Diving into School Librarianship during the Pandemic

March 2020 kicked off a period of unprecedented change and new experiences for all school librarians, but for one group of school librarians, the months to follow would be incredibly unique. In this article, three elementary school librarians share their experiences as brand-new school librarians, seeing everything with new eyes at the exact moment in time when the school library profession (and the K-12 educational system) was busy reinventing, reimagining, and reconsidering every best practice. By drawing upon their creativity and the strong foundations of what a school librarian does and what a school library should be, these school librarians were able to create supportive library spaces for their students. Under incredibly challenging circumstances, they taught fundamental research and reading skills and did what school librarians do best--analyze, adapt, and move forward.

Reshaping Perspectives on Flexible Work: The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Library Management

During COVID-19, academic library employees pivoted to predominantly remote work. Associate deans, associate university librarians, and equivalent managers at the top 50 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions were interviewed about benefits, challenges, pre-pandemic norms, necessary conditions, and the future of flexible work arrangements (FWAs). The findings suggest that successful FWAs require adequate technology and effective managerial communication and depend on the types of positions and individuals involved. Most managers believe FWAs will increase in academic libraries in the future. FWAs provide benefits for both organizations and employees and will likely have a positive impact on library space, recruitment, and retention. At the same time, careful communication and compassionate leadership are needed for successful FWAs.