Panel on best practices for libraries during & after COVID-19 features Dean Joan Ruelle

Joan Ruelle, dean of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library, served as a featured panel member in "The Socially-Distanced Library: Best Practices During and After COVID-19" on July 29, 2021.

“The Socially-Distanced Library: Best Practices During and After COVID-19″ took place July 29, 2021, and featured Dean of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library Joan Ruelle as well as library leaders from Chapman University, St. Mary’s University, Capilano University and Delaware State University.

In this continuation of Taylor & Francis’s webinar series “The Socially-Distanced Library,” a new group of case studies was presented that address how academic libraries are implementing radical service and policy adjustments to respond to changes in higher education that have been provoked by the pandemic.

In this webinar, panelists walk attendees through a range of case studies that detail the experiences of five unique libraries as they adjusted to their new working environments, and which of those adjustments are being carried forward as long-term policies and strategies for a post-COVID world. Topics discussed include access to materials implications for collection development, marketing and outreach, changing staff patterns, changes to the physical library and the status of the academic library in the university as a whole.

Other webinars in “The Socially Distanced Library” series presented by Choice & ACRL include “The Leadership Perspective,” “Transitioning Faculty to Online Teaching Environments,” and “Physical Spaces, Transition Tactics, and a Look at the Data.” These webinars were designed to provide practical guidance for academic libraries to help their campus communities shift to online instruction and services in a socially distanced environment. Designed for library leadership as well as front-line staff, the four webinars addressed issues such as:

  • Publisher and vendor negotiations for services and content
  • How to identify opportunities in the midst of uncertainty for long-term changes to resources, services, and instruction
  • Planning for a “new mix” of scholarly resource formats
  • Programming designed to transition faculty to online teaching
  • How libraries can be proactive partners in the transition to online instruction and services
  • How academic libraries are reconfiguring their physical spaces

To view a recording of the webinar featuring Joan Ruelle, click here. To view the case study on Belk Library, click here.