Making a New-Fashioned Resource Sharing Pie under Emergency Conditions: A Georgia Recipe

Abstract

Like many libraries worldwide, the interlibrary loan departments at three institutions in the state of Georgia (Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, and Valdosta State University) experienced an upheaval of traditional workflows and expectations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike many libraries, though, these three libraries were instructed by their administrations to remain open to patrons throughout the pandemic. In order to continue to meet the needs of their patrons and ILL partners worldwide, these departments leaned on the support of their colleagues and the larger resource sharing community. Staff health and safety risks caused by COVID-19 required new considerations for staff scheduling, building access, service levels, and copyright.

Keywords:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• interlibrary loan
• libraries
• resource sharing