In March 2020, academic libraries across the United States closed and sent everyone home, some destined to not reopen for months. University offices closed. Classes were moved online. Suddenly, librarians and staff pivoted to working from home and to all remote services, without time for planning logistics or training. To study the impact of this extraordinary and sweeping transition on virtual reference services (VRS), we conducted a major study of academic library responses to the pandemic that focused on librarian perceptions of how services and relationships with users morphed during this COVID-19 year.Academic librarians rallied to our call, and we collected a total of 300 responses to two longitudinal surveys launched at key points during the pandemic. Data collection focused on two phases in 2020: 1) shutdown and immediate aftermath (mid-March to July), and 2) fall ramp up and into the semester (August to December). Via Zoom, we also interviewed 28 academic librarian leaders (e.g., heads of reference and/or VRS, associate directors for User Services) from September to November. Surveys and interviews centered on adaptations and innovations to reference services, especially VRS and perceptions of changes in user interactions.

The escalation of discourse on racial injustice prompts novel ideas to address the persistent lack of racial equity in LIS research. The underrepresentation of BIPOC perspectives contributes to the inequity. Applying the Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach meaningfully engages BIPOC to help guide LIS investigations that identify evolving needs and concerns, such as how systematic racism may contribute to social justice issues like environmental and health inequity. Engaging with BIPOC, using the CBPR approach, can help address racial equity in LIS because it will result in increased racial representation which enables incorporation of the perspectives and priorities of BIPOC. This shift to greater engagement is imperative to respond to escalating attention to social injustice and ensure that these central issues are adequately reflected in LIS research. The discipline is positioned to help detail the drivers and implications of inequity and develop ways to address them. We underscore the importance of working across research disciplines by describing our CBPR experience engaging with BIPOC in LIS research. We highlight the perspectives of community partners who have over two decades of experience with community-based LIS research. We offer lessons learned to LIS researchers by describing the factors that make these initiatives successful and those which contribute to setbacks.

During the onset of the Covid‐19 pandemic, new health information was being disseminated at unprecedented rates which included ever‐changing mandates and regulations, resulting in information overload for many. Shelter in place orders are the pandemic‐related information that will be discussed. As these dynamic orders were announced and enforced, mobile populations—people who live in their vans or “van dwellers”—abandoned life on the road and rushed to loved ones to abide by social distancing directives. Others had nowhere to turn. This pilot study of van dweller's information practices focuses on the early weeks of the pandemic and how this population adapted to an overwhelming information environment. Using the information resilience conceptual framework, I describe how van dwellers adapted when a myriad of information and misinformation was circulating. The van dweller community, and their supporters, banded together to provide resources and safe spaces in a time of crisis.

Purpose This paper aims to describe how public librarians can better address complex information needs. First, librarians should classify the degree of complexity of the need by using Warner’s classification model; then they can use Popper’s three world theory to anticipate and respond to complex information needs by following specific steps. Design/methodology/approach After examining the information science literature, appropriate models were selected to support public librarians. Our information science scholarship, coupled with our practical experience, informed our search and selection. Findings This paper details specific steps that public librarians can take to anticipate and respond to individual information needs. Doing so is imperative as the information needs of the public continue to become increasingly complex. Originality/value This paper improves information practice because it offers specific steps to aid public librarians to anticipate and respond to complex information needs. It draws upon an existing model and theoretical framework. This paper also highlights selected examples of how public librarians across the USA have anticipated information needs, and developed partnerships with organizations external to the public library to address complex information needs.

This investigation explores the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on live chat virtual reference services (VRS) in academic libraries and on user behaviors from March to December 2020 using Goffman's theoretical framework (1956, 1967, 1971). Data from 300 responses by academic librarians to two longitudinal online surveys and 28 semi-structured interviews were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. Results revealed that academic librarians were well-positioned to provide VRS as university information hubs during pandemic shutdowns. Qualitative analysis revealed that participants received gratitude for VRS help, but also experienced frustrations and angst with limited accessibility during COVID-19. Participants reported changes including VRS volume, level of complexity, and question topics. Results reveal the range and frequency of new services with librarians striving to make personal connections with users through VRS, video consultations, video chat, and other strategies. Participants found it difficult to maintain these connections, coping through grit and mutual support when remote work became necessary. They adapted to challenges, including isolation, technology learning curves, and disrupted work routines. Librarians' responses chronicle their innovative approaches, fierce determination, emotional labor, and dedication to helping users and colleagues through this unprecedented time. Results have vital implications for the future of VRS.In mid-March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic response forced most colleges and universities across the United States to send students, faculty, and staff home to shelter in place. Amid spiking numbers of infections, there ensued widespread confusion and ongoing disruption of normal operations while classes migrated online. It gradually became apparent that there would not be a return to campuses after spring break, or, as it came to pass, for the entire spring semester and additional semesters to come.Academic libraries swiftly moved all previously in-person assistance to online modes, expanding or quickly adding virtual reference services (VRS) (Hinchliffe & Wolff-Eisenberg, 2020a, 2020b. The transition to fully online service delivery was accelerated by the need for individuals to socially distance to "flatten the curve" of the pandemic's spread (Halle, 2020). Librarians and staff strove to continue to provide quality user services during this period of uncertainty, fear, and physical isolation. Based on