Making Ends Meet in a Pandemic: African Library Initiatives During COVID ‐19

Abstract

ABSTRACT This poster captures the initiatives of African community and public libraries in the early stages of COVID‐19. This is part of an ongoing research on the impact of the COVID‐19 and long‐term implications for African libraries. We conducted 11 interviews in 9 countries using both purposive and snowball sampling. We analyzed the recorded data through a thematic analysis approach. Arising from the data, we found that librarians employed empathetic information interventions using widely available information technology tools to deliver critical information to promote the well‐being of their communities. The libraries initiated social cohesion talks to foster unity among families. They also used WhatsApp to send snapshots of study materials to examination candidates and to point people to social services. This work contributes data to scant literature about the initiatives of African community and public libraries during the COVID‐19 and how low resource libraries can support their communities in crisis.

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