The Impact of the Early Covid-19 Pandemic Response on Kentucky’s Library Workforce

Authors

Anita R. Hall, University of LouisvilleFollow
Brandi Duggins, Spalding UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2-15-2021

Department

Libraries

Abstract

Although prior research has examined the Pandemic responses of libraries in terms of physical closures and innovation in services, the impact these measures have had on library workers is largely unexplored. This study seeks to understand the impact of initial library responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kentucky from March 2020 through June 2020. A survey of Kentucky Library Workers found a wide range of impacts during the initial pandemic response period, with 30.49% of respondents affected by some type of employment-related measure, and 11.28% either furloughed or laid off during this time. Workers at different types of libraries and in different position classifications received somewhat different impacts during the period covered by the survey. Regardless of employment-related impacts, library workers have struggled economically, as well as with their emotional and psychological well-being, and many are concerned about long-term economic impacts of the pandemic on their organizations, even if their employment situation was largely unchanged during the initial response period.

Original Publication Information

Published in:

DUGGINS, B., & HALL, A. R. (2021). The Impact of the Early COVID-19 Pandemic Response on Kentucky’s Library Workforce. Kentucky Libraries, 85(1), 6–12.

ThinkIR Citation

Hall, Anita R. and Duggins, Brandi, "The Impact of the Early Covid-19 Pandemic Response on Kentucky’s Library Workforce" (2021). Faculty Scholarship. 518.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/518