Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experiences of Australian public library staff during the COVID-19 library closures. The study examines the effect of mandated physical library closures on staff well-being, along with the challenges they faced as library operations moved to a remotely delivered model. The paper includes an examination of staff perceptions of their library's value in the lives of their users.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 Australian library staff from three library networks. A process of inductive coding resulted in a thematic description of the participants' experiences of continuing to work during a period of where their libraries were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Findings

Australian public library workers experienced many challenges that affected their well-being during the period of library closures. These included challenges relating to moving library programming to a virtual delivery model, managing significant change in their work lives, managing the emotions of self and others, and concern for the well-being of library users. Positive outcomes relating to skill development and innovative thinking were also reported.

Originality/value

The operational responses to the COVID-19 library closures in Australia and elsewhere have been well reported. This paper takes a different approach by examining the emotional and well-being outcomes for public library staff during these periods of closure.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚公共图书馆工作人员在 COVID-19 图书馆关闭期间的生活经历

目的

本文的目的是探讨澳大利亚公共图书馆工作人员在 COVID-19 图书馆关闭期间的生活经历。该研究考察了强制关闭实体图书馆对员工福祉的影响，以及他们在图书馆运营转向远程交付模式时面临的挑战。该文件包括对员工对其图书馆在用户生活中的价值的看法的检查。

设计/方法/方法

对来自三个图书馆网络的 15 名澳大利亚图书馆工作人员进行了半结构化访谈。归纳编码过程导致了参与者在图书馆因 COVID-19 限制而关闭期间继续工作的经历的主题描述。

发现

澳大利亚公共图书馆工作人员在图书馆关闭期间经历了许多影响他们福祉的挑战。其中包括与将图书馆编程转变为虚拟交付模式、管理工作生活中的重大变化、管理自己和他人的情绪以及关注图书馆用户的福祉有关的挑战。还报告了与技能发展和创新思维有关的积极成果。

原创性/价值

澳大利亚和其他地方对 COVID-19 图书馆关闭的操作反应已得到充分报道。本文采取了不同的方法，研究了公共图书馆工作人员在关闭期间的情绪和幸福感。