Why We Do What We Do

When UTA made the transition to online learning due to COVID-19, we knew that the work we do in the Libraries would become integral to our students’ experience and success.

There are many services that students utilize when the university is under normal operations, including tutoring, IT help, and tech lending. Usually, students can walk right into the Libraries and access any of these services, or see a person face-to-face who can help them get the assistance that they need.

This isn’t an option right now. In order to promote social distancing, UTA Libraries has closed its doors to in-person services, aside from tech lending. But that doesn't mean that we have halted the rest of our services.

At the end of the day, this isn’t just a job—and we have unique perspectives on why we do what we do.

When I consider the work that I do as a librarian, the work I went to graduate school for, I recall that my top priorities are to connect people with the sources they seek, and to teach them to be competent users of information. I am a nursing librarian, liaising with UTA’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI). When I chose health sciences librarianship, I knew I wanted to assist current and future health care workers. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this “why,” why I do what I do, has evolved.

Due to the size of CONHI’s RN-to-BSN and MSN programs, many of the students I work with are already working as nurses, working on the front lines of this pandemic. I worry about them, about their access to the equipment they need to stay well, about the emotional toll of maintaining distance from their families, etc.

Despite the significant personal and emotional toll of working in the health care field currently, these students still choose to continue their education.  Even those who are not yet working as nurses know that they will be entering the field in the middle of this pandemic, and they still give everything they’ve got to their education. Knowing the work they do and the sacrifices they make has given me a new “why;” I do what I do to honor and assist the vital work that they do. I do this to contribute, albeit in a very small way, to this global pandemic.

Regardless of what my students are experiencing, they have remained gracious and appreciative. After providing a student with assistance, I recently received an email from her stating, “I never knew it could be so simple to find exactly what I was looking for.” Reading her words and knowing that I connected her with the information she needed fulfills my purpose as a librarian. This is why I do what I do.

Before quarantine, my day was spent interacting with students, instructing them in our introductory courses, and socializing with them through our events. Now, my time is spent maintaining and creating content for our online events, as well as assisting students through online chat, email, and teaching courses. While it might not seem so significant, to me it is incredibly important that I continue to provide these services—not just for the students’ educational benefit, but for their physical well-being.

I know that for many during this time, maintaining social distancing can be emotionally taxing and stressful. My father works in the healthcare system as a manager of radiology in a children’s hospital. Every day I watch him get up and go to work, then come home and strip everything to be put directly in the wash. It’s stressful, and I know it’s more stressful for him than it is for me, but I still worry. I still worry that the hospital will suddenly overcrowd with sick patients and he won't be able to come from work, or he will get sick too. And it reminds me of our students and the amazing work that they will do, and are even now doing, to support our healthcare workers in these difficult times.

I also worry about our students and teachers, who may have a hard time connecting, both emotionally and virtually, in this new environment. I worry about those who are suddenly forced to readapt their entire teaching and learning styles, who no longer have a social outlet, and who are struggling to focus in their four-walled environment.

So, I keep doing what I do not just because I love it, but because I hope that it will help. I hope that it will help students to stay home if they can get academic assistance through chat. I hope that it will help teachers feel less stressed if there are librarians who are creating content to help teach the material that they might not have time to cover in their online courses. I hope that, at least in a small part, I can alleviate some of the stress with the online events that we create—that students, faculty, and staff alike can distract themselves from the madness of the day and do something fun, like watching a Mav Kitchen Series cooking tutorial, participating in a Paws live stream or video, or posting about a book they’re reading in our online Book Club.

Ultimately, we hope that the work that we do will support teaching and learning, and in some way, help people stay home and stay healthy.