Call for Articles – On Hold: LIS People and Places During a Pandemic

June 11, 2020

Librarianship.ca invites articles for an upcoming theme issue of Voices, On Hold: LIS People and Places During a Pandemic

Submission Deadline: August 4, 2020
Publication: September 2020

COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work and enjoy our time; for some it has even changed the way we think of the world. The pandemic has pulled us apart and brought us together in ways we couldn’t have predicted. As we navigate the “new normal” and the “next normal” of living and working through a pandemic, stories of inspiration, sorrow, perseverance, and togetherness are being found, created, and shared.

As the library and information world continues to shift and transform, we want to hear from you: how your work was impacted, your community and the community you serve affected, and what day to day life looks like for you with life on hold.

Some topics include:

• Are library services essential services?
• How did your institution respond?
• How did you transform your service offerings?
• What are some lessons learned from the experience? How can we do better next time?
• What have we learned about our professional community and our organizations from this experience?
• How can we reimagine the way we deliver our services in a physically distant world?
• What does the resumption of services at physical locations look like for your institution?
• What impact will the decision to layoff employees have on those workplaces?
• If you’re a vendor or other partner organization, how has the response to COVID-19 affected you?
• If you’re a LIT or MLIS student, how has the shift to emergency online instruction impacted you and your studies?
• What does continuing professional development for the librarianship community look like in the near future?
• What is the role of our professional associations in a time of pandemic?
• What was life like for LIS professionals during the pandemic? What did you do?
• How did you manage? What books, podcasts, hobbies helped fill the time?
• How has COVID-19 changed your life? For better? For worse?
• What does the future look like for you as an LIS professional?

We look forward to receiving your perspectives on LIS life during a pandemic.

For more information, contact the theme editor:

Robyn Schafer, MLIS
Robyn@librarianship.ca

Submission Guidelines:

• Articles can be 300 to 1,500 words in length – photos and other images are encouraged.
• Articles can be from a professional, personal, reflective or data driven perspective, written in a way that is accessible to practitioners.

Please submit your article to Robyn Schafer by August 4, 2020.