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University libraries response to COVID-19 pandemic: A developing country

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DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102280

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 The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

The Journal of Academic Librarianship

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jacalib

University libraries response to COVID-19 pandemic: A developing

country perspective
Muhammad Rafiq a, *, Syeda Hina Batool a, Amna Farzand Ali b, Midrar Ullah c
a
Department of Information Management, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
b
Kulliyat-ul-Banat Degree College, Lahore, Pakistan
c
Central Library, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad, Pakistan

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The purpose of this study was to explore the university libraries’ response during the COVID-19 pandemic and
COVID-19 determine their working practices, services patterns, strategies applied, and role played. This study is a quali­
Corona tative exploration by collecting data through in-depth interviews of purposely selected Heads of seven university
Emergency library services
libraries. The interview recordings were transcribed, translated, and analyzed thematically. The majority of the
Online services
University libraries and pandemic
university libraries were physically closed for patrons in this pandemic but engaged with the users. Libraries
Pakistan revamped their web pages, reassigned resources, and planned robust online offerings. The university portal and
other social media tools were less used communication tools during the pandemic. Library staff worked from
home and there was a sense of over burden because of 24/7 connectivity and without any formal working policy
addressing the new working routines. University librarians felt that digital divide, lack of digital literacy skills,
and slow internet speed were the major barriers in their transition from physical to online mode and less use of
library’s online resources and web portals. Libraries see their individual and collective roles of societal and
educational dimensions during these uncertain times. The study also made recommendations for the betterment
of libraries’ role in such situations.

Introduction
In Pakistan, the first case of corona virus was reported on February
26, 2020 (Ali & Gatiti, 2020). Subsequently, cases of COVID-19
appeared all over the country. Consequently, all academic institutions
and libraries were closed from March 14, 2020 (The Nation, 2020a). The
students were banned from entry in the educational institutions and they
were vacated from hostels. The first case of death was announced on
March 17, 2020 in Pakistan (The Nation, 2020b) and a nation-wide
lockdown was announced from March 23, 2020 (The Nation, 2020c).
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of our lives
almost overnight. There is an uncertainty, and no one knows how long
the COVID-19 crisis will last. Therefore, the educational institutions
have started online engagements such as classes and assignments for
students. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan asked the
universities and institutions of higher education to outline a plan of
online teaching and online interaction as soon as possible to avoid risk of
losing an academic year. HEC has assisted the universities in arranging
software for online classes, the internet connection packages, curation of
online materials, training of faculty members, building a data re­
pository, providing guidance on quality enhancement, and setting up
and adapting monitoring and evaluation systems (HEC, 2020a). In terms
of online classes, HEC (2020b) has issued guidelines for online readiness
and identified eight factors such as university’s management system, the
course itself, the faculty members, the library or resource bank, the
technological infrastructure, the readiness of the students, the evalua­
tion system and the laboratory system. The HEC is in the process of
establishing the National Knowledge Bank (NKB) mechanism with the
following responsibilities: “support libraries in transitioning to online
readiness; identify and curate online materials appropriate for online
courses; and negotiate with Coursera, EdX, and other content providers
to build Pakistan’s resource bank.” The LIS professional responded to the
COVID-19 crisis and started planning to support online education and to
get connected with faculty members and students. However, public li­
braries in Pakistan lack resources, facilities and information and
communication technologies to operate in the prevailing situation.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: rafiq.im@pu.edu.pk (M. Rafiq), hina.im@pu.edu.pk (S.H. Batool), amna.farzand@gmail.com (A.F. Ali), midrarullah2007@yahoo.com
(M. Ullah).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102280
Received 5 August 2020; Received in revised form 22 October 2020; Accepted 27 October 2020
Available online 6 November 2020
0099-1333/© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
M. Rafiq et al.
Aim and context of the study
The aim of the study was to conduct an exploratory investigation on
university libraries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study
explored the practices and services pattern during the pandemic when
the university classes were suspended and online classes were started.
The reactive surge of online classes offered the libraries challenges and
opportunities. The major challenge was the transition from physical to
online delivery of information services. The context of Pakistani uni­
versity libraries is unique. The university libraries, most developed
segments of academic libraries in the country, face a number of social,
financial, and technical challenges. Lacking in wide-scale technological
applications, off-campus access to subscribed resources, large scale
digital initiatives, institutional repositories, and collaborative projects
make them special cases to study in this pandemic. Moreover, low
internet penetration and mobile broadband access in small towns greatly
affects the ability of students to efficiently access online classes and
information resources (Baloch & Musyani, 2020; Nakhoda, 2020). Thus,
there are significant challenges for university libraries in meeting the
needs of their users. University libraries were trying to support online
classes, meet the information needs of researchers, adopt online working
practices, and recognize and adopt individual and collective emerging
roles. The COVID-19 pandemic built up chaos, uncertainty and changed
many common practices. We explored libraries’ responses and library
leaders’ thinking about the emerging situation from the COVID-19
pandemic and the future. Moreover, the study not only presents the
current state of affairs but also makes recommendations on the basis of
these findings.
Literature review
The literature on the topic presents scarcity and we did not find
empirical studies on the phenomenon. Few opinion papers and blog
posts, focusing guidelines for library work in this pandemic, were pub­
lished on the topic as the pandemic spread over the world. Library as­
sociations have also responded to the pandemic with researches and best
practices. The International Federation of Library Association and In­
stitutions (IFLA) has been compiling the information and resources
regarding the situation of libraries around the world since the outspread
of COVID-19. IFLA (2020) also updates the available information on its
website on regular basis. The Institute of Museum and Library Services
(2020) in the USA has made available the COVID-19 resources for all
types of libraries on its webpage. The American Library Association
(2020) has created a webpage to compile information about the possible
implications of COVID-19 pandemic and the possible ways communities
will respond to it. The Association of College and Research Libraries
(2020) has developed a guide to support academic and research libraries
in distance education, professional development, best practices, collec­
tion maintenance during the COVID-19 crisis and preparing librarians to
reopen libraries. The Association of Research Libraries (2020) also has
developed a COVID-19 news and resource web pages. Australian Library
and Information Association (2020) has developed a webpage for
sharing library services and news regarding their response to COVID-19.
The International Coalition of Library Consortia (2020) issued a
“Statement on the GLOBAL COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impact on Li­
brary Services and Resources” on behalf of many library consortia across
the world. Brown (2020) stated that libraries in the USA have closed
their physical buildings and opened their digital doors. Moreover, the
American Library Association (ALA) has cancelled their annual confer­
ence for the first time in 75 years. Perrine, 2020 reported that the usage
of online databases has increased by 75% due to the closure of libraries.
Moreover, about 3000 books were issued from Middletown Township
Public Library (MTPL), NJ in a day before its closure that was considered
‘highly unusual’. The Medical Library Association (2020) has created a
resource guide for health sciences librarians and information profes­
sional on its website.
2
The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280
In Pakistan, Ali and Gatiti (2020) described the following three key
roles of the health sciences librarian during the COVID-19 pandemic:
promotion and dissemination of information related to preventive
measures for public health awareness; supporting researchers by
providing latest information regarding the disease; and to fulfill the
information needs of routine library users. Adil (2020) highlighted the
new service models and technological implications for libraries during
COVID-19 crisis. Adil suggested that Pakistani librarians should support
library users by compiling list of online resources on library websites,
delivering online information literacy instruction through social media,
and developing online institutional repositories/library guides. How­
ever, no comprehensive study has been published so far pertaining to the
university libraries response to COVID-19 physical closure of the
libraries.
Methodology
The study is qualitative in nature as the purpose was to dig down into
the phenomenon and highlight multiple aspects. It was assumed that
analyzing counts may not present the holistic picture of the COVID-19
prevailing situation. Also, qualitative researchers are more involved
into looking at things, experiences, perceptions and practices with the
lens of ‘HOW’ and ‘WHY’ questions (Creswell, 2016). This research
design provides respondents the opportunity to be open and expand
their responses. To investigate how libraries responded to the recent
emergency situation, researchers conducted seven interviews of aca­
demic librarians with their consent. Semi structured interview guide
consisted of 16 broader questions (see Appendix A), based on literature
and authors’ past experience was prepared and sent to target chief li­
brarians prior to interviews. After seeking respondents’ consent, day and
online interview time was decided through emails or phone as per the
convenience of the librarians. On the decided day, Google Meet link was
sent to individual participant and researchers. The interviews duration
spanned over 30–40 min. All interviews were recorded with the re­
spondents’ consents. The study is limited to seven participants; however,
researchers attempted to involve heads of all major private and public
sector university libraries situated in the region of Lahore and Islamabad
(the capital of Pakistan). It may be assumed that the universities
included in this study present the best case scenario. Due to the lock­
down situation in the country, the researchers were unable to contact a
large number of respondents. For example, some of the library heads
went back to their villages with poor internet connections, therefore it
was hard to contact them for detailed discussions. This limitation was
addressed by conducting in depth interviews and focusing on multi as­
pects of the phenomenon.
Data analysis and findings
Qualitative data analysis can be a simple or a complex procedure
depending upon the amount of data. Researchers voiced that thematic
analysis aims to emerge significant patterns or themes from the raw data
with its flexible approach (Nowell, Norris, White, & Moules, 2017).
According to Braun and Clarke (2006) it is a multistep process which
involves organizing, identifying, describing and reporting themes from a
set of data. For the present study, the recorded interviews were
repeatedly listened for the purpose of data familiarization. Initial codes
were generated by identifying significant blocks of data through
reduction (Fig. 1). Similar patterns or blocks of data were gathered
carefully in order to emerge themes (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 depicts the process of
themes development for the present study. Proponents of qualitative
research claim that thematic analysis is appropriate when the purpose of
the study is to examine participants’ perceptions, insights and experi­
ences (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
M. Rafiq et al. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

Themes Codes

Online classes during pandemic

No online classes before pandemic,HEC Guidelines, higher authorities
meetings, classes Monitoring committes
Education Policy Change
& Higher authorities policies, academic calender cahange, HEC guidelines
Pandemic
No onlines classes during pandemic
Higher authorities meetings, policy change, pandemic/ summer vacations,
academic calender change

Library Physically closed

working form home, onlline services
Library
Accessibility
library is open for staff, staff rotation duties, para-professional come,
digitization service for faculty, books drop box at main gate

Prosessional staff invloved, tecnology issues 24/7 working hours

increased, online services delivery, email, website update,
Work from
Home & pandemic as summer vacations,
Communication no work form home
Channels

Phone callsWhatsApp, Email, university portal, social media tools

HEC Digital Library

Pandemic
Libraries

Library Repositories, Open access

&

Available Pandemic Collection

Resources & emergency related part of health science, pharamaceutical, online tutorials
Services
Online queries dealing
VPN Server access, plagiarism services, articles delivery, online tutorials
for resources access, subject guides, email, website

Honing an Online Website update,

Presence e-book repository, theses repositories open access resources inclusion

local context barrier, copyright issues, technology barrier, staff

Barriers in Physical comptencies, tranings need
to
Digital Shift Budget available
Finance meeting, Purchase policy change, digital purchasing, digital resources
focus

Social distancig measures

Standard Order Procedures (SOPs) preparations, seating change, partial
services available, less working hours, opening hours for different groups
New-Normal
Libraries
Safety Precautions
signage boards, return books kept seperate, less circulation services,
no browsing, search online OPAC

Books recommendations
Frontline
misinformation & disinformation awarness, people counseling, online
Librarians
sessions

Fig. 1. Categorization and themes development thematic analysis.

Education and pandemic
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected all sectors
including the education system, forcing all the academic institutions and
libraries to be closed for safety. Scholarly communities voiced that af­
tereffects of this pandemic situation are far wider than before. However,
this emergency brought many opportunities and calls for a digital shift.
During interviews, researchers investigated this aspect while asking
question about the status of education in COVID-19 pandemic in their
parent institutes and the preparation of their universities and libraries.
The participants reported a variety of expressions (Fig. 2). Several par­
ticipants excitedly reported about the start of online classes during
pandemic. Only one respondent mentioned that they could not start
online classes. A few others discussed the role of higher authorities to set
policies countrywide for the education sector. The interviewees
mentioned that there was uncertainty before but the Higher Education
Commission (HEC), Pakistan (HEC, 2020b, 2020c) recently issued
proper guidelines. However, rapid changes in decisions of government,

3
M. Rafiq et al. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

"In the start of the pandmeic, Vice Chancellor in a meeting asked faculty
Policy to start online class[es] which they did. After that HEC changed the
Change policy and asked to declare this semester as summer vactions or
academic calender to change." (P1)

" Yes, university has started online classes according to the instructions of
HEC. Before pandemic there were only on-campus classes." (P3)
Education
& Online
Pandemic Classes "Before pandemic we have traditional on-campus classes unless online.
After the guidelines of HEC, university has started online classes. We are
using Microsoft Teams for online classes. Especially BS and MPhil
students join regularly..." (P6)

"On-campus classes were on before pandemic. During pandemic,we are

No Online
not having online classes because our university has declared it as summer
Classes vacations." (P1)

Fig. 2. Education and pandemic.

education ministry and HEC particularly at the beginning weeks of
COVID-19 in Pakistan caused delay in decisions of universities. There
was chaos and confusion among the universities at early stage however,
situation improved rapidly as HEC (2020c) allowed the universities to
start online classes by addressing certain quality parameters (HEC,
2020b) or declare this duration as summer vacations. The universities
adopted mix approaches. Some universities declared summer vacations
and closed down while others started online classes. Few expressions of
the respondents evidence these facts in Fig. 2.
It has been observed that some institutions had the infrastructure to
shift to digital classrooms, however, others couldn’t manage and
declared summer vacations. The pandemic has brought a sudden change
in the delivery of education throughout the country as many universities
followed HEC guidelines to conduct and monitor the online classes. This
pandemic is not only bringing change in the delivery of education but
also in rapid policy amendments and interventions.
Library accessibility
The role of academic libraries becomes more challenging due to the
closure of the education sector in this pandemic. Around the world
libraries are facing hard choices in the provision of services or re­
strictions to partial or full closures. In response to an interview ques­
tion about the physical closure of libraries, the participants shared
multiple examples of services. Several respondents shared that their
library was physically closed, however then switched to the provision
of digital contents and services. Only one interviewee mentioned that
his library was partially open for campus resident faculty members
only and offered services including “borrowing facility” (P 6). When
probed about the COVID-19 hazards and danger of transferability of
virus, the interviewee opined that their university campus was vacated
and closed down and only resident faculty and staff and their families
were allowed to stay at campus colony. Campus almost closed like
quarantined as “no campus-resident was allowed to go outside without
prior permission of the university administration.” Thus, they thought
it was ok to offer borrowing facility to on-campus resident faculty
members, he mentioned. Nevertheless, the responses show that ma­
jority of participant libraries adopted new approaches and focused on
robust online offerings. The following expressions of participants shed
light on it (Fig. 3).
Work from home and communication channels
Many international organizations are already practicing ‘work from
home’ policy. However, the current situation of the pandemic made
remote working the only choice for organizations globally. Our com­
munity, as noted by the researchers, urged LIS professionals to work
from home. Study participants also shared their work from home prac­
tices. The participants explained their experiences and different tasks
which they are performing while working from home. Several partici­
pants reported that they and their professional staff are “working from
home, attending meetings with higher authorities on policy change,
dealing with online queries related to provision of books, articles and
plagiarism related queries.” Others also shared similar views that they
are providing 24/7 duty online to facilitate users. The library pro­
fessionals were involved in the provision of open digital contents,
updating library website, downloading and sending books/articles,
answering queries of users. Mostly, they were communicating with users
through phone, WhatsApp and email. The university portal and social
media were least used communication tools during pandemic. Only one
respondent shared no experience of working from home as they were
still at the decision making stage to completely close for summer vaca­
tions or partially open for services. The following excerpts depict the
working from home experiences (Fig. 4).
Available resources and services
In order to support online classes due to COVID-19 pandemic, aca­
demic libraries are striving to fulfill the needs of its users through digital
collections. In academic scenarios, a number of vendors and publishers
are also playing their societal role by providing open access to some of
their resources during the pandemic. The theme ‘available resources’

Library
"Yes, library is closed some of our services were already
Physically online. that's why we are providing online services." (P2)
Close
Library
Accessibility
Library "Our library is open for faculty that live on campus. As I
live on campus that’s why I must come office for few
Partially Open hours."(P6)

Fig. 3. Library accessibility during pandemic.

4
M. Rafiq et al. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

"Yes, we are working from home; once or twice in a week we go to

library physically too on demand. We are only working on library
services, and acquisition part and rest of the operations are not
working." (P3)

"All the professionals are working from home. We have divided

Work from tasks and make a schedule according to the provision of services.
Home Tasks some deals articles, palgrisims queries while other work on portal,
website content dealings." (P5)

Work From "Before this pandemic we were working 8-10 hours within the
Home library but now we must work from home. That’s why we are
& available 24/7 hours through email or on phone." (P4)
Communication
Channels "Most of the time we deal with the queries of students and faculty
regarding the availability of online resources. Now we are
connected online through email and ask a librairan with students
and faculty." (P6)
Communication
Channels
"While working from home, we are using different communication
channels to communicate officially and personally such as email,
Whatsapp, Google Meet, Zoom." (P2)

Fig. 4. Working from home and communication channels.

emerged when interviewees were asked about how they manage the
queries of users about accessibility of information sources. The partici­
pants indicated that various resources were useful during emergency
such as “HEC digital library, off-campus access, electronic document
delivery services, theses and books repositories, open access resources.”
It was evident from the results that those libraries that have hybrid
collections responded well to the COVID-19 crisis. Some of the libraries
were able to provide VPN access to their users, however, a few libraries
were providing this facility for campus residents only. The librarians
briefed that they are providing document delivery service through
emails as well as scanned chapters of needed books and articles. We also
investigated if libraries are equipped with resources on handling emer­
gency situations. Fig. 5 shows some of the responses of interviewees.
Online provision of reference services is not a new concept, however,
before the pandemic this was a less used service as people can visit
physically. COVID-19 closure created more awareness about library
online collection and services. The study participants shared their
numerous experiences regarding provision of services such as “ASK a
librarian service, one-point access service, eBook related services access
and plagiarism check.” The professionals were of the view that the
number of online queries had increased these days and mostly social
sciences and languages (Humanities) discipline users are contacting
them. The university librarians shared that accessing digital content
through VPN was one of the hottest questions these days. It is because of
the limitation of HEC-National Digital Library resources that are avail­
able on-campus only in majority of the universities. To evidence this
some participants’ comments are documented in Fig. 6.
Honing an online presence
The online classes were started in majority of universities as per
government policy to engage youth in learning at this difficult time. The
university libraries were impelled to present online their library re­
sources to meet the information needs of the students and faculty who
were engaged in online classes as well as the researchers. Also, this was
the time to positively position the library by providing resources instead
of closures. In response to a similar question, interviewees explained
that they were also busy in improving their online presence by adding
and updating resources and services. They took different steps, for
example “website update, uploading more information on COVID-19
information on website, developing and uploading tutorials on how to
use library resources during pandemic, planning of online information
literacy programs, [and] working on one spot access to all resources.”
Moreover, the interview question on information literacy services
ignited the thought process for some of the participants, as on inter­
viewee (P3) mentioned in Fig. 7. Some interviewees’ statements (Fig. 7)

"Our library website is fully equipped with the relevant information as

we have provided different resources (open access & HEC) listings
through a pop-up window that shows whenever anyone visits the
library website." (P3)

"Yes, we have online resources before this pandemic. Especially, we

developed repository of research projects and theses which is quite
E-Resources useful for students in this pandemic situation. The access of HEC
digital resources is also VPN based." (P6)

"We are providing Electronic Document delivery services. We can

provide books to those who are on campus; we can scan a portion of a
Available book and email to users. We don’t provide off-campus access through
Resources VPN."(P1)

Pandemic "Exclusively not related to pandemic but material is available within

the different collections such as pharmaceuticals, life sciences, health
Collection sciences collections." (P3)

Fig. 5. Available resources and pandemic.

5
M. Rafiq et al. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

"Now the number of queries has been increased from the routine. It’s
because of online classes are running that’s why faculty or students
both approach us. (P4)

"During the pandemic situation almost 10% query rate has been
increased by the users. The difference is minor because we were
offering online services already and our users were using on regular
basis." (p4)
Online Services
"Almost 100% students are using our library online services because they
do not have any other way to user the library services. Mostly users
require theses , articles and VPN access queries." (P6)

We have not received too much [online] queries by the users; but as far as
information need is concern. Most of the queries were about the books
especially social sciences, languages or oriental learning ... people faced
problems." (P3)

Fig. 6. Nature of online services and pandemic.

"If we talk about emergency actions in this pandemic, we have developed an

online portal for our information literacy and online resources. We introduced
'online journals at one place’ this feature is used by the user frequently." (P5)

"For this pandemic we put message on library website “tay home & go digital.
Honing an Online Basically, if someone clicks on the message we have provided guidelines how can
Presence they approach us through different channels or which kinds of services are
available for them." (P4)

"Currently, we are not working on any kind of information literacy program

online we just update our website. But it’s a good idea we may formulate a
program online for students. Our book club could also be run online." (P3)

Fig. 7. Honing an online presence and pandemic.

highlight the voices of participants on the theme. New-normal libraries

Barriers in physical to digital shift
Even before the pandemic libraries were starting to move from
physical to digital collections and services if not entirely then partially.
Other organizations quickly responded to the digital shift. The literature
on information behavior also highlighted that users’ information
seeking behaviors and needs are changing quickly. We can see that the
present pandemic emergency not only changed our lifestyles but also
learning patterns and practices. Like other sectors, libraries are also
undergoing a paradigm shift from physical to digital. However, this shift
is complex for developing countries. Underdeveloped countries are
facing numerous problems including finance, infrastructure, technology
and restricted electronic collections. In response to a question about how
professionals responded to the digital shift, interviewees highlighted
that many libraries were in the process of developing digital collections
and repositories when COVID-19 crisis hit the country. It seems that
participant libraries were not completely prepared to take a digital shift,
however, they were planning, in process or started thinking of VPN ac­
cess. In addition, librarians mentioned that library users also lack digital
literacy skills and were living in less developed areas with poor internet
connections. The participants also described that presently budget is not
an issue as they were not purchasing print collections due to lockdown.
However, they were concerned that local libraries can’t take complete
the shift to the digital world and, in fact, a hybrid approach would be
workable for a country like Pakistan. The following statements indicate
different plans of library administration and concerns (Fig. 8):
Across the world people are taking extraordinary precautions to
combat the dreadful situations created by COVID-19. Now the countries
are reopening lockdown gradually by implementing standard operating
procedures (SOPs) issued by the governments because people need to
learn how to live in this condition. This new situation is called “New-
Normal.” In a response to interview question about libraries reopening
after the pandemic, the participants shared various planning agendas
such as “Planning for social distancing, University SOP’s to follow, no seating
allowed - only circulation services” etc. Some other respondents also
highlighted that ‘new-normal’ libraries may allow few users at a certain
time, may set SOPs to physically sit and read books or other material, or
as per government policies. It seems that library heads were concerned
about reopening libraries and thinking about strategies to adopt. The
following expressions demonstrate this idea, Fig. 9.
Frontline librarians
This interesting theme emerged when respondents talked about the
societal role of librarians during crisis times. We asked how informa­
tion professionals can play their role as a citizen and extended role of
librarian during hard times. The participants shared several societal
responsibilities including promoting reading habits and good reading
material to help people in isolation. Another idea proposed by re­
spondents was to conduct information literacy sessions to prepare the
nation against infodemic (spread of fake or misinformation). The
participants further elaborated that one of the important roles of

6
M. Rafiq et al. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

"This pandemic has changed our thinking style or a way to observe the
things. We cannot switch over totally online because it is not needed in
our setup as we see... But we can enhance our electronic resources and
online services more than ever. "(P3)
Local
Context "The situation before the pandemic was not as it is now. In past
administration didn’t like the idea of e-books purchased but now they are
requesting us to move on digital content. Even now we have a pressure
Barriers in from HEC to build more online resources." (P6)
Physical to
Digital Shift "We are thinking about e-books especially text book availability online. So
we may facilitate our users more. This was in our planning before that but
now the need is dire in this pandemic. Budget is enough because we’re not
acquiring print books right now. " (P3)
Budget &
Concerns "We were offering online services already, but the usage of online services
is less in our local scenario. Because our students are not digitally literate
like other countries. Majority belongs to rural areas where technology is a
major barrier. So, we cannot move entirely on digital." (P4)

Fig. 8. Barriers in physical to digital shift.

"For social distancing we may formulate a plan for our library seating. but It
would be difficult not only for us but also for students too. Being a public
sector university, we have different type of culture here. We will work
according to government policy to tackle this situation."(P3)
Social
Distancing "Our university immediately implemented the SOPs to be followed within
the campus. We also implemented those because in the beginning we
New-normal opened our library and also maintained social distancing. Now after the
Libraries pandemic we will surely follow all the suggested SOP’s." (P1)

Safety "We are working on three situations. Firstly how to provide safe material
to everyone. Secondly, seating plan for social distancing. Thirdly, we
Precutions might move entirely online, no offline services."(P5)

Fig. 9. New-normal libraries.

information professionals these days is to provide and promote soul
satisfying books for individual’s well being. People are depressed and
disappointed, this is a high time to heal their hearts and souls. All re­
spondents had a consensus that the role of librarians becomes more
crucial and demanding during emergency crisis with various good
reasons. Below expressions of participants illustrate this fact (Fig. 10).
Discussion
University Libraries in Pakistan are the most developed segment of
academic libraries in the country. The university academic semester was
in process when COVID-19 hit the country and all educational in­
stitutions were forced to close. However, the universities’ response was
a mixture of total closure or switching over to online classes. The
majority of universities started online classes and university libraries
had to help the students and teachers in this time of crises. Few uni­
versities suspended their classes; however, library services of such in­
stitutions were not closed as the researchers and faculty were doing their
tasks and assignments from home. The role of libraries in online edu­
cation was a new horizon because very few universities were offering
online education before this pandemic and the mode of teaching was
face-to-face (F2F). This pandemic ultimately offers challenges as well as
opportunities for university libraries to redesign their role, services and
reach to meet the information needs of the community. In the past,
university libraries in Pakistan did not pay the requisite attention to
online library services through web or social media applications. The
mode of the majority of library services was based on physical resources
and interactions. Social media tools and applications were never used

"Librarians can play a major role during pandemic times. Words

of sympathy and the adequate guidance can make a difference in
citizens' life. They can guide or discourage the use and spread of
disinformation and misinformation in the society."(P5)

"Librarians can play their role very effectively. They can

recommend books in any form as in audio or they can conduct
Frontline online sessions to promote reading etc. Through this, librarian
Librarians can help to deal with stress due to this COVID-19..." (P6)

" In this situation, it can be tackled in two ways e.g. individually

and collectively. At individual level, professional librarians can
create awareness through social media etc. On the other hand, at
institutional level we can run program like book club..." (P3)

Fig. 10. Frontline librarians.

7
M. Rafiq et al. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280

excessively to deliver information services (Khan & Rafiq, 2019). The And while fair use does provide for educational use of copyrighted
COVID-19 pandemic forced university libraries to reassign resources, materials, most faculty members don’t understand it, concerned only
revamp their web presence, and adopt different strategies to meet the with making content available to their students. As courses go online,
demands of the users. Libraries changed their working practices, they’ll want greater access to materials to use in their courses.
reviewed and enhanced their web pages, reassigned their resources on
In addition, the interviewees opined that the library’s having hybrid
their web portals, added new electronic resources, enlisted OA re­
collections responded well to the users’ queries. Users from humanities,
sources, added pop-up contacts details on websites, delivered their
oriental languages, and social sciences looked for more library support.
services through emails and WhatsApp, etc. It was felt by the in­
The reason may be because the information resources of these subjects
terviewees that libraries should offer ‘one-spot access to all resources’ to
largely exist in print resources in university libraries of Pakistan. The
help user exploration and discovery of information. Nevertheless, pro­
need for digitization of print and special collections is highlighted; “in
vision of one-spot access to all library resources requires enhanced
the coming years, transitioning digitized content from being a method of
technological infrastructure and system support.
preservation or review, to being the primary access point for the
In terms of access to physical resources and services, libraries present
collection” (Cox, 2020). However, Cox’s context seems like libraries of
a mix of total closure, semi closure or limited access. Few university
developed countries particularly US libraries. On the contrary in
libraries offered limited access to their resources and services, mainly, to
Pakistan, in 2013, less than one third of university libraries of Pakistan
on-campus resident faculty. The policies of university libraries were
were involved in some sort of digitization activities, however, without
influenced by the decisions of university administration and HEC. Li­
any formal digitization policy (Rafiq & Ameen, 2013). Rafiq et al. (2018)
braries followed the policies of institutions; however, formal policies of
noted the lack of established digitization plans, policies and procedures;
libraries were still not developed. It shows an ad-hoc trend mainly
less priority of digitization projects; and lack of infrastructure, financial
influenced by the pandemic and reactionary measures taken by these
and able human resources were noted as top barriers to digitization in
libraries.
Pakistani university libraries. It may be considered that university li­
The library professionals working in university libraries of Pakistan
braries need to initiate formal digitization programs to meet the users’
experienced a new normal, ‘working from home’. This is ultimately
needs in similar to COVID-19pandemic situations in future. Neverthe­
challenging, adapting to new routines and working styles. Work from
less, the copyright laws will hamper such digitization programs in
home offered some challenges for library staff as some respondents
Pakistani university libraries. Moreover, the most pressing problem of
mentioned that they were offering 24/7 services and such extended
lack of widespread availability of high-speed internet will largely
working routines put pressure on them. Such routines call for the review
hamper the use of such material.
of staff engagements, reassignment of staff roles and responsibilities to
COVID-19 exposed the digital divide among the rural and urban
ensure the mental, social and physical health of staff. It also calls for
natives and localities in Pakistan (Baloch & Musyani, 2020; Nakhoda,
investment on staff development, infrastructure enhancement and
2020). Similar evidence was also noted in our study’s interview tran­
technology provision. The interview responses show that university web
scriptions. Lack of digital literacies among university students was re­
portals were not used widely by the users in this pandemic. Similar
ported by the interviewees. Interviewees also revealed their institutional
feedback was about social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter,
intentions to focus more on buying online resources, particularly text­
etc. The reason may be low internet penetration and slow internet
books. An increased use and demand for digital content in higher edu­
connectivity in rural areas. Nevertheless, telephone, email, and What­
cation sector of Pakistan was already there (Rafiq & Ameen, 2012). This
sApp emerged as the most effective channels to communicate, contact,
pandemic brought forward this realization more strongly. It seems like
and engage with the user. Google Meet and Zoom were also used for
Pakistani university libraries will focus more on digital collections and
conducting staff meetings. Such revelation illuminates the need of
services.
redesigning the library and information services with the help of such
Libraries are expected to follow the new normal and there was col­
tools that may have an extended reach and impact. Moreover, it also
lective realization among the interviewees that libraries must change
emphasizes the need for high-speed internet connectivity not only in
and prepare for new normal. They considered reorganizing their seating
major cities and towns but also in rural areas. As per 2017 census of
plan and library services, ensuring the sanitization of material, and
Pakistan, 63.6% (132.189 million) population is living in rural areas
maintaining social distancing, and extending online services. There was
(Rana, 2017). Thus, low internet speed and broadband connectivity,
a collective realization among the interviewees about the role of li­
particularly in small towns and villages may be a major hindrance in the
braries and librarians in this pandemic. Interviewees talked about so­
increased use of university or library portals as well as web based library
cietal and extended roles of libraries and librarians in their communities
services.
in COVID-19 pandemic. They considered the role of libraries tackling
The surge in demand of e-information resources and services mainly
misinformation and fake news, mentoring and guiding the community
emerged from the shift of universities’ education mode from F2F to
members. Connecting individuals and saying ‘words of sympathy’ shows
online education. However, it has also created a challenge for the li­
the realization of extended role of librarians similar to public libraries.
braries to meet the information needs of the users. The interviewees
Librarians may play a role in promoting open access, open science, and
were confident about meeting the users’ library needs and considered
more flexible copyright laws. They may also work for improving digital
that this pandemic increased the awareness about library resources and
and information literacy skills by developing tutorials and arranging
services. The majority of university libraries relied on open access and
online programs. Librarians may promote and coordinate programs by
HEC National Digital Library (HEC-NDL) resources. HEC-NDL (“HEC
collaborating with faculty members, developing tutorials and course
Digital Library”, n.d.) is a flagship program of Higher Education Com­
contents with faculty, marketing such tutorials and courses, and coor­
mission of Pakistan to meet the researchers’ information needs within
dinating with users.
public and private universities and non-profit research and development
institutions in Pakistan. However, the access to HEC-NDL information
Conclusions
resources is limited to on-campus access in majority of the universities
and off-campus access is rare. There was a surge in demand of VPN use
Libraries are passing through difficult times as the COVID-19
and off-campus access. Moreover, it was noted that the libraries were
pandemic is forcing us to change our lifestyle and reshape our daily
addressing the needs of the information by supplying scanned papers of
routines. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of elec­
needed books and articles. However, this practice highlights the
tronic resources and internet access as a key to education. However, the
copyright/Fair-use challenges. As Cox (2020) rightly said in context of
students who belong to low-income and geographically remote areas in
COVID-19 pandemic:

8
M. Rafiq et al.
Pakistan may lack or have limited access to the internet. Thus, online
services will not benefit the students uniformly and shall widen the
disparity. It is high time for the government to understand how to
effectively harness the power of the internet and provide uninterrupted
internet facility to entire country.
The majority of the university libraries were physically closed for
patrons in this pandemic but very much engaged with the users. How­
ever, few university libraries were offering print material lending,
mainly to the faculty living at the university campus. Libraries revamped
their web pages, reassigned resources, and adopted some ad-hoc stra­
tegies and robust online offerings. Mostly, they were communicating
with users through phone, WhatsApp, and email. The university portal
and other social media tools were the least used communication tools
during pandemic. Library staff was working from home and there was a
sense of over burden because of 24/7 connectivity and without any
formal work policy addressing the new expectations and responsibilities.
Staff was using Google Meet, WhatsApp and Zoom to communicate with
each other.
Libraries face certain challenges and barriers in their transformation
from physical to digital. The pandemic established the importance of e-
resources and services, hence making a good case for libraries to get
support from the university administration and to acquire more digital
contents particularly related to text books. Libraries also need to build
infrastructure and systems to meet the needs of online classes and scale
up the remote delivery of library resources and services. However, the
highspeed internet connectivity on user end will also be required to
enhance to maximize the benefits of online contents and services. Uni­
versity libraries are ready to adopt new-normal working and distancing
practices, however, will largely depend on the governmental and insti­
tutional rules and directions. The librarians also see their individual and
collective role of social and educational nature from motivationally
supporting a community member, countering fake and misinformation
on the web, working to reduce digital divide in this pandemic, and
organizing programs online such as ‘online book club’.
Recommendations
Here are a few recommendations based on this exploratory study:
1. The federal and provincial governments of the Pakistan and other
developing countries need to increase the investment and prioritize
the digital transformation in their societies. The governments should
take initiatives to improve the internet penetration particularly
mobile internet penetration and bridge the digital divide among the
villages, towns, and cities.
2. Libraries need to rewrite library policies and realign their practices
for the new circumstances to serve the patrons and abide by social-
distancing standards because COVID-19 has left us all in a state of
shock. Libraries must develop standard operating procedures (SOPs)
for staff and library users to abide by social distancing standards
during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. It also seems important to increase or re-prioritize library budgets
to increase the e-resources and e-services. Libraries need to invest
in getting new technologies, infrastructure, systems, and staff
development to be able to serve their users in emerging online
environments.
4. University libraries also need to rethink their role particularly in
context of online classes being offered by their universities. Libraries
need to prepare their resources, services, systems, and staff to
effectively help the online students. They need to offer off-campus
access to all their e-resources as majority of university students in
Pakistan live off-campus. There may also be a need to renegotiate
their subscription licenses with the suppliers of online contents as
well as increase the subscription particularly textbook material.
5. University libraries also need to initiate digitization initiatives and
provide online access to contents in digital formats. It is particularly
9
The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47 (2021) 102280
important for the information users of social sciences and humanities
disciplines. Institutional research repositories may be a good start.
Collaborative approach by cultivating the partnerships may ensure
the long-term sustainability of such initiatives. It is also necessary
that such initiatives should be formalized by the approval of
competent authorities of the institution(s).
6. Libraries also need to review their web presence. It seems important
to gauge the use of library portals and redesign/revamp the libraries
webpages. Libraries also need to work to provide ‘one-spot’ access to
all library resources and should try to buy or build new systems for
such purposes.
7. Library leaders recognize their individual and collective roles in the
society and communities. Libraries may play a role in improving the
information and digital literacy skills of the users as well as coun­
tering fake news dilemma. Libraries may coordinate with faculty,
academic units, or societal organizations to design and provide ac­
cess to webpages, videos, tutorials, etc. in this regard. It is particu­
larly important in the context of developing countries where
information scarcity is a problem on one hand and dissemination of
fake and unauthentic information on other.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
We hereby confirm that all authors meet authorship criteria. The
role(s) of all authors are as follows: Muhammad Rafiq: Conceptuali­
zation, Methodology, Data collection, Supervision, Project adminis­
tration Writing-original draft, Writing-reviewing and editing. Syeda
Hina Batool: Methodology, Data collection, Visualization, Validation,
Writing - data analysis. Amna Farzand Ali: Data transcribing, Coding,
Visualization. Midrar Ullah: Writing - introduction, Literature review,
Reviewing and editing.
Appendix A
Interview guide
1. Was your university offering online classes before COVID-19
Pandemic? If no, did your university started online classes?
2. Are you working from home? If so, what are your major tasks
these days?
3. How many among your staff is working from home to help users
or to do library work?
4. What sort of digital information sources/reference/information
literacy sources you already have in this regard, which you were
able to offer community immediately?
5. Did you offer some services to those who are far away from
campus in less technologically sound area, if so, what did you
offer them?
6. Did you provide any emergency emails/numbers to users?
7. Did you think about communicating those students who were not
registered as library members?
8. How much users’ requests you received these days and how did
you respond them? What are their information needs during
pandemic?
9. Do you have collection on COVID-19 or on such health crises
emergencies to share with users? Did you purchase any to aware
users during these days?
10. Did you start any online awareness campaign, if yes explain your
experience, If not, why?
11. Which apps/software are helpful for you to communicate with
users or staff? What sort of challenges you faced while working
from home through these digital tools?
12. Are you thinking to shift your physical library services to digital
format? If so, what are the possibilities? If not, why?
13. Did you ask for increased budget to buy online content if so, what
was the administration response? If not, why?
M. Rafiq et al.
14. Did you think to teach information literacy areas online? If so,
what is the plan and how you are going to implement that?
15. Do you have any idea how libraries can help people in isolation?
What should be the services and what is the volunteered role of
librarian?
16. When libraries will open, would you still be conscious about
proving social distancing services within building, would you
make plan or implement such policies such as sitting area?
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