Illinois Fire Service Institute Library Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2022.vol7.1.238

Abstract

The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Library provides fire and emergency library and information assistance and services to the Institute’s instructional staff, students, Illinois fire departments and firefighters, and other fire/emergency-related users in the successful and effective performance of their jobs. In response to the COVID pandemic, IFSI Librarians have developed new services and resources to continue serving patrons. At the same time, new procedures and services were adopted. With the staff’s return to the library’s physical location, IFSI’s Learning Resource and Research Center building, new COVID-19-related safety measures have been instituted. IFSI Librarians worked with IFSI staff to create the COVID-19 Archives Collection to preserve important documents about the pandemic as it occurs. The Library received grant awards respectively from IMLS and ALA. During the pandemic, the IFSI International Programs continued to provide information resources and access to international users. The Library organized online academic activities via Zoom on a variety of workshops, lectures, and discussions to ensure that users were able to receive enough resources to continue their study and research.

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Author Biographies

  • Lian Ruan, Illinois Fire Service Institute Library

    Dr. Lian Ruan, Head Librarian at the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), Director of the IFSI International Programs, and Affiliate Research Faculty at the School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has research interests in information behavior, special library administration, and international librarianship with numerous publications.

  • David Ehrenhart, Illinois Fire Service Institute Library

    David Ehrenhart serves as Assistant Director for Library Operations with the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library. His responsibilities include supervisory tasks related to library operations, as well as preserving and providing access to the history of the Illinois Fire Service Institute and the history of the fire service in Illinois.

  • Diane Richardson, Illinois Fire Service Institute Library

    Diane Richardson serves as Reference and User Training Librarian with the IFSI Library. Her responsibilities include leadership of a reference team of graduate students, creation of digital information resources, and the provision of circulation, outreach, and library usage training to Illinois firefighters via interlibrary loan services, social media, and in-person and online workshops.

  • Shuyi Liu, Illinois Fire Service Institute Library

    Shuyi Liu serves as International Outreach Services Librarian with the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library. She performs duties involved with supporting and assisting international outreach programs and activities, providing reference and information research resources for international users, as well as liaison with organizations on and beyond campus.

References

Ji, J. (2021, July 30). Chinese Libraries Responses During COVID-19 [PowerPoint presentation]. IFSI International Programs. Shanghai, China.

King, L. (2021, March 31). Staying Open and Staying Safe: COVID-19 and The Yale Library [PowerPoint presentation]. IFSI International Programs. New Haven, CT, United States.

Ruan, L., Ehrenhart, D., Richardson, D., & Liu, S. (2021, July 22). Libraries Adapting to the COVID World: The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Library Practice [PowerPoint presentation]. American Library Association International Relations Round Table (ALA IRRT) Pre-Conference. Champaign, IL, United State. https://www.ala.org/rt/irrt-past-webinars

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Published

2022-07-18

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2022): Pandemic and Libraries

Section

Featured Articles

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How to Cite

Illinois Fire Service Institute Library Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic. (2022). International Journal of Librarianship, 7(1), 109-115. https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2022.vol7.1.238