The issue I plan to advocate for this semester is:
Lack of planning/preparedness from library administration during global health crisis situations
Lack of planning/preparedness from library administration during global health crisis situations
My future career will be a Youth Services librarian in a public library. I wanted to look into issues that affect librarians specifically. Right now, the current global health situation is giving us a very unique perspective into the daily lives of library staff. I would like to focus on their needs and what could be done better if something like this were to occur again. In AZ, all of the public libraries are closed. I know I can reach out to librarians across the country on social media (I follow many across a few different platforms) to get their perspective.
- What is the effect of the issue in my community?
- The effect of this issue is that public and library staff are unnecessarily exposed to a potentially life-threatening virus, especially patrons and staff who are considered high risk and who have underlying health conditions.
- What does this mean to my local school, school district, and students?
- For my local library district, this issue means that there is no plan in place to keep both staff AND patrons prepared. It may leave both sides feeling frustrated with each other and administration for not meeting their needs or having an answer during a very stressful time.
- What is the cost of not doing anything on this issue?
- Costs are drastic in this situation. Lack of preparedness planning can lead to, at best, loss of revenue and at worst, loss of life.
- What possible actions can be taken? What are the consequences of these actions?
- Establishing solid preparedness plans that include health situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic the world is facing is essential. Additionally, administration and library staff need to review these plans regularly, and possibly even test or “dry run” the plan to ensure its effectiveness.
- Who else cares about this issue in my community?
- This is a full community issue. When a situation like the current global pandemic of COVID-19 strikes, it affects everyone. However it should be stated that not everyone may treat it with the same sense of urgency.
- Research one organization that is currently advocating for this education issue. Summarize the organization’s goals, mission, and the type of advocacy opportunities the organization provides.
- There are NO organizations advocating for this issue, however, the American Library Association (ALA) is working diligently to provide preparedness planning to libraries- both ones that are open to the public and ones that are closed. Library staff and patrons are finding at this time that they have to advocate for themselves.