(via Laura Costello, University of Minnesota and doctoral candidate at Rutgers University)
My name is Dr. Marie Radford, and I’m a Professor in the Department of Library & Information Science within the School of Communication & Information (SC&I) at Rutgers University. I’m working with Laura Costello, Kaitlin Montague, and Julia Maxwell to conduct a research project called “Academic Library Reference in the Time of COVID-19 – The Longtail, 2023-24”, focusing on how reference and user services in academic libraries have evolve and developed as a result of the COVID-19. Reference is an essential service and we’re interested in how academic libraries adapted their reference services during the COVID-10 pandemic.
For this investigation, we are conducting 35-45 virtual interviews. Academic librarians involved in directing or planning virtual reference services since pandemic in university, college, and community college settings are eligible to participate.
For the interview, we are specifically looking for academic librarians involved in directing or planning virtual reference services since the pandemic. If you’re interested in participating in a virtual interview, or if you’d like further information, please fill out our intake survey.
We expect the virtual interview will take around 60 minutes and you will be compensated a $50 gift card for your time.
If you are unable to participate but know of someone from these professions who may be interested in this study, please consider forwarding this e-mail to that individual. Findings from this research will help us understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted library services and the ways they have evolved since.