Reimagining Library Services in the Era of COVID-19, Part Three

Read part one. || Read part two. 

The sun sets west of Arlington, TX, and Laura Haygood is logging in for another video conference. Her pin-straight dark hair falls neatly around her headset, which has come to feel like a part of her body, as if telecommunication were a natural part of her existence.

Haygood, the Experiential Learning and Nursing Librarian at UTA Libraries, primarily works with students in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI). She says her day-to-day work hasn’t been greatly impacted by the Libraries recent shift to working remotely.

“Many CONHI students were already online prior to COVID-19—helping these students has always been done virtually,” Haygood said. “I would say that the biggest change in my role has been in providing training on how to use Teams, the application we use to video chat.”

In addition to her work supporting CONHI students, Haygood has also been supporting the 24/7 Live Chat (including training on nursing questions), preparing LibGuides including one on emergency resources, training her colleagues and faculty on the use of Teams for online education support, and moving traditional instruction on topics including fake news, database searching, rhetoric, and more into an online setting.

Haygood will also be joining other librarians in hosting “Resource Rescue” drop-in sessions—spearheaded by Director of Open Educational Resources Michelle Reed—beginning March 30, where she will help faculty locate OER and other affordable content to support their courses.

At the end of the day, Haygood says her students are what drive her to find new ways to provide service for Libraries users.

“Many of my students are non-traditional learners, meaning they have families and careers and have returned to school for more education,” Haygood said. “They are juggling their families and classes on top of working on the front lines of this pandemic. I want them to know that I see the work they are doing, and that I want to help however I am able.”

Haygood has a simple message for her students facing uncertainty and turmoil in the coronavirus crisis.

“I want my students to know that some things haven’t changed,” Haygood said. “They can still reach out and ask for help.”