation in March
2020 as states began issuing guidance on lockdowns. Creating a LibGuide is a
time consuming process, and creating one on an ever-changing and rapidly
growing topic requires dedicated time for consistent maintenance as information
evolves. Tracking engagement, eliciting and considering feedback, and
determining quality of resources all helped shape COVID-19 LibGuide content. Results
highlight the potential for future collaborative opportunities to streamline
Federal Library public health response. This study provides valuable insight
into the information-sharing process, which will help reduce the burden and
save time for future libraries should there be another public health emergency.
Disclaimer
The
research protocol and online survey used in this study were approved by the
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) Institutional Review
Board (IRB): WRNMMC-EDO-2020-0535, 927350; and the Defense Health Agency:
Department of Defense (DoD) Survey License Exemption (#9)-Exempt #0053.
This
research was supported in part by an appointment to the National Library of
Medicine (NLM) Research Participation Program. This program is administered by
the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency
agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Library
of Medicine (NLM). ORISE is managed by ORAU under DOE contract number DE-SC0014664.
All opinions expressed in this paper are the author's and do not necessarily
reflect the policies and views of NLM, DOE, or ORAU/ORISE.
The
views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy
of the Department of the Army/Navy/Air Force, Department of Defense, or U.S.
Government.
Author Contributions
Sarah Clarke:
Conceptualization (equal), Formal analysis (supporting), Investigation (equal),
Methodology (equal), Project administration (lead), Visualization (supporting),
Writing – original draft (equal), Writing – review & editing (equal) Emily Shohfi:
Conceptualization (equal), Formal analysis (supporting), Investigation (equal),
Methodology (equal), Project administration (supporting), Visualization (lead),
Writing – original draft (equal), Writing – review & editing (equal) Sharon Han: Conceptualization (equal), Formal
analysis (lead), Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Project
administration (supporting), Visualization (supporting), Writing – original
draft (equal), Writing – review & editing (equal)
References
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, T. (2020). WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on
COVID-19—11 March 2020 [Interview]. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020
Ali, M. Y., & Gatiti, P. (2020). The COVID-19
(coronavirus) pandemic: reflections on the roles of librarians and information
professionals. Health Information &
Libraries Journal, 37(2),
158-162. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12307
American Library Association. (2020). Libraries respond: COVID-19 survey. http://www.ala.org/tools/covid/libraries-respond-covid-19-survey
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020a). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) –
Symptoms. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 8,
2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020b). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 7, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html
Clarke, S. C., Han, S., & Shohfi, E. E.
(2021). Federal Library utilization of
LibGuides to disseminate COVID-19 information survey data [Data set]. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SWF34
Creech, L. (2020, April 17). Supporting patrons during the
pandemic using Springshare tools. The Springy Share. https://blog.springshare.com/2020/04/17/supporting-patrons-during-the-pandemic-using-springshare-tools/
Glasow, P. A. (2005). Fundamentals
of survey research methodology. The MITRE Corporation. https://www.mitre.org/sites/default/files/pdf/05_0638.pdf
Jackson, C. (2014, October 22). Chapel Hill librarians
helping Ebola fight in West Africa. North
Carolina Public Radio. https://www.wunc.org/post/chapel-hill-librarians-helping-ebola-fight-west-africa
Lai, C. C., Shih, T. P., Ko, W. C., Tang, H. J., &
Hsueh, P. R. (2020). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the
challenges. International Journal of
Antimicrobial Agents, 55(3),
105924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105924
Landgraf, G. (2014, October 3). Tracking Ebola in Liberia. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/10/03/tracking-ebola-in-liberia/
Leibiger, C. A., & Aldrich, A. W. (2013). “The Mother of All LibGuides”: Applying
principles of communication and network theory in LibGuide design. Imagine,
Innovate, Inspire: Proceedings of the ACRL 2013 Conference, Indianapolis, IN,
United States. https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/LeibigerAldrich_Mother.pdf
Love, C. B., Arnesen, S. J., & Phillips, S. J. (2015).
Ebola outbreak response: the role of information resources and the National
Library of Medicine. Disaster Medicine
and Public Health Preparedness, 9(1),
82-85. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2014.108
United States Office of Personnel Management. (2021,
February 19). Policy, data, Oversight:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). United States Office of Personnel
Management. Retrieved June 24, 2021, from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/covid-19/
Medical Library Association (2021). Disaster Information Specialization. Medical Library Association.
Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.mlanet.org/page/disaster-information-specialization
Schuchat, A. (2020). Public health response to the
initiation and spread of pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, February
24-April 21, 2020. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, 69(18),
551-556. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6918e2
Springshare. (2020a). Guides:
Create or copy a guide. Springshare. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://ask.springshare.com/libguides/faq/770#section2
Springshare. (2020b). LibGuides:
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January 27, 2021, from https://www.springshare.com/libguides/
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remote-First World. The Springy Share.
https://blog.springshare.com/2020/03/16/tips-tricks-for-the-remote-first-world/
Ware, D. (2021). Federal Libraries using LibGuides from
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World Health Organization. Retrieved May 8, 2020, from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it
Appendix A
Survey Questions
Section
1. LibGuide Creation
1.
Does
your library use LibGuides?
o
Yes
o
No
2.
Are
your LibGuides publicly viewable?
o
Yes
o
No
o
Some
pages
3.
Has
your library used LibGuides to disseminate COVID-19 information?
o
Yes
o
No
o
Unsure
4.
If
no to Question 3, why not?
o
[Free
text]
5.
Do
you have primary responsibility over COVID-19 content on your LibGuides?
o
Yes
o
No
o
Shared
6.
What
month did your library begin curating COVID-19 information on your LibGuide?
o
December
2019
o
January
2020
o
February
2020
o
March
2020
o
April
2020
o
May
2020
o
June
2020
o
Unsure
7.
Who
is the intended audience(s) for your COVID-19 LibGuide. Please select all that
apply.
o
General
Public
o
Health
Professionals
o
Military
o
Researchers
o
Administrators
o
Government
o
Patients
o
Students
o
Library
staff
o
Other:
[free text]
8.
Estimate
how much time (in hours) was spent on the initial creation/curation of COVID-19
LibGuide information?
o
<1
hour
o
1-5
hours
o
6-10
hours
o
10+
hours
9.
Estimate
how much time (in hours) is spent each week updating COVID-19 LibGuide
information?
o
<1
hour
o
1-5
hours
o
6-10
hours
o
10+
hours
Section
2. LibGuide Curation and Design
10.
Which
of the following information resource types are linked to or included in your
LibGuides? Please select all that apply.
o
Databases
o
Journal
Websites
o
Specific
Articles
o
Government
Websites
o
International
Websites
o
Non-profit
Websites
o
University
Websites
o
Video/Audio
o
Internal
Documents
o
Guidelines
o
Academic/Professional
Societies
o
News
Media
o
Social
Media
o
Other:
[free text]
11.
How
did you determine which sources were most appropriate for your LibGuide?
o
[Free
text]
12.
Describe
how you organized the content within your COVID-19 LibGuide.
o
[Free
text]
13.
Did
your library reuse any part of another library’s existing COVID-19 related
LibGuide?
o
Yes
- Reused all or part of another library’s COVID-19 LibGuide
o
No
- Did not reuse another library’s COVID-19 LibGuide
o
Unsure
14.
Did
your library grant permission to another library to reuse your COVID-19 related
LibGuide?
o
Yes
– We granted reuse permission
o
No
– We did not grant reuse permission
o
N/A
– No library asked permission for reuse
o
Unsure
Section
3. LibGuide Engagement and Preservation
15.
How
does your library market new LibGuide pages (related to COVID-19) to patrons?
o
[Free
text]
16.
How
do you measure engagement, such as feedback, of your COVID-19 LibGuide?
o
[Free
text]
17.
How
do you measure quality of your COVID-19 LibGuide?
o
[Free
text]
18.
Currently,
what are your plans for this page post-pandemic?
o
Maintain/update
regularly
o
Viewable,
but no longer updated
o
Archive
it (offline or as a hidden/unpublished page)
o
Not
sure/no plans
o
Other:
[free text]
Section
4. Demographic Questions
19.
Which
federal government agency/department/division does your library serve?
o
[Free
text]
20.
What
is the name of your library? (This information will not be shared – it’s to
ensure we don’t record duplicate information)
o
[Free
text]
21.
What
is your library’s zip code? (This information will not be shared – it’s to ensure we
don’t record duplicate information)
o
[Free
text]