Editorial

The New Year

The year 2020 seemed to be one in which things steadily continued to get worse, with each event more terrible than its predecessor. The pandemic has overshadowed everything, and has affected many aspects of our economy. The expression “do more with less” has added significance in our current situation. Budgets have been cut, staff have been laid off or furloughed, and others have had salary reductions. Our profession showed resilience, creativity, and determination in the face of great odds. New service models and ways of working emerged, and how libraries operate will be forever changed. We have successfully proven that we can work remotely. Virtual meetings and conferences are here to stay for a number of reasons, including holding down costs and enabling greater participation. Services like contactless pick up and going fine free were welcome additions and exemplify the spirit of community during a crisis. I personally learned the importance of advance disaster and emergency planning, which included a Zoom call with internationally recognized emergency and disaster planning expert Guy Robertson.

Many people were glad to see 2020 end and are hopeful for 2021. Each new year is seen as a fresh beginning and an opportunity to make changes, both personally and professionally. For libraries, the start of a new year might be the time to evaluate goals and plans to determine what progress has been made and what remains to be done. In technical services, the emphasis has been on areas such as collecting and disseminating electronic resources, quality assurance and database projects in resource description, and digital projects. These technical services functions made it possible to continue to serve our patrons, regardless of their location. We will emerge from this crisis, but when and how are still largely unknown. The expected timeframe to “return to normal” is continually revised in light of growing cases of COVID-19, the discovery of mutations of the virus, and uncertainty surrounding how the vaccine will be distributed and when. We are operating in the face of an uncertain future.

As a profession, we have repeatedly demonstrated our ability to respond to crises and other serious situations. Examples include Sidney Eng’s account of how his library was operational within a short time following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, librarians in major cities being trained to administer Narcan, and libraries offering shelter and Internet access after natural disasters.1 We can and will continue to provide services. Technical services in particular provides the infrastructure and support necessary to keep our operations functional.

Despite the challenges of 2020, there were also some bright spots. ALA has a new executive director, Tracie D. Hall, who was the keynote speaker at a virtual conference in my home state of New Jersey. Her presentation was insightful and uplifting, and she interacted with attendees. LITA, ALCTS, and LLAMA hosted the very successful Exchange virtual conference this past summer, and Core as a new ALA division has become a reality. For me, the bright spots that made me feel hopeful include being accepted into a faculty women’s leadership and professional development program at the university where I am employed. I was also invited to speak to a library science class at the University of Denver via Zoom. Additionally, I am working on a publication that stemmed from my experiences as a manager during the COVID pandemic.

I truly believe we will emerge from this crisis stronger, smarter and better prepared, and that leads to my overview of the contents of this issue of LRTS. Please note that there are no book reviews in this issue. Closures due to COVID and other disruptions prevented reviewers from completing assignments.

• In her paper “Fighting an Uphill Battle: Troubleshooting Assessment Practices in Academic Libraries,” Lindsey Lowry explores the issue of tracking troubleshooting data for e-collection management. Her research included a survey of academic librarians who are currently involved in e-collection management to determine to what extent and for what purposes troubleshooting assessments are being carried out. Although many librarians are aware of the potential benefits of assessing troubleshooting data, there are obstacles to gathering, analyzing, and acting on those results.
• “A Large-Scale Collection Review with Faculty Collaboration: A Comprehensive View,” by David Burke, Jeehyun Yun Davis, Christopher Hallberg, and Sarah Wingo, detail how Villanova University, in support of the university’s strategic plan for research, launched a large-scale collection review at the beginning of 2017. The library recognized the importance of a systematic process for collection review, including a deselection process to keep the library collections healthy and relevant.
• Although The Ohio State University Libraries’ Serials and Electronic Resources team tracked problem reports for electronic resources through a ticketing system, the system’s functions to articulate the work involved in supporting such resources had not been fully investigated. The arrival of a new Electronic Resources Officer prompted a review of the type of statistics provided to management and identified an opportunity to more fully document reported problems and staff effort. A mechanism was created to highlight different types of problems through the application of a controlled vocabulary developed specifically for that environment. This process is detailed by Anita K. Foster in “A Controlled Vocabulary for an Electronic Resources Problem Reporting System: Creation, Implementation and Assessment.”

Reference

1. Sidney Eng, “How Technology and Planning Saved My Library at Ground Zero,” Computers in Libraries 22, no. 4 (2002): 28–34; Romeo Rosales Jr., “The Opioid Crisis and Administering Narcan in Libraries,” Public Libraries Online (September 17, 2018), http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2018/09/the-opioid-crisis-and-administering-narcan-in-libraries, accessed December 27, 2020; Joel Rose, “For Disaster Preparedness: Pack A Library Card?,” NPR’s Morning Edition, August 12, 2013, https://www.npr.org/2013/08/12/210541233/for-disasters-pack-a-first-aid-kit-bottled-water-and-a-library-card.