Purpose

The study aims to determine the extent of COVID-19’s impact on the libraries and information centers within Benguet. It identified the key differences in the effect of the pandemic on each type of library: public, special, school and academic. It recalled and documented the challenges faced by libraries and librarians. It determined which aspects of their library were affected and how they were modified in terms of their policies, personnel, physical space, services, collection, infodemic response and marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used the qualitative descriptive method approach, specifically narrative research design and conducted online focus group discussions in which 14 librarians with managerial or supervisory functions participated. This method was used to explore the topic holistically by using qualitative inquiry. It best suited the purpose of fully understanding the experiences of libraries during the pandemic. The recorded online focus group discussions conducted through Zoom were reviewed and analyzed to identify key themes and responses from the participants. The themes identified from the thematic analysis were further validated with the participants through correspondence, chats or e-mails.

Findings

The findings showed that libraries were faced with challenges brought on by the lack of a written policy for the pandemic response, a lack of information communication and technology skills and resources, strict requirements on physical setup for pandemic compliance, budget cuts or realignments and delayed procurement, misinformation and users’ lack of awareness of the new services offered by the library.

Research limitations/implications

The study focused on the pandemic experiences of libraries and information centers in Baguio-Benguet, which was hailed as a model for local pandemic response, through the lenses of librarians with supervisory roles or functions.

Practical implications

Libraries could reflect on their experiences in this pandemic to plan for future strategies that would be best implemented in situations where face-to-face services are not allowed.

Originality/value

This study presented various best practices from different library institutions that could be emulated in the future. Many of these are still relevant regardless library services are going back to normal.

中文翻译：

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碧瑶-本格特图书馆和信息中心的流行病叙述

目的

该研究旨在确定 COVID-19 对本格特内图书馆和信息中心的影响程度。它确定了疫情对各类图书馆影响的主要差异：公共图书馆、特殊图书馆、学校图书馆和学术图书馆。它回顾并记录了图书馆和图书馆员面临的挑战。它确定了图书馆的哪些方面受到影响，以及如何在政策、人员、物理空间、服务、馆藏、信息流行病应对和营销方面进行修改。

设计/方法论/途径

该研究采用定性描述方法，特别是叙述性研究设计，并进行了在线焦点​​小组讨论，14 名具有管理或监督职能的图书馆员参加了讨论。该方法用于通过定性探究来整体探索该主题。它最适合充分了解大流行期间图书馆的经验的目的。通过 Zoom 进行的在线焦点小组讨论记录经过审查和分析，以确定关键主题和参与者的反应。通过信件、聊天或电子邮件，参与者进一步验证了主题分析中确定的主题。

发现

调查结果显示，图书馆面临着缺乏应对疫情的书面政策、缺乏信息通信和技术技能和资源、疫情合规物理设施要求严格、预算削减或调整以及采购延迟等带来的挑战。 、错误信息以及用户对图书馆提供的新服务缺乏认识。

研究局限性/影响

该研究重点关注碧瑶-本格特图书馆和信息中心的流行病经验，通过具有监督角色或职能的图书馆员的视角，该研究被誉为当地应对流行病的典范。

实际影响

图书馆可以反思他们在这场大流行中的经验，以规划未来的策略，这些策略在不允许面对面服务的情况下最好实施。

原创性/价值

这项研究提出了不同图书馆机构的各种最佳实践，可供将来效仿。无论图书馆服务是否恢复正常，其中许多内容仍然具有相关性。