“Think out of the box”: Opportunities from COVID-19 for libraries

Abstract

Crises often spur societies to rethink their structures to meet immediate needs and prepare for the future. While the COVID-19 pandemic led public libraries to rethink how they serve their communities, there is sparse literature exploring how opportunities from the pandemic can be leveraged. This article examines such opportunities from the COVID-19 pandemic as described by African public librarians. The authors conducted virtual interviews with 11 head librarians in nine African countries and analyzed the data using inductive thematic analysis. It was found that many librarians improved their digital skills. Some libraries who hitherto did not have computers and Internet connectivity were provided with such digital tools. Also, most of the librarians leveraged low-cost digital platforms like WhatsApp to share information. Their experiences are used to think about how public librarians can leverage opportunities from the pandemic to meet the information needs of their communities.

Keywords

Public libraries Africa asset-based approach WhatsApp COVID-19

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams

(2015) Conducting semi-structured interviews. In: Newcomer

Harry

Wholey

(eds) Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation. 4th ed. New Jersey: Wiley, 492–505.

African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (2020) Emergency preparedness for African librarians—COVID-19 survey results and the way forward. Available at: https://web.aflia.net/covid-19-survey-results-and-the-way-forward/ (accessed 30 March 2023).

African Union (n.d.) Member states. Available at: https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2 (accessed 25 July 2024).

Alajmi

Albudaiwi

(2021) Response to COVID-19 pandemic: Where do public libraries stand? Public Library Quarterly 40(6): 540–556.

Alvim

Silva

AMDD

Borges

(2020) How are Portuguese public libraries “facing” COVID-19. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries. 9(1): 117–131.

Ayeni

Agbaje

Tippler

(2021) A systematic review of library services provision in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 16(3): 67–104.

Berger

Luckmann

(2016) The social construction of reality. In: Longhofer

Winchester (eds) Social Theory Re-wired. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 110–122.

Birt

Scott

Cavers

, et al. (2016) Member checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation? Qualitative Health Research 26(13): 1802–1811.

Booty

Garzeawu

(2024) South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast hit by major Internet outages. BBC News, 15 March. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68569022 (accessed 23 July 2024).

10.

Braun

Clarke

(2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101.

11.

Braun

Clarke

(2021) One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology 18(3): 328–352.

12.

British Library (2024) Learning lessons from cyber-attack: British Library cyber incident review. Available at: https://www.bl.uk/home/british-library-cyber-incident-review-8-march-2024.pdf (accessed 23 July 2024).

13.

Bugre

Jowaisas

Young

(2023) Making ends meet in a pandemic: African library initiatives during COVID-19. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology 60(1): 895–898.

14.

Campbell

(2005) “In” versus “with” the community: Using a community approach to public library services. Feliciter 51(6): 271–273.

15.

Campbell

Greenwood

Prior

, et al. (2020) Purposive sampling: Complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing 25(8): 652–661.

16.

Chase

(2021) Innovative lessons from our small and rural public libraries. Journal of Library Administration 61(2): 237–243.

17.

Chigwada

(2021) Preparedness of librarians in Zimbabwe in dealing with COVID 19 library closure. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries 9: 107–116. https://www.qqml-journal.net/index.php/qqml/article/download/628/609

18.

Chisita

Ngulube

(2022) A framework for librarians to inform the citizenry during disasters: Reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic. Jàmbá 14(1): Article a1197.

19.

Dalmer

Griffin

(2022) “Still open and here for you”: News media’s framing of Canadian public libraries during COVID-19. Library Quarterly 92(2): 109–214.

20.

De Villiers

Farooq

Molinari

(2022) Qualitative research interviews using online video technology—challenges and opportunities. Meditari Accountancy Research 30(6): 1764–1782.

21.

Dilrukshi

WPT

Illangarathne

Wanasinghe

(2020) New online user service initiatives of public libraries during the long term shutdown periods due to the unexpected circumstances: A case study in Sri Lanka during the COVID – 19 pandemic. In: Proceedings of 9th South Eastern university international arts research symposium 2020, Oluvil, Sri Lanka,19 January, p.10. Oluvil: South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Faculty of Arts and Culture.

22.

Edwards

Robinson

Unger

(2013) Community-Centered Libraries: The Hearts of Revitalized Communities. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

23.

Elbert

Fuegi

Lipeikaite

(2012) Public libraries in Africa—agents for development and innovation? Current perceptions of local stakeholders. IFLA Journal 38(2): 148–165.

24.

Enis

(2024) Seattle Public Library recovering from ransomware attack. Library Journal, 13 June. Available at: https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/seattle-public-library-recovering-from-ransomware-attack (accessed 23 July 2024).

25.

Fox-Sowell S (2024) California library IT systems go dark weeks after ransomware attack. Available at: https://statescoop.com/solano-county-california-library-ransomware-cyberattack/ (accessed 23 July 2024).

26.

Freudenberger

(2020) Programming through the pandemic: With buildings closed to flatten the COVID-19 curve, libraries respond with a rapid pivot to contactless service. Library Journal 145(5): 14–16.

27.

Galan

(2025) The illiteracy rates among all adults (over 15-year-old) in 2022, by world region. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/262886/illiteracy-rates-by-world-regions/ (accessed 23 January 2025).

28.

Goddard

(2020) Public libraries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a new service model. Information Technology and Libraries 39(4): 1–4.

29.

Goek

(2021) Public libraries respond to COVID-19. Public Libraries 60(1): 21–32.

30.

Guba

(1981) Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. Educational Technology Research and Development 29(2): 75–91.

31.

Guo

Yang

Yuan

, et al. (2022) Contactless services. Information Technology and Libraries 41(2): 1–20.

32.

Hapel

(2020) Building a contemporary public library through community engagement: A personal journey. Public Library Quarterly 39(5): 391–409.

33.

Hines

Bishop

(2015) Thinking about the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight. 2d ed. Houston: Hinesight.

34.

Hussey

(2021) What is community engagement? Available at: https://granicus.com/blog/what-is-community-engagement/ (accessed 8 August 2023).

35.

Intahchomphoo

Vellino

(2024) Canadian public library pandemic response: Bridging the digital divide and preparing for future pandemics. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 47(1): 37–51.

36.

Joel

Camble

(2021) Information dissemination during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of librarians in Borno State Public Library. Information Development 39(2): 287–293.

37.

Kardefelt-Winther

Büchi

Twesigye

, et al. (2022) Estimates of Internet access for children in Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. Report, Brief 2022-11, UNICEF Innocenti Research, Italy.

38.

Kostagiolas

Katsani

(2021) The management of public libraries during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review through PRISMA method. Library Management 42(8–9): 531–549.

39.

Kou

Chen

Pan

J-X

(2021) The service experiences of public libraries during the COVID-19 emergency in Wuhan: Three case studies. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association 70(3): 287–300.

40.

Kretzmann

McKnight

(1993) Building communities from the inside out: A path toward finding and mobilizing a community’s assets. Available at: https://abcdinstitute.org/handlers/celinks.ashx?id=46435 (accessed 20 May 2025).

41.

Lenstra

D’Arpa

(2022) Reimagining public library programming during a pandemic. IFLA Journal 48(1): 155–160.

42.

Majola

Mudau

(2022) Lecturers’ experiences of administering online examinations at a South African open distance e-learning university during the COVID-19. International Journal of Educational Methodology 8(2): 275–283.

43.

McKnight

Russell

(2018) The four essential elements of an asset-based community development process: What is distinctive about an asset-based community development process? Available at: https://www.abundantcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/4_Essential_Elements_of_ABCD_Process.pdf (accessed 21 September 2024).

44.

Mustapha

(2022) Assessing impacts of information pollution on selected Ghanaian and Nigerian presidential elections. PhD Thesis, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Russia.

45.

Oliffe

Kelly

Gonzalez Montaner

, et al. (2021) Zoom interviews: Benefits and concessions. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211053522.

46.

Otike

Bouaamri

Barát

, et al. (2021) Emerging roles of libraries and librarians during and post COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and opportunities. In: Chigwada

Tsvuura

(eds) Handbook of Research on Information and Records Management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global, 1–16.

47.

Pateman

Williment

(2016) Developing Community-Led Public Libraries: Evidence from the UK and Canada. London: Routledge.

48.

Pesic

Tanasijevic

(2022) Mobile village library - via bicycle against COVID-19. Available at: https://repository.ifla.org/items/e7ecfd50-f810-498c-8b61-df7f89b67e6f/full (accessed 9 August 2024).

49.

Phillips

Neal

Webb

(2016) Introduction to Emergency Management. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

50.

Robert

Bannerman-Gobeil

Bee

, et al. (2021) Manitoba public libraries’ response to the early stages of COVID-19: La réaction des bibliothèques publiques du Manitoba au début de la COVID-19. Partnership 16(1): 1–11.

51.

Roberts

Clarke

(2024) Resilient public libraries—a survey of Ontario public libraries two years into COVID-19. Public Library Quarterly. Epub ahead of print 27 November 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2024.2433332.

52.

Rosales

(2021) Public library responses to COVID-19: An investigation and reflection of Canadian experiences. Emerging Library and Information Perspectives 4(1): 169–185.

53.

Rubin

(2011) Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. London: Sage.

54.

Russell

McKnight

(2022) The Connected Community: Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

55.

Sadler

Lee

H-C

Lim

RS-H

, et al. (2010) Recruitment of hard-to-reach population subgroups via adaptations of the snowball sampling strategy. Nursing and Health Sciences 12(3): 369–374.

56.

Satariano

Taylor

Tumin

, et al. (2024) Outage for Microsoft users knocks out systems for airlines and hospitals in chaotic day. New York Times, 19 July. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/19/business/global-tech-outage (accessed 23 July 2024).

57.

Save the Children (2020) COVID-19: A camel library takes remote learning to new levels. Available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/covid-19-camel-library-takes-remote-learning-new-levels (accessed 12 September 2022).

58.

Shonhe

(2022) COVID-19 and African libraries: Perspectives through literature from the Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal): Article 6940. Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/6940

59.

Smith

(2020) Information in crisis: Analyzing the future roles of public libraries during and post-COVID-19. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association 69(4): 422–429.

60.

Srirahayu

Harisanty

Anugrah

(2023) Classifying innovation in Indonesian public libraries. Digital Library Perspectives 39(4): 454–469.

61.

Syn

Sinn

Kim

(2023) Innovative public library services during the COVID-19 pandemic: Application and revision of social innovation typology. Library and Information Science Research 45(3): Article 101248.

62.

Tobin

Begley

(2004) Methodological rigour within a qualitative framework. Journal of Advanced Nursing 48(4): 388–396.

63.

Tyler

Sadiq

A-A

(2018) Friends and family vs. government: Who does the public rely on more to prepare for natural disasters? Environmental Hazards 17(3): 234–250.

64.

UNESCO (2023) Digital skills critical for jobs and social inclusion. Available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/digital-skills-critical-jobs-and-social-inclusion (accessed 2 August 2024).

65.

Van der Laan

(2021) Disentangling strategic foresight? A critical analysis of the term building on the pioneering work of Richard Slaughter. Futures 132: Article 102782.

66.

Wakeling

Garner

Hider

, et al. (2022) “The challenge now is for us to remain relevant”: Australian public libraries and the COVID-19 crisis. IFLA Journal 48(1): 138–154.

67.

Wang

Lund

(2020) Announcement information provided by United States’ public libraries during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Public Library Quarterly 39(4): 283–294.

68.

Wasserman

(2011) Mobile phones, popular media, and everyday African democracy: Transmissions and transgressions. Popular Communication 9(2): 146–158.

69.

Williment

(2009) It takes a community to create a library. Partnership 4(1): 1–11.

70.

Wilson

(2021) Australian public library staff living through a pandemic: Personal experience of serving the community. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association 70(3): 322–334.

71.

Xin

(2022) Practices and thinking of public libraries in China during COVID-19. IFLA Journal 48(1): 161–173.

72.

Young

Boyd

Yefimova

, et al. (2021) The role of libraries in misinformation programming: A research agenda. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 53(4): 539–550.