OLA Quarterly

Volume 27 Issue 2 Table of Contents

2022-10-23T12:27:54-07:00

From the Guest Editor

2022-10-23T12:36:14-07:00

This issue of the OLA Quarterly explores “Accelerated Change”—how the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated and encouraged positive changes in Oregon libraries. Articles illustrate how conditions of the pandemic either created opportunities to implement new ideas, illuminated the need to address known barriers to access, or provided the challenge needed to think differently about the impact of library services. Centering the rebuilding and development of new relationships with users and partners will help libraries assure sustainable services through future global challenges.

K-12 Virtual Tutoring: An Equitable Pandemic-era Service Worth Continuing

2022-10-23T12:44:33-07:00

Public libraries are in a unique position to offer tutoring services that can be delivered to the community in convenient and innovative ways. Started at the height of the COVID pandemic, the Multnomah County Library’s K-12 Virtual Tutoring/Tutoría Virtual provides an impactful and equitable model for how a team of library professionals researched, developed, and maintained a virtual tutoring service staffed entirely by volunteers. Despite challenges, the service is still thriving and helping students regain learning lost during the school closure. With the right funding, staffing, and technological support for families to successfully participate, a staff-run, volunteer-driven virtual tutoring service has the potential to make a big difference, and libraries are in a unique and trusted position to provide this support, particularly in the subjects of reading and writing.

The Little Box in the Corner: Chat Widgets Offer Safe and In-Depth Reference

2022-10-23T13:07:39-07:00

Those of us working in libraries, including university and college libraries, know the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light. However, we also know that many (if not all) of these challenges existed pre-pandemic and will continue to exist when we have reached a post-pandemic future. Issues of connectedness and access to services—and to people—will continue to be a concern for any institution aiming for improved equity and outcomes for those they serve. Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) in Pendleton, Oregon, implemented LibChat, an online live chat service made for libraries and hosted by Springshare. Since its implementation in April 2020, LibChat has already assisted the BMCC Library and its wider community with these issues, as it applies to everything from internal communication, flexible work schedules and environments and, of course, response to student, faculty, staff, and community needs. Additionally, LibChat can continue to assist with these issues as we move forward and evolve with our community and its needs.

Creating and Sustaining Collaborative Partnerships: The Eugene Public Library’s Nonprofit Wi-Fi Hotspot Lending Collection

2022-10-23T13:17:18-07:00

As the pandemic forced the Eugene Public Library (EPL) to close its doors and re-imagine services, the Eugene Public Library Foundation created a grant program for staff to obtain funds for small projects that focus on connecting marginalized patrons with information resources. The first of these “Innovation Grants” was awarded to staff at the Bethel Branch Library to create a pilot program in which Wi-Fi hotspots were made available to local nonprofit agencies serving marginalized and at-risk clients. The success of the pilot program led to a wider fundraising effort to create a permanent nonprofit Wi-Fi lending program. EPL currently maintains a collection of 200 hotspot devices which are solely for use by nonprofit partners. Lending Wi-Fi devices for partners to share with clients and to support internal operations has sparked an entirely new type of relationship between the library and the nonprofit community. This article shares this story as a template for other Oregon libraries to envision rethinking their approach to nonprofit partnerships.

Start With Cats! Innovative Virtual Opportunities that Bring the Community Into the Classroom

2022-10-23T13:23:17-07:00

Virtual field trips and programming were one way in which K-12 teacher librarians leveraged their resources, expanded equitable access, and pivoted during in-person school closures of the pandemic. Creative virtual programming provides equity of access and connects classrooms with rich and diverse experiences and perspectives. Virtual experiences can remove geographic and economic barriers, provide access to resources and strengthen community connections. This article discusses practical teaching and programming strategies that leverage video conferencing systems to create virtual classroom experiences which enhance lessons, embrace diversity, build community connections, and provide equity of access to resources.

Approaching the Library Behavior Policy with Justice and Access at the Forefront

2022-10-23T13:28:44-07:00

During the COVID pandemic and the overlapping racial reckoning, the inequalities of resources and the disparities of the impact on our country and our communities have been exposed more than ever. Like most libraries, at Sherwood Public Library, we had tangible restrictions to our operations, were temporarily limited to curbside and virtual services, and reopened our doors to a community navigating multiple traumas and injustices. As we prepared to welcome our patrons back inside, our existing Behavior Policy (Sherwood Public Library, 2022) was inadequate, lacking the conviction of antiracism and trauma-informed customer service that we knew we needed.

Inside Look: EOU’s Mobile Virtual Reality Lab

2022-10-23T13:37:10-07:00

An American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funded the establishment of a virtual reality lab at Eastern Oregon University (EOU) Library during the 2021-22 academic year. Virtual reality, or VR, simulates experiences with the aid of technology, most commonly specialized headsets that allow the user to see and feel like they are immersed in a virtual space. It can be used for gaming, entertainment, fitness, social interaction, and education. The project at EOU began with a collaboration with the Anatomy and Physiology course in which students investigated the inner workings of human organs and systems in VR as a lab assignment. The project has grown to include collaborations with History, Psychology, Health and Human Performance, Student Affairs, and other campus departments. The grant funding helped us to provide innovative digital content to our rural college students without any charge to them, and also helped to build learning experiences that were superior to what had been offered during the prior, more restrictive year of the pandemic. For the library, this wasn’t so much a pandemic-induced pivot as it was an opportunity to offer engaging, cutting-edge, free, and accessible learning experiences to our students.

Volume 27 Issue 2 Back Matter

2022-10-23T13:40:32-07:00