The dramatic changes to work and education in light of the COVID-19 pandemic have put remote education and access to online resources and services in the spotlight.
Emergency responses from different stakeholders have sought to address the rapid shift in public needs. Educational institutions and their libraries have worked to ensure students' access to necessary materials; some governments (e.g. in Ireland and Norway) have offered support to libraries to increase their online offering as public demand for digital resources soared (as much as sixfold in some areas).
Many publishers and vendors have launched initiatives to extend and/or offer easier access to their online resources – often following requests or consultations with research and educational institutions, library consortia and other key stakeholders. There have also been more initiatives to support Open Access - especially for resources that support research on COVID-19 and related areas, or that ensure the continuity of education during lockdowns.
However, these have been far from uniform within and across countries, deepening the existing digital divide and creating new inequalities . Under lockdown conditions, lower income, remote and otherwise disadvantaged communities could have limited access or be entirely cut off from work, education, healthcare or other key dimensions of participation in society.
The proposed session hosted by the Dynamic Coalition on Public Access in Libraries aims to examine how the pandemic has highlighted the questions around access to key digital resources and services at a time of crisis, drawing on the experience of libraries, educational institutions a nd other stakeholders. It aims to take stock of the emergency responses and their impacts; and lessons for the post-COVID world and any future emergencies.
The session aims to address the following points:
- ASSESSING THE EMERGENCY RESPONSES. To what extent have emergency responses been able to meet public needs? In particular, what were the impacts of the responses aiming to: ensure or broaden access to key digital resources and services; improve organisational capacity to offer online access to resources and services; share or improve public access to the internet. What lessons have we learned about equitable access to key digital content (especially educational content) and services in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic? What legal issues were encountered, and were they overcome?
- EMERGENCY MEASURES TO KEEP. As the world winds down special measures taken during the crisis, which successful measures could usefully be carried through and retained after the end of the pandemic? Can we return to something better than the ‘normal’ that we had in the past?
- EMEGRENCY MEASURES TO REINTRODUCE IN CASE OF FUTURE CRISES. What needs to happen next to ensure people's access to education, research and cultural materials in any possible future emergencies? What current emergency measures can be included or adapted for a future emergency strategy?
