Academic Libraries Readiness for Campus Phased Re-opening

Webinar objectives:

• To share knowledge in Academic Libraries readiness, in responding to the challenge of COVID 19 in Higher Education
• Address issues of how Libraries can build their COVID 19 Risk Management and Business Continuity Plans for supporting institutional campus “Save the Academic Year 2020”
• To build Librarian confidence in managing Library Readiness for COVID-19.

Webinar Platform: LIASA Zoom

Date: Friday, 28 August 2020

Time: 10h30

Duration: 1.5 hours

Presenters:

• Linda Mbonambi: Postgraduate & Research Librarian – IIE MSA Library and Learning Commons
• Anwa Adriaanse: Deputy Director: Resources & Systems – UWC Libraries
• Gareth Dampies: IT & Infrastructure Officer – Rhodes University Library
• Larshan Naicker: Head: User & Research Support Services – Rhodes University Library

Facilitator: Dr Shirlene Neerputh (HELIG Chair)

Introduction:

As South Africa grapples the COVID 19 Pandemic and Higher Education plan gears toward “Save the Academic Year 2020”, campus phased-in opening as per the Lockdown protocols are challenging the way in which Libraries operate to support learning, teaching and research. Are Librarians confident of the new scenarios unfolding in their libraries to:

     a)     embrace virtual services;
     b)     manage their library operations remotely,
     c)     manage work from home dynamics
     d)     manage their own wellbeing, as well as;
     e)     to better gear up their COVID strategies for library re-opening.

Libraries around the globe are grappling with the re-opening of services or providing limited remote services to meet the needs of their users. 

This is an opportunity for libraries to share their experiences, challenges and plans into re-integrating their services within the academic endeavours, amidst online teaching and learning.  Institutions are facing their own unique challenges, and have adopted new work-plans, etc. to work around the following areas:

• Managing the approaches to restrictions
• Providing remote services
• Re-opening libraries with limited staff
• Managing e-resources
• Handling materials/ processing of materials
• Workspaces and surfaces
• Team management
• Collecting data on daily activities to pick up trends and challenges

For further enquiries, please contact:

Larshan Naicker (HELIG PRO) – l.naicker@ru.ac.za