Information institution services during the COVID-19 pandemic

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The world is now being plagued by the emergence of a new coronavirus called COVID-19 or coronavirus disease. All mass media, whether print, electronic or digital report news about COVID-19. In the current situation, COVID-19 has influenced the lives of all people. Scientific conferences, business meetings, Umrah worship to Mecca, and wedding parties should not be held (Djalante, 2020). The library was also forced to close all physical services due to COVID-19.

Following COVID-19, the library had to close its physical services and switch to online services, causing a number of changes in activities on the library’s social media, from the website to Instagram, to Facebook. The changes that occur are positive, as can be seen in the social media of each library that is more active in sharing information about services or innovating new programs by utilizing social media. In addition, there is also a university library social media which was initially inactive for several months, yet after COVID-19, it became active again, sharing information about services during the COVID-19, as can be seen in the library of State Polytechnic University of Malang, Gunadarma University Library, Alauddin Makassar State Islamic University Library, and even Padjadjran University Library which initially did not have an Instagram account.

There were service changes to some libraries in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic. The changes that is most frequently made by libraries are the provision of e-resources and the use of online media. The most widely used e-resources are e-journals. The most frequent use of online media such as websites and social media aims to inform their new services and the most recent is to interact with their users. For example, through live Instagram and online seminars via webinars. There are some who have implemented innovation services such as returns through bookdrop, and borrowing and returning collections through couriers, but these have not been done much by libraries in Indonesia.

However, once again the changes made by libraries in Indonesia have not massively changed, they are still in the stage of developing new plans for more innovative services. Libraries around the world, such as in Japan, China, and Europe, have started new service policies during covid-19, such as visitor restrictions, strict health protocols, innovative services involving digital storytelling, collection, furniture, tools, and equipment handling in the library.

Libraries in Indonesia can gradually imitate the policies that have been applied by libraries in other countries, seeing that the Indonesian government is slowly echoing plans to habituate new normal policies towards community activity. Thus, the libraries in Indonesia also need to be prepared in implementing the new normal policies and adjust their services. Inevitably, the libraries will eventually be opened, in which they must implement new health protocols and services in the post-pandemic COVID-19 period.

Author: Dyah Puspitasari Srirahayu

The full article can be accessed at the following link, https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/6736/

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