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Transforming: Services

Finding a New Normal: Library Policies and Practices

Saturday, June 24, 2023
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CT
Location: McCormick Place, W179b
The world continues to navigate the changing landscape shaped by three years of living with the pandemic, political upheaval, and environmental crisis. Organizations must find balance among traditional, pre-pandemic policies and practices, pandemic-related policies and practices that changed how and where libraries provide service, and the “new normal” of returning to more traditional policies and practices while the pandemic continues. At the same time, organizations must take special care in how they support and validate their employees as well as take strides in leading inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility efforts in their communities.

The aim of this session is to explore the role of library policies and practices that balance the needs of the organization, the needs of the employee, and the need of the patrons. The balance between policy and practice may also be a delicate framework of expectations and understanding new to the landscape of leadership as libraries seek a new normal. This session hopes to showcase the considerations of developing policies to:

1. sustain collections and services,
2. provide for employees, and
3. lead inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility practices
as well as :
4. methods of implementation,
5. successes and failures, and
6. revisions after implementation.

International presentations include:
Teaching Library Management in a Post-COVID World
Catherine Barnes, University of South Australia, Australia

Changing Practices to the Pandemic’s Impact: Actions and Reflections of Filipino Librarians
Danilo Madayag Baylen, West Visayas State University, Philippines/ University of West Georgia, US, and Elra Madalogdog, West Visayas State University, Philippines

Practices to Implement and Champion a Blended Learning Approach to Information Literacy at an Academic Library
Magdeline NG Tao Tao, Suei Nee WONG, and Siu Chen LIM, National University of Singapore Libraries, Singapore

EDI Initiatives & Canadian STEM Academic Librarianship
Shiyi Xie, Western Libraries, University of Western Ontario, Canada, and Guoying (Grace) Liu, Leddy Library, University of Windsor, Canada

Learning Objectives:

  • Upon completion, participant will be able to develop policies and practices to sustain collections and services.
  • Upon completion, participant will be able to develop policies and practices that balance the needs of the organization, the needs of the employee, and the need of the patrons.
  • Upon completion, participant will be able to develop policies and practices leading to the implementation of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility efforts in their communities.

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