The COVID-19 pandemic has both illuminated and intensified health disparities in the United States over the past several years. In response to issues they have seen affecting their communities, public libraries and librarians have responded nimbly and innovatively to this evolving, unprecedented health crisis. They have adapted existing services and developed new resources, programs, and services to address the public’s need for information and beyond. In this presentation, we will share the findings from our investigation into these efforts, reflecting on a sampling of U.S. public libraries’ COVID-19–related offerings. These offerings include providing access to reliable information and information technologies, information literacy training, programs to improve people’s mental and physical health, and resources enabling people to engage in important health behaviors such as wearing masks and self-testing. Some libraries have also offered programs tailored to particular populations (e.g., adults with developmental disabilities), including programs focused specifically on health disparities and racism experienced by particular populations. We will also discuss equality (providing the same support to everyone), equity (providing the support that each person needs), and justice (removing barriers so no support is needed) as it relates to health. Our exploratory study revealed that libraries’ offerings span the entire equality-equity-justice continuum, with relatively fewer offerings falling into the justice segment, suggesting the importance of further investigations into such initiatives.

Presentation slides: PPT | PDF