RIPL (Reference & Instruction Community of Interest)

Topic:

We hope you can join us for the first RIPL (Reference & Instruction PALS Librarians) discussion of the 22/23 academic year: Assessing the New “Normal” of Reference & Instruction Services Post-COVID-19.

COVID-19 was a massive disruption to library services, and reference and instruction services were no exception.  With COVID-19 moving from the pandemic to the endemic stage, many colleges are attempting to return to “normal.”  Please join us to take stock of the meaning of the word “Normal” in a post-COVID-19 context.  Are academic libraries “bouncing back” to the norm?  Or are we finding that student and faculty expectations of library services have so changed that libraries will need to fundamentally change to meet new demands?

There will be no readings for this session.  Just come prepared to discuss to the following questions:

1. How did COVID-19 affect your library’s usage data (e.g. foot traffic, virtual and in-person reference services, number of instructional sessions, and etc.)?  Are library usage data returning to pre-COVID-19 norms?
2. What major difficulties with Reference & Instruction have you encountered post-COVID-19?  How has your library attempted to address these difficulties?
3. What major successes has your library had with Reference & Instruction post-COVID-19?
4. Have student or faculty behaviors or expectations changed post-COVID-19?  If so, how?  How are you addressing these changes?
5. Has COVID-19 fundamentally altered how libraries offer reference & instruction services?  If so, how do you think we should adjust?

Tentative Agenda:

• Welcome
• Open Forum (Ask questions, get feedback, and share frustrations or successes)
• Main topic/discussion
• Future meeting topics
• Call for new co-chair(s) (Scott’s last year leading)

Topic & Discussion Question Suggestions

Use this form to:

• Submit discussion topic ideas related to reference and instruction for future RIPL discussions.
• Volunteer to lead a future RIPL discussion.
• Submit a discussion question related to a future discussion topic.