Reference Service, Government Information, and COVID-19

Abstract

The authors designed and distributed two surveys to answer the questions of whether the 2020 federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic affected academic librarians’ trust in government information, and whether it affected the way they use government information professionally. The results showed a limited decrease in trust in 2020, somewhat mitigated by the administration turnover in 2021. Many librarians already discussed considerations such as bias, authority, and disinformation when recommending government information to students, and others indicated they are more likely to do so going forward. They will also use or suggest more caution with government documents than before. Reference interactions do not always allow the necessary time and space for a nuanced conversation about the limits of government information, so libraries and academic institutions should look for other ways to improve student political literacy as well.

Keywords:

• Reference services
• government information
• information literacy
• trust
• COVID-19

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank Theresa Pardo, Teresa Harrison, and the COVID-19 and Minority Health Disparities in NYS Engaged Researchers Working Group for their support in the development of this project.

Additional information

Funding

The Research Foundation for SUNY at the University at Albany provided a grant of $1067.00 to fund this research. Survey support was provided by data science specialist Mandi Breen at the Data Management and Analytics Center, University at Albany.