Accessing special collections during the COVID-19 pandemic in university libraries in Nigeria

The accessibility of special collections during the COVID-19 pandemic was a matter of concern for libraries and their users due to the specific nature of special collections compared to other information sources in libraries. This study therefore investigated the accessibility of special collections in university libraries in the South South zone of Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The population of the study included 233 librarians in federal, state and private universities in the zone. The study adopted an online questionnaire and there was a total of 197 respondents. The findings show that special collections were accessible to library users through library websites, institutional repositories, CD-ROMs and flash drives during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The study reveals some of the challenges affecting the accessibility of special collections during the COVID-19 pandemic in university libraries in Nigeria and recommends ways of enhancing the accessibility of special collections during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. © The Author(s) 2023.

Well-being status and post-traumatic stress symptoms in health workers attending mindfulness sessions during the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic in Mexico

Introduction. In Mexico, a National Mental Health Strategy was implemented to identify and attend the mental health repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It included the creation of five virtual clinics for health workers, being the Burnout, Post-traumatic Stress and Compassion Fatigue clinic one of them. Objective. To describe the basal sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of health workers attending online mindfulness sessions as part of the treatment of the aforementioned clinic. Method. This is a cross-sectional report part of a major nationwide and longitudinal project. All attendants responded to digital sociodemographics and COVID-19 questionnaires, the Extended Physician Well-Being Index (EP-WBI), and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) TOP-8 index. Results. Of the 507 health workers that participated, 70.02% of them were at risk of burnout according to the Extended Well-Being Index and 57.31, 7.91 and 2.77% had a mild, moderate, and severe risk of PTSD, respectively. The most affected were the female health workers, from metropolitan or central areas of the country, and those diagnosed with COVID-19 or exposed to a person with the diagnosis. Discussion and conclusion. Mexican health workers attending mindfulness sessions presented high frequencies of PTSD symptoms and burnout. Female workers at urban hospitals could be at a special risk for developing PTSD or Well-ness alterations, and thus, they must be cared for closely, particularly those having direct contact with COVID 19 positive persons. The early participation in mental health strategies might lessen the immediate and long-term pandemic effects.