Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
This paper aims to find the impact of COVID-19 on Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) libraries and the measures taken to overcome the challenges in accessing the information during the COVID-19 situation and render services to the users. A structured questionnaire was prepared and distributed to ten libraries of MAHE at Manipal, India campus. The study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on the usage of resources and services provided by MAHE libraries. The libraries were kept open, but the working hours of the libraries have been reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that the majority of the libraries have seen a significant decrease in the use of physical resources and an increase in the usage of digital resources. The majority of the respondents agreed that online assistance to projects and research had been provided. The analysis reveals that limiting the number of users into the physical library, mandatory face mask, provision of sanitizers at the library entrances and maintenance of social distancing were some of the measures taken by the libraries of MAHE during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study revealed that MAHE libraries have a rich collection of e-books, online journals, online databases, e-learning platforms and research support tools. Remote access facility was extensively used by the users of MAHE libraries to access the relevant literature for teaching, learning, patient care and research activities and thus to meet their information needs.