From peril to promise: The academic library post–COVID-19

Abstract

As in so many other parts of our society, COVID-19 has forced many changes to the ways in which academic libraries operate. The response of higher education to the pandemic has revealed both how vital academic libraries are to the academic enterprise and to scientific advancement at-large through open access initiatives. It has also highlighted that libraries are not alone in confronting the long-term challenges of sustainability with respect to the current scholarly communication marketplace, and the affordability of higher education more broadly. For academic libraries to assume a leadership role in higher education’s search for solutions, we must first reconcile our own identity in the new landscape. We need to ground ourselves in a new way of operating: embracing iterative development techniques while deliberately combining collections strategy, digital initiatives, and outreach efforts to support open scholarship.